Social media.

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Social media can be a touchy subject when it comes to the profession of teaching. Everyone undoubtedly these days is on some form of social media whether it be Facebook, twitter, Instagram etc. it has had a very positive impact on the world, and the lives that we live today. There are many great things that we can do with social media and the internet, and now most of us can’t imagine our lives without them. However when it comes to teaching and social media, there can be a dark side to it.

Most children these days also have access to social media and usually are up to date with the latest technology. Personally from experience with my younger siblings, it fascinates me how much more children as young as 7 know about technology compared to me at 17. Children can often end up in a section on social media they are not supposed to be on. For example, they may be watching a video on YouTube and click on one of the suggested videos, which may be completely inappropriate for a child to be watching. This can also come in to effect, especially when a child reaches upper school ages, that they have a tendency to ‘google’ if you like, their teachers. We are all guilty of it. I can recall from being in high school, a group of us searching for some of our teachers on social media although I cannot think if a valid reason as to why we were doing so. Therefore it is our duties as teachers to be very careful with our social media sites and what we are posting on the online world.

The first steps that I feel are crucial when it comes to the profession of teaching and social media, is that we ensure all our profiles are private and only accessible to our friends only. Although it may seem very restrictive, if teaching is truly what we want to do with our lives, then it should be something we should be willing to sacrifice. We need to think twice before posting online, especially if we are teaching within our own community in which we may be friends with any pupils’ parents. A major thing that we need to be careful with is photographs of ourselves that are posted online. Our professionalism also exists the classroom with us when we leave. We need to make sure that no one is uploading or we ourselves are not uploading any type of photo that may get us in any kind of trouble or put our job at risk. With social media, it can have a huge impact on our careers, and it can have multiple consequences if we are not careful, thus we need to be very critical with ourselves and how we portray ourselves on the online world.

This being said I also do think that social media is a great asset to the teaching community. As teachers we can set up separate accounts to engage with our students online, in a fun and engaging way. Social media is something that is constantly developing in the word, and something that is not going to go away, thus we should be engaging with it within a classroom. It is most common that negative connotations spring to mind when speaking about the subject of social media and the teaching profession. Although this is something we need to explore in to and steer more towards the positives and begin to realize the many benefits social media possess to us as teachers.

After doing a bit of research in to social media and the classroom, I came across this video, and I found it really interesting in demonstrating the positives of using social media within a classroom and the benefits children get from using it in their learning.

https://youtu.be/riZStaz8Rno

self-esteem

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Self-esteem is something that in life, makes us who we are. Some people have a really high self-esteem where as others, struggle with their self-esteem. Self-esteem itself, is a person’s own emotional evaluation of their own worth. It is their confidence within themselves and also their attitude towards themselves.

Self-esteem is something that as student teachers, we really need to think about. For us as teachers, we need to make sure we have a lot of self-esteem to portray it to our pupils. We need to be confident in our work and with ourselves to demonstrate a good example to our students. If we can do this then our students will notice and will perhaps begin to see the importance with having a good self-esteem.

Having a healthy self-esteem.

There are many things that having good confidence within yourself has proven to have effect on. For example, people with high self-esteem when going through a bad time in their life, are more likely to come through that stage easier compared to those with a low self-esteem. People with high self-esteem are also more likely to achieve things successfully that they may have felt slightly apprehensive about trying, for example stepping out-with their comfort zone. Having a high self-esteem can also impact a person’s academics, as a person is more likely to do better with their work if they are confident in themselves, compared to someone who is not confident in themselves. This shows the importance of having a healthy self-esteem, and shows us as teachers, how vital it is that we pay attention to children and their self-esteem.

Having a low self-esteem.

It is also proven that having a low self-esteem can cookie_low_self_esteem_2 have an effect on you and the person that you are. People with low self-esteem think badly on themselves and also think that others also think badly of them. This can impact a person dramatically, and can also eventually impact ones health in more serious cases. People with low self-esteem, although maybe not on purpose, are often very negative people. This may only be the case with themselves, and not towards others, however it plays a dramatic part on their life. People with low self-esteem can often find it hard to concentrate on other things such as their school work. With this said, it clearly highlights the importance in our roles as teachers that we pay attention to a child’s self-esteem and that we try and help our students with their self-esteem.

As teachers we need to be careful with a lot of our methods as they may have an impact on a child’s self-esteem and how they value themselves. One of the most important things we as teachers need to look at is our feedback to pupils. We cannot be constantly giving the same pupil the exact same feedback or even giving all the students the same feedback. If we are doing so the pupils will become confused and could start to doubt themselves. Also if we are giving all the children the same feedback they may begin to question whether or not they are doing well or if the teacher ‘is just saying that.’ Also if children are split into set ability groups, we need to be careful with the way we are teaching the two groups. If we begin to teach and act in a superior way with one group, we need to consider how the children in the other group are feeling and how that may impact the way they view themselves. Separate groups for learning can have a huge impact on a child’s self-confidence and can dramatically knock a child’s confidence down. However it also works the other way. It simply would not be fair to children who excel in certain subjects to not have separate groups, as the children may not realise that they are excelling compared to if they are aware of it, they will grow a sort of good confidence in themselves. It is also important that we do not always spend a little extra time with certain students or are constantly picking the same students to answer questions, hand out recourses or to go on messages. Even though these are very simple things, they are things that children will notice, and if they are not one of those kids, then it will have an effect on them and how they view themselves.

Self-esteem overall is something that we as teachers need to value with every child. Every child that we come across will be very different, and we need to be prepared to work with each of these children and be prepared for any challenges that we may be faced with. As teachers, it is vital that we pay attention to each child and try to make an attempt to have a positive impact on each child that we work with self-esteem.

Languages within the classroom

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Languages have always been something that I have been very passionate about, after studying them in high school from first to sixth year. I studied both French and Italian from standard grade right up until higher. Despite the fact I have studied languages for so long, I personally feel like my French and Italian is still not at a level in which I could have a conversation with someone from France or Italy and this got me thinking.

I began to do a lot of research into languages and how others learn them, and one thing I constantly kept seeing over and over again is that we learn languages easier when we are really young, compared to when we are older. So the question I would like to ask, is why are we not enforcing languages upon primary schools from as young as primary one? If it is proven that children pick up languages easier compared to teenagers then why are we waiting until high school to teach them languages. Personally I even feel that we should be teaching the basics of languages such as numbers and colours to children in nurseries so that they are beginning to pick things up.

I then looked in to the 1 + 2 system being brought in to primary schools and it made me intrigued in to what languages would be getting taught and how they would be getting taught. The first language I came across that was being taught was French, and this slightly annoyed me. It got me thinking why we are always teaching French. Why French? As a country we are no longer doing as much trade with France as we used to. We used to do a lot of trade with France before we have things such as planes and trains, as we only had boats, so then it made sense for us to be learning French. However this is no longer the case. Since we now have various modes of transport we now do most of our trade with countries such as japan and china, therefore it would make sense for us now to be teaching languages such as mandarin, Japanese etc. It is clear that if a child is learning languages as such, and they were able to gain such qualifications, then it will massively impact their futures as big companies will be looking for people who can speak these languages.

Another thing I began to think about is our ignorance as a country with languages. It almost appears as if Britain has a fear of learning languages. When we go abroad we almost expect to speak to a foreign person and for them to know English, although when a tourist comes here we expect them to speak English to us, and do not make an attempt to speak their language. It is ignorant as a country, as personally, I believe that this is an issue that the government need to look further in to.

Languages have always played a big part in my life and they are something that I constantly wish I was better at. This year I am sitting a language module and I am hoping to see an improvement with myself. In the years to come, as a teacher, I hope to have make a huge impact on children’s lives with languages and it is something that I cannot wait to teach within my classroom.

The SPR part 2;

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Integrity;

* Demonstrating openness, honesty, courage and wisdom.

This first point explains that as teachers, we have got to be approachable and open with students so that they sense from you that they are able to approach you and speak to you about anything they would like to talk to someone about. This also applies to staff, as staff should also feel comfortable that they can approach you with any matters they may have. We need to be honest as teachers although especially when it comes to younger years, we cannot open up and be too honest about everything. It is important to find the right balance. With this said, I personally feel that it is important to set realistic goals for students and be honest with the goals we set, so that no one ends up with goals, far out of their reach, or goals that are too easy to reach. When it comes to courage and wisdom, it refers to us as teachers being able to take risks within the classroom and being able to try new things with the children. Being wise enough to know what is right and wrong, but not being scared to make mistakes with in the classroom which is vital as we will then learn from our own mistakes. It is also very important for us as teachers to remember that life goes beyond the classroom and that students not only learn English and maths with us, but hey learn important life lessons from us, thus we have to have a simple sense of wisdom on things such as manners etc. for children to learn these things in the correct way.

* Critically examining personal and professional attitudes and beliefs and challenging assumptions and professional practice.

This statement sort of summarises deciding how you want to be as a professional, the way you want to be in the classroom. Looking at yourself and deciding what type of teacher you want to be. You shouldn’t be scared to stand up for yourself if a college questions you on your teaching methods etc. Making sure that you are achieving your personal goals and goals within the classroom so that you are gaining from them. If you are setting goals for yourself and the class before the day begins and they are achieved, then it shows that you are a dedicated teacher.

* Critically examining the connections between personal and professional attitudes and beliefs, values and practices to effect improvement and, when appropriate, bring about transformative change in practice.

This third point, develops on the second point. You can have your own personality as a teacher and bring that in to the classroom, however if you have a certain belief then you cannot bring that in to the classroom and attempt to be persuasive over the children with your beliefs. It refers to you thinking about how you can improve your teaching as a whole and thinking about how you can change things in the classroom and make them better as a whole.

The SPR part one.

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Social justice;

* Embracing locally and globally the educational and social values of sustainability, equality and justice and recognising the rights and responsibilities of future as well as current generations.

When referring to sustainability, we should be thinking as teachers how we can actively engage a child to learn about sustainability in the world, for example, renewable sources of energy, recycling etc. Personally I feel as this is an issue which needs to be taught more in schools across the country as it is an issue that is never going to go away, until we do something about it. Therefore if we are educating children on these issues, in a fun engaging way, for example asking them to bring in old plastic bottles, cardboard boxes and showing them what can be done with them, then they will start to see the benefits for sorting out these issues and learning about them. Not only is this an important issue for us as a population but we need to start thinking about the upcoming generations. Thus if we are educating the generation in place at the moment, it will not only impact there future, but others futures too. When referring to equality, we as teachers should be educating children on multiple things. For example people from who come from different social backgrounds, from different cultures, who are different through gender, age and also through their sexuality. As teachers we need to ensure that we treat everyone fairly, as everyone in our classroom will be different. Then we will be promoting equality for everyone. We need to make sure children are aware of all types of different people, and also that they realise who they are too. Having equality in a classroom is vital, as it also brings a nicer environment for learning within the classroom for every student. Social justice is a term I have heard multiple times throughout my life, although I have never truly came to terms with what is actually meant by social justice. From my understanding so far, social justice is the belief that everyone has the right to equal social, economic and political rights and opportunities. Although I am not entirely sure how to relate social justice to a classroom environment and how I would go about teaching children it, it is an area in which I plan to do more research in to so that I get a more fulfilled understanding of it.

* Committing to the principles of democracy and social justice through fair, transparent, inclusive and sustainable policies and practices in relation to: age, disability, gender and gender identity, race, ethnicity, religion and belief and sexual orientation.

This second point, touches upon following school policies and rules. Although many schools across the country may have different rules for their students, I am certain that all schools agree that one of their main rules is that there is no discrimination within a classroom. I feel that in today’s society this is a vital rule to have within a classroom as everyone nowadays is so very different, thus as teachers we in no way can tell a student that their beliefs etc. are wrong! As a teacher, as previously stated, we should be educating children on equality, and if we able to demonstrate equality within our teaching, then children are likely to follow. If we as teachers come across any discrimination in a school, whether it be teachers or students, we need to ensure that we take the right actions in dealing with it immediately, to ensure that the issue is resolved as quickly as possible.

* Valuing as well as respecting social, cultural and ecological diversity and promoting the principles and practices of local and global citizenship for all learners.

Again following the other points, this point touches upon equality within classrooms. Also we should add for this point that as teachers we should be making sure that within the classroom everyone feels they are being treated equally and that they are conscious of that their classmates may be from different social backgrounds or cultures. This point also touches upon that we should be teaching children from a local and worldwide perspective. We need to be showing children that there is more to life than the classroom. For example, personally I feel that this is why we need to make more of an importance on things such as doing foreign exchange (not within primary schools, but upper schools) or doing things like setting up pen pals for primary students. They will get to see the world through someone else’s perspective which is a really important thing we should be allowing children to do. Even simple things like reading stories or watching videos about people from other cultures will help to educate a child on equality.

* Demonstrating a commitment to engaging learners in real world issues to enhance learning experiences and outcomes, and to encourage learning our way to a better future.

When looking back at primary school, I can never really recall learning anything about issues that were going on in world at the time. In a way I feel like I have missed out on something, thus I value the importance of teaching children about things happening in the world around them. We should be encouraging children to be watching the news, looking at newspapers, especially in today’s society when there is news shows such as Newsround, just for kids! It is important that children are educated in an honest manner on what is going on in the world around them. We should be encouraging children to engage with what they have learned about what is going on by asking them how that makes them feel or asking them to report back, and even simply encouraging them to ask questions about it and talk to one another about it.

* Respecting the rights of all learners as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and their entitlement to be included in decisions regarding their learning experiences and have all aspects of their well-being developed and supported.

The last point of this section is pretty important within a classroom. As teachers we should be encouraging children to engage with their learning and express what they would like to learn or how they would like to learn. We can do this through very simple things such as giving them a few topics and asking them which one they would be most interested in, asking them to select their own reading book to write a paragraph on why they enjoyed it or did not enjoy it, or even simply asking them to do a vote, on what subject they would perhaps like to look in to first thing on a Monday morning. If children are doing what they want, then they are more likely to engage with the task at hand, and learn something valuable from it.

Online 2

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Reflection;

Although I had never really thought about reflection in my learning before, I now have come to understand that reflection is a crucial part of our learning process, and is something that can make an impact on our learning. Through reflection we need to be critical with ourselves as it will help up to learn from our own mistakes. If we were not to reflect back on to our work, we would be continuously making the same mistakes over and over again. Reflection is crucial in teaching, especially as students when we are on placement. When on placement we should be reflecting back on our day and looking at certain methods that we used through-out it to see what works and what does not work in a classroom.

Through reflection we are able to see any areas in our leaning which we may need to change or any areas that are in need of improvement. One of the most important things we need to remember when reflecting, is to be crucial and honest with ourselves, as if we were not there would be no point in us reflecting. If we do not identify any areas that we have failed in or not done particularly well in, then we cannot expect to do well the next time we come to do it. Although it is also crucial that we pay attention to the things that we have done well so that we fully understand what is was we done well, so that we can do it again.

Overall I believe that refection is a very important part of our learning process and it is something that as student teachers, we should be doing almost on a daily basis, if we want to improve our work and learning.

online unit 1C

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Active learning

There are many benefits that can be taken away from the practice of active learning within a classroom. Things like taking students outside to learn or having them participate in various activities within a classroom can help them to remember things more than from just sitting listening to a teacher dictate a lesson. Also through active learning students can work together on tasks which will get them speaking to new people enhancing their social skills. Through this they will learn how to work with people from different backgrounds and attitudes. Also as teachers, we can ask the children working in a group to give one another feedback or to observe one another. This way students will receive feedback on their work straight away and more often. They will also see how others learn and may find a way that suits them better and helps them in their learning. Active learning is also a great way to enhance a child’s self-confidence as it gets them speaking out and doing activities with others, compared to sitting silently in a classroom. It is also better experience for the student as they get to do activities which are enjoyable, which in the long term, will be more beneficial to their learning.

Cooperative learning

There are also many benefits that can be taken away from the practice of cooperative learning within a classroom. One thing I have noticed from being on placement is that from working as part of a group, children ‘translate’ if you like, what the teacher is saying in to a form of language that is easier for the children to understand, therefore making the task seem easier to them. From working in small groups, children learn to listen to others viewpoints, which they may have the same view, thus they are able to work together to develop on that point. Also if there is part of a task that one student does not understand and another does, they are able to work together to ensure that they both finally end up understanding both parts. Not only do students have fun learning in groups, it also motivates them as they wants their group to do well. Often teachers have targets for students working in groups, such as group point, therefore the students within each group will want to work more and they will achieve more from their learning as they have something to work towards.

online unit 1B

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Recognition/ Reflection	Action
What helps my learning?	How can I utilise this?
Example: “Discussing the topic with others”	· Set up a study group of like-minded peers· Engage with the online community
Keeping my stuff organised	Print off any notes and slides and organise them in to categorized folders
Working with others	Organising ahead of time to meet with others and to do some work. For example, meeting in the library.
Set times for learning	Planning my day ahead, setting reasonable times of the day to study and work.
A target to work towards	Setting myself goals to get work/studying done

Recognition/Reflection	Action
What hinders my learning?Example: “I am easily distracted”	How can I address this factor? · *Study in a place were distractions are minimal* · *Read lecture notes before the lecture and then take notes lectures to keep me focused*
I am easily persuaded to do other things	Turn all mobile devices off and make sure i cant access any social media sites during study.
Prioritising my work	Concentrate on what i struggle with more than what i am good at
I leave everything to the last minute	Set times to do the work, and not leave it untill the day before

online unit 1A

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Skills and Abilities	1	2	3
Self confidence		X
Manage time		X
Listen to others			X
Computing skills	X
Generate new ideas		X
Set personal goals			X
Take risks			X

Recognition	Reflection	Action
Skills already developed	How will I use these	How do I know (evidence)**
Listen to others	When working as part of a group, when others want to express their views and ideas	I am able to work well with others and understand and recall their views and ideas on a topic. I can reflect back on their opinions.
Set personal goals	Setting targets for revising, exams, and work that needs to be completed.	I often set myself targets to reach when it comes to work or set a deadline for it.
Self confidence	When it comes to presenting things, or working as part of a group	I am able to present confidently and take part in small group discussions.
Manage time	Making sure I am always in time for classes. Separating time for socialising and studying.	I am always on time for lectures and I set myself times for studying.
Generate new ideas	Coming up with ideas as part of a group or new ways to help my own learning.	I am able to come up with new ideas when I am working in a group
Take risks	Being willing to try new things maybe out with your own comfort zone.	I am happy to try out other people’s ideas.

Recognition	Reflection	Action
Skills not yet developed	How will I develop these	How do I know (evidence)**
Computing skills	Ask other people for help, and practice using online	When it comes to working online,
Self confidence	Getting to know more people on the course, join a sports team to know more people.	Although I do have self-confidence, I need to work on it more so that I feel more confident for example, speaking out in lectures.
Manage time	Make sure I stick to the times that I have set.	I am good at setting myself time to work although I often do not stick to the time.
Generate new ideas	Write down any ideas I have and feel confident enough to share them.	I am good at coming up with new ideas, although need to work on using these with others and sharing them.

Professionalism tdt;

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Patience. For teachers, patience is key. It is the ability to accept delay, trouble or suffering without becoming angry of upset, something that teachers must have. As a teacher, we may not always know the background of the student or what their home life is like, and it things like this, that may affect a child’s behavior in a classroom. Therefore we must be patient when it comes to a child’s behavior and not be too quick in becoming annoyed or upset.

Empathy. This is the ability to understand and share the feelings of someone else. It can be quite a challenging skill to have, although every child is different, thus every child has different feelings. As teachers, we should be a person who a child feels they can come and speak to about anything, so we should be understanding for them and easy for them to discuss any issues with. Therefore empathy is a key ability to have as a teacher.

Self control. Personally I feel that this is one of the key abilities that a teacher must have. it is the ability to control your emotions, behavior and desires. If someone does something to annoy you, it can be very easy to loose your temper, although this is not something that you can do in front of a class full of young students. As teachers we need to be able to control ourselves, so that children are able to look up to us and respect us.

Respect. We as teachers want to gain the childrens respect, and the obvious way for us to do that, is to respect them. We can not demand respect if we show none. Respect is a feeling of admiration for some one else because of their qualities or achievements. Children will come in to classrooms with all different sorts of qualities and achievements, thus we need to learn to value and respect all different sorts of children, as children are all different. If we want to gain their respect, we must show ours.

Fairness. Coming back to the idea that every child is different, as teachers it is crucial that we treat all children the same. No child is above or below another. It is the act of treating people equally, and a classroom must be an equal environment in which kids are aware of that also. There should not be one child who feels that they are in any way below another child, and as teachers, it is our responsibility to create that environment.