That’s Not the Right Score

I asked the students to write an essay discussing their scores.  I thought I’d discuss mine.

We must apply self-reflection on a regular basis.  It helps us become a better person.  We did that in my ENGL1302 class.  It was a Self-Assessment test.  It looked at many areas that a student needs to develop to be a successful college student.

Often, taking these types of tests are monotonous and useless, but I found this test to be helpful.  I have taught this lecture twice before, but this year was the first time I took the test.  The questions were interesting, and they caused me to pause and think several times.  They were eye-opening as well.  The scoring of the test took awhile because it requires more math than I wanted to have to deal with, but it was worth it.

I knew that I would have only one low area, Employing Interdependence.  This is where you create relationships that will help you be successful in life.  I am a self-actualizer, and I prefer working by myself whenever possible.  I do ask for help, but I would rather work alone.  I hate, yes, hate working in groups.  But, as I tallied up the scores, I saw that I had a low score in Developing Emotional Intelligence.  This is where you understand your emotions, control them, and work towards creating your own happiness and peace of mind.  My score there was 20 points lower than I expected it to be.  I was shocked.

It seems that I need to work on developing my emotional intelligence more.  I usually am even tempered, but I can zone out on you when I am in “one of my moods.”  I have been known to ignore people well.  My husband laughs at me and tells me that he wishes he had my focus.  I am still somewhat upset about this low score, but I am working on growing in this area.

The scores of my other areas were in the 70s.  I expected that.  My highest score was Discover Self-Motivation.  I am a self-motivator.  In fact, I enjoy motivating others.  I have always motivated myself.  I function best when I am accomplishing various tasks and goals that I set for myself.  It is fun to find ways to motivate myself; I used to use stickers when I taught pre-k, but as a college professor, I find that checking off or crossing through completed tasks works.

Overall, taking this test with my students helped me learn more about myself.  I believe in showing my students that I use what I teach them to succeed.  I was able to tell my students that I had low scores on the assessment, so they should not feel bad if they had a low score on the assessment.

Life is all about growing, learning, and becoming better.  this is just one tool that shows you how you can do that.

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Works Cited

Downing, Skip. “Self-Assessment.” On Course, 5th edition, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 2007, 6-10, e-file.