Category Archives: Blog
Health and Wellbeing
The Glasgow Effect
Today within Society and Lifestyle we were discussing health and at risk behaviours. We were asked to read ‘The Glasgow Effect’ document that looks at deprived areas in the UK (Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool) and examines the mortality rate within these areas.
From reading the document, I found out that even though income rates are almost identical in these cities, premature death in Glasgow is 30% higher, with all deaths 15% higher than Manchester and Liverpool. Around half of these deaths under 65 are directly related to alcohol and drugs. The way I interpret this information would be, by living in Scotland, culture must play a huge part in the mortality within Glasgow compared to Manchester and Liverpool. Scots have a 50% higher risk of having heart problems compared to those in England. Scots are famous for drinking and eating unhealthy so being engrossed in the culture could be one of the main reasons for such a high mortality.
‘Excess’ mortality is greater within the working class, ages 15-44 years (45% higher) and 45-64 years (30% higher) although childhood mortlity was significantly lower in Glasgow compared to Liverpool and Manchester. Glasgow statistics – 27% higher for lung cancer, 32% higher for external causes, 70% higher for suicide, 2.3 times higher for alcohol-related causes and almost 2.5 times higher for drug-related poisoning. Between 2003-2007 there were more than 4,500 ‘excess’ deaths in Glasgow. For deaths under 65 almost half of the excess was due to deaths from alcohol related causes (32%) and drugs related poisonings (17%).
From this document, I gathered that a high mortality rate is related to how deprived and area is, although Glasgow has proven that it isn’t the only cause of excess deaths. It is only a small part of a large topic that is still being studied.
To what extent are Scottish people healthy?
I would guess, without looking into it, that Scotland is not a healthy country. Scottish culture is predominantly unhealthy – whiskey, shortbread, irn bru, haggis – all of which Scots embrace.
By looking at the Scottish Health Survey, some of the statistics would strongly back up my initial thought. Mental health is a big problem in Scotland. Between the ages of 16-24, 23% of women had reported self-harm, many including attempted suicide. Poor health is strongly associated with living in a deprived area (34%) compared to more wealthy areas (18%).
Relating to the Scottish culture, binge drinking is a huge problem for the country. 36% of men and 17% of women admit to drinking more than the government advised safe limit – 14 units. I found this statistic untrustworthy as I would definitely have guessed that it was higher, especially because drinking has become something that is common from a young age. Also, 21% of the population of Scotland say they smoke.
Lack of physical activity is also a problem within Scotland. Men are more active than women. Only 26% of adults meet the guidelines for moderate of vigorous physical activity. This relates to the 65% of adults being overweight.
Inclusion and Equality
Today I found Inclusion and Equality a really interesting topic. I think inclusion and equality is a big problem that is kept under the surface and sugar coated when it should be something we are paying attention to everyday.
Throughout the day, my attention has been drawn to Peggy McIntosh’s “invisible rucksack” discussing ‘white privilege’. From reading the 50 statements available in the PDF, I could relate to a couple of them because of being young and female but the thought of someone experiencing anymore than a couple seriously upsets me. I feel ignorant that I haven’t completely thought about these statements and I’m glad they have been brought to my attention. It also upsets me that people in the world can inflict these feelings onto others and I’m hoping being more aware of them will allow me to avoid inflicting these feelings on others.
I chose question 2, as well as 3, to discuss as I felt that one of the reasons I hadn’t noticed the “invisible rucksack” was because my school did an excellent job of creating an equal and inclusive environment.
Question 2
Think about the last school you attended as a learner.
Were all learners included?
Majority of learners were included, although my secondary school had a high percentage of none-English speaking students that I feel weren’t included.
What makes you think so?
By not having English as their first language, they weren’t fully involved in the learning and were also put into different level classes making it difficult for them to feel included and be involved in all aspects of learning and teaching.
Were all learners valued?
I felt all learners that contributed and tried were valued.
What makes you think so?
Many students didn’t want to be in school and didn’t try or work hard. I felt as though this caused some teachers and other pupils to value their work or attendance to the class lesser than students who worked hard and contributed to class discussions/work.
Were all achievements valued?
I would say yes.
What makes you think so?
Our secondary school had many different forms of achievement and I feel they were valued just as much as the next e.g. exam results, sport competitions, eco club etc.
Were all abilities valued?
Yes.
What makes you think so?
Everyone had different abilities and capabilities and the school valued and supported everyone’s differences.
Religion, Society and Diversity
Within todays lecture and tutorials, I was made aware of some theorists involved when studying religion and also how to apply their work to exam questions. I also learned some extra information about religion and the different types of religion/sect/cult.
I feel like I would understand the main concepts and issues of religion with further reading of notes and theoretical approaches. As it was the first day, class changes and rooms were a tad unorganised which interrupted some learning, however I’m sure this will all be fixed for next week.
There is nothing that I have struggled to understand as of yet, however this will be to do with the small workload we have at the moment. Concepts and issues seem easy to follow as I have a great interest in the module topics.
I feel as though my knowledge of religion has developed today because I have never studied it in a theoretical way and I’m interested in what has to come from this module. I’m sure later on in the module there will be areas that I will have to improve but I am unaware of these at this moment.
This is the first module that we have had peer-ran tutorials and this is something I will have to improve on. It is easy to get distracted when left to my own devices, however the topic of this module is interesting and will hopefully keep me engaged and wanting to learn more.
Reflections on Placement
Placement was a very worthwhile experience for myself. It was great to see how another school worked, how it was ran and the moral of the teachers in the school.
I felt as though one week was far too short. When I first saw all the placement tasks that we had to complete I really did panic and wonder how I was going to get them finished on time and give them all as much attention as the next. I felt as though, especially task 5, was a huge challenge. It was only on Thursday I felt I had enough information to start observing certain children’s language differences – strengths and weaknesses – which then didn’t really give me loads of time to really observe them properly and understand why they may have these differences.
The overall experience of the school was great. I felt comfortable and appreciated which really boosted my confidence and allowed me find out information I wanted to know by asking questions and not feel silly about anything I said as I was there to learn. The school was very supportive of me, giving me loads of opportunities to develop my skills within the classroom and school setting.
Strength
I feel my main strength would be my presence in the classroom and how to engage and interact with the children. A couple of years ago I started a 12 week block placement with college and felt as though my first impression in front of the children was not the strongest. I ended up being more of a friend than a teacher because I wanted the children to like me which I feel is normal although this was changed when I worked in an after school care. I learned the I had to develop a ‘teacher-aura’ rather than a friendly relationship and I feel this really showed throughout my week in placement.
The evidence I have to support this would be through my verbal and non-verbal communication. I spoke confidently to the children and groups of children and constantly reflected on volume, pitch, tone and speed. The children would listen to my instructions and follow them giving me a good demonstration of how effective my communication skills were throughout the week.
Area of Most Progress
The area I progressed in the most, I would say was learning to change the way I speak to benefit my audience. I was with Primary 1 and learned that slower, clearer instructions were needed to enhance the children’s learning. I also found that enthusiasm was the key to keeping the children engaged and on task.
I also used this when talking to other members of staff around the school. I got a great understanding of the conversations that go on between teachers and how they help each other out, its not just everyone for themselves which was positive and reassuring to see.
Area Requiring Progress
From peer and self observation I would say the area that requires progress would be allowing children more of a chance to answer/writing/speak before offering help or support. I noticed that the combination of becoming mildly impatient when someone doesn’t know an answer and wanting to help everyone isn’t great. I felt I was too quick to do things for them without letting the children use their own initiative.
Action Plan
My action plan is to take a step back and allow children to be more independent, especially the young children. That is the one of the ways that children learn the difference between right and wrong. I feel like I need to work on my patience and self control, encouraging children when answering instead of answering for them.
