February 22, 2016
by
Comments Off on Banana’s in pyjamas? No – PARENTS in pyjamas!
A recent headline to hit the news was “Parents asked to stop wearing pyjamas on the school run” – of course, due to its unusualness, the story was circulated a lot around social media sites and it received both support and backlash from parents, pupils and staff. The story focused around a primary school in […] Continue reading
February 19, 2016
by
Comments Off on Why is Teaching Health and Wellbeing Important?
Firstly, I would like to say how strongly I feel about the importance of teaching children about Health and Wellbeing from a very early age. I think it would be ridiculous to teach children about fractions and symmetry but not educate them at all about looking after themselves. Health and Wellbeing focuses on many different […] Continue reading
February 18, 2016
by
Comments Off on Health and Wellbeing – One girl’s opinion
In my opinion Health and Wellbeing is one of the most important areas in the Scottish curriculum. It is where students are able to learn about and discuss relationships, physical education and wellbeing, mental wellbeing, emotional wellbeing and social wellbeing just to name a few. In the principles and practice document for the Scottish curriculum it […] Continue reading
February 16, 2016
by
Comments Off on Just Another Post About Science Literacy..
If you’re looking at the title and thinking its a bit strange, let me explain… For our latest tutor directed task at the university, all the first years were asked to get together into groups and write 600 words as a team about what science literacy is, discuss an example of inaccurate media reporting and to […] Continue reading
February 16, 2016
by
Comments Off on Scientific Literacy
Group One Lucy Allen, Corrie Donaldson, Eildih Lamont and Skye McLauchlan Assessment criteria: AC1 – Explanation of the concept of scientific literacy – Skye McLauchlan AC2 – Analysis of an example where a lack of scientific literacy has led to inaccurate media reporting. AC3 – Discussion of how teaching fair testing in school science links […] Continue reading
February 14, 2016
by
Comments Off on Science Literacy
After a recent input on the ‘Science Literacy’ we were asked, in groups, to produce an informative short piece related to the input. Not only was this to consolidate what we had learned but also to develop our understanding, awareness and appreciation of what ‘Science Literacy’ really is and how fundamental it is within the […] Continue reading
February 13, 2016
by
Comments Off on Lunchtime Lunacy
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/parents-could-forced-pay-children-7357886?ICID=FB_mirror_main I found this article while scrolling through social media a few days ago, and was appalled by what I read. A council in South Wales are proposing to charge parents for sending their children to school with a packed lunch due to the amount that it is costing them for the clean up of these […] Continue reading
February 11, 2016
by
Comments Off on Making This Blog Count
Today I spoke to some students from the University of West Scotland about this blog. It was to discuss what it is all about and in part reflect on what it has done for me. We used skype which I have to admit I rarely use unless it is to talk to my mother so […] Continue reading
January 30, 2016
by
Comments Off on Upstart?
On the 26th January I went to a talk about a campaign called Upstart. I wasn’t very sure what the talk was going to be about but I thought that I would be able to see what is happening in Scotland with regards to education. I found the talk interesting and it brought up ideas […] Continue reading
January 29, 2016
by
Comments Off on Just Breathe…
When previously considering the role of the teacher, I was guilty of envisioning WHAT they were teaching their class… However, since the very first lecture, it has become very apparent that, yes, the content of a lesson is important, but so is HOW the lesson is delivered. The presence of the class teacher is important […] Continue reading
January 28, 2016
by
Comments Off on Upstart, let’s get started
So I walked into the Upstart presentation/talk/debate with a definite bias for upping the school age to 7! I have always believed the rigidity of primary school was a drastic change at an impressionable age and too much of a downgrade in child led play. However after tonight I realise that I am surrounded by […] Continue reading
January 28, 2016
by
Comments Off on Why do we need to be qualified to teach dance in primary schools?
I found that this was the first question in my mind when I saw our dance workshop early on in a Friday morning. I never would have thought that as a Primary Teacher, this would be a requirement as part of the curriculum. I do not particularly look back fondly upon the many hours of […] Continue reading
January 27, 2016
by
Comments Off on Upstart Dundee Launch
Upstart is a campaign for a nationwide moment to push back the starting age for school in Scotland from 4 or 5 years old to 7 years old to allow time for play and for children to be a child for as long as possible. Queue the mad panic from parents. But just wait… There […] Continue reading
January 27, 2016
by
Comments Off on Upstart Campaign- Introducing Kindergarten to Scotland
During last semester a few different lecturers mentioned that of the Nordic school model where children start school later (around 7) and catch up very quickly and even overtake those who started school earlier by the time they reach eleven or so. This was something I wanted to look into further but never got round to doing. […] Continue reading
January 27, 2016
by
Comments Off on Upstart Scotland
Last night I went to the Dundee Launch of the Upstart Scotland campaign. I went in not really knowing what I had signed up for, but I thought if nothing else I would come out more knowledgeable about what is going on in the world of education,. I decided to give it a go and I was […] Continue reading
January 27, 2016
by
Comments Off on Holocaust Memorial Day 2016
In September 2014 I visited the largest concentration camps from the Holocaust: Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz Birkenau where at least 1.1 million people were murdered. I took part in the experience through the Holocaust Educational Trust in a project called “Lessons from Auschwitz” where two people from my Advanced Higher History class were chosen through […] Continue reading
January 26, 2016
by
Comments Off on I’d better get out there and do it then!
Geography in school was something that was never really covered – or at least not in my primary school. History was something covered well and to an extent mostly just about the local area – that was 60 miles away (if I did culloden once at school I did it a thousand times!). The most […] Continue reading
January 25, 2016
by
Comments Off on Secondary School Entrance Exams: does it help or hinder?
Growing up in Northern Ireland, I always knew that once I reached Primary 6/Primary 7 I had to knuckle down and work hard to pass my 11+ exam. I knew that my secondary school experience could be very different depending on what school I got the grades to go to. Practice paper after practice paper; spending […] Continue reading
January 25, 2016
by
Comments Off on Tackle Inequality to Achieve Better Outcomes for Individuals
Colin Miller. Head of Essential Skills and Progression at West Lothian Council says: “We’re finding that girls who are good at maths and science at school tend to go into the care side of things (doctors and nurses) rather than engineering and construction”. ….This could be due to the fact that engineering and construction occupations […] Continue reading
January 25, 2016
by
Comments Off on Paddington Bear Story Sack
My first input for Language was something I found really interesting and engaged with. I love childrens stories and am always looking at the new releases in the childrens sections in Waterstones and read to the children everyday when I worked in the nursery. The TDT however really excited me because my favourite activity in […] Continue reading
