Professional Reflection and Communication – Rebecca Smith UWS ITE ePDP

Sustainable Development – Diversity

Diversity within learning for sustainability refers to both biodiversity and cultural diversity. Considering cultural diversity in a primary school setting is essential for meeting the following outcomes:

I can gather and use information about forms of discrimination against people in societies and consider the impact this has on people’s lives.
SOC 2-16b
I can discuss issues of the diversity of cultures, values and customs in our society.
SOC 2-16c
By comparing the lifestyle and culture of citizens in another country with those of Scotland, I can discuss the similarities and differences.
SOC 2-19a
I make decisions and take responsibility in my everyday experiences and play, showing consideration for others.
SOC 0-17a
By exploring the ways in which we use and need rules, I can consider the meaning of rights and responsibilities and discuss those relevant to me.
SOC 1-17a
I can describe the main features of a democracy and discuss the rights and responsibilities of citizens in Scotland.
SOC 2-17a
I can investigate the features of an election and the work of representatives at a local, national or European level to begin to develop my understanding of how democracy works.
SOC 2-18a
I can expect my learning environment to support me to:
develop my self-awareness, self-worth and respect for others
acknowledge diversity and understand that it is everyone’s responsibility to challenge discrimination.
I know that friendship, caring, sharing, fairness, equality and love are important in building positive relationships. As I develop and value relationships, I care and show respect for myself and others.
HWB 0-05a / HWB 1-05a / HWB 2-05a / HWB 3-05a / HWB 4-05a
As I explore the rights to which I and others are entitled, I am able to exercise these rights appropriately and accept the responsibilities that go with them. I show respect for the rights of others.
HWB 0-09a / HWB 1-09a / HWB 2-09a / HWB 3-09a / HWB 4-09a

It is also essential for ensuring that children develop caring attitudes and non-discriminatory perceptions of people who are different to them. This is an increasingly important issue due to the rising population of our country and the world and due to the increase in immigration. Britain is a culturally diverse country which means that we see and meet people who are different to us (in terms of looks, beliefs, sexualities, and abilities) every day. Over time that has impacted British culture and it is important that children become aware of differences and understand that we are all equal. I am a strong believer that no child is born with discriminatory attitudes and that sadly, these are installed in people by society. This must end and as children spend so much time in primary school, learning from their teachers and their peers, it is the perfect context within which to develop values and to take responsibility for preventing discrimination in the present time and the future.

In all primary classes I would focus on the children’s charter and on the rules within the classroom. Making children aware of their rights in simplified terms and exposing them to concepts similar to political processes such as voting for class representatives and class rules, will hopefully help them to develop a feeling of some power over their lives. This can also lead to conversations about why we need rights and what they mean for us. Children could also learn about different cultures through language, food, music, dance and by exploring the traditional clothes that people of different cultures wear. By learning about these throughout the year children will hopefully be less likely to develop an ‘us’ and ‘them’ attitude as they will have learned about different cultures and explored why they might eat different foods/dress differently to people of other cultures. Not directly comparing one culture to typical western culture can also help to prevent an ‘us’ and ‘them’ attitude; instead we should say “Why might people of this culture eat this food?” rather than “Why do they eat different foods to us?”. Bilingual books and wall displays, and the celebration of different cultural events may also be a good way to develop an attitude of different cultures as the norm and will develop a class and school respect for different cultures. In terms of disability awareness, we could arrange to play a disability friendly sport such as wheelchair basketball as part of a basketball P.E. block. We could also take part in challenges such as watching a video with no sound to see if we can read the lips of those talking – demonstrating the challenges faced by people with a hearing impairment. This could then lead to discussions about how they over come these barriers and could lead to a topic learning sign language. It is also important to discuss discrimination directly and to talk about the impacts it has on people, why it is wrong, and what we can do to combat it.

Biodiversity is also a very important topic which children must learn about. An appreciation with biodiversity will help them to understand the importance of different species on Earth and why we need to conserve them and treat them well. It also develops a general respect for the environment and for all living things.

To explore this in a primary school I have considered the way in which my lessons could plan out:

Biodiversity lessons

Overall, learning about diversity is essential for children to develop a respect for the world in terms of the environment and society and for them to develop compassion for others, as well as an understanding of the importance of difference.

Sustainable Development – Energy

Learning about energy has been something which I have found very interesting and I feel that it could be easily implemented into the classroom in a relatable way for children. We all use energy every day, without even thinking about it. Being asked to reflect and to think about how I had used energy from when I woke up to when I got to university made me realise the vast amounts of energy which our modern, Western way of life has accustomed us to use. I think that by asking children to do a similar task it would be very interesting to see how many of them would know just how much we do that uses, or has used, energy. This would be a very relatable way to begin a lesson on energy, helping children to see energy use as something which relates directly to their lives.

We then moved on to consider which of our activities used energy in the form of fossil fuels. For primary school aged children, the meaning of a ‘fossil fuel’ would have to be discussed and explored, and at this point making fossils using toy dinosaurs, shells and clay, would be a good way to contextualise to learners what a fossil is. It would also provide us with a concrete material with which to explain to learners that after many years, we use these fossils as fuel in the form of coal, gas and oil. This would then allow us to explain to the children that if we are running on fossil fuels, there are only so many fossils in the world; because there were only so many dinosaurs etc. so one day, fossil fuels are going to run out. Current statistics state that oil is going to last for around 50 years, gas is going to last for around 54 years, and coal is going to last for around 110 years. It would therefore be very important to explain to children why we need to cut down on our uses of these types of fuels and to get them to come up with ways in which they can contribute to doing so. This could be done by making mind maps in pairs and then bringing them all together as a class, discussing which actions use the most energy.

After explaining this to children, it would be important to begin exploring option of alternative fuels such as nuclear power, wind power, tidal power, and solar power. This renewable energy will never run out as we will never run out of wind, sun light, the tide, or nuclear power. Experiments could be done to show how solar power and wind power work, using strong lights to power battery Lego cars with solar panels on them, and using fans to blow model windmills, and potentially taking children to a wind farm, to learn about how the windmills actually work and to see them up close. This would be the perfect opportunity for a STEM project such as the one we heard about today. Projects like this one require the children to work in teams to make a model windmill, following a set of instructions. Taking part in a debate about the use of wind power as an alternative energy source helped me to understand that there are ups and downs to every form of energy and that some of them, particularly nuclear power, can be controversial and have negative impacts on the environment if we are not careful. Instilling this critical way of looking at information in children is very important as this skill will allow them to analyse and evaluate and create more effectively. By getting the class to take part in a debate, it would open up space for a research task which could be done during a visit to a windfarm; the children could ask the person doing the tour about the pros of wind power. They could also take part in a drama when we returned to the classroom, in which I was doing teacher in role, acting as an annoyed home owner who lived near the windfarm, while the children would ask me questions about whether or not I liked wind power and why. A debate could then take place after the drama in which half of the children acted as homeowners and people against wind power, and half acted as people who were for wind power. This could then be concluded by another drama in which the children act as council officials who have to decide whether or not to build a wind farm in a plot of near by land, and how to solve any of the issues and reasons against wind farms that people who live nearby may have. Once this discussion is over and the decisions have been made, the children could take part in the technology task in which they make their own model windmills in groups, which follow the original plan and which also follow the new criteria for windmills which they have decided to try out. They also must decide where on the land to put the windmills. This will be the experiment, as the children can take their windmills outside and count how many times they spin in 2 minutes, at different areas of the playground. This experiment will be to allow the children to make connections and to see if whether or not buildings and trees get in the way of wind power, and if the height of the propeller effects the wind power. The process, hypothesis, results and conclusion could be recorded in a learning log, which would allow the children to reflect on the experience and to highlight any problems which arose and how they solved them. It would also allow them to record their connections and evaluations of their wind farm project. This experiment would develop key skills such as hypothesising, systems thinking, problem solving, adapting, reflection and collaboration.

This project would be about the children planning and constructing their very own wind farm and would allow them to take on many different roles. It would also provide an abundance of opportunities for IDL and would take place over a long period of time. It would be an interesting context in which children could both learn about fossil fuels, and become aware of why and how we need to cut down our uses of them, and the use of renewable energy to fuel our planet. It would also allow the children to develop numerous skills such as the ones mentioned above and to explore some of the challenges which their designs and ideas may face.

There are also various other routes which this type of lesson could take, including swapping windmills for another type of renewable energy, or considering the use of hydrogen to power cars.

From listening to a guest speaker today – a teacher from Onthank Primary School, the main lesson which I have learned would be that maths and literacy are not for everyone in the traditional sense. However, the education system can and must change to suit those who it is currently not working for, and projects like this can be an opportunity for engagement and for learning for those pupils who find traditional methods of learning tough to cope with. By showing us the work she has done with her pupils, this teacher inspired me today and reminded me that teaching is about so much more than learning how to read, write and count; it’s about setting children up for life and giving them the skills they needs to be resilient and successful.

Sustainable Development – Disasters

Middleton (2013, p.467) says “natural hazards should be defined and studied both in terms of the physical processes involved and the human factors affecting the vulnerability of certain groups of people to disasters.” Therefore, natural disasters can be defined as uncontrollable events which have devastating impacts on the lives and environment of the area in which they occur.

There are many different types of natural disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and disease epidemics. Most of these can be related and if one happens it is possible that another will follow. The likeliness that a country will suffer from a natural disaster depends on past experiences of natural disasters, scientific forecasts using data, and the extent of population growth within the country. The likeliness of natural disasters occurring is increasing, due to a combination of environmental factors such as global warming impacting the climate, and social factors such as more countries reporting natural disasters.

Before learning about natural disasters on this scale, I had not considered how strongly politics impact on their power and effect. Mitigation is not always possible but extensive efforts are being made by scientists across the world to mitigate the effects of natural disasters. The political will and economic status of a country heavily dictates the ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a natural disaster. In order for countries to prepare for disasters, they have to have enough money and resources to do so. They also must have a non-corrupt government which has natural disaster preparation as a priority. Having a government which has many inter-national allies is also important as this means that the country is more likely to receive help if and when they need it. Preparation takes place at a local, national, and inter-national level. This can be by means of government policies, training in schools, local building supports, and guarantee of funding from other countries. It is the government’s job to prepare the country adequately, respond as quickly as possible by sending out emergency services and putting emergency plans into place, and to rebuild the country after the disaster has hit. International and non-governmental organisations also take part in the response by providing the people of the country with aid and helping them to rebuild schools and other community hubs. These aim to work unbiasedly but can sometimes be pressured by governments to prioritise certain things.

By comparing two case studies about Japan and Haiti I found that developing countries have less money and so less resources, meaning that their preparation for natural disasters is poorer. Poor preparation then leads to slower and less effective responses and this then means slower and often less effective recovery. Developing countries also often have fewer countries who are willing to help them, but it is these countries who rely most heavily on international aid. This may be related to the fact that the media and people of power indirectly portray messages about who is most worthy of help (Nix-Stevenson, 2013).

It is not just the poorest countries that tend to suffer most from natural disasters, but the poorest people in a country. Middleton (2013) discusses that it is often the poor, the young, the old, disabled people, and people of minorities who suffer most heavily from natural disasters. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that many of these people have less choice about how they are going to deal with hazards. Some of them may also find it more difficult to evacuate and a lack of social support can mean that they are more reluctant to evacuate. In addition, Stout and Buono (2008) says that there is evidence of government and organisational corruption in many countries which have previously suffered from natural disasters as the rich were favoured and given priorities for many things including reconstruction. Developing countries and poor people rely heavily on charities and other non-governmental organisations for aid and support during these times of crisis.

This is not to say however that the richest countries and the richest people do not fall victim to natural disasters. Middleton (2013, p.468) states that “very rich societies suffer the highest property damage”. This may be due to the fact that they have more expensive structures and generally more property on their land for the natural disaster to destroy. This may mean that their more expensive buildings are going to cost more for them to replace.

All of this knowledge is relevant to teaching as children must learn about the different natural disasters which occur. Nix-Stevenson (2013) discusses the importance of educating people about natural disasters as she says education leads to knowledge which leads to power. This power then leads to the ability to take action. It is through explaining these things to children and helping them to relate to natural disasters by doing cross curricular activities that they will develop an interest in events such as these. This interest will then help them to foster critical skills when they next hear about a natural disaster and to question whether or not they think that the media has portrayed it accurately. Guest speakers such as charity workers and video chats with children from countries which are prone to natural disasters would be a good way to show that these things happen to people just like them. We could also do drama activities such as a talk show within which different children acted as interviewers, emergency services workers, survivors, government officials from different countries and charity workers, discussing their preparation, response and recovery from a recent imaginary natural disaster. There are also many literacy lessons which could take place including a newspaper report and a diary extract. Maths could also be covered as learners could interpret graphs and plot points on a grid in relation to detection of hurricanes for example. All of these activities would help learners to develop their knowledge of the subject and to develop critical thinking skills.

There are also a variety of skills which I developed and which learners would develop through completion of science experiments related to natural disasters. By completing an activity using bicarbonate of soda, vinegar, fairy liquid and food colouring to represent a volcanic eruption I developed my ability to use and apply models. Learners could also develop this skill by making their own tectonic plates out of play dough and connecting them to those shown on a map of the tectonic plates. By pouring the acid and water on to rocks before hammering them I was developing my skills of pattern seeking, exploring and fair testing as I was investigating which rocks would be broken by the hammer and then considering the common properties of the rocks which could and couldn’t be broken. I also had to ensure it was a fair test by only dropping the same number of drops of acid and water on to each rock and hammering them the same number of times. This type of things would not be suitable for primary school children. However, the skills can be developed through other activities such as making model buildings of different materials and using fans to replicate the strong winds of a tornado, or shaking the table to replicate an earthquake, and then testing which of them collapsed and which remained standing. The learners would be required to make sure that the models were placed in front of the fan for the same amount of time and at the same distance from the fan for the results to be accurate.

Through development of my knowledge and by practising my skills in these areas I am now more confident that I will be able to transfer them to children through different IDL activities.

References

Middleton, N. (2013) The Global Casino (5th edition). London: Hodder Arnold. pp.467-496.

Nix-Stevenson, D. (2013) Human Response to Natural Disasters. SAGE Open. [Online] Vol.3(3), pp.1-12. Available: http://journals.sagpub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244013489684

Stout, A. and Buono, R. (2008) “Natural” Disasters are Social Problems: Learning from Katrina. [Online] Available: http://www.sssp1.org/file/AgendaforSocialJustice/Agenda_For_Social_Justice_2008_Chapter_4.pdf

Sustainable Development – Interdependence

Interdependence refers to the reliance of different organisms and species on each other for their survival. It impacts the world environmentally, socially, and economically. The food web is an example of interdependence as humans, for example, eat fish which eat smaller fish which eat insects and plants in the ocean. A concerning impact of this is the fact that humans have been and are continuing to pollute the ocean. By doing so we are injecting chemicals into the waters which are taken in by plants in the sea and then eaten by fish. These chemicals then move up the food chain and into our own bodies, causing damage to our health and the health of the ocean’s many species. This made me consider the impact of every day human activities such as using certain shampoos and soaps which contain micro-plastics and allowing them to flush from the shower into the ocean and contaminate it. After learning about this I have become more considerate of the consequences every day activities such as this may have on interdependence in the wider world. Over fishing and hunting are also causing problems within interdependence by disrupting biodiversity. We researched interdependence within the oceans more carefully and created an infographic under this Padlet: https://padlet.com/louise_mckie/pybl2vzwsv0b

From researching the Living Blue Planet Report 2015, I developed my research skills and my critical literacy skills as I read through the text and had to pick out the important pieces of information and make sense of the bits that I didn’t understand using the pictures and surrounding information. From making this infographic I developed my ICT skills as I had never used this website or created an infographic before.

In a primary school class I would focus on relating interdependence to the children at first in order to make it relevant to them. By working on simple activities such as making models of different animals and plants out of clay and then using these models to create our own class 3D food web example, the learners would hopefully develop a good understanding of how all living things rely on each other for survival and to grow and develop. (I can explore examples of food chains and show an appreciation of how animals and plants depend on each other for food. SCN 1-02a) Making connections in this way would be a good way to develop critical thinking skills as the children are being forced to consider where the animals and plants will appear on the food web and why. This would be a good topic to cover if the children had previously studied mini-beasts as they would have knowledge of them and their predators to help them develop their understanding. I also like the idea of using the models and/or photographs of objects and sorting them into categories of living and non-living things prior to this activity as it would help learners to develop their understanding of what it means to be ‘living’. (I can distinguish between living and non living things. I can sort living things into groups and explain my decisions. SCN 1-01a)

As well as considering the human impact on interdependence, we considered endangered species and how different species meet the demands of their environment through social arrangements. I developed my knowledge of this, considering hierarchies, cooperative hunting, and defence. To develop an understanding of these social behaviours in the classroom I could relate it to a history lesson of how humans organised their environment to ensure the food and resources were equally spread out in the past. They could also do a research task which will require them to research different endangered species by using the charity websites which support them. This would develop critical literacy skills as they have to determine whether their sources are biased or not and also have to pick out the important information from texts.

Visiting two different types of farms – one small farm which sells its milk privately and one large commercial farm – taught me that farmers rely heavily on the economic factors of interdependence to maintain their careers. Recently, due to the world’s poor economic state, a false prediction was made that countries such as China would be demanding more milk from the UK. However, this was not the case and it lead to the UK producing too much milk to sell. This lead to the price of milk being driven down drastically and many farmers were forced out of business. The price is slowly rising although it is still not at a high enough level for many farmers to continue with their work. The smaller farm which we visited uses more traditional methods and, living on a farm myself, I related more to these methods. The large commercial farm uses high tech robots to milk the herd of around 200 cows and produces vast volumes of milk daily. Although the cows are kept indoors all year round and are all artificially inseminated by female sex sperm cells. Comparing the two farms developed the skill of comparison and listening to two arguments and coming to my own conclusion. This would be a useful activity for children in schools as it raises the important issues of animal welfare, GM crops, and so called ‘factory farming’. There were convincing arguments on both sides and I felt that although it is nice to see cows running around outdoors, the increase of rain in Scotland means that keeping the cows outdoors in the mucky cold is not always the most efficient or kindest way to treat them. This helped me to develop a more well rounded knowledge and understanding of the different methods within the farming industry and I think that it would do the same for children. It would also help them to develop skills of observing and justifying their answers. A follow up activity for a trip such as this may be getting learners to write a persuasive piece of writing about the method of farming they agree with and why.

Sustainable Development – Climate Change

Climate change refers to a significant change in the climate over a long period of time. Scientists believe that the climate change which we are currently baring witness to is due to global warming which is being caused by excess greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere and creating a ‘greenhouse’ around the planet, trapping some of the sun’s rays and heating Earth. There is also a growing hole in the Ozone Layer which means that the sun’s ultra violet rays are getting through this hole and reaching and warming Earth, as well as making people more susceptible to being effected by the harmful rays through means such as skin cancer. Scientists have collected vast amounts of evidence to prove that this is happening using weather reports, ice cores, rocks and fossils, and by analysing pollen and trees.

The impacts of climate change are already proving to be threatening to life on our planet. We hear a lot about the rising sea levels due to ice melting in Antarctica, but we often struggle to consider how this will directly effect us in Scotland. The use of videos, such as Antarctica on the Edge, and a task which called for us to consider the life of a school girl in Bangladesh for example, helped me to gain a better understanding of how climate change can and will ruin the lives of many if we do not do something about it. It is important that we use methods like this in the classroom, as well as help learners to develop a strong sense of place and to understand the part they play in the ecosystem. This relationship and connection with the world is essential if we are to educate children on the urgency of Climate Change (Wals, 2012).

Climate change is also impacting our weather. In the West of Scotland, we see a lot of rain. Patterns of rainy seasons are becoming more random and heavy rain has been increasing since 1960 (Harrabin, 2013) and British agriculture is suffering. Living on a farm myself this is something which I am noticing first hand. Increasing rain means wet land and poorer quality crops. This impacts on the crops which farmers can sell and those which they need to use to feed their cattle through the winter months. In some areas of the world, especially those which are low lying, crops and fields may even be wiped out due to flooding. An example of this in the UK was Storm Desmond which destroyed agricultural land, killed humans and livestock, and left many people homeless in Cumbria, Carlisle and certain areas in Southern Scotland.

Another recent example of extreme weather being Hurricane Irma; tearing through the Caribbean destroying homes and lives, and leading to the evacuation of Florida. Normally, when we see cases of extreme weather on the news, we tend to consider the impact that it is having on humans. However, when I was looking further into this topic I began to consider the impact that extreme weather also has on plants and animals. If hurricanes are wiping out man-made buildings then they are most certainly destroying the habitats of many populations of wildlife and disrupting the biodiversity of that country. By connecting children to people from other countries who have been victims to cases of extreme weather, through use of letters, video chats or other means, we can help them to relate to the rest of the world and to see that their actions are currently impacting people just like them.

The use of extreme weather to teach children about climate change is a good way to relate the impacts of it to their everyday lives and to current things which they are hearing on the news. This will help them to see that climate change is and will directly impact them and the people around them. Having an understanding of the science behind climate change is very important as children may find themselves faced with people who tell them that climate change is not happening and they also may struggle to appreciate the impact of humans (Wals, 2012). In order to develop an understanding of the science behind climate change many activities can be used such as experiments to explain weather fronts and how climate change is effecting them. By working together on experiments such as this with my colleagues, I developed my collaboration skills and synthesis of knowledge, as before this I was not aware that cold air is more dense than warm air and that this is why while warm air rises cold air pushes down with more pressure and it is when the two push against each other that storms occur. Collaboration is a key skill within and outwith learning for sustainability as for us to overcome and reverse the impacts of climate change we have to reengage with our communities and create a sense of togetherness with our homes and with the world (Wals, 2012). Experiments such as this also require hypothesising as before the experiment we considered what we thought might happen and why we thought so.

As well as understanding the science behind climate change, we also must have an understanding of the political impact on climate change. I have always found politics to be a daunting subject as I have never really understood it. However, I found the activities that I completed made me feel more relaxed about teaching politics to learners. 195 countries signed the Paris Agreement in 2015 which displays many of the world’s political parties coming together to create and follow rules and aims which, if successful, will reduce climate change. The Act aims to lower the temperature of the world and to emit no excess greenhouse gases by the second half of this century. It also aims to support countries who are vulnerable to the inevitable effects of climate change, to help vulnerable countries become more resilient to the impacts of climate change, to invest less money into things which cause damage to the environment and more money into those which promote zero net emissions, and to help build up developing countries. The act states that the countries should take a certain time to reflect and look at evidence to see whether that which is being done is working (Dagnet et al., 2016) and if it is enough to meet the final aims of global emissions peaking by 2020 and decreasing thereafter until they become negative (Dugan et al., 2014). The Climate Change (Scotland) Act, 2009 states an aim that we will have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 42% in 2020 and by 80% by 2050.

All of these government aims and the idea of the world’s governments working together do not come without challenges however. There are issues to do with who is most to blame and how the export of damaging technology to less developed countries is arguably not reducing emissions, but causing them to come from somewhere else. Issues such as this could be discussed as a series of drama activities. Children could act as MP’s discussing and debating the aims of the Acts and considering how they are going to be achieved. They could also act as different MP’s from countries who have and have not signed the Paris Agreement, debating on whether they should sign it or not and why. This would develop debating skills as well as justification skills as it would require children to truly understand the reasons why action against climate change is necessary and what they can do to combat it.

Through completion of the Carbon Footprint calculator on the WWF website, I was extremely surprised by my result. My carbon footprint is currently at 119% of my share. This is made up mostly by my travel habits, which accounted for 46% of my score. Before taking this test, I would have said that I am conscious of my environment and of my actions to combat climate change. However, my total annual carbon emissions was shown to be 12.1 tonnes. This is more than double that of the world average and just under that of the UK average – clearly I have some work to do! The website was very useful and one which I would definitely use in the classroom as despite all of the research and learning which had taken place for me about climate change, it was the discovery that if I carry on living the way I am, I personally will be contributing to the failure of the aims of emitting net zero greenhouse gases. Wals (2012) discusses the importance of the use of carbon footprint calculators as they show the impact that individuals are making. Also, by comparing my own footprint to the UK and world average, I was prompted to consider the inequity of climate change – while the most developed countries are emitting more gases, the least developed countries are suffering the most from its wrath and are often beginning to use non-environmentally friendly things which are now against the law in more developed places, due to them being cheaper to buy and operate. The suggestions provided by WWF to reduce my carbon footprint were to use the car less and use more public transport or car share. Use of public transport is not always the most efficient way for me to travel, however car sharing is something which I will definitely aim to do more of.

Overall, climate change impacts us all and by learning about it I have gained knowledge of its causes and its environmental and social impacts. I have developed skills in collaboration and justification and am now confident that I would be able to pass these skills and knowledge on to learners. I have gained a deeper understanding of the impact that we are all having on climate change and how we can combat it and I can clearly see the importance of helping children to understand this importance as we need to see change and we need to see it now. And as stated by Wals (2012, p.377):

“educators are people who believe that change is possible.”

References

Dagnet, Y., Waskow, D., Elliott, C., Northrop, E., Thwaites, J., Mogelgaard, K., Krnjaic, M., Levin, K. and Mcgray, H. (2016). Staying on track from Paris: Advancing the key elements of the Paris Agreement. [online] Washington DC: WRI. Available at: http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/284437/mod_resource/content/1/Staying_on_Track_from_Paris_-_Advancing_the_Key_Elements_of_the_Paris_Agreement_0.pdf [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].

Dugan, B., Friederich, J., Clark, D., Houston, R., Levin, K., Morgan, J. and Damassa, T. (2014). Interactive: Carbon Emissions Past, Present and Future | World Resources Institute. [online] Wri.org. Available at: http://www.wri.org/resources/data-visualizations/carbon-emissions-past-present-and-future-interactive [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].

Harrabin, R. (2013). Extreme rainfall in UK ‘increasing’. [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20896049 [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].

Wals, A. and Corcoran, P (eds) (2012) Learning for Sustainability in Times of Accelerating Change. [online] Netherlands: Wagenigen, pp.365-377.

Sustainable Development – The Environment

Over the past 2 sessions in our Sustainable Development lectures and workshops, we have been learning about the environment. In the first week we looked at the natural environment and in the second we looked at urban environments. I have found this theme very interesting as it has allowed me to consider my surroundings in a careful and thoughtful way. Before the first session I had quite a narrow definition of Sustainable Development. I thought of it only as referring to energy consumption and Global Warming, however, I can now see that these elements play only a part of sustainable development, along with consideration of the physical, social, and economical environment, as discussed by Mckeown and Hopkins (2010). Allowing learners in school to understand the vast area which learning for sustainability covers is clearly very important as it will help them to live their lives in a way which is comfortable for them but which will also provide comfort and equity for future generations. The young people of today are the policy makers of tomorrow, so essentially, we are not only teaching them to live their personal lives in a sustainable way, but we are teaching them values which will positively impact future policies, hopefully leading to a fairer and healthier world with a respect for the environment.

Within the first workshop of Sustainable Development we went outdoors to do some outdoor learning. This was a concept which I thought that I had a good understanding of, however it was this workshop which provided me with the skill of being able to use the outdoor environment to teach in ways which went beyond simply learning outdoors. My favourite of these outdoor activities was the idea of creating an insect hotel with learners and having them design and construct the hotel with different sections for different insects. This could follow a research task which could be done in groups about different insects and their habitats, food, and place within the food web. The insect hotel then provides various opportunities for learning in many different areas of the curriculum, such as maths tasks in the form of data handling (eg. revisiting the hotel once a day or at different times in the day to see how many of which insects are there and when), money (eg. working out the imaginary costs of a room in the hotel per night), and multiplication and division, or addition and subtraction, or simple counting. It also allows for many different literacy tasks such as a holiday brochure being made to advertise and describe the facilities of the hotel and why it is suitable for different insects, and a mock Trip Advisor review of the hotel written from the perspective of insects who returned to the hotel and insects who left. We also went on a sensory walk in which we carefully considered our surroundings in terms of our different senses, and we found and identified different insects and leaves as well as different types of Lychen to photographs on a sheet. These activities also provide various different learning opportunities as well as making learners more aware of their natural environment.

The activity of looking for the different types of Lychen can be used to teach learners about the different types of air pollution and the impact these have on the natural environment. For example, the learners would be asked to consider why trees or fences facing certain ways have more Lychen than others. This allows learners to see the presence of air pollution first hand so would be a good way to contextualise learning about the impacts of human activity for the Experience and Outcome SOC 2-08a: I can discuss the environmental impact of human activity and suggest ways in which we can live in a more environmentally-responsible way.

I also found the indoor workshop very beneficial as it allowed me to see how we can learn about the natural environment indoors as well. From dissecting flower petals and looking at them under a microscope, to studying the shells, bodies, eating habits, and habitats of snails by experimenting with them and looking at them close up, I was provided with memorable learning experiences which gave me a deeper understanding of these parts of my natural environment. This type of experimentation builds up the skill of hypothesis in the primary school classroom as pupils would be asked to discuss what they think is going to happen if they place a snail on a certain surface, for example, then they would be asked to investigate by placing the snail on different surfaces to see which one it prefers, before being asked to work together and record their results, then report them to others. These are key scientific skills which will help learners to experiment and discover new things.

When learning about the urban environment, I gained an appreciation of the importance of having a good sense of place which I did not previously have. Before looking into this I did not see any real benefit of having a good knowledge of my surroundings. However, I can now see that it is this knowledge which makes us truly care about our environment and which will help us to lead the way towards a more sustainable way of life (Scottish Government, 2012). Our sense of place comes from our understanding of our culture, society and our physical environment. By looking more closely at my urban environment I have developed a stronger sense of place and can see how this would benefit children as it would allow them to gain a better understanding of environmental geography and to develop a better general awareness of the impact of their choices and actions on our environment. Allowing learners to explore their urban environment is also very important as it helps them to see themselves as part of the community and may encourage them to take a more active role within it. This is something which, as teachers, we should encourage (Scottish Government, 2012) as it promotes a care for the happiness and health of others. This care is essential if we are to help young people develop into adults who are going to fight for equity and justice in the future. The school buildings and grounds should promote the ideal sustainable way of life and should be used whenever possible to bring the community together (Scottish Government, 2012) as in ever expanding urban areas, social areas are becoming harder and harder to come by due to the need to build more buildings in previous public spaces (Orofino, 2014).

A lesson idea which I had for a Primary 5 class to follow the Experience and Outcome SOC 2-10a: ‘Having explored my local area, I can present information on different places to live, work and relax and interesting places to visit.’ was to take the class on a walk in their local urban area to explore the different places to work, live, and relax and have them take photographs of these places, asking them to consider who may use these places and what impact they may have on the community. They would then be put into groups and would video an advert for their local urban environment, describing its features and explaining why someone may want to live there. This advert would be made using Windows Movie Maker, or iMovie or another app of the sort to allow the learners to include the photos which they took. The adverts would then be presented to the class, or possibly to the school at assembly to promote a whole-school approach to learning for sustainability.

Finally, coming from a peri-urban area, when I was reflecting on my urban environment I felt it would be beneficial to explore and reflect on a more traditional urban space also. I chose to consider Glasgow and while exploring this city I found it to have some similarities but many differences to my home village. I feel that this is very important as it allows learners to see that there is more to the world than their home town or city and what is normal to them may not be normal to others. Taking this further, it is important to allow learners to have connections with and to see aspects of distant places as it creates an appreciation for the world and a global view. I feel that one of the main things which I learned from these lessons on the environment was the fact that although we all come from different types of places, our actions and decisions all impact each other, making it vital that we develop a consideration, understanding, and awareness within ourselves and our young people towards living more sustainably within our environments.

References

Mckeown, R., and Hopkins, C., (2010) Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development: Transformation in the Initial Teacher Education of Teachers. In Wisley, T., Barr, I., Britton, A. and King, B. Education in a Global Space. IDEAS

Orofino, A. (2014) It’s our city. Let’s fix it. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/alessandra_orofino_it_s_our_city_let_s_fix_it [Accessed 21 Sep 2017]

Scottish Government (2012) Learning for Sustainability: The Report of the One Planet Schools Working Group. Edinburgh: Scottish Government [Online] Available at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Education/Schools/curriculum/ACE/OnePlanetSchools/LearningforSustainabilitreport [Accessed 14 Sep 2017]

Ideology and Prejudice

Before today’s lecture I was not confident with my understanding of the definitions of ideology and prejudice. However, I feel that I now have a clearer understanding of the concepts and I can desrcibe different theories about the reasons for prejudice and ideologies. Prejudice is an attitude towards a group or its individual members. It is usually a negative attitude, including negative feelings and steryotypes as well as prejudgements, and it is never based on fact. There are many different types of prejudism found in modern society which are related to factors such as sex, race, disability, nationality, and ethnicity. It is important to recognise the difference between prejudice and discrimination as people can have prejudice towards certain people without discriminating against them. Prejudice would be believeing that women make better teachers than men, while discrimination would be preventing a man from becoming a teacher, because of this prejudice.

There are many ways in which we, as educators, can influence prejudice. We must use this power to prevent prejudice and to encourage positive attitudes and acceptance of difference. It has been suggested that to prevent prejudice we should encourge people to watch sit-coms as these often raise current social issues in a way which allows people to feel more comfortable discussing them. I believe that through programmes such as ‘Modern Family’, people will become aware that social norms are changing and that we must accept difference as a reality which should be embraced. Programmes such as this encourage acceptance and celebration of difference, and make reference to times where they may be subject to prejudice. This helps to bring these issues to the public eye, and if analysed with learners, would be a fantastic way for them to understand the intended messages.

It is impossible for any of our decisions to be made or our opinions and beliefs to be formed without our own biases. Most of these biases, sometimes in the form of prejudices, are learned. The prejudices we learn as children often become our automatic response, while the prejudices we learn as we get older are arguabley those which we consider more thourghly before accepting. Petigrew’s theory of Conformity in Prejudice states that when people are more conformist, they tend to be more prejudice. This suggests that our society controls our prejudices as it it those who follow the unwritten rules of society that show the most prejudice beliefs.

When discussing Hegal’s Social Identitiy Theory (1979), which suggests that people gain a strong sense of identity from being members of certain groups and that it is our ideology which determines our social life, I found myself becoming slighty lost by the concepts. I need to read further on this theory in order to gain an understanding of its main points. I would also like to find out more about the affective, behavioural and cognitive roles within it.

Ideology and Prejudice are closely connected. Our ideology is our ideas and our beliefs, as well as our values and interests. Ideology is often related to groups which are guided by it. It can be argued that society constructs all human knowledge and we all have conscious and unconscious ideas which are influenced by the way we are brought up and our experiences. We all have a Worldview. This is a set of beliefs which attempts to explain the world around us. It is when we share these ideas and beliefs with others, that they become an ideology.

Karl Marx argued that it is the ruling class who rules the lower classes. He argued that the ruling class dominated the thinking of the lower class, controlling their ideologies. If this were to be believed to be true, it would be a clear example of how our macro-world can strongly influence, even control, our every day lives as the people in the lower classes may never meet those who essentially rule their every day activities and beliefs.

Furthermore, Mannheim’s Theory of Generations suggests that our ideology is determined by our family members of past generations. He implies that our beliefs and ideas are passed on, and possibly developed, through families over many years as it is our interactions with our envrionment, with different people and within our culture which shape our ideologies.

Overall, my knowledge of ideology and prejudice have began to develop today, from my unlcear level of knowledge to a more firm understanding of the basics of these two concepts. However, the learning which has taken place for me today is a mere starting point as I aim to develop this in order to gain a full and in depth understanding through further reading.

Stress Hardiness

Stress is something which everyone experiences at some point in their lives and it is often experienced due to certain triggers. Stress and its many triggers can have negative impacts on people’s health. In the Pengilly and Dowd (2000) article on Stress Hardiness, the concept of different categories of triggers is discussed. There are events which most people will go through at some point in their life, such as moving house or changing their place of work, and there are events which less people will have to deal with in their life time, such as divorce.

The category which contains events such as moving house, can cause stress as they can cause us to worry about unknown aspects of the change and can provide us with a lot to do, adding to our already busy schedules. Worrying can have a negative impact on our health as it can lead to panic which can cause problems with our heart and our breathing rate. It can also lead to us becoming physically and mentally tired, making us run down and this can lead to skin problems which can cause pain and may require medical treatment. In order to reduce worries about new things, we should try to develop a good level of self-esteem, meaning that we can enter in to new experiences with more confidence, leading to us worrying less about avoidable things.

Also, having too much to do can have a negative impact on our health as if we are constantly faced with an unrealistic work-load, we will possibly struggle to manage a work/life balance, meaning we are possibly spending less time with our loved ones and less time feeling relaxed and happy and possibly a sense of isolation. All of these things can lead to people feeling lonely and this in turn can lead to depression. As an attempt to combat this trigger, we should make a conscious effort to build up a strong social support, which will allow us to relieve our problems and to be a part of a support system which cares for us and listens as well as provides us with advice. This can be done by making time to join clubs and going out to meet people with similar interests to us.

In addition, as people are required to do things which take them out of their comfort zone at work, university, school, and in everyday life, they may feel as though they are under pressure to do as best as they can. This can lead to extremely hard work and to people not giving themselves a break, meaning they are under constant stress. This can lead to a higher heart rate, a higher cholesterol, and can have an affect on your adrenal and thyroid glands. To combat this we must consider the hard work as a challenge rather than a hurdle. Although it is hard work, we must consider the outcome and consider that it will be helping us to reach our goals. However, we also must consider our happiness in the present time and this can be achieved by taking control and planning our time to fit in the things we have to do as well as the things we want to do, meaning that we can relieve our stress and give our brains a break.

Furthermore, the category which contains rarer triggers of stress can cause people to feel extreme emotional pain and this can lead to stress. People who go through divorce, for example, may have to go through legal processes and have to make decisions about where they are going to live and about their children’s future relationship with their other parent. All of these things which lead from divorce can cause people to feel anxious and can possibly lessen their self-esteem. This can cause problems with breathing rates and may cause people to eat more, or less, than their body requires, effecting their digestive system. Although taking control of our lives is very important, sometimes it is good to remember that we cannot in fact control everything, no matter how hard we try. There will always be negative experiences in our lives that we have to overcome and that we have no control over. In order to relieve our stress caused by these problems, we must devote some time to ourselves, focussing on the positive points of our lives, doing what makes us feel good, and allowing life to control certain things for us, remembering that everything happens for a reason.

Finally, diagnosis of a disease can in fact cause further problems for one’s health. If a person is diagnosed with a disease they will be likely to worry about the consequences of this disease and to worry about the effects it will have on them, their lives, and their loved ones. This anxiety and idea of the unknown can cause people to have faster heart rates and for the blood to travel around their body faster, as well as other possible health problems such as a rise in glucose levels in the blood, meaning that on top of the impact the disease is having on their health, they are further damaging their health by worrying about the unknown. A positive outlook can be extremely hard to develop in these kinds of situations, but it can definitely lead to more happiness and better health in the short and long term. This kind of outlook can stop people from spending all of their time worrying about what might happen in the future and to instead focus on living their lives to the full. It is also through a sense of hope and a belief that everything is going to be alright in the end for themselves and for the ones they love, that many people feel less worried about the unknown.

The Holmes-Rahe Stress Inventory

I scored 50 when taking this test and this suggests that my levels of stress are relatively low as I have had a relatively low level of life change over the past year. I was surpried by this result as I have felt quite high levels of stress throughout this year at different points and for different reasons which were not mentioned as part of this test. For example, the stress which is caused by exams and work load at university and the stress of trying to maintain a work/life balance. These things cause me to worry and to sometimes work too hard, getting caught up n the idea that I must feel in control of my work. Also, personal issues such as problems with family and friends can cause me to worry and can prevent me from relaxing as my mind is always spinning. These types of problems can also prevent me from going out and soicalising with my friends or from enjoyign myself when I do, meaning that I am essentially stressed about being stressed and struggle to relieve it.

However, there are many things that I can actively do in attempt to relieve stress and I am surrounded by supportive people so this also helps me to releive stress. By making a conscious effort to stop studying or doing university work at a certain time in the day to fit in some form of exercise, I can allow my mind to have a break from hard work and I can allow my body to release some of its energy. Exercise also helps to release some of the tension that I feel and makes me feel happier and more relaxed. Furthermore, my outlook on life can imact my stress levels. If I have a positive outlook and I am optimistic about things, I am more likely to be able to make an effort to do things that make me happy. I am alot more likely to take opportunities and to view potentially bad situations as experiences which have happened for a reason and will, in the long term, get better. This hope will allow me to cope with stress more easily as I believe that things are going to get better and that hard times do not last forever. In addition, by planning ahead I am able to reduce my stress levels as I feel more in control of my life. This also helps me to control my work/life balance as I have planned days and times to get my work done as well as fitting in exercise, family, and friends. Finally, I like to talk to people about my problems to the people I trust and who care about me. This helps me to relieve my stress as people can give me different ways to look at my problems and provide different opinions on how best to deal with them. I am very lucky as I have a large social support network and without this I would defineitly be much more susceptible to high levels of stress.

Is Scotland Healthy?

unhealthy-scotland It would be impossible for me to determine Scotland as a ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’ country without making some generalisations. For that matter, I am not talking about every Scottish person when I answer the main question of ‘Is Scotland healthy?’ with no.

We are provided with statistics, such as those from the Scottish Health survey, which claim that from a sample of 4,894 adults, 74% of them describe their health as being ‘good’ or ‘very good’, with only 8% describing their health as bad or very bad. From the sample of 1,839 children, 95% of them described their health as ‘good’ or ‘very good’, while 1% described their health as ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’. I personally believe that if this was the case, there is no way that Scotland’s mortality rate would be so high. There are many people in the samples taken who truly will live healthy lifestyles, but it could be argued that there will also be many who either do not understand the meaning of a healthy lifestyle, or who cannot admit to themselves or others that the way they are living their lives cannot be classed as healthy.

Looking firstly at diet, only 22% of adults in 2013 said that they ate the recommended 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, with children eating on average 2.7 portions per day. Also, around 34% of children admitted to eating cakes at least twice a week. An unhealthy diet can vastly impact a persons wellbeing as it can lead to heart disease, vitamin deficiencies, and obesity, which can itself lead to various further health problems. Over 25% of adults in Scotland were obese in 2013. Today we live in a time in which nobody has time! So ready meals, jars of sauce and fast food are always the easy option. However, many of these contain hidden ingredients such as sodium, which, when eaten excessively, can lead to kidney problems, high blood pressure, heart problem, and weak bones.

Another cause of obesity is lack of exercise. 64% of adults in the sample claimed to meet the recommended weekly exercise guidelines. We could say that with more than half of the country reaching these guidelines, Scotland is a generally active country. However, with this in mind, we also must consider the other 46% of adults who are not meeting these guidelines, maybe just by a little bit, or maybe by doing no exercise at all. From personal experience, I believe that with the evolution of social media through the years, people are beginning to promote more healthy and active lifestyles through this. As fitness gurus become role models for many and as people post photographs of the transformations they have undergone through healthy diet and exercise, the generations of internet users are being inspired. However, depending on the attitudes to exercise that we grow up around, we are often exposed to a lack of motivation to exercise, or to the attitude that it is not really necessary. Therefore, there is definitely room for improvement when it comes to Scotland’s physical activity.

As well as these causes of poor health, I feel it is vital to mention alcohol consumption and smoking. With new legislation people are less likely to be harmed by second hand smoke. Although, it is clear that despite the known dangers of lung cancer, smoking still exists in Scotland and until this is not the case, it will contribute to our high mortality rates and poor general health. In addition, our culture has widely accepted that the people of today drink to get drunk. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol not only has the potential to damage the liver but can also effect people mentally.

Mental health plays a huge part in determining the general health of Scotland. With around one in ten adults having had two or more symptoms of depression, 5% saying that they had attempted to take their lives at least once, as well as 5% saying that they had harmed themselves on purpose without the intent of killing themselves, Scotland may not be the least, but it is not the most, mentally healthy country it could be. However, support for this is on the rise and I would claim that within my life-time I have noticed an increase in help available as well as a decrease in stigma against mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.

The report also covers other areas of health such as dental health, childhood obesity, Asthma, Cardiovascular Disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and Hypertension. The results of these aspects were varied but all of which displayed Scottish people as being relatively susceptive to having these diseases and health problems.

Therefore, it is fair to conclude that despite the high claims of good health in Scotland, the mortality rate is far too high and the NHS is far too stretched for these claims to be valid. So many diets consist of too much sugar and salt and not enough vitamins and minerals. Although many people claim to meet the guidelines of weekly exercise, there are still a group which remains not doing enough exercise. Obesity, smoking and alcohol abuse remain as huge problems, putting increasing pressure on the NHS to provide adequate health care. While mental health problems may be being more widely supported, they are often triggered by the stress that our society places on people. Meaning that Scotland, clearly, has quite a long way to go to becoming ‘healthy’.