Category Archives: Contemporary issues

Tackle Inequality to Achieve Better Outcomes for Individuals

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Colin Miller. Head of Essential Skills and Progression at West Lothian Council says: “We’re finding that girls who are good at maths and science at school tend to go into the care side of things (doctors and nurses) rather than engineering and construction”. ….This could be due to the fact that engineering and construction occupations in this day and age are seen as a male environment as sites and workshops are predominately male.

This was certainly the case when I was at Primary School and even throughout my time at Secondary school. There was a divide present amongst genders and very much so with the subjects in which we studied. After reading an article in the latest ‘Education Scotland’ it was great to see that this issue is being recognised very publicly and that there have been efforts to overcome this stereotypical feeling. West Lothian College which is near to my home town have brought in attempts to get girls more involved and interested in the ‘STEM’ subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths and show them that they have a place in this ‘masculine world’. When I was at school I absolutely loved Physical Education this was due to my passion for being active and keeping fit as well as being involved with a dance club from a very young age. However, this was dampened by the members of my class being predominantly male, I was one of three girls who carried it on until Higher level. However this did not put me off, it made me more determined to show them that there is a place for girls amongst these ‘types’ of subjects.

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West Lothian Council have taken it upon themselves to recruit a number of female workers specialising in Engineering and Mathematics to come and teach workshops at the College. This attempt was to highlight to young girls that woman can succeed into such careers and make their mark just as equally as male workers. However, this attempt did not show a large shift in the number of girls entering such career paths it merely showed that it had got more girls talking about it and showing only verbal interest as opposed to fully committing and making that final leap into one of the professions. Another slightly more effective effort adopted by the college has been appointing ambassadors of the ‘STEM’ subjects. These ambassadors continuously undergo talks and lectures about how the teachings of each subject can then be applied in certain professions for example, the use of maths in daily engineering procedures. So just by putting context and relevance behind the teaching of these subjects, that the girls are showing passion for in the first place, has got them thinking of how they could succeed into a career that they once thought was not made for them. These professions suddenly now have purpose and have become very appealing. These efforts have shown great success in the number of girls enrolling in the HNC engineering course as well as open days for such ‘masculine’ subjects being populated mainly by females.

I personally think that the way the curriculum has be set there is no intention for certain areas to be directed at a specific gender. However, due to the old fashioned view which has transported into this day and age, that girls are still very much the stay at home domesticated sex and men are the ‘bread winners’ if you like. I think that this is why there is a great feeling of inequality amongst certain subjects. The effects it can have on young people growing up if they are made to feel like they aren’t intended for a certain subject could be devastating not only for their personal wellbeing but their future career as they could have an unknown niche or talent that will never be discovered.

After reading the efforts of West Lothian College I think there needs to be similar actions taken by other institutions including Primary School as this is when children are most influenced. This ensures that we are supporting every individual in whatever they wish to study or progress into.

‘Let’s get it right for every child’!

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Out with the old in with the new……..

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For someone who hasn’t had a lot of experience regarding ‘formal reflection’ in the past I found this whole idea of online blogging a bit daunting. The process of vocalising my thoughts and personal feelings towards a certain subject for all to see was seen as a challenge. I am definitely someone who gathers thoughts in my head and when it comes to putting it down into words I find it slightly uncomfortable. My past blogs on my Eportfolio have seen me sit on the fence and you could say I have adopted a democratic standpoint and went with the general consensus beliefs. However, after reading some of my peers blogs for inspiration I see that they are starting to form very strong independent views which I can only guess will benefit them hugely in their future professional career. They are able to question professional viewpoints and question the world of teaching in terms of why there are certain teaching methods and why some areas of the Curriculum are not as valued as others. It was nice to see the contrast in the posts blogged by peers from topics they liked to ones that they feared. It was reassuring to see that my peers were blogging about topics that they do not feel confident with equally as much as the ones that they feel passionate about as opposed to shying away and becoming complacent.   

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It was interesting amongst these blogs to also read about topics that go beyond our course, for example one blog I came across was about an issue which is happening down in England regarding children and obesity which is a very common problem all over the United Kingdom. This has spurred me on to really start to engage in reflecting on areas outwith the course for example I love to watch documentaries which could easily relate to problems occurring in the Primary School. I have decided that I am going to make more of an effort to go beyond what is prescribed (TDT tasks and reading tasks) and really make a conscious effort to start forming my own opinion and most importantly writing and reflecting on them afterwards. I have taken it upon myself to buy a notepad which I am going to keep purely for personal reflection. I am going to make an effort to reflect after each input on what were the key points in that lecture/workshop and how do I feel about them. This will hopefully spark more questions in my head and I will be focussed on finding out more by engaging in extra reading and hopefully it will help me come to more of a standpoint which will really mature me as a student. 

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Social Media and the struggle between the Personal and Professional world

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Social media is now the main form by which we find out what is happening in the world, it’s the way people share their thoughts, look for guidance or advice from friends, share their ideas and gain creativity or simply find out how to get by in day to day tasks. It has many advantages as just mentioned however there is also a great stigma surrounding social media.

There is a consensus that the older generation are very opposed to using social media perhaps because they are not as educated with it or not in the habit of using it on a daily basis. The continuous coverage of the negative uses of social media may also add to this view point regarding inappropriate use of personal sites by professional individuals or the issue of cyber bullying amongst youngsters is also a huge talking point.

This goes on nicely to discuss can you really differentiate the use of social media between the personal and professional world. As a twenty-three year I use social media on a daily basis and have done for many years, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are amongst a few. I find them a great way to stay in touch with friends who have moved away to live at University much like myself this year it allows me to stay in the loop of what is going on back home. I also use it as a guilty pleasure to keep up to date with the so called Celeb world. By following celebrities on twitter you are able to keep up with the latest trends and on goings. Even as someone who enjoys social media and favours it there are still parts of it which I don’t like and i can sympathise with this stigma felt by many. I think some people use it as a shield to hide behind when venting their frustrations concerning their jobs or feelings towards others.  This impulse reaction of how they are feeling at that very moment in time is then up for the rest of the world to see and saved in the online universe as it were, this sadly could result in consequences in their future career paths and opportunities.

The way in which I use social media sites will definitely differ ever so slightly due to now progressing into the respectful profession of teaching. I think that in any discipline of work that deals with communities of people you have to be very aware of what you are sharing or posting. With this professional role that you are carrying out comes a lot of responsibility and values to be met. You should appear diplomatic and PG and be able to account for everything that has your stamp on it no matter the topic you are discussing. Saying this I am not insinuating that you can’t challenge others views or have an opinion yourself but you should always ask yourself what is the purpose of posting this blog/status and can I back it up in an appropriate manner.

If social media is treated in this way I believe and favour the use of it within the professional world. Especially within the area of work I am entering, I feel that it is an excellent way of stimulating children’s education. So may schools now a days have a Twitter page to highlight the school’s attainment this allows parents to gain immediate feedback about what their children are doing and highlights positive behaviour and achievement amongst individuals or class groups. It can also act as a great way in which schools or communities can share their practices and spark new ideas in organisations who are maybe lacking creativity and wanting to change things up a little. I think it sparks up communication and discussion amongst teachers and educators of all stages and is a great way in connecting different schools from all around the world. I only hope that it escalates in a positive way to benefit children’s experiences throughout their school life.

My experience growing up concerning Gender

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Growing up I was never fully aware of why there was a divide regarding different genders I just accepted that this was the norm.

Right from the word go there were clear divides among boys and girls in my classes from what line you stood in to how you spent your free time at break and lunch. Girls would tend to play imaginary games which would challenge their creativity as opposed to boys who would stick to very hands on sports like football. There was a similar divide in which the behaviour at school was dealt with boys tended to get a harder time when it came to disciplinary procedures. For whatever reason if a girl misbehaved it would be dealt with in a more discreet manner compared to a boy getting punished in the form of losing Golden Time.

As I progressed through school this split between genders remained apparent this time reflecting in what each wanted to pursue as a career. For example girls were more likely to chose arty subjects or domesticated ones such as cooking or textiles and boys were more interested in the sporty subjects as well as Craft and Woodwork.

I am now aware that the old fashioned stereotype view played a huge part in this of how it was appropriate for women and men to behave in a certain manner and perform specific tasks. However I do believe there has been great efforts to shift away from this .