Category Archives: 1 Prof. Values & Personal Commitment

Strategies to Support Pupils

I have firstly chosen to focus on mindfulness as a strategy in the classroom which can help improve children’s HWB. Mindfulness focuses on elements such as calmness and breathing techniques, and gives time to think and reflect. I have seen this used in practice before alongside yoga and growth mindsets, and it also seemed very effective for classroom management. Mindfulness gives children the tools to detect when they might feel overwhelmed for example, and so can start to slowly breathe in through their nose and out through their mouth. This can even be done throughout teaching time and allows them to take a few moments to calm down and think carefully and mindfully about how they are feeling/ why they are feeling this way. This can promote self-regulation and is a self-soothe method which helps children understand that they are able to control their emotions, and that it is natural and normal to sometimes feel the need to take a breather or a minute out. However, some children might face difficulty with mindfulness as they may still need to be co-regulated and may be unable to recognise when to take part in independent breathing to calm down. Mindfulness can take time to develop in the classroom.

The second strategy I am interested in is generally just having positive relationships with the pupils to support them (also with families, community, other services and colleagues where appropriate). I would of course like to give children that sense of belonging and connectedness, and this can be done by developing positive relationships with the children, and another strategy, ’emotion coaching’. Creating these relationships means that I can have open conversations, give support and ensure the child I am always there for them if they needed me. However, I would not encourage them to become dependent on me, but instead use me as a safe space to share feelings and have them validated. Having positive relationships with colleagues also has an affect on the children if for example I need to seek advice or have a professional discussion about an issue regarding a child. I, or they, may need support too.

Looking into the strategy ‘Emotion Coaching’, this also promotes relationships between pupils and teachers, encouraging self-regulation and nurtured environments. It states as teachers we should recognise unsettled behaviours, validate them, remind the child of boundries, and help them solve the problem. I would of course like to offer this to pupils to ensure they were happy and healthy, and model this behaviour also to promote independent, self-regulation skills.

Reflecting on Key Values

Maths has changed my thinking…

It’s time to accept critique.

Leave a reply

I have come to realise that reflection is a crucial part of becoming a teacher. Taking constructive criticism has always been difficult for me, and over the first semester, peering into second, I am beginning to understand why it is essential, and why I should encourage people to watch over my practice and assess it. I understand that we cannot improve without critique. If we weren’t reviewed by others and ourselves, we would repeatedly be in the same position making the same mistakes, and for the interests of the children, we must use our professional development to benefit them and improve the quality of our practice. Education is an ever-changing profession, things such as the curriculum and legislation have changed over the years and it is up to us to stay in-date with relevant issues and topics, as well as policies and regulations to give future generations a good, informed education.

Reflecting becomes important after lessons in the sense that we should always evaluate what went well and what could have been better. We should continually ask ourselves “How have the class responded?” and “What are my next steps?”. Although you may be challenging some of the children, maybe for others it was too difficult, which caused them to be disengaged. If a lesson in misunderstood by the whole class, there is of course no logic in progressing further and deeper into the subject. Next steps should be to adapt the lesson and maybe even our style to engage the children and encourage their understanding. Reflection allows us to answer questions such as, “What from your teaching has prevented the children from understanding?”, “Have you challenged the children enough, or too much?”, “What could I have done better to improve the children’s learning?”. Pulling out our own abilities and developing qualities from the lesson can encourage our personal development in order to enhance children’s education.

In semester one during the working together module, I figured that speaking up and getting my voice heard wasn’t at all a bad thing. It was best for my group to get my opinion, as when we are qualified together, speaking up is important for the children and young people we will work with. Also in semester one, my involvement was restrictive and therefore restrictive to my learning. Moving forward, my confidence should continue to grow and I should ensure I get involved and keep up to date with reading, as I have found how much this can benefit my studies.

I feel my realisation for personal development and reflection was at the beginning of semester two. I only began truly reflecting when we started our second semester and had a dance workshop. When I realised in the dance workshop that actually, getting involved can be enjoyable and that everyone in my class was in the same boat, I no longer wanted to be the shy girl I was in primary school again. I wanted to enjoy every moment of my studies, including through dance. I decided there that I would try to give everything my maximum effort when possible and that I should stop being embarrassed to participate. My confidence was limited in semester one and I thought speaking out in a lecture was a rather daunting thing. However, semester two has already taught me that getting involved heightens my learning and that I should believe in myself more. I should try to speak up in a lecture if I have an answer, I should try to throw myself into new things when appropriate, and I should definitely take constructive criticism! Not everything will be perfect, and sometimes, some things change depending on the day. It is now crucial for me to regularly reflect, otherwise, I would still be that shy girl from primary school, and not the best version of myself.

The Little Change in the World

2 Replies

After the input on Tuesday’s lecture on Values, I found myself slightly itching with how uncomfortable I had felt because of how little the world has really come over so many decades. The realisation of the fact Racism is still so current honestly disheartens me. I will never understand why people of 2018 still think it is acceptable to judge someone from simply the colour of their skin. Why does this matter so much to people? Groups like the Ku Klux Klan are still present to this day, from around 1865. Surely after 100+ years, political responses and Civil Rights movements should be enough to change someones mind about how we are treating others. Why is this not the case? Why did Rosa Parks stand her ground on that bus, just for the future to still contain racism? Why have millions of people marched for rights, just for their children to still be brought up in this world, which has changed so little?

In the news, we are still faced with racist stories and headlines every so often. We hear of a black man being shot in America because “he was posed a threat”, however was nothing of the sort. I never realised how lucky I am to be a white, female, UK citizen until this input. It was astonishing to say the least, to see a quote from only 2016, claiming, “they hate white people because white people are successful and they’re not,”. My eyes have been opened to a different way of thinking – a deeper way – to understand why racism is still apparent.

While watching Clint Smith’s TEDTalk on “How to Raise a Black Son in America”, I was pushed to see an insight to a black child’s life growing up in America. Children are having their childhoods almost stripped when they are simply trying to live their child lives, making mistakes and building resilience. However, Clint Smith recalls of a time with his friends in a low-lit area having fun with water guns, hiding and dodging behind cards, then quickly being taken by his father with an “unfamiliar grip” back inside. His father apologised to him, explaining that he “can’t act like his white friends”, hiding behind cars holding a fake gun. Parents and their children are existing in fear and cannot afford to make any mistakes living in America around white police. It is an extremely sad reality.

Regarding the police force, interesting statistics showed that in 2010, 10.5% of white people were drug users, with only 5.8% of black people being drug users. However, the stats for being stopped and searched show that black people are 6x more likely to be stopped than white people. Why should black people have to put up with this? How does this make any sense? A percentage of black people are also sceptical that the country will make changes for racial equality.

I am certainly not saying I was unaware of racism existing, but the amount of it is overwhelming, and in my opinion, the changes in the world have not been enough over the years. We must strongly influence change on the upcoming generations to hopefully change future opinions, because racism is unacceptable.

“All human beings belong to a single species and are descended from common stock. They are born equal in dignity and rights, and all form an integral part of humanity.”

– UNESCO 1982

A Student Teacher’s First Blog

1 Reply

A frequently asked question: What made you want to be a teacher?

Honestly, I don’t have a specific reason as to why I would like to become a teacher. So many things over the years have contributed to where I am today, influencing my decision to apply for Primary Teaching. However, there are key elements which I can highlight which I have taken from my own school experiences. Firstly, my primary 5-7 teacher is one of the biggest reasons I am studying at Dundee University today. Over the 3 years, she got to know me on a personal level, knowing my interests, abilities and preferences. To me, she was more than a teacher; she was a friend, a guardian, and a safe place to confide in. The relationship we shared was created over the 3 years we had spent together, her caring nature captivated me, influencing me to begin my career path as a teacher.

Throughout high school, I began to doubt my career options. I varied between midwifery/nursing, and early years practice/primary teaching. I felt I wasn’t good enough to be teaching future generations, until I met my new art teacher in S5. She is another key character in my teaching journey, who continually encouraged me to keep going with my studies to ensure I achieved the best outcome from school. She sat with me while I researched the teaching roles and helped me with my personal statement for University. She was truly there for me when I needed support and I will always appreciate that.

These two women are the passionate, considerate, inspiring role models who I took a lot of advice and motivation from, and are part of the many reasons why I am aiming to be a teacher. I want to bring the same, supportive, approachable role model to my future pupils, and offer them a warm, comfortable environment, similar to the experience I was lucky enough to have.

Another reason regarding my want to become a teacher would have to be based on how much I really enjoyed school, and the people there who were around me. The primary school I attended, in a considerably deprived area, is now the primary school of the majority of my younger family. In high school, I felt embarrassed to admit where I had attended P1-7, due to the stigma around my scheme. It took me a while to realise that it does not matter where a school is situated, it is about who is inside, that makes it a successful school. My 3 sisters and I (age range 11-31) attended the school, and now their children attend. The auxiliary nurse still remembers all of our names after all of these years and still welcomes us back with open arms whenever we visit. The school’s staff always ensured you felt comfortable, and still continue to do so.

To me, education is about shared learning between enthusiastic teachers and willing pupils; it is about a thriving environment with multiple opportunities to offer; it is about the relationships, the bonds and the personal progression of everyone inside. All-in-all, to me, education does not matter where it is situated, and it is not just about mathematics and literacy, it is so much more.