Monthly Archives: January 2019

Stigma of mathematics

Maths. Some people love it and others not so much. However I had never stopped to consider why until the recent mathematics inputs with Tara Harper where she did a few exercises to help us see the myths and stereotypes surrounding the subject. In one of these examples we were asked to draw a line and after we had all done so Tara stated that she found it interesting that we had all drawn straight lines. Had this been a different class such as art she believed we would have all been more creative however since this was maths no one did so. Although I did not necessarily agree with this, I did understand the point that she made. Many people do view mathematics as a duller subject and one which caused worry due to the “right or wrong” aspect to it, however it is actually more important and useful than we often realize.

Mathematics involves problem solving, something that each of us does every single day, normally without even realizing. Furthermore maths is a universal language which everyone in the world can understand and use to communicate. After receiving these inputs I now understand that mathematics is more useful than most of us believe and this is something I intend to teach my future pupils.

Jump, turn and achieve

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Upon reading my timetable and seeing the word “Dance” written on one of the slots I felt surprised and confused as to why. As someone who has been passionate about ballet since the age of 5, I felt confident to take part in this workshop however was unsure of how this class would be useful as a future teacher.

After arriving at the class my confidence quickly vanished as I realized that there were very few similarities between my experiences with dance and what this workshop would entail. We were asked to take part in various activities involving travelling across the room, working in a group and performing a short series of steps that we had come up with. While it was good fun, I did not really understand the reason for these activities until much later when reading the experiences and outcomes for dance on the Education Scotland website. Through reading these I was given a new perspective on the need for dance in the curriculum and how it benefits all children on an educational level, such as:

Dance allows children to be creative and express how they are feeling without words.
Children can work in partners or groups, strengthening team work skills such as talking and listening.
It raises confidence as they perform for a group of their peers and watch others performing, allowing them to give and receive constructive comments.

However, something that really resonated with me was that this workshop I took part in was accessible to children of various dance abilities unlike the dance I have always experienced, allowing more children to feel involved in the class and enthusiastic to take part.

Health and Wellbeing – The reality of relationships

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The relationships we have with those around us shape the experiences we have within society, however I had never considered how the relationships that babies have in their early years can shape the experiences they have throughout the rest of their lives.

Dr Suzanne Zeedyk discussed in a video (Education Scotland, 2016) about brain development in the early years and highlighted how babies brains are flexible as they are born before their brain is fully developed. This means that they are able to cope with various environments whilst they are very young as they are adaptable, however once the norm is established, the effects on the child will be carried into adulthood. Dr Suzanne Zeedyk also described how the stress hormone, cortisol, can swamp the brain if it is constantly present in a child, leading to a struggle to remain quiet or calm. Due to this the child will always be hyper-vigilant, expecting danger at any moment. This also highlights that excess cortisol can cause issues for the child in relation to their education and also their interaction and relationships with other children. In class they will perhaps fall behind their peers as they are unable to stay focused but may also struggle with friendships as their anxiousness around others can lead to a lack of empathy and emotion. I found it extremely interesting to discover that something as seemingly small as stress in childhood can lead to massive implications in the future and it made me consider what I could do as a teacher if I noticed this behavior in my classroom.

After watching a second video by John Carnochan (Education Scotland, 2016) on the importance of early years, I was also shocked to discover that many of the most violent prisoners in Scotland experienced violence in their early years, often through domestic abuse. He described that children without a significant person in their life often grow up to become murders or offenders, however Carnochan argued that as this had been normal to them, it was hard to establish the person at fault. This was shocking to me as I had never considered how, by working to lessen the amount of domestic abuse cases within Scotland, we could actually lessen the amount of criminals in the future.

Overall, I found it very interesting to consider how relationships in the early years affect the future of the child. It highlighted to me that as a future teacher it is important to be a consistent person in the children’s lives so that every child may have one significant person in their lives that will support them, regardless of what they face when they return home.

References:

Education Scotland (2016) Pre-Birth to Three: Doctor Suzanne Zeedyk – Brain development. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lyjNIIJ0LM&index=6&list=PLcD2TdZ4bXSlQQO-QUF52X-SkQ9kI7Rlo (Accessed: 17/01/19).

Education Scotland (2016) Pre-Birth to Three: Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan – Importance of the early years. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl4p6EUW1h8 (Accessed: 17/01/19).