Category Archives: 1 Prof. Values & Personal Commitment

Music For All!

Thinking and Reflecting

Last week, we were given some inspiration to revitalise our blogs, and it was definitely needed. It becomes difficult at times to prioritise time to dedicate writing our blog when there are so many other things going on, assignments, reading for placement, extra dance competition rehearsals, work and a social life. But I’ve come to realise there should be no excuses. No matter how busy my life is, I should be able to dedicate 30 minutes every week to sit and reflect on something – this is just as important as everything else in my life. Reflecting should not be a task.

Every blog post that was featured in our workshop last week was relatable and thought-provoking, and, most importantly, had a good message to reflect on. These posts are everything a blog should be, and my peers have inspired me to make more of an effort.

One of my closest friends here at uni wrote a blog post about ‘Fear of Feedback’. She nailed the concept on the head and really took the words out of my mouth. All my life I have been nervous to get something wrong, but not incase I disappoint myself, more so incase I disappoint someone else. I don’t like the idea of letting anybody down.

But where would we be in life without feedback? In order to develop in life and become successful, it is important to receive it – whether it is constructive or just sheer positive.

Our ePortfolio is the perfect place to share our thoughts, feelings and findings and receive comments from our peers, as well as reading or commenting on their posts. Every single of one of us on this MA Education programme have the same focus and aim – to be the best teacher we can be. I like receiving feedback, and I know it is difficult to challenge somebody you don’t know. I like to be told what people think of what I’m doing, writing or even, less education related I’ll admit, what I’m wearing! I think we constantly need to be finding ways to improve.

The ePortfolio has also been a place for me to just sort of de-stress. I, unfortunately, get stressed and anxious over anything. Once I write it down, I feel better! So I have decided to embrace the ePortfolio and make an effort to post at least once a week. I will comment on my peer learning group’s posts, and any of my other peers posts on Edushare that I enjoy! That’s my New Years Resolution, and it’s here in writing, so I better stick to it!

YOU DID WHA-….Oh don’t worry about it!

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I just sat down on the train and opened up my laptop ready to write my blog post on reflection and reading my peers blog posts when much to my horror the guy across from me spilt is coffee ALL OVER THE TABLE. I tried to get a picture of the mess but was too busy frantically trying to save my laptop and react quickly to the situation. Says a lot about our society as a whole though doesn’t it, as soon as something happens we immediately think to photograph it. Here is the outcome of the situation though.. a lot of tissues.

12596870_10208454041249136_1352168278_o So yeah, change of plan. This is what I’m writing about for the time being.

It kind of happened in slow motion, he took the lid off (who knows why) and it went absolutely everywhere. And because we are on a train, it was rocking back and forth, spilling one way then the other. I could have easily gone mental at him and made his life a hell of a lot worse by making him feel bad. But I am fine, my laptop survived (thank god) and nobody died, to put it quite simply. That’s all that matters. I thought to myself, what’s the point in making a big deal?

And then something came to mind; things like this are going to happen on a daily basis when I go into the school. Things are not going to go to plan. Lessons that I have sat for hours preparing could be thrown out the window purely based on a child’s change of behaviour. A fire alarm might go off. A concept might not be understood the way you thought about. The list is endless. You just have to take a breather and try to process how to fix the situation rather than focus on the negatives. I need to be patient, which I definitely was. It really isn’t the end of the world, and when things go wrong, it’s good to be able to reflect on them.

Honestly, I’m glad this happened, as weird as it sounds. Although I now stink of coffee, I have learned a life lesson. Another box I can tick. The glass is half full, I can wash my jeans! Expect the unexpected…but try to keep your lid on your coffee when you’re on a train, just to be on the safe side.

Professional Values Workshop – Integrity

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This morning’s input with Carrie was very engaging and a completely new style of delivery, through a workshop. Not only was it a good opportunity to focus on the GTCS Standards Section 1, which we will use a great deal when on Professional Practise, but it was great to engage with other members of the year, sharing our interpretations of the task. At the beginning of the workshop we were divided into a “home group” which consisted of four of us. Shortly after, we were each given a number, assigning us to our “expert group” and it was within this group that exchanged ideas for fifteen minutes on our given topic, mine being ‘Integrity’. We then returned to our home group and discussed our opinions and findings with the rest of the group, however my group ran out of time.

Prior to beginning our discussion, it was highlighted that we must dig deep into the topic, finding examples which can demonstrate and reflect out use of integrity in the classroom.

Integrity

Demonstrating openness, honesty, courage and wisdom.

If you are unsure about how to approach something or have a problem, seek help, demonstrating courage. If a child asks an open question, do not brush it off or avoid it, focus on it. Explore these areas with the children. It is important to expose children to the reality of life, do not hide them from it. An example of this that can be related to the news right now would be the photograph that immerged recently of the Syrian orphan who was washed up on the beach. If a child sees this and questions you, it is crucial that you discuss it. After all, these incidents are real life and so it is important we do not suppress it. If you expect a child to trust you, you must be open and honest with them. Lastly, we all agreed that if you make a mistake, it is important to admit where you were wrong and be open to change.

Critically examining personal and professional attitudes and beliefs and challenging assumptions and professional practice.

We found this point slightly harder to discuss, however with a bit of aid from Carrie, we understood the meaning. We felt one of the most important tasks to do with balancing our personal and professional attitudes is knowing when it is appropriate to share your own opinion. Yes, it can be a good thing to input your view, however you cannot and must not force an opinion on your pupils (e.g. during the Referendum, your own vote should be kept to yourself)

We must also try to get rid of any preconceived thoughts on a specific subject or topic, even if it is not one of your strengths. Ask yourself, ‘how can I amend my teaching to meet a child’s needs?’ One issue Carrie raised with us was if you were to overhear a child say ‘that’s gay’ in the playground, using it in the wrong context. We can try to combat a child’s assumptions by relating back to a previous lesson, for example sexual education, and make them realise that it is not appropriate.

Critically examining the connections between personal and professional attitudes and beliefs, values and practices to effect improvement and, when appropriate, bring about transformative change in practice.

We felt that it was important to be open minded and we can achieve this by doing research and finding resources to give children different perspectives. We felt that it is ineffective to just follow the textbook as is more than one answer and it is fundamental to keep the pupils engaged. Using our personal beliefs or experiences to modify the way topics are taught so that the children have a full understanding may also be beneficial.

I really enjoyed this task, and although our home group weren’t able to share all of our discussions I will try my best to do my own research on how to achieve these aims, and I look forward to adding to them when I go out on placement.