MAP 530 Capstone Reflection

Heidi Wall - 3.17.2023

Week one of this course provided so much to ponder. I think the term self-reflection is

often casually thrown into discussions, especially with regard to topics of physical or mental

health and well-being. In that regard, I am prone to think that many of us have a superficial

understanding and haven’t considered the deeper meaning of the term, or the importance of

making it part of your day. Sure, reflection asks us to consider what we have done, have said, are

feeling, etc. But we have also learned that it can offer a critical reset of sorts, a chance to let our

minds wander, be creative, daydream and reap all the benefits that come along with that. Perhaps

the most important message came from the “Daydreaming good for you?” article in which we

are reminded of the increasing demands our children face in school and life. Not teaching

children how to be introspective and not encouraging the daydreams can rob them of

opportunities to learn critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Earlier classes in the program emphasized the importance of self-care and perhaps

learning how to be self-reflective is one of the most important skills. We know humans, through

all stages of development, benefit from downtime. Whether that means building things like yoga

instruction and free play into an elementary school curricular schedule or mandating that your

employees are offered work time to be creative in their own way, the benefits of self-reflection

and/or time to day dream are being seen.

In week 2 we revisited the discussion of having a growth mindset and that will likely

remain my favorite topic. The power of a person’s mindset is remarkable. I think on some level I

have always known and believed that. Last semester, after becoming familiar with the work of
Carol Dweck, I was struck by the notion that your mindset, much like personality traits, are not

set. They are indeed modifiable. In that regard, it’s easy to consider how one’s failures and

successes are impacted by a mindset. Understanding and adapting a growth mindset, where your

mistakes offer reasons to celebrate, new opportunities or a change in direction that you didn’t

know you needed, will absolutely benefit your whole person. Stress and worry are alleviated

when you learn to adopt a growth mindset. The physical and neurological benefits of that alone

are enormous.

Jumping ahead to week 5, I could not have been more excited about learning the word

multipotentialite. Her account of what it means to maybe never find one true calling was the

closest I’ve come to a light bulb moment in a very long time. And as I write this, I wonder if

having multipotentialities signifies a growth mindset. A person who can easily change gears or

readily jump into a new experience must have, at the very least, an idea that sometimes change is

necessary and good. Historically, as Emilie Wapnick explained, a multipotentialite may incur

extra stress for feeling pressure to excel at only one thing. Having said that, recognizing this trait

in others, and encouraging their desire to change course or perpetually explore, will pay off in

the best way possible.

Ethics, and all of its intricacies, made me think about several things in a very different

way. While I have mostly considered myself an ethical person, there are certainly some areas,

which have up to this point lay dormant in my consciousness, that require an ethical lens. Let’s

consider diversity, equity, and inclusion for example. Over the course of this program, we have

discussed gender, race, age, ability, to name a few, and all of the ways that the world might fall

short of being inclusive. The only ethical approach is to see everyone as human, is it not? To

recognize that everyone has something to offer, even if you aren’t accustomed to seeing it. At the
very heart of those conversations, it should be easy to surmise that exclusion for any reason is

unethical.

What is the ethical argument that women should be paid less than men for the same

work? Quite simply, there is not one. Considering media, TV, and film, racial, cultural, and

different-abled representation is critically important. Yet this battle continues to plague

marginalized populations, some much more than others. We heard about a changing work force

and what it could mean to allow employees the flexibility to work remotely. If the work gets

done and it better suits the employee, why not? And, honestly, it would seem that employers in

this post-Covid era may soon have to let go of some of that rigidity in order to have a productive

and thriving workforce.

During one of our discussion forums I referenced an article that defines ethical clarity as

doing what is right simply because it is right. It really is that simple, or it should be. Yet

somehow, we think we can rationalize the ethics away.

In closing, I would like to say that I am ever excited about how each of these classes

offers an opportunity to better understand one another. It is in this way, I believe that each of us

will impact our ever changing ecological systems in an exponentially positive way. Even the

very smallest change begets more change.