The Circle

Observe-Listen-Write

Learning as a Creative Experience

Welcome to The Circle.

In the Circle, we know that the linear learning process can become circular. When it comes to learning, our minds are trained to focus solely on reason or thought, which, by its very nature, centers on the linear journey from point A to point B. This is a magnificent tool, and we function wonderfully with it, but what happens if we incorporate sensory perception, emotions, and personal experience into learning?

When we take into account the sensory, the emotional, and personal experience in our linear learning process, it initially tends to trigger a movement for which we are not trained, since, on the surface, the sensory, the emotional, and experience introduce a circular movement that throws us off the linear path, that is, when we include our lives in the process, that single movement begins to curve the linearity of learning, so that point A begins to approach point B in a circular motion that is not only linked to the topic we are analyzing but also includes ourselves.

El Circulo is a training space where we prioritize that process. With each practice, we learn to bend the linearity of our learning a little more by engaging directly in the process, and in this sense, El Circulo is a path of growth that feeds back into itself through learning, experience, sensitivity, and our emotions.

This course follows a circular path for experimenting with and exploring new meanings and interpretations through various sources: Language, Literature, Music, Film, Art, Photography, Philosophy, and Social Media.

The method is simple: Observe (the input), Listen (to the audio/video), and finally Write (your reflections in words); after this practice, the learning cycle begins again. The practical benefit of this method is that it can be applied right from the start.

In Observing the input, you don’t just observe the input—you also observe what it triggers or evokes in you. And by Listening simultaneously, you’re already listening to your impressions of the input as well as the input itself, so that the Circle is active at all times because learning begins within you, passes through you, and returns to you; then, finally, when you write, you’ll put into words not only the content of the input but also what you’ve observed and heard from yourself in your interaction with the input.

This Circle will be renewed in the next practice session, and little by little, as you train with this method, the linearity of your understanding and learning will begin to curve.

To help you get started with this method, I’ve prepared a 4-week program focused on learning Spanish through literature. With three exercises per week, we’ll begin the Circular process by exploring the works of contemporary Latin American authors: Juan Villoro, Clyo Mendoza, Yuri Herrera, Mónica Ojeda, and Fernanda Melchor. Click the link below to find the first exercises for each week.

Below, you can access the opening practice of each of the 4 syllabus weeks. I highly recommend keeping a notebook just for your Writing practice Thank you for being here, and have a nice Circular journey!