"Slipping" as a Learning Tool

While reading the assigned chapter, entitled “Slipping,” what struck me most was a quote lifted from a piece written by a student, Emily Elstad. In her essay, Elstad brought to readers’ attention a prolific point, as she observed that “sometimes only by slipping and falling to the floor do we notice that there is something down there that needs to be cleaned up” (Emily Elstad). This insightful comment caused me to re-think my own mistakes, and why it is important to make them. Whenever I make a mistake, I find myself thinking “you’re better than that.” I chastise myself for making a human error, when I know, deep down, that making mistakes and falling down is one of the best ways to learn. This quote takes the instance of making a mistake and puts it into a rather uncommon positive light, and it has made me really think about what making mistakes can tell me about internal and external circumstances that led me up to that place, and how I can change them in order to improve. The use of students’ words and experiences to supplement the points made in this chapter was an excellent way to frame the narrative specifically at Bryn Mawr. I find that, often, those quoted in works such as this one are professionals who use obscure terminologies and abstract examples; what quoting students like me does is humanize academia, which is especially important when discussing such complex issues as this chapter does. Using the experiences and pieces of writing of students at the college mainly discussed allows a diverse number of voices to be heard in the chapter, not all by professionals such as the author. Including the story of the queer Bryn Mawr student from Texas who, after having been in the author’s class, hung a Confederate Flag in conjunction with a pride flag in her dorm window served this same purpose; rather than simply recounting the incident and the community’s reaction, the author truly did her research and used the subject’s own words to show that, as outsiders to others’ lives, “we do not know how [others, in this case students] will make use of what we give them. The gap between intention and uptake can be huge—as they struggle to make sense of their identities…and as we struggle to make sense of ours” (Anne Dalke).By doing this, she ensures that the academic, institutionalized, analogical view does not always automatically prevail when put against that of the amater, the learner, the student. I have an immense amount of respect for the author’s use of taking into account and appreciating each point of view involved, especially when dealing with such a complex issue as one’s struggle for identity.