Technician vs. Autonomous professional

In class the idea of technician vs. autonomous professional came up. Basically, it means being trained and reactive vs. a reflective practitioner that is proactive. I started to question, where do I fit in? I often say that I am educated. I have a high school diploma and will be graduating with a BA/BEd. in less than one year. Don't I sound so smart!

But then I get to thinking about what kind of training I have had. Well, I have done two professional practicums in education. From which have I learned the most? In all honesty, I would say the practical experiences have left the biggest influence on my knowledge as a teacher. Most of the "education" I have had has been unbelievable amounts of information and facts. Facts and information that I should now be able to use to think on my own and be proactive. Well that all sounds good to me, but I don't see it as reality. At least not MY reality.

A term that came up in class was "trained incapacity" meaning training that has been pushed too far. The example given in class was building a bridge. The construction crew would simply build the bridge to be a perfectly strong structure the way they have been trained to do, but none would ask the bigger question "SHOULD we build a bridge here?" But is there such a thing as educated incapacity? At times I honestly would believe myself to fall under this idea. Something my father always says is don't become educated beyond your means. What he means by this is that there are people in our society that have been educated for so many years that they only know facts and information, they cannot deal with practical everyday issues or have any trade skills. The degree to which my education has taken me is what I like to call information overload. There is so much theology, ideology, research, terminology, etc. that I have studied and gotten the general idea about but never mastered, that I find myself being left with nothing to prove myself as an autonomous professional. The moment that the test has been written or the paper marked I move onto the next course and forget the previous material. If I were truly a reflective practitioner would I not be a better critical thinker?

(It is interesting how this concept branches off nicely from my previous post.)

As a student we are expected to think critically now because we are at a higher level of education. Once I am a teacher I will most certainly be expected to think critically, analyze and evaluate mine and others' work. According to some, I have been educated to do this. Then why is it that so often I feel that I am not capable of doing this? Does that make me a failure? Was I trained too much as a child through rote learning, or did I somehow miss a step in the education system called critical thinking and reflection 101.

I am finding a pattern in my own writing. I am seeing a sense of self blame, which falls under the myth of student responsibility in their achievement. Perhaps it is not all my fault, but that something in the performance tasks of self reflection, criticism and evaluation needs to be changed in curriculum. I am also seeing that I, as a student, feel the need for more training in some areas than the amount of education I have been given. It is interesting to me to think about the necessity for both training and education, but then where are they best suited and in what quantity.