Category Archives: 3. Prof. Skills & Abilities

I want to help you, but you need to tell me how.

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When facing social injustices, such as a child failing due to their family life/background, or due to them not having a good support system out with the school environment, as a teacher, you cannot give up on the child whatsoever.

I am fully aware that what I have just stated seems like the complete obvious, however, you will be surprised at how easily you find yourself simply giving up or backing down when dealing with a particular difficult child because they have pushed all your buttons. However, there is always a reason behind ones actions or behaviour and getting to the core of it is so unbelievably important.

I believe, from experience, that by just simply asking the child ‘why’ they are acting the way they are and ‘how’ we, as the teacher, can help them will make a massive difference in the way the child perceives the punishment for their behaviour. By giving them the option to be in charge of the way their actions are dealt with and how it can be prevented in the future allows them to believe that they are valued and being listened to.

Thus creating a more tolerable environment for them and their fellow peers to learn in and enjoy school.

The Starfish Way

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Throughout my childhood, I was so sure that I was destined to have a career in the music industry. Whether it be a singer or a drummer, a musical theatre artist or working behind the scenes, the music world was where I belonged.

I went on to study Music Business at Glasgow Kelvin College after leaving school in 2016. It was a great year and a great course to study and I loved every minute of it but somehow it did not feel completely right.

The summer of 2017 is the summer that changed my life.

After completing a year of Music Business and gaining my HNC in the course, I set off for New Hampshire, USA, to work in a summer camp, Camp Starfish. Camp Starfish is a summer programme camp for children who suffer from social, emotional, behavioural and learning difficulties. There is only one other camp in America like it.

The first three weeks of camp was filled with intensive training for us counsellors. This included:

  • How to calm a camper down during a ‘behaviour’
  • How to detect suicidal/harmful behaviour in your camper
  • How to protect yourself/campers from an outraged, angry and harmful camper
  • How to make a quick getaway when a harmful camper comes speeding towards you
  • How to scream and what to scream when you believe a camper is putting yourself, themselves and others in danger

I remember thinking ‘What on earth have you got yourself into Bethany?’.

Training was completed and in came Session 1. Now, when I say Session 1 was a DISASTER, I’m not being dramatic; 3 out 7 of the counsellors assigned to my bunk quit after the first two days; we had the worst bunk, behavioural wise; one of my campers stabbed me in the wrist, just because I asked him to sit down; I cried, I cried a lot. Those two weeks were the longest and hardest two weeks of my life, I did not for one second believe that I would survive the rest of the summer.

However, one camper named Toby changed it all for me. I can’t imagine half of the struggles that child has faced in his young life but without a doubt he made me smile every day, especially on the last day when his guardians came to collect him. Toby and I performed a song from my favourite musical, Hamilton, in front of all the parents and guardians. What I didn’t mention is that Toby was painfully shy when he first arrived at camp, so watching him perform with so much confidence and joy filled me with a feeling of happiness and pride that I had never felt before. After our performance, Toby came running to me, hugged me and said “Thank you Betty, that was awesome and so are you!” and despite my hatred for the word ‘awesome’, it was at that moment that I realised this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.  If I could make just one other child believe in themselves and feel confident again and smile the way Toby did that day, I could die happy.

Allowing Children to believe in themselves and watching them grew into confident and amazing individuals despite their own quirks and setbacks is what teaching is all about and I that’s why I want to make it my everyday job for the rest of my life.