Today’s lecture focused on how at risk behaviours and the society and culture that a child is brought up in can impact on their future and development. I found this lecture extremely interesting, relevant and important. As a student teacher, it is crucial that we inform our young people of the types of behaviours that can put them at risk and how it is so important that they are able to make their own choices but hopefully ones that ensure that they are protected, healthy and safe in order for them to flourish in life. The six at risk behaviours that we learned about were: lack of physical activity, diet, injuries, use of tobacco, sexual behaviours and alcohol and drug use. It is said that these at risk behaviours can put an individual into serious danger and therefore it is extremely important that we as educators are aware of these behaviours and the consequences that follow.
The society and culture that a child is brought up in can have a serious impact on their behaviour. For any person, the area that they are brought up in is part of who they are as it can impact on their choices, career and future life. For example, if a child is brought up in an area where there are very little job prospects, low income, drugs and alcohol misuse is common then this will have an impact on their health and wellbeing. There has been links between deprivation and health and therefore enhances the fact that society and culture plays a crucial role in a child’s development.
Furthermore, we had to read and analyse “The Glasgow Effect” in relation to the question we were earlier asked “Are Scottish people healthy?”. The study compared Glasgow and two other main cities: Liverpool and Manchester. They choose to compare these three cities because the levels of deprivation in each city were very similar. The study looks into how morality can be linked to poor health and income. From the study, we have concluded that Scotland, in particular Glasgow are more unhealthy than the rest of the UK. However, premature deaths were in Glasgow are more than 30% higher as well as all deaths being around 15% higher than the other cities. I think from doing some further reading I have discovered that there must be other factors contributing to morality other than just poor health and income, factors such as alcohol and drug consumption should be taken into account. In relation to the question “Are Scottish people healthy?” I think it is clear to see that currently we are not a healthy country however, we are improving year by year but a lot still needs to be done to improve the overall health statistics. It showed me that we as educators can act as a role model to children and encourage them to make better decisions for them to have a healthier and better future. Its important to want to be that person who can help change society and it is best to start with the newer generation because they can be that change.
