Tonight, Wednesday 23rd March, was the first time since starting university that I have truly felt inspired by children.
I have just spent my evening at the Caird Hall seeing Dundee Schools Orchestra and Bands Spring Concert. Thirty minutes after leaving, I’m still full of adrenaline and I am smiling from cheek to cheek.
Music is the heart and soul of my family. My dad is a trained music teacher. My mum and dad own and run three musical theatre companies, which I have gained a lot of my teaching experience from. I play both the piano and cello at grade 8, and spent several of my lunch times at school at orchestras and choir practice.
As a training teacher and someone with a love of music, it was so enjoyable to see so many children taking part in music tuition in a range of instruments to SUCH a high quality!
Primary 7 pupils from across Dundee took part in the Aspire Dundee Samba performance and it was absolutely FANTASTIC, transporting the audience to Africa! They were all so enthusiastic throughout the whole piece, executing choreography and difficult rhythm and timing, as well as displaying amazing cooperation and team work.
After reading so many books and articles about the importance of music, it was amazing to see the impact it truly has on young people. Hundreds of pupils stood on that stage tonight, with even more people packed into the audience, all beaming with pride.
Music really does play such an important part in a child’s life and the work that Dundee City Council have done to encourage and inspire youngsters into music is absolutely fantastic. And best of all, it is free! The Aspire programme that has been set up is groundbreaking, and I really hope that other local authorities across Scotland follow in their footsteaps.
If anybody is at a loose end tomorrow night then PLEASE go to the Caird Hall to support this fantastic talent.
Well done and thank you to the young people of Dundee, you made my week and showed everybody what music really is about!
Having spent a lot of my Sunday’s a child out exploring rock pools at Scurdie Ness Lighthouse, or trying to find Geo-Cache’s with my family, I’ve always enjoyed being outside. I don’t recall doing any Geography whatsoever when I was at primary school, apart from the water cycle maybe. We did topics on countries like Brazil and Canada, but I honestly don’t remember a single thing that we did so it can’t of been that prevalent. So when naive little me headed to secondary school and saw ‘Geography’ on my timetable, I just assumed I’d be learning about countries and that was it. Honestly. And what a shock I got.
One thing that has stuck with me for 6 years is when we studied Volcanoes. My teacher was great and tried to find fun and engaging ways to meet our learning. She showed us this song and the whole class erupted in laugher – pardon the pun – and I still find myself lying in bed at night with it stuck in my head. The geography department at my school was probably one of the best in the school. They all worked so so hard and knew their stuff.
So, I took Standard Grade Geography, and had a great class with the same teacher. We studied river erosion, and so we visited Edzell and did various experiments and tasks whilst we were there. That trip was both hilarious and miserable – it was absolutely pouring rain and the majority of us fell into the river. Ah well, good memories!
My friends and I on the bus coming home after getting soaked in the river!
Fifth year came and with it came Higher Geography, and a new teacher. There is literally no time to waste with this course and my teacher liked to talk for Britain – she literally had that much knowledge and passion about her subject that she could talk and talk and talk. Thursday mornings became a time of dread because we would sit for a double period listening to her talk about ‘Marvellous’ Marram Grass or how the glacier eroded the land into a U-shaped valley. I knew it was important but sometimes it got a bit boring and I felt myself daydreaming and losing concentration. But March came, and with it came a trip. But not just a day trip, it was a trip that we were away for three nights!
Our first stop was to the Lake District. We visited Ambleside and Grasmere, completing surveys on tourism in the town. The next day, we got up early and had a big walk through the countryside to visit a corrie, which was absolutely fantastic. I had learnt about this since 3rd year, so to finally see it for real was facinating! To say the views were breathtaking really is the truth.
My friends and I standing in front of a waterfall
A corrie with a lochan
Whilst all of this learning was going on, so did some socialising. The year below us also came on the trip and we made a lot of new friends and instead of just sitting in our rooms on our phones, we sat up playing old fashioned cards and twister and just had the best fun! The next day it was time to move on and travel further south to the Yorkshire Dales. I was SO excited for this because Malham Cove, a hotspot for tourism, is featured in one of the Harry Potter films and I’m a big fan.
Sunday began with a visit to Ingleborough Cave. It was amazing to see all of the stalactites and stalagmites. I didn’t appreciate how delicate they really were. The caves were so low though, and a lot of us kept bashing our heads against the roof – luckily we wore helmets!
Ingleborough Cave
Here comes the point of the trip where I thought I was going to collapse. We climbed Ingleborough Hill, and en route saw many geographical features. It really was the longest walk of my life and seemed to never end. Our teachers said ‘It’s just over that hill’….6 hours later we made it. I was proud of myself though, the views really were incredible and I felt like I was on top of the world.
On the final day, we visited Malham Cove on a glorious day. It made the trip and I remember feeling really sad as I got on the bus home. I honestly had the time of my life, and it was so good to actually see the features up close and in real life. I fully appreciated the amazing formations and sights I was learning about and it benefitted me so much when sitting in the exam and being able to picture standing on Malham Cove instead of just another picture in an old book.
Malham Cove
This reflection has made me realise just how important it is to get the children outside and actually see things in real life form. Until then, you do not appreciate the importance and value of it. It has to be interactive, engaging and capture them.
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!
When Sharon told us what our task was to be last week for our first animation input, I felt a great sense of nostalgia and so many happy memories came flooding back. I felt it was important to share this and reflect, because looking back it was such a significant aspect of my time at primary school.
When I was in primary seven, my teacher introduced our class to Moving Image Education (MIE) and we explored various projects and animations. Some used music or audio to tell a story, and others did not. This captured us all, as there were so many aspects to it, varying across so many curricular areas, and so it met all of our needs.
One project that has stuck in my mind, and will always stay with me as being one of the best experiences I had in primary school, was when we made a music video. It was just after Alexandra Burke had won the X-Factor and everybody was obsessed with her single ‘Hallelujah’ – and I mean Bluetooth-ing the song to all of our phones and blaring it 24/7 obsessed. Red Nose Day was coming up and we decided as a class that we wanted to raise some money, and this was what we chose – to lip-sync her song. We couldn’t believe it…we were getting to make a MUSIC VIDEO?! The excitement to try this, something that nobody in the school had every done before, was unreal. But we were all sworn to secrecy. We wanted it to be a surprise. And a surprise it was…however I do think some people began to get suspicious as to why the song was played twenty times a day.
A make-shift green screen in the corner of the classroom, hidden away so nobody visiting would see. We were each given a role in the process, whether it be organising who was miming what, helping to edit, making posters etc. Taking our turn, we stood in front of the ‘green screen’ and tried our best to match the vocals. We transformed our classroom into a cinema, and got popcorn to give out and created various trailers to play before the music video began. Honestly, I think we all felt like celebrities that day. The creativity and confidence we all gained from this project was enormous, and it was so enjoyable that we were continually motivated to get involved. I’m sitting smiling at my laptop screen as I write this, because honestly it was the best thing ever.
Our teacher noticed how well we reacted to this project and so tried something new. Like Sharon’s input with us, we were introduced to plasticine animation and how it worked. We all split into mini groups, thinking up story lines, characters, scripts, resources and so much more and created our animations. Relationships were built throughout the project, and we all learned to cooperate in such a fun, active way. My best friends and I created an animation on a granny at the hairdresser, and it was the most ridiculous thing ever but it was funny. I’ll try and see if I can upload it to this blog post. (Apologies for the bad quality, I had to record it from my phone cause the real video’s memory was too big.
Don’t judge though, I know it’s weird. We were eleven and had a thing for making people laugh…
Upon reflection on my experience in primary seven, I have begun to realise how significant this year was for me. My teacher was so enthusiastic and tried so many new and exciting things with us, and I really think my motivation to become a teacher was inspired by him.
Although animation and all things technology are not my strongest point, and the animation we made in our workshop is a reflection of this, I am so, so keen to try new things. I know how important it is to throw yourself out of your comfort zone, and I want to embrace this as much as possible. What is the point in life in sitting on the fence and never experiencing the thrill/adrenaline/dread of a new experience. Yes, it sometimes can be so daunting, but the satisfaction received after it cannot be replaced by any other feeling. I’m no animation guru, but I know with a bit of commitment, confidence and the right frame of mind I will some day be able to deliver such a fun, enjoyable and engaging lesson/project as my teacher once did.
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.
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.
Let’s be honest, everybody has suffered from anxiety at one point or another in their lifetime, whether it be education linked or not. It is a constant battle that we have to put up with, and is scary and unpleasant enough as it is, and not knowing how to understand, deal or cope with it makes it one hundred times worse. However, I really admire Richard for using his first workshop with us to help us tackle our fear – teaching a science lesson.
When I first read Richard’s email telling us that we had to prepare a two-minute science experiment, I’m not going to lie, I panicked. So many questions ran through my head and it got a little overwhelming for the first thirty seconds but then I realised that every other student in my year was in the same position, and there was no point fretting cause we all felt the same.
Considering I took science for all six of my school years at secondary, I really shouldn’t have felt the way I felt. I was never out of the science department, yet it felt like a foreign language when I sat down to decide what I was going to do. I decided to reflect on these years in science and tried to remember any simple experiments that I once participated in and memories of my third year standard grade biology class were most prominent. I had a great biology teacher. She was young and new to the school, and was so interested and engaged in every single one of us in the class. She had a new burst of energy which we all needed, and made the most boring topics exciting. I got on really well with her and was sad to see her leave at the end of the year.
The experiment I chose to demonstrate was one I did in S3, and it involved milk, washing up liquid and food colouring. It was a representation of the digestive system and how bile (washing up liquid) breaks down fat (milk). It separates the fat globules into smaller chunks so it is easier for the enzyme lipase to break down.
It is a really basic experiment. About a centimetre of whole fat milk on a dish. A drop of food colouring in four different colours in the centre of the dish. Then a drop of washing up liquid to the centre.
Before: During:
After:
Basically, the soap reduces the surface tension of the milk by dissolving the fat molecules like i mentioned before. The surface of the milk OUTSIDE the soap that was placed in the centre has a HIGHER surface tension so it repels the soap
To be fair, mine was not as glamorous as I remember it should have been, but it filled me with the confidence I needed and I now know that with a little prep, you can do anything you put your mind to. So thank you, Richard, for taking away my fear of teaching a science lesson, and it was a great way to start off the new semester! It really isn’t all that bad after all!
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.
Right from the word go this animation narrated by Sir Ken Robinson was engaging, taking me on the journey through education, diving deep into the errors we have created in the design of our current education system. It never struck me how old fashioned schooling is structured until now. But we must move on from this; how do we educate our children so that they have a sense of cultural identity while being part of the process of globalisation? One thing is for sure, by not living in the past. We cannot alienate children who do not see the purpose of school.
We are drilling the wrong ethos into what school is all about: Hard Work – Do Well – College – Job. That is not how it works anymore; there are so many different options to get you where you want to be but there is a lack of informing the young people about what is available.
Why are we educating children by age? Why do we assume that the most important thing we have in common is our age? Why don’t we base it on the children’s interests and abilities?
Another important idea that was raised and I found most interesting in the video was encouraging divergent thinking. I find it sad that our ability to think creatively decreases the older we get. Our education system that was created and based on the industrial revolution has programmed us to work, learn and do in a specific, manufactured way. This has eliminated our ability to think outside the box and quite frankly squashing our true potential. I have no imagination now, and I absolutely hate that. Where has that ability to invent scenarios and tell nonsense stories gone? Well, I think I have found my answer.
In conclusion, this animation indicates how important it is that our education system catches up with the increasing needs of children in the learning environment. It is having a negative impact on our children and we must get away from this manufactured way of learning and move on to more a dynamic, child-centred arrangement.
What challenges/opportunities you may be faced with when marrying the personal vs the professional presence on social media?
Prior to this task and the inputs on the online world, I was quite apprehensive about using social media in the professional workplace. My high school had various twitter accounts ranging from the library, sports clubs and additional science help, and generally speaking there were never any problems. I liked having that extra connection, and let’s be honest, it’s the platform that we all use nowadays, so it works well to get news out fast. But there is always that ‘what if?’ in the back of my mind in everything that I do.
I use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and I repeatedly flick through my newsfeed as part of my daily routine. However, they are all private and always have been. I don’t like the idea of not knowing who the audience reading about my day-to-day life are. That way, I can monitor who can and cannot view my posts, ensuring both my safety and privacy. I am considering making an additional twitter account for all things Education. Not because I don’t want any of my regular followers to read it, but in my opinion my personal life should not be combined with my professional life. That way, the balance is set and I do not have to worry. Reading through the GTCS Code, it is clear that we are in a very vulnerable industry and unfortunately one action can be misinterpreted and a have negative impact. It is absolutely vital that you always stop and think before you post – will it affect my profession? The GTCS code guidance is an essential document, highlighting the appropriate ethos you must maintain whilst in the professional environment.
How are the challenges/opportunities afforded by social media framed? How will you frame things – positive or deficit viewpoint?
Although the internet and social media has created a platform for us to broaden our learning and knowledge on anything and everything that we desire, it brings a lot of darkness too, and so it is essential that it is framed in a very safe and encouraging way. I find it hard to read and hear stories about explicit content being exposed on social media to children, swallowing up their innocence, like the one Derek shared about his daughter, purely because my childhood was not internet orientated. Why does something so great have to be so corrupt at the same time? As a teacher, I want to present the online world in a positive way however children must be made aware of the dangers, and the NSPCC have created a fun but very informative website I will definitely make use of. The resources are endless online, and GTCS have highlighted how fundamental the internet is in delivering the curriculum in an engaging and innovative way, in parallel to teaching our younger generation to make use of it in the most secure ways.
Why teaching? I’ve been asked that question a lot. My friends have asked me. My school teachers asked me. My parents’ friends asked me. Interviewers asked me. I even asked me. There are a lot of answers to that question and I guess there’s not just one straight forward answer. It’s all down to experience. My memories of school. How I remember the way teachers treated me and my classmates. Not all experiences were great, but I learned from them.
You know when you go on holiday to somewhere sunny, I think I’d been in Majorca, and you get the braid with the colourful beads and threads put into your hair after begging your Mum and Dad for the entire week? Well, I did that. I must have been about primary six, so probably ten years old. It was the end of the summer holidays, I’d had my ‘back-to-school haircut’ and my hair literally reached about an inch below my chin. So it was short. I’ve always been quite a sporty person, involved in lots of out of school activities, getting a hand at as many sports as I could. I was competitive, and I still am to be honest, so I naturally always looked forward to going to P.E with our specialist teacher that we only got once a week, especially since we hadn’t had gym in about seven weeks. We all rushed into the changing rooms and got changed as fast as we could, and me being competitive I tried to be the first one out every week. Most P.E teachers have a rule of no jewellery and long hair tied back. Which I completely respected, both my Mum and Dad are trained P.E teachers so I always made sure I had my hair tied off my face whenever it was a gym day. But since my hair had been cut short, whenever I tried to pull my hair back into a ponytail, it would just fall out. So I left it down, which I didn’t think would be a problem. Before I knew it, the P.E specialist grabbed my hair and tied it messily into a pineapple hairstyle with an elastic band, embarrassing me in front of my whole class. Everyone laughed, and I fought back the tears. Looking back on it, it makes me sad just thinking about how I must have felt when it happened. I went home for lunch and made my Dad take out the hair braid. I remember thinking ‘If I ever become a teacher, I will never do that’. And that memory of primary six P.E has stuck with me ever since.
I mentioned before that my Mum and Dad are both trained P.E teachers. My mum still is, but my dad now runs two children’s theatre companies. Since about 2011, I’ve helped after school with children ranging from age four to twelve. My job originally consisted of taking kids to the toilet- the joys! But with time, I became more confident, and began leading dance sessions and drama activities. I completely fell in love with my job, to the extent that it didn’t feel like work. I enjoyed seeing the look on a child’s face when they finally mastered a dance move. I wanted to be a teacher. That was the job for me. Still to this day I help at these classes, and it’s amazing to see how much each child has grown in confidence, and I know I have played a role in their development.
At secondary school, I played the role of ‘buddy’ in a lot of my classes, throughout third, fourth and fifth year, meaning I had to use my understanding of the subject to help others who weren’t so sure. It made me feel good about myself when they became confident in what we were learning and I knew I had helped them to get there, being that extra support whenever they needed it, whether it were in maths or biology. I loved my biology teacher. She was so passionate about her subject and our class, and always went above and beyond to help us out with anything. I felt like she was my friend and could trust her with anything. I wanted to be like her.
I want to give every child a chance, no matter what their ability. My Mum and Dad have encouraged me all throughout my life that if I want something, I have to work for it, and I want to share that lesson with as many children as I can. And one thing’s for sure, I will not turn out like that P.E teacher. Hopefully children will look forward to coming to school, and I can inspire pupils the way my biology teacher inspired me. I want to make an impact on their lives and they remember primary school in as many positive ways as possible.
So yeah, change of plan. This is what I’m writing about for the time being.
During: 
