Uncategorized – Kelsey Mclean UWS ITE ePDP

Stress Hardiness ™

After reading through the ‘Pengilly & Dowd (2000) article on Stress Hardiness’ I have found that there are several factors which can have a negative effect on your health. Some of these factors include: normative life transitions, non-normative life transitions, lack of human contact/touch, loneliness and lack of social support.

To begin with, normative life transitions are life events which can be expected or predicted. Examples are retirement or moving home. These types of events can cause stress which impacts an individuals life negativity however, non-normative transitions are more likely to cause the most long-term damage.

Non-normative life transitions are life event which cannot be predicted such as divorce or loss of a job. Effects caused by non-normative life transitions include: neurotic impairment, coronary heart disease and cancer.

Human contact/touch is a necessary and vital part of basic human nature as it helps to show various emotions and allows for individuals to connect with others around them. There are many positive effects gained from human touch, some being: stronger hearts, lower blood pressure, decreased stress levels and overall reduced tension. However if someone isn’t exposed to human contact they do not receive the benefits therefore damaging their health in the long run.

Loneliness is a term often confused with alone. However, both are completely different. Being alone means in the literal sense whereas being lonely is the feeling that no matter how many people are around you, you still feel lonely. Loneliness can have negative effects on the health of individual as it can cause extreme depression, decreased immune system, promotion of unhealthy behaviours, excessive reactions to stress whilst also leaving the individual 4x more likely to get sick.

Social support is having someone there who you can talk to and who can help you through your problems and any other thing that is bothering you. These people can include however are not limited to: family, friends, colleagues, help lines, help groups, educational professionals, your partner etc. If there is a lack of social support, then the individual may experience damaging effects to their health. it may lead to: negative feeling towards themselves, higher levels of stress, decreased life expectancy, longer recovery times from surgery, increased need for medication in some chronic illnesses and the promotion of negative health practises.

Factors which can help in supporting a healthy lifestyle include:

Religion and spirituality
Family Support
Physical fitness
Coping mechanisms
Sense of control

Holmes Rhae Scale

I want to start this blog by stating that I am already aware that I am a very anxious person. I worry a lot and get stressed extremely easily, which leads me to suffer from regular panic attacks.

My reading on the ‘Holmes Rhae Scale’ backed up what I was already aware of. After adding up my score, I received a terrifying 325. What shocked me most about this was that my friends and the people around me were all in the low 100’s whereas I was nearly triple that. This score implies that I have a high chance (about 80%) of having a major health breakdown in the next two years. This is information is not new to me, I know that if my mind frame does not become more positive then I could be at serious risk later on in life.

I am forever in a constant battle with stress, be that good or bad. Though some flourish under pressure, I crumble. There is always a voice in my head telling me something is wrong, or I didn’t do that right or that I am not good enough. Though to some this would seem bad, to me that is just my life. However, I’d like to think that upon starting University this year things have gotten better because of the new mind frame that I am in.

My social support has increased greatly. I am now surrounded with individuals who bring out the best qualities in me, people who I am confident around and who are always there for me if I need them. In some sense they are my figurative security blanket, always there to reel me back from a stressful situation.

I would say that although there is still stress in my life, that is inevitable, I am finding better ways to cope with things. As a form of escape, I like to read, Anything from Stephen King to Veronica Roth. It is my favourite way to focus my mind into thinking about the positives and not the negatives. Walking is another thing that relaxes me, a nice walk with my dog early in the morning is what regulates my breathing and allows me to analysis and evaluate my situation.

A factor that any realist needs to take into consideration when relating to stress is what you feel/look like physically. I know that I am not physically fit and no matter how hard I try I cant shake the habit of comfort eating. Exercising is something that I enjoy to do (believe it or not) however, I have no one to do it with and that in turn makes me to self-conscious to start. A method to deal with this for me personally is to just put my earphones in and do what I came to do, which is a lot harder than it sounds.

I want to finish by highlighting that although I am naturally stressful, I try not to let that impact my life daily. I know there is always someone there to talk to, be that family or friend, to help me fight that little battle. There is also several coping mechanisms that I have developed such as bit my lip or play with my fingers, which in the right situation, helps me through my day

The ‘Glasgow Effect’

The ‘Glasgow Effect’ is a government paper which explores different equally deprived UK cities and how they each experience different health outcomes. The study compares various groups in Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool, showing that although all three cities show almost identical levels of deprivation, the results in health largely differ.

The results highlight that all-cause mortality in deaths under 65 for Glasgow is more than 30% higher compared to Manchester and Liverpool. Glasgow was also seen to have a higher percentage (14%) in the all deaths category with a higher suicide rate and alcohol/drug related death rate out of the three cities.

These results emphasize that despite the three cities showing almost identical levels of deprivation, Glasgow has the most problems in regards to: binge drinking, drug addiction and suicide. To provide fuel to the fire, Scotland as a whole is seen as the unhealthiest country in Europe, we have extremely poor health habits in regards to eating right and exercising regularly. This though, is just seen to be part of Scottish culture, with the famous ‘deep fried Mars bar’ coming to mind, each possibly playing an influence in the results of the ‘Glasgow Effect’.

I believe that although, Scotland as a country is deemed the unhealthiest country in Europe, it is important to remember that not everyone in Scotland has that mind-frame. It is all to do with attitude towards health in general as well as an individual’s socio-economical background. The government are taking precautions and setting new legislations to help the young people of Scotland, providing more opportunities for them to take part in sport and to gain the information they need about healthy eating and diets.

Inclusion and Equality

Today I learned several different things, all of which interesting, few of which I fully understood. There was lots of information being thrown at me from all angles which I feel led to my comprehension of certain topics being a little hazy.

I will start with something that I really need to work on, though maybe not as significant now, but I know nearer the exam I will be freaking about over it. Scholars. it is that simple, I just don’t get why there are so many names that I NEED to remember for one topic. I understand that relating opinion to theory is a major thing however, so I need to work on remembering (and learning) scholars and their views/work on that particular area.

Now for what I enjoyed the most, or what I understood the quickest. I really enjoyed learning about ‘The Equality Act 2010’ and also ‘Allport’s Scale of Prejudice and Discrimination’ as both were extremely interesting with both of them being new to me. Before the lecture I was unaware of both now however, I have went home and researched both more widely and come to learn more about them both, sparking my interest into looking at the rest of the module as a whole.

I feel okay in terms of learning Inclusion and Equality for the exam although I am well aware that I must work through example questions and research more thoroughly in order to gain the most out of today.

Unchurched Spirituality

It has taken me well over a week to comprehend what was taught in our last lecture. everything was said to fast and there was SO much information to take in all at once. religiones

Nevertheless, one thing discussed that intrigued me was the whole concept of unchurched spirituality. in the lecture, it was highlighted to me just how little I knew of religion and the different ‘branches’ within. Take for example snake handling. Before the lecture I thought it was just some gag in the Simpsons however, I learned that it is a rea thing. Therefore, in order to broaden my knowledge, I have since went out and researched more widely on the topic. We also spoke of the criticisms of unchurched spirituality and how the concept is portrayed/seen throughout society.

I wish that there was more time within class to go over the topic of ‘Religion and Society’ as I am still unsure about certain aspects however, I am going to continue my research into the topic as to help me successfully pass the Society and Lifestyles module.

Religion, Society and Diversity

Today was a day full of information, maybe a little bit too much. It was extremely daunting walking into the first lecture today as many of my friends at UWS have said ‘Society and Lifestyles’ is the hardest module to pass, knocking my confidence before I’d even met the lecturers. I feel that I can confirm that this module will indeed be the hardest. Nevertheless, it is also the module that I am most interested in and so I hope that may work in my favour.

I learned a lot today about what was expected from me, as the learner. This looks to be a difficult module and so it will be beneficial in the long term for me to fully understand the layout of the course. However, a knew aspect that I also learned today was the different approaches to religion (i.e. the ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ approach). Before the lecture, I was unaware of the different ways that religion is taught or understood. This leads on to the important philosophers in regards to religion, one in particular being Ninian Smart. Phenomenology is a term that was first introduced to me today and I have since in the hours upon leaving university researched thoroughly to ensure full understanding.

As a whole, I have understood everything that was ‘thrown’ at me today despite some of the teaching being new to me. We were given the opportunity to research a theorist of our choice (out of the three given) and I chose Bronislaw Malinowski. I chose him because I liked his name, however upon researching him, I found I liked his theories more. Malinowski believed religion played a huge role in regards to the primitive side of society. Giving individuals a leader was a sort of security blanket, a way of explaining things that are not deemed as normal. He thought religion to contain several scientific laws that in turn prevented any chaotic behaviour. A relatable example being that as we have policemen to ensure that everyone follows the law, keeping everyone safe in the long-term, religion allowed individuals the psychological release to not live their lives in fear of the unknown.

After today, I have not identified any particular concepts or issues that I am struggling with. I believe this is due to me having a passion for learning about religion and philosophy. Despite me not being religious, religious education has continued to be my favourite subject right through my school years. However, I am a firm believer that you can never have enough knowledge and so I will continue to research and study the different components of religion and the effects that it has in society.

My knowledge of religion within society has certainly increased. Before today, I was not aware of just how much of our lives is affected by religion. Religion is incorporated throughout every aspect of our society, no matter the context in which it is placed. As a future primary teacher, it will be my job to educate children in all aspects of religion, from the beliefs of individuals right down to the social relations. It is understandable that some parents, carers and teachers may not feel comfortable teaching children about the various religions and their influences for multiple reasons however, in order for society to function, I believe that knowledge of religion is extremely important. When I think of religion, prejudice is a word that is synonyms.

It is easier to judge someone because they are different from you than it is to educate yourself on why. The debates on banning the burka in France are prime examples of prejudice, being that many people associate them with previous terror attacks rather than the actual religious beliefs behind it. The religion seems to be a second thought to a lot of people. I understand the different viewpoints regarding religion and why some people are more against certain aspects however after today, I feel inspired to teach young people why it is okay to be different from others and why it is okay to follow religion no matter the stereotypes which may be associated with said religion. I have come to learn that religious diversity is a positive thing as it introduces tolerance to society whilst also enriching society with new cultures and views.

My first day of this module was overall a success, nevertheless there are still things that I can improve on. The main area for improvement in this module was highlighted to be my ability to link theory with practise. To be more precise, the incorporation of theorists in my answers. I am aware of what the question is asking of me and what I need to write in order to get a good mark however, my answers seem to be ‘hazy’, in that I’m not entirely confident with the concept of linking everything together. To improve, I must practise writing exam style questions as well as research each theorist/concept more widely in order to gain the confidence and knowledge needed to pass Society and Lifestyles.

Reflections on Placement

I took part in a whole school placement as part of the BA1 Situated Communication module. I was placed in a rather small school of about 180 pupils with around 9 teaching staff as well as 5 teaching assistants. During the course of my week I was able to observe a number of different lessons and the techniques in how they were carried out. Although this placement was meant to be whole school, I spent my full week in a primary three class with a great teacher who I have learned so much from. I was met with several different challenges regarding myself and the pupils during this placement. Due to me lacking in confidence I had to overcome a number of obstacles in terms of my communication skills but I was given nothing but praise from my teacher and the teaching staff on the way that I conducted myself, despite me being terrified to start. I was able to witness the lectures at UWS come into play, with active lessons/learning and numeracy and literacy throughout the curriculum being explored in every lesson.

Strength

I found that my main strength was how I interacted with the students, staff and parent helpers. I spend my whole week in primary three, where I witnessed a number of different lessons/teaching techniques, as well as accompanying the class on a trip to the local hospital. During class time, it was primarily just myself and the class teacher (my mentor for the week) as well as the children. I was lucky enough to be given so many opportunities to improve my communication skills with not only the children, but with professionals as well. My teacher allowed me to take small reading groups, where I felt my ability to ask relevant questions and give adequate thinking time was increased. On the hospital trip, it was the class teacher, myself and two parent helpers. We each had a group of six children that we were put in charge of. It was my duty to ensure that each of the pupils were paying attention to what was going on, that their behaviour was good and that they treated the staff with respect. I got good feedback on how I conducted myself during this experience, especially on how I interacted with not only my little group, but also the parent helpers and the nursing staff. Due to me remaining in the one class all week, I believe that I developed a bond with the class teacher and the students. Each of the pupils treated me with the respect they gave their teacher, asking me for help and allowing me to explore and develop my skills in communication, literacy and mathematics.

Area of most progress

I feel that I made the most progress in my non-verbal communication. I am well aware that I am not the most confident individual but upon taking part in the situated communication module I have found myself evaluating and analysing my body language. I received excellent feedback on my ability to hold eye contact with the children and the use of my facial expressions and hand gestures to enhance the children’s engagement. In terms of body language, I used the theory, fake it till you make it. If I were ever in doubt I would stand with my hands on my hips or cross my hands together with my feet apart. This allowed me to re-evaluate my emotions and calm down before proceeding with the activity. However, towards the end of the week I no longer had to do that and found myself relaxed in the classroom environment. I also noticed that I began mimicking the teachers body language. This must have been a sub-conscious thing as I looked up to the teacher so much.

Area requiring progress

In terms of feedback, I was never given any solid evidence or anything that I needed to work on but I am well aware that I need to vary my tone more when speaking. To begin with I didn’t vary tone and kept my voice at an upbeat pitch but never having any change. I feel this made me look unenthusiastic toward the class or lesson although I could not be more involved than I was. This will come down my confidence again and the way in which I always feel judged but again, I found that towards the end of the week I was really going for it in regards to tone, I was changing my voice regularly and witnessed that the children were a lot more willing to engage with me.

Action plan

The majority of my developments stem from my lack of confidence however I am aware that is something that I am going to need to overcome. To ensure my enthusiasm is recognised I need to work on my tone. Though there is nothing in paper that I can do to help improve my tone, I can start interacting with people more. Having and holding conversations is one of the best things I can do. I could also read an extract from something a couple of times a week and film myself whilst doing so. That way I will be able to observe and record my progress and maybe even highlight other problems that I didn’t know existed.

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