3.1 Teaching & Learning

This year marks 100 years since women gained the right to vote in the UK.

This was a monumental point in history. The suffragettes forged the way for us to make this world an equal place. If we all exercised our right to vote we could achieve true equality; not even just on the bases of binary gender but for all people. If we all have a say in who runs the country we live in and if we can choose people that will make the right choices for us all, then there would be no inequality.

That’s a very broken down solution (of course we need to educate people on the importance of equality) but it rings true. Surely we don’t want to end up being a world superpower with a bigoted, sexist, heteronormative and xenophobic leader…

International Women’s March 2017. Topeka, Kansas.

Women are still not considered equal to men. You might think that this is a harsh statement because all of your male friends treat you with as much value as they do with other men but that isn’t equality. Many men, and women, go about their daily lives without any thought to the fact that women have to work harder and for longer to get the same pay as men or that they may not get the job in the first place because they have the capability to have children. A lot of men would question why girls feel the need to go to the toilet in groups or wait with each other for the taxi that only one of them is getting.

Feminism is a word people are scared of because of those stories you here about hating men and burning bras but the only thing feminism means, and it’s really quite simple, is equality. Yes it focuses on women at this stage because women are the ones who have been oppressed in this patriarchal society for centuries. That does not mean that any feminist would say that men are better off in all aspects because we know that isn’t true. You have to accept that our priorities right now are, understandably, things like dissolving rape culture; which does impact women more than men. We acknowledge that it does happen to men, that is where the equality part comes in, and we are trying to bring this to light.

Feminism is for everyone. It’s about giving each person the same opportunity as the next. Women don’t want to dictate everything you do, we just want to be able to do everything you can do. We want equal rights, we want equal pay and we want control over our bodies without judgement.

If there is one person who can explain it better than I can, it would be Australian Idol superstar, Drag Race alumna and winner of Celebrity Big Brother Year of the Woman; Courtney Act. Please watch this clip, start thinking and be a part of a very feminist future!

One of the most important parts of being a teacher, at any stage in your career, is reflection. Anyone looking into teacher education does so with the knowledge that they will always be learning; both in terms of the curriculum areas and in terms of bettering themselves to ensure the best outcome for the children they teach.

Today we were tasked with writing a post reflecting on something from our first semester that has impacted our professional development. My first instinct was to write about my slightly disappointing assignment grade for the Values module. A completely average and perfectly acceptable grade for my first university essay but one I was not happy with. I could write for days about how this will make me a stronger essay writer and how getting used to receiving criticism will make me a stronger teacher. However, I feel like this is the obvious choice. When I really started to reflect on last semester, I realised that the essay isn’t the thing that has impacted my professional development the most; I am.

Allow me to explain. I feel like I have made so much progress even just after the first semester. A lot of it is to do with personal goals to about confidence and self worth but of course they will impact my teaching just as much as some academic goals. I have grown in terms of what I believe my abilities to be which is something I’ve always put myself down for. This growth makes me want to learn more and makes me excited for the future rather than scared of it. This is going to make me a better teacher because I finally feel like I can be good at it and also because I now understand that if we can make children enjoy school and find it interesting they will want to learn; and ultimately do better. If we want better academic results and motivation from children we need to make them more willing to learn. This comes from higher levels of confidence and self worth. Of course I already knew this but now I understand it.

This is why I hugely value the curriculum areas that focus on bettering the child personally. RME and PSHE are extremely important to me because we can use them as a means to build the child up from a personal level; not based on ability. We have the chance to make children feel like they are worth something and this is why I want to be a teacher.