Category Archives: Contemporary issues

Moving on

I always knew I wanted to teach. This, I now know, is due to the pleasure I get from seeing others succeed and the knowledge that I helped them achieve their best.

After transferring from MA Education to MA English lit. I decided to use the skills I had gained through the MA Education program to earn a little bit of extra money whilst I completed my studies. I advertised as a private English tutor, helping pupils studying at high school but in their own homes. Not only did this deepen my own understanding of literature, it made me realize that teaching was indeed the career path for me. I had a natural ability and I needed to do something with it.

For the past 3 years I have attended various CPD events, mainly through Medica. These training events and seminars were not only a great opportunity to learn about supporting children with additional needs or young people with mental health or developmental disorders, they allowed me to meet with other professionals across the country and share knowledge with them. It really inspired me to stay focussed on my chosen career and start thinking about how I could achieve this.

I continued with my English and Film degree, tutoring pupils in my spare time, started volunteering at my local church youth club and visited several secondary schools both state and private. When Spring 2018 arrived I knew I was ready to take the next step. I applied to study PGDE secondary English at UWS in Ayr. Within weeks I had an interview and in less than 24 hours I was accepted.

It will perhaps taken me slightly longer (one year extra) to graduate in my chosen career path but I am glad I did it this way. Had I not enrolled on the MA Education program, I would not have had the confidence to tutor after transferring to the MA English and Film program. It was tutoring that made me realize my aspirations.

There is no direct route that fits all. Teachers come from all sorts of different backgrounds with varying areas of experience and I believe it is this that creates an inspiring and inclusive enviroment for pupils to learn in. Personally I would like to thank both Derek Robertson and Richard Holmes at the University of Dundee. It was ultimately both of these wonderful lecturers that inspired me to become the best teacher I can be. They were passionate about their subject, engaging and really took the time to get to know their students. Derek made a point of aknowledging that not all teachers come from a traditional background or early on in their careers. He was right. Diversity does indeed feed inspiration and creativity. I have seen this first hand through my own practice. Thank you so much all the staff at UoD.

Blogging about blogging!

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When I started writing in my first blog I was extremely anxious. I wanted to be enthusiastic. My University second year peers will tell you I am a very good communicator. I love to talk, discuss and debate different ideas and points of view with others. So what was the big problem here?

It was that moment when you hit submit. I now realise exactly why I was nervous. When I speak to someone, I can get an idea of how my thoughts are being received. Really obvious things like a yawn or a slightly arched eyebrow are key indicators that you are either speaking nonsense to the person on the receiving end, or you are boring them to tears. This immediate reaction is there when you are having a face to face discussion. With a blog it is out there for the whole world to see and all I can do is sit and wait for comments to appear, or worse, nothing to appear. I was also concerned about how I would be perceived as a professional. I’d heard many horror stories on how teachers could risk their chances of employment, registration with the GTCS and respectability amongst peers, parents and pupils due to their on line profiles.

My first blog was typed up in three days. I know this is a ridiculous amount of time to be spending on a blog post. It wasn’t that it took me three days to write it, I just kept re-drafting it. So many questions were running through my head.

“Does this make sense to every one else? Am I dragging this out? Is it too formal? Is it too informal? Is it even relevant to Education? Should I re draft this just one more time?”

I had resisted the urge to read other blogs for fear that I would subconsciously imitate their style or copy their ideas. I wanted to make sure that my first post would be personal, reflect the sort of person I am and share my original thoughts. I eventually gave in on the morning of day three. Why had I not done this sooner? Everyone had completely different styles. Some were more formal whilst others were like an informal discussion. Some were long and interesting whilst others were very straight to the point. That is when I realised that I was worrying over nothing.

Today, as I write my seventh post, I had a look at posts my peers had published. I have been reading them regularly since that first post, but this time I had a more critical eye. What did they do that I could perhaps incorporate into my posts? What did I see that was exciting or different? What didn’t work so well, so that I could avoid making the same mistakes? It really made me think about not only how I write, but how I present my writing.

I have been making use of images when I feel that they have a purpose. I have not been using an image unless I refer to it within my post. Other students have been using images almost as an illustration to compliment their post. I felt it made reading them much more exciting and interesting.

Video links are also a great way of going into further detail. I have seen a few posts where people have discussed an activity they have tried out and reflected on how they felt it went. I have also seen videos where people have carried out the activity on camera to demonstate how they did something.

(As an example, here is Derek Robertson talking about and using makey makey)

By making a video it makes it easier to grasp. I think it would work well putting the two together. A video within the post demonstrating the activity and a reflection on what they think about it within a post. The post could include theory gained from reading material and links to studies that support or repute the value of the activity on pupils’ learning. Not only does it give a bigger picture to the reader, it shares valuable knowledge and skills with peers and breaks up the reading keeping the reader interested.

I will continue to post on a regular basis. I am beginning to focus more on why I am writing rather than what I am saying. I’m not saying that it is appropriate to write anything but when I think of why I am writing posts, it actually helps me focus on what to say. These posts are my reflections. I will be able to look back on them in years to come and track my progression. Every teacher I have spoken to has emphasised the importance of sharing feedback, knowledge, ideas and resources. I will be embracing this culture and try to embed it into my own personal philosophy. As my blog states;

Learning is life’s most exciting journey that has no end.

I feel that my writing style may change and adapt as I become more experienced. I feel that I currently flip from a formal academic style to a more friendly discursive tone. I think it really depends on what I am writing. If it is my own personal thoughts and feelings then of course, it will come across as more relaxed. If I am exploring an area of research that focusses on education and pedagogy then it will have a more formal style.

I hope that in time I can find a balance but in the meantime I will keep sharing my thoughts.

The importance of the past looking at the future.

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My memory of social studies at school is that it was a delivered with mixed quality. I remember one particular lesson on how Roman people lived. The teacher must have spent hours if not days sourcing various foods. Root ginger, dates, olives, grapes, baked apples, rye bread, a huge variety of spices and a vast amount of dried and cured meats were expertly presented on a long table in the open area of the school. It was a true feast that any Roman warrior would be proud of. This lesson has stuck in my mind clearly. Not only do I remember discovering my love for dates and disgust at dry cured ham, I remember my teacher telling me how servants took tremendous pride in their cooking and presenting skills. Food was not just for fuel but a work of art and used as enjoyment and entertainment. It signified a massive change in food culture and in history. (I have incidental been doing a bit of food history myself and came across this great website http://cookit.e2bn.org/ )

Our Viking topic a year later was not quite as inspirational. A school trip to a Glasgow museum where a member of the museum staff expertly presented 33 uninterested 9 year old children with artefacts and information that made no sense and had little relevance in our young minds at all. We were not interested in the slightest.

The story of Titanic, expertly linked in with art and technology however, created a buzz of excitement! Not only was it 1997, the year Leonardo DiCaprio made his début, much to every 12 year old girl in my class’s delight, but our class teacher planned fantastic practical and creative lessons to engage us in the topic.

Looking back at those early introductions to social studies now, I can see exactly what our teachers did to excite us. They chose to investigate something that we were already interested in further. Depth and progression was an intrinsic desire. I genuinely wanted to know and understand more. It really was that simple. Mrs W. knew from previous lessons and getting to know us that we loved trying different foods and cooking. Through food technology this history subject came alive. Mrs F. couldn’t help but hear us giggle about the painting scene in the modern fictional Titanic remake.

It is having this confidence and insight that I believe is vital when planning lessons. The ability to link the topic of study in with other areas of the curriculum is important, not only so the lesson is active and engaging but it is also encouraged through the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence.

Social studies experiences and outcomes encourage links with other areas of learning to provide learners with a deeper, more enjoyable and active experience.

Social studies: Principles and practice no date, c. Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/curriculumareas/socialstudies/principlesandpractice/index.asp (Accessed: 19 January 2016).

I feel that I perhaps lack in the ability to come up with creative and original ways of linking cross curricular subjects. I tend to find ideas and inspiration from colleagues or online. It is not that I don’t have a great imagination; I just tend to over think things and make them overly complicated. I then panic and doubt the original idea in the first place. I would like to build my confidence in this area. I will speak with other teachers whilst I am on placement and find out how they plan their lessons. This may give me some insight into how I can develop and refine my planning skills and build confidence.

In schools today Social studies is not all about History, Geography and Politics. It is not simply reading facts from a book or marking coordinates on a map. It is about how history has shaped the world we live in now. Why the world is landscaped the way it is and how we influence it. It is about linking current culture and the way we live with the world around us. Issues such as civil war, terrorism and global warming are increasingly being brought into the classroom. During a lecture recently, it was emphasised just how important it is to tackle these issue and I cannot agree more. In this digital era where pupils can clearly see what is happening in the world online and on television we cannot ignore their questions. Talking about current issues within the classroom provides a healthy atmosphere for debate and discussion which can lead to a better understanding. An article in The Guardian discusses this and also points out the importance of teaching pupils about respecting others beliefs views and opinions.

Marsh, S. (2015) Open, honest, reflective: How teachers are handling questions about the Paris attacks. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/nov/19/open-honest-reflective-how-teachers-handling-questions-paris-attacks (Accessed: 19 January 2016).

I feel that I have developed an understanding of others views, opinions and beliefs and can respect them. This was partially due to my upbringing, my friends and a very enthusiastic and open minded politics lecturer whilst I was at college. I do need to recognise that not everyone has had the upbringing or life experiences I have had and are not always so accepting of others’ views.

I have decided to focus on three areas within social studies this semester to develop my skills and abilities further. The first is gaining confidence in my ability to link the topic being investigated across other areas of the curriculum. I will do this by observing and speaking to other teachers and my peers. Secondly, in order to understand why certain people have certain views or perhaps struggle to grasp a particular view, I will be researching the community that surrounds the school I attend on placement. This leads to my third aim, to have the skills and knowledge to use what is relevant and meaningful to the children in the class. I will look at the village’s history, landscape, facilities and how it has changed over time. By doing all of these things, I feel it will give me much more confidence when taking a social studies lesson or activity