A Note about Use of the Term "Cycle"

Instead of viewing time as a straight line, Mesoamericans viewed life and experience in cyclical terms, recognizing that was has happened before would always happen again with opportunities for renewal.

As Xicano psychologist and activist, Dr. Manuel Zamarripa has pointed out, if you view time as a straight line, it may be easy to disconnect from others in your community and to become lost. But if you think of time as a cycle, you will always return to a beginning point, and you will always have an opportunity to find yourself and your community again.

In keeping with the colonial view of time as linear, much of education also poses thought and learning as linear and progressive processes as well. We see this in the use of such language as "units" and "modules," representing a compartmentalized and hierarchical view of knowledge. In keeping with the decolonial practice of education, I use the term "cycles" instead of units to show students that we each move through the practice of learning and co-constructing knowledge together. Each learner-teacher and teacher-learner in this practice can choose their own path knowing that we will always meet again in a new cycle of learning and growth. -- Dr. Lydia CdeBaca-Cruz