The complex matter of Gender

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Gender. Not too long ago, all over the world, the answer to “What is gender?” would without a doubt be ‘Male and Female’. To this day, for many people, the terms ‘gender’ and ‘sex’ are used interchangeably, and thus incorrectly. As we have come to learn, the issue goes way beyond these two boxes. So what is it, really? In my opinion, the closest to a realistic definition we could get, would be saying it is a scale; a spectrum.

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‘Kind and Caring’

Yesterday on This Morning was broadcast an interview with Lucy Alexander – the mother of 17-year-old Felix who, in April of this year, was driven to suicide by continual bullying. She decided to take action and wrote an open letter to not only the bullies, but also teachers and other parents who might find themselves in similar situation at some point. The reason why I am writing a post about it from the point of view of an aspiring teacher, is mainly because I find it extremely important to raise awareness of such issues. If a mother of a child who committed suicide finds the strength to publicly speak about it, I would consider it our duty to contribute as individuals as much as we can and help to spread the message.

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Why #BlackLivesMatter and not #AllLivesMatter

Now, before you call me out based on the title, let me clarify this. Very obviously, all lives do matter. Whatever your race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, (dis)ability; Your life matters.

Then why is it so crucial that in times like these, we spread the message behind a simple hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, rather than promoting that we are all equal and every single one of us deserves to be treated the same?

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A Czech student in Scotland. Why? ✈️

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Hello all.
My name is Barbara. I come from a small European country called the Czech Republic; Yes, that is the one East from Germany and right below Poland. The one with Prague, also yes. If you wanted to mention beer, you would be correct as well. My point is, I’d lived in a place majority of people haven’t even heard of, ever since I was born until August 2016. Neither of my parents or any close relatives know how to speak English. Having moved to Dundee, I find people are unexpectedly surprised by my decision to study here and possibly pursue a career in a country rather far away from what my “Home” is.

I wanted to create a summary to which I would come back each year as I progress with my studies (and further career) and reflect on it.

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Why teaching❓📚

That question; I could not count how many times I have been asked about my decision to pursue a career in this particular sector. I am assuming it always goes like this, people still partly look at you as a child and cannot wrap their heads around the fact that you have made a life transforming decision.

To be honest, during these past few months I have learnt the short answer to it by heart.

“I just really love children and I imagine working with them will leave me feeling rewarded at the end of each day. That’s what I expect from a job; knowing I am doing something that makes me happy and someone else benefits from it at the same time.”

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