Category Archives: 1 Prof. Values & Personal Commitment

Racism and Patriarchy

Tuesdays lecture all related to Racism and patriarchy. During the lecture, I gained a much broader understanding of both topics

During the first half of the lecture, we learned about the issue of racism and its prominence through the 18th century. I learned how even though it is nowhere near as bad in our society today it is still a major issue that needs to be addressed. We heard various stories from both past and present such as the story of Emmet Till which took place back in 1955 and the story of Stephen Lawrence which took place in 1993. I knew a little about both of these events but during the lecture, I found out a lot more. It showed me just how appalling the issue of racism was and I believe that if it had been a white person involved in either of these events neither of them would’ve taken place. As a teacher, I will be working with children from all different backgrounds, this lecture reinforced to me just how important it is as a teacher to treat everyone equally and with the same amount of respect. 

The second half of the lecture was on patriarchy and its prominence within society both in the past and in the present. We saw many photos that showed how women were addressed and treated by the media and men. One of the slides that caught my attention showed women being told how to dress. In one picture it showed women back in the 1920s at the beach being told what they were wearing was too short. In another photo, it showed a woman again at the beach this time in 2016 being told what she was wearing was not appropriate. This showed me that even though we have progressed massively, there are still problems that exist.  We also watch a video called “like a girl” which highlighted gender stereotypes as it showed a group of people of different ages and genders imitating how girls do certain things like running and throwing. Most of the people were imitating the girls as weak or not capable apart from the young girls. This showed me that as a teacher it is very important to show both genders that they are just as capable as each other and that if hard work and dedication is put in they can achieve anything.

Overall, this lecture was very informative and thought-provoking. It showed me how important certain issues are and how they can be prominent in classrooms as well as the outside world.

Values Workshop

Four envelopes, four groups, one task.

Our first workshop for the values module was, to say the least, eventful. Each group was handed an envelope which contained some resources that we had to use to complete the task. Our task was to make something that would benefit a first-year student on their university journey. Our lecturer also told us that we were going to receive a mark out of 10 for the finished product, this seemed relatively easy.  However, when we opened up our packets we quickly realised that this was going to be a harder task than first thought as all our packet contained was:

  • 2 sticky notes
  • 5 paperclips
  • an A4 piece of paper
  • blu tack
  • 2 elastic bands

Upon further observation, we saw that other groups had better resources than us, for example, one group had scissors, multiple sheets of coloured paper and tape. When the group saw all the supplies they had we were confused, however, we worked on the task with the resources that we were provided with and tried out best to make a functional piece of equipment that a student could use. We decided to make a map of the Dalhousie building as most of the group felt that it is quite a hard building to understand as there are so many rooms. We used all our equipment and we were very proud of our end product, even though we felt we were at a disadvantage.

When our lecturer went around all the groups and asked them to present our ideas, we were looking at the group with loads of supplies with envy. They received a score of 9/10, it was now our turn to present our idea and finished product, we presented it with enthusiasm and pride but yet when we received our score which was 3/10 our spirits were brought down massively. We felt cheated and very hard done by. She then went around all the groups and asked if they had noticed that all the groups had different resources. Whilst the two groups who had the most resources said no, as they were too engrossed in making their product, my group and the other group, who had also not been given that many resources said that it was the main thing that they noticed.

Our lecturer then proceeded to link this to how we treat the less fortunate or disadvantaged children. She explained that if you asked the members of your class to go home and make a rocket ship out of the materials that they have at home this may put some children at a disadvantage. A child from a privileged family might come in with a huge rocket made of loads of different materials, that mums helped them make, whereas, a child from a less privileged family might come in with a small rocket made out of few resources, that they’ve done all on their own.

This showed us that we can not discriminate against children from disadvantaged backgrounds as it is not fair. It opened our eyes to the fact that just because they don’t have fancy materials, doesn’t mean that they haven’t put the same amount of effort or work in as a child who has a wide variety of materials to work with.

Growing up a teacher

“Because no two days are the same”‘ almost every teacher has said this when asked about one of the main reasons they love their job- and it’s undoubtedly one of the reasons I want to become a primary school teacher. In the classroom experience I have had, I have learned that this statement is definitely true and it excites me greatly. Teaching is not just about children learning to read, write and count, it’s also about developing life skills, helping children grow as people and, perhaps most importantly, playing a major role in shaping futures.

The fact that both my parents are teachers meant that I was afraid to tell them I wanted to be one as well. However, I feel that they were the people who influenced me the most because every day I was exposed to how rewarding the job was but also how much hard work it involved and how you can’t just turn up to the school at 8:30 and leave at 3:00. I therefore felt that I saw the real and true aspects of the job and thus was not going into the job with “rose-tinted spectacles”

Welcome to your WordPress eportfolio

Welcome to your ePortfolio. This is where you will document and share your professional thoughts and experiences over the course of your study at the University of Dundee and beyond that when you begin teaching. You have the control over what you want to make public and what you would rather keep on a password protected page.

The ePortfolio in the form of this WordPress blog allows you to pull in material from other digital sources:

You can pull in a YouTube video:

You can pull in a Soundcloud audio track:

You can upload an image or pull one in from Flickr or any other image sharing site.

Teacher, Lorraine Lapthorne conducts her class in the Grade Two room at the Drouin State School, Drouin, Victoria

You can just about pull in anything that you think will add substance and depth to your writing.