Monthly Archives: September 2018

Understanding ourselves

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This week in Values we discussed the history and current state of affairs mainly regarding racism and patriarchy.

I thoroughly enjoyed re-visiting African-American racism history in the USA, I would like to look into the history in the UK further. I have been brought up around traveling to different countries such as living with a family in the Gambia when I was young and being emerged and living in poverty. Consideration of different cultures is normal to me but I wonder how true I am to not making assumptions or identifying with stereotypes, and how this would affect my practice. I hope to reflect and engage on this further for my professional development.

I am now reflecting on how my role as a teacher involves gender equality. My passion for teaching girls that they are equal to boys and to never feel inferior. I believe if this was installed in me more when I was young I may have chosen different subjects at school that were boy dominated, would feel more confident in my skills and abilities, I may have looked to my male friends differently and have a different role in society.

Therefore, I hope to create a classroom that supports children in their individuality.

Skills and abilities

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Activities for unit 1 Personal and Interpersonal Skills and Abilities

  1. Identifying Skills and Abilities

Activity 1

  1. Below are a list of skills and abilities. Complete an audit of where you are now. Record this in your learning journal/portfolio.

Rate yourself (1=Not very well developed; 3=very well developed)

Skills and Abilities 1 2 3
Self confidence                     X
Self-discipline X
Team Work                     X
Act as a Leader                     X
Listen to others                      X
Write for academic purposes                    X
Computing Skills                  X
Be Creative                     X
Problem solving                    X

 

Activity 2

  1. Complete the audit below, using the information from the table above.
Recognition Reflection Action
Skills already developed How I will use these How do I know (evidence)**
Self confidence Having self-confidence will support me in having a positive attitude towards my studies and practice. I have started to build confidence to allow me to provide lessons and presentations to the best of my ability. This should come with gained experience and knowledge.
Self-discipline I feel I have existing self-discipline through the work I have managed to complete in my recent college. During my time at University, I hope to develop this to aid my planning and organisation.
Team Work I have always felt this was a strength and enjoyment of mine. I feel confident in completing tasks in a group. However, I feel this will be worked on through being more confident in how to share opinions with other professionals such as Social Work and CLD.
Act as a Leader Acting as a leader is an important skill as a teacher to be in control of their classroom and have an identified person for the children to look to and be guided from.
Listen to others I have always felt this has been a strength of mine. This is a key skill in this profession for good communication which will convey important information.
Write for academic purposes I started working on this skill in my HNC, this will be worked on to raise it to a University academic level. This will help to effectively portray what I will learn throughout this degree.
Computing Skills This is an important skill in teaching, especially in this modern technology era. I will continue to develop this skill through online learning, planning, PowerPoints, spreadsheets etc.
Be Creative This is crucial in teaching to create engaging lessons where the children’s enjoyment overcasts the thought of learning and is exciting. This can consist of hands-on learning, imaginative learning, and artistic skills.
Problem solving Throughout my studies and continual learning and development I will meet areas of difficulty and problems. Developing the skill to accept issues and how to work around them will be key to improve my resilience.

 

Recognition Reflection Action
Skills to be developed How I will develop these How do I know (evidence) **
Act as a leader Over the past year I have made it a conscious effort of mine to improve this skill, with talking in front of a larger number of children and professionals. This year I will develop this skill through a similar means as I will take control of planning and delivering lessons. I will also take more of a leadership role over my professional studies.
Organise and plan I will continue to develop this skill over my studies and into my placements. Over my time in primary classes, I will organise and plan to suit children’s needs and prepare with appropriate resources.
Debate formally and informally I will debate with other students in others in my seminars, online class and in general conversation.
Build social networks I will build networks and connections with new professionals through my studies and placement. Social networks will also exist with other University students.
Think critically I will develop this by reviewing my essays, my planning, and my lessons. This will provide context for future learning and development.
Generate new ideas I will try to develop this skill by being creative and looking towards new and innovative practice by researching, discussing and brainstorming.

Being unequal

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This week I took part in a seminar where we were separated into groups to create an item which would benefit 1st-year University students. We opened an envelope, provided to us, which revealed a few miscellaneous items. We were taken back by this but continued on to develop an idea. However, after describing this to our lecturer she was not thrilled at the idea. At this point, we looked around the room to discover other groups were given more materials and were being praised. We then presented a last-minute new idea to the class, which was rated lowly by the lecturer. I felt disheartened at this point that I didn’t connect well with my lecturer, that I wasn’t creative or smart enough with my idea and didn’t display the correct presentation skills.

It was then announced this was a lesson from the lecturer to reflect on how inequality can exist in the classroom. I have been in a lucky position in my education to have had lots of resources, activities, and support for my learning. However, in this seminar I thought ‘this isn’t fair’ ‘I can’t do as good as them without the same stuff’. This, in turn, brought structural inequalities to reality. I, therefore, have the responsibility to be ever-aware and respectful of the different levels of inequality I could be involved in teaching. As a teacher, I should create a classroom which is built on;

  • equality
  • communication
  • trust
  • integrity
  • social justice
  • inclusion

This should ensure that each and every child can attain well and meet their personal and general development targets, in line with Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC). This seminar made me reflect on how children should not be taught equally but with equity. Within this, a teacher must discover the needs and wants of each and every child and tailor the child’s learning to the best of their ability. Instead of how I was treated in the lesson of this seminar I would lesson plan to be level and individual appropriate, I would provide each group with a fair amount of resources, I would provide praise to each group with positive and constructive advice  and I would provide each group with a reasonable score on their work.

 

 

Why primary teaching?

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From writing in my primary 7 leavers book that my dream job was to become a teacher I have made it a point of mine to pursue leads towards this. Whether this was childminding, volunteering, work experience, and placement I have always enjoyed the atmosphere and the creativity which comes with working with children, parents/carers and other professionals.

I am fascinated by the opinions and interests across the age range of children and am always keen to engage with them. This includes the questions children have, the topics they would like to learn about and how I can support and guide them. I feel I have had many positive experiences with children where I have made a difference or impact in their life from which I will never forget. It is these moments which I can clearly recall from years in the past which reinforce my desire and potential to be a teacher. However, teaching is a profession which has scared me in the past and still does, whether it is the responsibility, skills or abilities I must possess. It is this however which challenges me to continue learning and develop throughout my adult life for a rewarding cause.