Category Archives: 2.2 Education Systems & Prof. Responsibilities

Out with the Myths and in with the Maths!

When I first got to our first Maths input, I was really looking forward to it as I haven’t attended a Maths class in four and a half years (AHHH). Tara started us off with drawing a scale and we had to mark the scale depending on how we felt about teaching Maths- 10 being extremely confident and 1 being far from it. I put myself into the middle of the scale; I liked Maths at school, but it definitely did not come naturally to me. I got a huge fright when I completed my NAT 5 prelim and I got a D. I was so disappointed! I kicked myself into gear, got a tutor and worked super hard, managing to bag myself a B.

The fear of failing deterred me from having a go at Higher Maths– which I completely regret now. The maths myths that we discussed really got me reflecting on my past experiences with Maths and I began to realise how much they had influenced me. I was someone who excelled at English and could imagine myself enforcing the “I’m an English person, not a Maths person” myth. Although I don’t regret getting my tutor, I remember feeling that I had to get a tutor in order to pass.

Tara’s reassurance that you did not have to be utterly fantastic at Maths in order to teach it really assured me. After the first input, it is clear to me now that my enthusiasm to tackle Maths will actually be beneficial when I come to teach the subject on placement. I hope my eagerness to become confident in Maths, will be reflected in my teaching and will motivate the children and impact their own learning and perspective on the subject.

This new perspective that I have now gained has me thinking about the relevance of maths while, simultaneously, combating the myth that Maths is not needed out with schools, other than just life-skills Maths. This is something I am considering to explore in my assignment, while also looking at the interdisciplinary side of Maths that Tara has emphasised a lot to us.

Overall, I am grateful to have this new appreciation for Maths as it will certainly help my pre-placement jitters. I am excited about furthering my knowledge through the NOMA and other inputs, but also during the STEM module in second year; I think it is a great idea to reintroduce some of us to these subjects that we may have been closed-minded to due– again– to the myths enforced on us.

The ever-changing society who is incapable of change.

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This week, our Value’s lecture really hit me hard. Not purely based on the content– the history of the Civil Right movement and that of feminism, is not new to me. Most of us would have heard the horrors through school and so forth, but it is scary how used to it I was hearing the stories. Which leads on to the main point of this blog: How many times do they have to be told before it makes a difference?

In the lectures we were told of the great escapades of the Suffragettes and the Suffragists but there was no mention of the men that were a part of the movement. In the past, I have looked into this out of curiosity, although there numbers were small compared to dominant, small-minded males who rejected the idea of woman with power at the time, they were there. You would think overtime with the ongoing development of the movement and the growth of male representation in the would be significantly higher and the opposition would be not so intense. But then we were told of one of the presidential candidates of Brazil’s comment that some woman were “too ugly to rape” . Even quoting that disgusts me! Where’s the growth- the progress? This is a man who will possibly come into a lot of power. Is there an inevitable cycle of volatile men, who carry on these oppressive believes due to learned behaviour?

It is clear from the lectures this week that there has been a lot of progress in civil rights. The separate but equal rules seem ridiculous now and there are many strong Black Americans in places of power with respect, who are still rallying for more progress. But the rights of the gay community were touched on also, and I think it is easy to say that they are still are facing so much injustice. Panti Noble’s speech touched me as it was so honest and with her quick wit and humour that allowed so many of us to engage with her story. It is unacceptable that anyone should be ashamed of living, dressing, or acting a certain way- their way. I have started to immerse myself in Dundee’s drag scene; sometimes you hear of or witness the ill treatment that the LGBT community face. Sadly, it is often turned into a joke to entertain us during the queen’s shows and make light of an emotional heavy situation- but the wound is still there and this is their way of coping.

The discussion of Emmet Till’s murder made me think of story in the news earlier this year of a young boy who committed suicide due to bullying from older kids because they thought he was gay. Gay or not, this young boy was a child. Why are people still being attacked because of who they love or for who they are? Why do people believe they are superior to another because they do not share the same skin colour or sexual orientation? Why are these differences so different? We all come from the same place; we all share the same biology. But then, do we all have a heart?

I continue to use the word ‘story’ as if these events were a fabrication of fiction, told to scare us. But these are facts. True events of hardships that a lot of us are utterly unaffected by. The horrible experience’s the lecturers told us of seemed to have achieved so much for their cause at the time, but how far have we really come? Emmett Till death was so tragic that I would have hoped it would haved ended all suffering and fear among Black Americans there and then. But it didn’t stop. The lectures really made me think if there will ever be an end to discrimination and racism. What will it take? We’ve heard of the heroic characters such as Martin Luther King and the brave Suffragettes. Both made history, yet, King lost his life and woman were still not fully recognized as equal. It made me really wonder how, as a teacher, am I able to make change or even if I will be there to witness the end of such social injustices. I know I will treat my classes with the kindness and fairness they deserve, but how can I shield them from the outside world? I can try to prepare them, but why should they have to learn to build up such an armour to protect them for others who may treat them unfairly for just being themselves?

This blog post is a entanglement of facts, questions, anger, hope and is clearly a bit of a jumbled mess. But what is so different about the world today?

Structural Inequalities and the Dreaded Half Mark

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Our first Values seminar was a brilliant deceit and I ate it up.

It began with our tutor giving each group a envelope of goodies- and by goodies I mean a load of random stationary- which we had to use to come up with a concept that would have helped us when we first started university. At first we just stared at the items, waiting for the big idea of how to turn blue-tack and a rubber band into this brilliant showcase of an idea. But we had nothing. Nothing that we felt confident to present. We started to look around at the other groups and were shocked at the coloured paper and pens being aired about. Not only did it upset us, but we got so distracted by the other group’s items that our weak attempt of ‘making do’ and ‘covering it up with a bit humour’ was just not going to cut it.

When it came to the presentation, it was easy to say that our tutor had her favourites. She had endless amount of praise for the colourful Free Parking badge presented by one group but all we could salvage for our idea was a half mark. Yes, not even a full mark- a half! It was mortifying. I felt dumb, like we did something wrong. But what more could we do?

In the end, this was a lesson of structural equality and very good performance on the tutor’s behalf. It was such a real and powerful way to really put ourselves in the shoes of those kids that, without any fault of their own, didn’t have as much as others. I knew this was prominent in schools, but to really get a feel of it has opened my eyes and will impact me as a teacher in the future. It amazes me how such a simple lesson can really take effect. It excites me so much for future lessons if this is how they make me feel.

The seminar got me reflecting on my past experience in a school, where I have seen this type of inequality and the stereotypes that comes with it. I was asked to work one-on-one with a ‘troubled’ boy who needed a little extra help. But instead of giving him work that was deemed a bit more ‘his level’, we completed the same work as all the other pupil but with a little bit more attention and praise. He thrived, felt so accomplished and it was clear he didn’t think he could do the same exercises as his peers. I think it is important that we acknowledge a child’s background but not use it to put them in certain categories. It is vital that we treat pupils fairly and as individuals. It makes them feel valued and evidently, improves their performance and confidence.

I will never make a child feel as though they do not have the right to the same opportunities as others. I understand there are obstacles , but it is with the awareness of such issues that emphasises the need of strong teacher-pupil relationships. This allows children to feel like they can raise the issue of inequality if they were to feel it’s impact.