September 24, 2018
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Comments Off on Establishing Social Issues With A Pencil, Paper Clips and Blue Tac
Through the first of our ‘Values: Self, Society and The Professions’ workshops, we were split into groups within our class of 30 and each given an envelope. Within this envelope, my group was faced with a pencil, blue tac, some paper clips, a single post-it note, an elastic band and the challenge to devise and […] Continue reading
September 24, 2018
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Comments Off on Memorable Classes in School – The Creative Arts
Throughout my time at school (both in primary and secondary), the most memorable classes for me were ones that emphasised on skills primarily used in the creative arts. Be this cutting cardboard with Stanley knives to make human sized dinosaurs or presenting wall posters describing Orkney’s role in World War 2. My favourite experience at […] Continue reading
September 23, 2018
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Comments Off on Thinking outside the envelope…
During the Values class on Tuesday, the class was split into 5 groups, each group receiving the same big brown envelope (or so we thought). We were then all given the same task of thinking of and creating something that we would have found useful as new university students, using only the supplies given to […] Continue reading
September 21, 2018
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Comments Off on King of the World – Are Adults Paying Attention to the Fundamental Needs of Children?
Recently, I have been working closely and regularly with Early Years level children in a non-classroom based setting. The age range of these children is three to seven. All of these children attend a private, fee-paying school in Edinburgh with excellent staff, beautiful grounds, and an abundance of fantastic resources at their disposal. The school is […] Continue reading
September 20, 2018
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Comments Off on Structural Inequalities
So today we participated in a very insightful group activity within out Values Module. The class was split into four groups and each group was given an envelope that contained a selection of stationary materials. Each tables pack contained different materials, some groups having more than others. We were then asked to discuss in our […] Continue reading
September 19, 2018
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Comments Off on A Lesson in Structural Inequalities
Yesterday I realised a some-what hard hitting truth that I thought I already knew. Personal bias is everywhere. It is as instinctual in humans as our sense of survival. Whether we like to admit it or not, favouritism is more present in our lives than we would like to admit. Be it a favourite friend […] Continue reading
September 13, 2018
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Comments Off on Einstein was wrong…
Einstein once said: “The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education”. An odd quote, perhaps. However, I have never claimed to be Einstein and will never claim to be. To me, Einstein was wrong. Education inspires, enlightens and drives children to prosper and be the best they can be and as an […] Continue reading
June 10, 2018
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Comments Off on Moving on
I always knew I wanted to teach. This, I now know, is due to the pleasure I get from seeing others succeed and the knowledge that I helped them achieve their best. After transferring from MA Education to MA English lit. I decided to use the skills I had gained through the MA Education program […] Continue reading
May 5, 2018
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Comments Off on The Multi-Cultural Evening at ISS
On Friday (4th of May 2018), ISS held its yearly event known as the Multi-Cultural Evening. I had been waiting for this day with anticipated joy because so many people had told me in the run up to it that it was a night that could not be missed at ISS! What the multi-cultural evening […] Continue reading
April 18, 2018
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Comments Off on Exhibition Topics – A.Is in Education, Hacking and Warfares – My Inquiry
I have first explored what the actual purpose behind the Grade 5 exhibition is, however, I also want to write a particular entry into my portfolio where I explore some of the main topics that have interested me; the topics that the children have chosen to explore, I mean. One of the biggest one I […] Continue reading
April 16, 2018
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Comments Off on Ethnicity
Learning from life has been a truly incredible experience. I have literally learned from life during my time in France. I was aware of the separation of religion and state before coming to the country. However, my eyes were opened after being submerged in the culture of my school. The French Education system is considered […] Continue reading
February 17, 2018
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Comments Off on Baby Steps, Big Dreams: Journey to my mental health recovery
So I haven’t posted in a while (a year and a half ago eek!) but I have been taking time to blog on my own personal life. Truth is, this year really hasn’t been easy and to know I have made it through and to still be at university is a blessing. A lot has […] Continue reading
February 17, 2018
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Comments Off on Fake-ish News
Something that has recently been brought to my attention, yet again, is the idea that social media has made us less sensitive to the issues that are plaguing our world day in and day out. Of course, the tragic shooting at Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida has brough this to light. I for one […] Continue reading
February 12, 2018
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Comments Off on Scientific Literacy
Scientific literacy “stands for what the general public ought to know about science” (Durant 1993, p. 129) and “puts emphasis on the understanding of science and technology by those who are not, and do not expect to be, professional scientists and technologists” (Hurd 1997). In order for any scientific advancement the people must have a […] Continue reading
February 6, 2018
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Comments Off on Year of the Woman
This year marks 100 years since women gained the right to vote in the UK. This was a monumental point in history. The suffragettes forged the way for us to make this world an equal place. If we all exercised our right to vote we could achieve true equality; not even just on the bases […] Continue reading
February 3, 2018
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Comments Off on Providing a Structure to Eliminate Fear – The Drama Lesson
Drama is one of the curricular areas in which many teachers fear teaching. They don’t want to take the risk that if they bring their class onto the school stage, chaos will erupt, and behavioural management becomes more difficult to implement than ever before. With these assumptions, I ask how are we to encourage children […] Continue reading
January 30, 2018
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Comments Off on Year One Half Done – The Moment That Made Me Think
If I was asked to describe my first semester in University, I would do so by describing it as not what I expected, but eye opening and thought provoking nonetheless. I anticipated starting my Higher Education by delving straight into the pedagogy of teaching, however instead I was obliged to undertake two interdisciplinary modules with CLD and Social […] Continue reading
January 26, 2018
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Comments Off on Kefi for the Kids
Health and Wellbeing: This blog post is written as a reflection on a lecture about keeping our students active, fit and healthy. Diet? What’s that word? Remind me again. Children should never hear those four letters blended together in the perimeters of a classroom – unless it’s for The Times National Spelling Bee (for tiny-tots, … Continue reading “Kefi for the Kids” Continue reading
January 26, 2018
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Comments Off on This is not a disclaimer.
After reading some friends’ blogs (Kara and Blaze) I decided that it was time to do my own, extremely belated, “National Coming out day” post. You can probably guess what my main point is going to be, you have probably read a number of blog posts about how straight people don’t have to ‘come out’ […] Continue reading
January 19, 2018
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Comments Off on New year, same pressures?
The New Year and new semester are now well underway and with this, brings a time for reflection. This past semester has taught me to have more faith in my own abilities. I have always wanted to go to Scotland to study; moving over here was an exciting new chapter of my life. However, I […] Continue reading
