5 Attributes..

These 5 attributes are some which I believe are very important in terms of being teacher.

Integrity

Official definition; 1- The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.

2- The state of being whole and undivided.

My view of this is:

To be professional you must have integrity as it important to be open and honest with your class as they ask difficult questions or challenge your own person views. It is being open to change with your techniques, attitudes and beliefs. It is also being open and honest in terms of asking for help when it’s required or seeking advice on issues which you thought maybe didn’t go so well and there’s possibility for change. It’s also using your own experiences to help within the school environment, whether it being in the classroom or in the staff room etc. I think integrity is having the confidence and the courage to speak up when problems arise and support is essential. It’s also having the confidence and courage to voice your views (appropriately and where necessary) on different topics which you teach with the children however doing it in a way in which you aren’t persuading the children to think the same way, making it clear that these thoughts are purely personal.

Patience

Official Definition: The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.

My view of this is:

To be a professional teacher you must have patience as it is important in all aspects of your job; within and out with the classroom. Children will be very challenging with your patience as a teacher as some individuals will take longer to grasp certain aspects of the course where others will fly through certain work. Also many children will challenge your patience as a teacher as they will become unmotivated and distracted easily where they won’t want to do their work therefore it is your responsibility to keep them on track. However if a child continues to do this it will become very irritating and disruptive, being a professional with patience will allow you to deal with these situations appropriately. Also within the staff room if a class with personalities occur patience is essential to avoid confrontation and allow a healthy, comfortable work environment. Moving onto parents, having patience with parents is important as they should be comfortable with asking both simple and complex questions in which you have the patience to; answer, discuss and explain to them anything they may not understand.

Empathy

Official Definition: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

My view of this is:

To be a professional teacher it is important to have empathy as children will normally be more comfortable and work best when the teacher can relate to them. It’s important when a child doesn’t understand the work given to them that you understand their struggle and you can relate to them as this will help you have the appropriate approach when discussing any issues with them. Having empathy will also allow children to be more comfortable in exploring ideas where they’ll ask more questions and feel at ease when making mistakes that they can then learn from. It is also important to have empathy when talking with parents if there has been an issue with their child. It’s important to understand where the parent may be in terms of their emotions and their understanding of the issue which is of concern therefore it is essential to approach them with the appropriate manner.

Tolerance

Official definition; 1- The ability or willingness to tolerate the existence of opinions or behaviour that one dislikes or disagrees with.

2- the capacity to endure continued subjection to something such as a drug or environmental conditions without adverse reaction.

My view of this is:

Tolerance is very beneficial to a professional teacher as they will be challenged very single day where their tolerance within the classroom will be pushed to the limit. Being a teacher is often a challenge where children’s behaviours can be very unruly and it is difficult to get them back on track with the appropriate behaviour. Children will also have opinions on certain work where it’s possibly even the opinion of ‘what’s the point in this I’m never going to need this… I’m not doing this’ which proves to be a struggle when keeping children on task. Therefore having tolerance is very significant. It is needed in order to deal with situations without ‘loosing it’ and shouting at the children as this has no real benefit. Having tolerance within the classroom will help to provide a happy, controlled and relaxing environment where tempers are kept at a minimum and children don’t waste their time ‘winding up’ their teacher.

Fairness

Official Definition: is the quality of making judgments that are free from discrimination.

My view of this is:

To be a professional teacher fairness is one of the most important attribute’s as each and every child should be treated with equal opportunities within the classroom. Education is something which should be provided to all children will the same level of quality whether it be in a deprived area or a very developed area. Whether a child comes from a rough/working class background or a wealthy/middle class background their education and the attitude shown from the teacher should be no different. This is also important in terms of gender and ethnicity where a child should never be treated any different due to something which is out with their own control. This is essential for children to experience during school and it is essential for teachers to provide this to each child throughout their school experience where they should reinforce this to the children and stop any behaviour which shows any form of discrimination.

Sharing comments…

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Personally I found receiving feedback a very useful and positive experience which helped me reflect on my post in a different way from the way I had previously. I enjoy receiving comments on my posts as it highlights to me whats going right and what I need to improve on in my next post. It also gives me a variety of points which enhances/challenges my understanding of my opinions on different areas which allows me to explore them further therefore receiving a better understanding. I like discussions about topics where I enjoy hearing other people opinions and reflecting on my own to see if they can be changed or not, this normally happens during comments.

Giving peer feedback I found great as well, however I have realised how difficult it is to read things critically as all blog posts I read I found only positive comments to make. However I think with more practice of this I will soon be able to find a balance with giving compliments and development points. I enjoy reading others blog posts as I find it very interesting to see what they’ve took from a certain area.

With my future studies I will be aware that peer review really benefits me in my own reflection and understanding of my own opinions or on work I have to understand. I know in future I will find myself asking my peers to read over my comments or my work and get them to comment on the things which are and aren’t working as I do this already however I feel it’s necessary for me to remember and do this to others as well.

In the classroom I feel it is important to have other teachers review on; lessons i’ll carry out, work I will produce for the children, my marking on pupils work which I found difficult to mark and the way I deal with challenged within the classroom etc. I feel peer review will be very important to support my learning as a teacher within the classroom. I also feel it’s important to introduce peer review to the children i’ll be teaching and allowing them to this during their work throughout the year, I think it’s beneficial to children to have their peers review their work as a lot of the time peer comments are more meaningful to children than teacher comments are therefore I think it is important to allow the children to do this.

Overall I find peer review to be a very useful and positive experience which I will take into my classroom to help my development as a teacher and to support the children as they develop.

Professionalism: My Views…

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After watching these videos and taking my own notes on the different opinions/views on professionalism I have gathered some of my own thoughts on them…

Video 1

I completely agreed with everything that was brought up in this video. I think it’s making a very strong, powerful point when looking at professionalism. How the doctor and nurse explained their jobs are very similar to teaching, in my opinion. We take a child who has a certain level of knowledge and skills where we then work with them to develop them further as individuals, this brings the great satisfaction which is felt by the doctors and nurses when taking in a patient and making them better. I think that when you have had a significant impact on a child’s life where they’re grown and developed as individuals who are equipped to move on and develop even further what you’ve taught them in your year of working with them a great satisfaction will be felt. Passion, dedication, loving your job, team work, commitment, enthusiasm, being reachable etc. is what professionalism looks like according to some of the teachers in the video. I feel strongly about all of these factors as I think they all make such a huge different to treating teaching as your job; something that needs to be done for a couple of hours and being professional where you’ll see teaching as more than just a job, more than just a couple of hours in the classroom. Being a teacher means going above and beyond your duties; it’s caring for the whole community and taking into account the difference you’re making in it and not just the children. Being a professionalism means always staying informed with the; new curriculum, new discussions, new issues and new teaching methods. To be professional we must be aiming to meet/going beyond the quality and the standard of which society expects us to guarantee the children. It’s mentioned in the video that teachers aren’t just the educator of the child but the educator of the community, they have such a wider impact than only the child sitting in their classroom. Therefore being a professional is taking this into consideration and putting in extra effort out of school hours and out of the school. In saying this though it’s important to have an aim in your efforts, it’s important to know what you’re doing and what you want the outcome to be in the end as this will allow you to help spread your knowledge and skills throughout many people’s lives.

Video 2

I split this video up into 5 sections for the different teachers opinions on professionalism;

The notes I took from the Miss Catherine Long were points which conflicted with some of my personal views. Personally I don’t feel as though professionalism is becoming more noticed within society this present day. I find it has always been noticed merely the concept of professionalism has changed. When you look back 40 odd years now you find teachers were professional in terms of; their classroom environment, their delivery of information, the methods of teaching, working with the pupils, teacher/pupil relationships and their involvement with children at break times etc. For all teachers these factors were to be addressed in the same manner therefore they approached these in professional ways. However in the 21 century professionalism has changed and adapted for the new education system. These days their are big differences on what is classed as professionalism. Teachers have varieties in their classrooms environments, methods of teaching due to the new outlook on teaching. Working with the pupils is approached in a number of different ways and the teacher/pupil relationship has changed dramatically as they must adapt with society and the changes which occur in it, taking into consideration the new attitudes of children and their development. Teachers involvements at break times have changed as aspects of behaviour were highlighted and must be monitored etc. There are many changes which I feel has altered our view of professionalism and therefore I feel society has more of a voice now because everyone has different view points.

I agreed with everything Mrs Nursen Chemmi explained in the video. I feel teachers have a huge role to play as children will use them as role models where they will copy the way in which you speak/act. Professionalism should mean you’re continuously being a positive role model in their lives are many children will either be missing a mother/father figure or not have positive role models in their lives. Children are influenced very easily therefore as a teacher you should take this into consideration and ensure you’re influencing them appropriately.

The first part Mrs Coleen Walsh spoke about is the same as Mrs Nursen Chemmi, however the second part was very interesting for me as it is something that I find is affecting children more often. Children should never be judge by their home life as it’s something which they have no control over. If children were judged on their home lives and parents then there would be extremely unfair judgements both positive and negative. Every single child should be treated equally and given the same chance with their education.

Mrs Erin Smith raised the point that professionalism should be used differently with different groups of people, to a certain extent I agree with this. Professionalism should vary slightly depending on who you are communicating with however your communication should still be clear and you should still have appropriate attitudes towards each individual the same. I find that when communicating with different individuals it’s important to keep your key values of professionalism therefore you’ll always respect and approach them appropriately.

Miss Catherine Long describes here essentially that teachers should be engaging with what I just learned to be an enquiring practitioner. As from my previous blog post I have explained why it is important to be involved in practitioner enquiry. I feel these are very important and significant words which I strongly agree with in terms of professionalism.

Video 3

Chris

I think that Chris had a very positive message about teachers! I enjoyed listening to him and felt as though he had an important, inspiring speech. Chris’s passion really shone through in his message where he believes teachers are ver important and should be treating well while being payed well. I agree with him as he describes how teachers should valued as we care for kids. This is such a true statement which I feel is overlooked a lot. Teachers care for every single child in their class and in their school, hence the reason most teachers go above and beyond to help their children learn and develop. It was very refreshing and I think many teachers would agree with Chris’s words here.

Karen

I disliked Karens statement and I disagreed with it hugely. Karen states that she is an educational worker who merely punches a clock, I think this is a hugely negative view on being a teacher which will have a very negative impact on her work as a teacher. Personally I do not feel that being a teacher is a job in which you can punch a clock as you must dedicate so much of your time and energy into it. In my opinion Karen is not a professional teacher, nor is she someone who is taking her job serious enough. She has a variety of children of different ages and different abilities who are all counting on her support to aid them with their development however with this negative attitude Karen will not be able to do this effectively. I think it’s a very irresponsible and selfish view she has on her job.

Participating in Practitioner Enquiry…

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So what is a Practitioner Enquiry?

A practitioner enquiry is an individual who actively engages with their own practice based research. They will reflect on their research to help them improve/deepen their own knowledge. Practitioner enquiry is key in when being professional as it will allow you to gain a better understanding of your practice which is essential with primary teaching as it’s a profession which is continuously changing. Being involved in practitioner enquiry doesn’t always mean research into your profession alone, it can also be groups of individuals who come together to share their research and knowledge which they’ve learned from their reflection. Learning and sharing within a group allows teachers to explore questions which have cropped up during their lessons or during observations in another’s lesson.

http://www.gtcs.org.uk/professional-update/practitioner-enquiry/practitioner-enquiry.aspx

So why should we participate in practitioner enquiry?

Here is a list of some of the benefits;

Increases the teacher’s knowledge which benefits not only them themselves but also the; children, parents, school and community.
Gaining a greater knowledge will benefit the children’s learning experiences and the learning environment of which they learn in.
Sharing and discussing information with other teachers can help improve your own understanding on it while allowing you to use this appropriately.
Having a deeper knowledge will improve a child’s achievements as you will be more equipped when teaching them.
Also having a deeper knowledge will improve the pupils development as a greater understanding from the teacher will allow a significant positive impact on the child.
The teachers who are getting involved with practitioner enquiry are able to be greatly more involved with current challenges which are discussed within the education.
Allows teachers to continuously develop and keep a record of their development.
Improve techniques of research for teachers allowing them to use and manipulate these techniques within lessons or other aspects of their profession.
When sharing research it allows for ideas from colleagues which can improve your understanding.

The potential gains from teachers engaging in practitioner enquiry, as noted above, offer significant value for the wider school improvement agenda. Staff are able to work individually and collectively to investigate, question, consider and plan for change and development. This kind of school improvement is evidence-informed and critically justified.

http://www.gtcs.org.uk/professional-update/practitioner-enquiry/why-practitioner-enquiry.aspx#benefits

Here is a list of some of the Challenges;

Many teachers/students may find it intimidating as it will highlight areas which they thought they were comfortable with therefore it will push them out their comfort zone.
It involves developing new skills for many teachers which may unsettle them.
It includes seeking further knowledge on subjects which are ‘touchy’ and are often just accepted.
The outcome is not always fast nor is it always clear.
The research found must always relate back to education.
Must plan your time when participating.
You are challenging yourself which is a very difficult task for many people.

Therefore taking both the benefits and the challenges into account I feel for me as a student, being an enquiring practitioner is essential. Personally I like to question why and find out more information on many subjects however I don’t take this approach normally when I’m looking at ‘school’ or ‘university’ topics. I feel coming straight from school has built me up to accept information that I was taught, memorise is and re-write it in an exam. However being at university is the exact opposite. I find that this course allows me and encourages me to question my techniques on learning and understanding. It also encourages me to question the knowledge i’m being taught which allows me to seek further information, ensuring I’m understanding it and interpreting it in my own way. Also using this Eportfolio is helping me record my development where I can look back at certain blog posts to find out whether my views have changed after reading something related. It is also helping me to communicate and share my knowledge and information with me peers and allowing me to view there’s which I find to be hugely interesting and helpful as sometimes makes me question my own thoughts on parts of the course where I go back over it and discuss their thoughts with them. I find this to be the start of my participation in being an enquiring practitioner. It’s something I’m finding to be greatly helpful and interesting and I’m excited to take this throughout my journey into becoming a primary teacher as it will make a significant difference in terms of my impact on the; children, parents, school, community and colleagues.

Gibb’s Reflective Cycle

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Gibbs reflective cycle effects everyone continuously in their day to day lives, especially students who are studying at; school, college, university or any other educational setting.

Here we can view what Gibbs reflective cycle looks like;

http://www.northallertonvts.org.uk/eportfolio/reflection

This cycle can be used in everyday situations that will occur. However as a student I will be applying it to different situations which arise in my course, then as a teacher I will apply this to any class lessons or situations I find myself within the classroom.

Bethany Alden Rivers video has helped me to understand what reflection is and how I can use the reflective cycle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wHANninAl4

My break down of this video;

The process of reflection can help us to explore the thoughts and assumptions which we already have on certain areas that will allow us to come to conclusions with any problems we come across. Normally when in an argument or misunderstanding with someone we compare our original thoughts to theirs in attempt to make sense of the information that is being confused. In the end we come to a conclusion as both people have voiced their different thoughts where they will have reflected on the information shared to bring a full understanding to each individual.
When we are working together on a misunderstanding we are creating new knowledge together which we will continue on to use in a separate situation. This will normally then make new information as it is being used with a new, separate experience therefore this is showing the cycle to be starting all over again. This is the explanation of the cycle continuing.
Reflection is a way to actually take information from a topic/situation. To allow information to be fully understood we need to use it in real life, therefore the Gibbs reflective cycle is important to all pupils or students as it involves an action plan before we start the cycle over. This then links back to number 2 as by having an action plan we are using the new knowledge in a situation allowing us to manage our own learning.

Doing the task from the video and the other tasks from the online units I have came to the conclusion that reflecting is taking information; new or old, from an experience or lesson and thinking deeply about it, making sense of it in your own way where the information is modified to suit you. It’s then taking that information and applying it to a situation or using it in a real life situation which helps you to understand it fully. Often reflecting is used in my own life when something negative happens and so I look at the information I received from the experience and I explore the issue to make sure I understand it fully. I then think about what I can change about the information to allow it to be positive or for future experiences to be different from the negative one. Another example of reflecting in my personal life is in lessons I learn new information which I focus on more and understand more thorough. I then do an activity, write an essay or do a presentation on that piece of work which allows me to use it therefore it becomes information which I fully understand. I can then use this and link it with any new information I learn later on in my education.

Reflecting is very important when it comes to my lifetime as a student as I will be constantly reflecting on my learning and my attitude towards my learning. It is also very important when I make my development into a teacher as I will still constantly be reflecting but it’ll then be a reflection of my own lessons and my attitudes towards them and the children I’ll be teaching. Reflection is an important part of life, we are continuously reflecting without even realising it. However I feel as though it is important to use reflection in an effective way when learning to help with overall understanding of coursework. Reflection will become increasingly more important as presentations and essays are marked or placement feedback is given as it will be essential to reflect on any marks or feedback to ensure a correct approach can be taken withe the next steps.

Inspiration

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This video of Joseph Lekuton which was linked within the online unit has filled me with such admiration and has inspired me considerably. Listening to him tell the story of the blind man and the man with no legs was incredible. It made me think and link it to lots of different ideas I have but most importantly the idea that this is the type of situation that will be happening when I’m teaching a class. The children will be the legs where I will be their eyes. I will be able to lead them to a positive destination by the end of the year, not only in their academic life but also within their personal lives. They will come into my classroom at the start of the year having no idea in their minds of where they will be when they finish their 12 months with me. Even if I were to tell them everything I plan on doing with them throughout the year they still won’t understand how much they will develop throughout the year. I will though, which means I can use my education and my own experiences/connections to aid the children as Joseph is doing with his community. I will be able to teach them the academic course set out for the year however that’s not what school is wholly about. I will be able to teach them and guide them on so many different personal, social or global issues that they become aware of throughout the year .

Joseph has a 5 year plan to make his community a model which can help others develop. This is what I aim for in my classroom. My classroom to be an environment in which children are; happy, having fun, enthusiastic, confident, supporting each other, working together efficiently, working individually, setting goals, achieving/working on these goals, helping their community, becoming wonderful citizens, aware of the outside world, sharing their knowledge and stories with me, continuously communicating with myself and their peers, and so much more! All of these things will work together, being combed to make a brilliant classroom ethos which aid others in their development!

Joseph described in this video how he wasn’t going to make this community on his own but he was ‘introducing students to different fields to produce a comprehensive group of people who can return to help a community grow…’. This is what being a teacher essentially is. It’s supporting children develop into individuals who can continue into young students who benefit themselves by going into a field of work which then positively effects their community. If this was happening all over the world then no community would be suffering. Education is the key to building; a better community, a better society, a better world. By education I don’t just mean academic education (which of course is hugely significant) but also education on life and the skills needed which benefit not only you in your lifetime but the other surrounding you.

This is a message I feel is extremely important when going into the teaching profession and it is one which I know will make a great impact on my attitude when I go into a classroom preparing to teach the individuals who will soon be leading; communities, cities and countries.

Leanring; Alone or Together?

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Benefits of working co-operatively

* When working co-operatively in groups it allows multiple ideas and views to be shared openly. This then leads to greater discussions about the topic which means a deeper analysis is normally achieved. People can also find themselves having a view which they never thought about before hand or sticking with their views because they haven’t been convinced otherwise. Therefore I find this to be extremely beneficial as it allows people to have a much stronger opinion on topics where they fully understand different aspects and thoughts on it.

Challenges of working co-operatively

* When working co-operatively I find that many people clash in personalities which often results in a divide within groups. I also feel when working co-operatively there’s normally one or two people within a group of find it necessary to lead discussions however not only do they lead discussions they normally completely take over which results in many peoples thoughts and opinions to be kept inside. Different personalities is the biggest challenge I find when working in a group as there’s normally people who; have a lot to say but little respect – where they often don’t give others a chance to talk nor do they respect what others think about topics or have little confidence but a lot of respect; where they listen to what everyone else has to say respectfully but they don’t voice their own opinions/thoughts. Both of these I find to be as much of a problem as the other when working co-operatively.

Working co-operatively is great when everyone respect’s each others thoughts and opinions, also when everyone is confident enough to share their thoughts which allows effective, deeper learning on subjects. I find co-operate working needs the right kind of people to work as a team to engage with the discussion for it to work effectively.

Development of my learning

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Watching this video;

really made me think about how effect my note taking is during lectures and then what I do with them when I come away from the lectures.

I wrote out a mind map based on this video which I have now been using for the past week when studying or coming out of a lecture. It’s worked amazingly! Before there were many things which I was doing that is one this sheet; re-writing my notes, having a word bank of words which came up in lectures that I didn’t understand, organising my lecture notes, I phone my mum every day at some point and explain to her what I’ve learned or what my lecture was about, I phone my siblings or boyfriend on days when I found the lecture difficult and discussed it with them, I related subjects to one another and I picked out the parts which I found were the most important. However as you can see there are many things which I wasn’t doing; taking notes when reading (which is now helping me significantly as it keeps me involved in the book), questioning myself on different parts of a topic (which is also helping me as it highlights where I’m struggling the most), quizzing myself where i have questions and write down my answers (I’ve done this once or twice but not sure if it’s beneficial to me) and space repetition which i know realise is the most important aspect of studying. I found myself caught up in my emotions of moving away from home for the first time and being out my comfort zone that I let myself slip where yes I would take notes and re-write them but for the first couple of weeks I hadn’t gone back over my notes at all. This has really highlighted to me how important it is to do so therefore I’ve started from the very beginning and I’m going through each powerpoint re-writing and re-reading. Taking new notes, adapting them from the old ones, refreshing and learning the topics from before and it’s felt great! Getting focused and using these techniques I’m managing to keep up to date with the current work and topics we’re doing in class but also go back over the ones from before. I know work my way found this mind map when studying assuring I’m learning effectively and actively.

On Social Media…

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Personally I’ve found looking at this is very different from others due of the fact I had no social media before joining university however I understand why GTC highlights and explains appropriate use of social media and I think this is a beneficial booklet. It will aid students who are studying to join the profession because everyone is using it and many have been for years therefore may not be aware/have forgotten how important this is..

What challenges/opportunities you may be faced with when marrying the personal vs the professional presence on social media?

I understand that when bringing together a personal and professional presence on social media is difficult due to teachers being ‘normal’ human beings who go out and enjoy themselves or have challenging opinions however personally I have never felt a need in posting my life online. I have never found an interest in posting any personal photos or personal opinions online because I feel it’s only in the interest of my friends and family to see/hear these things therefore I can; discuss topics, have debates or share photos with them. I’m also lucky where I have friends who have a similar mind set to me. Yes they have social media but they rarely post information on it meaning I’m never tagged in anything which would be deemed inappropriate according to GTC. For this reason I don’t find a problem with sharing my social media with pupils; of an appropriate age that is. As a primary teacher I don’t feel it necessary for any pupils I teach to ‘follow’ me on any social media sites. Many, if not all, pupils of the lower school will be without social media and if any of the upper school pupils are starting on social media I don’t feel it would be appropriate being ‘friends’ with me or ‘following’ me on social media. Anything personal which I would care to share with the class I would do so in other ways, not through social media.

In saying this I find Edmodo an extremely useful tool which I used in secondary school. I think this is a real opportunity which I would consider introducing it to children as soon as they start learning IT skills at school, they could make an account where they could discuss their learning and any problems they have came across during their use of technology. I find this would be a way of marrying the personal and professional presence online because teachers will be discussing topics with each other which the children could read and comment on with each person (including the teacher) have profiles like Facebook therefore if there was anything significant that was worth sharing with the pupils it could be done through this. I think this is a safe way of bringing both social media and education together so the teachers and children have an online world which they can share that is; safe, controlled and appropriate. I also think this would excite the children from a young age as they would be learning how to use technology within the class while carrying it on at home; being able to discuss with peers and the teacher which would build enthusiasm. I would definitely introduce this into the upper primary section as it’s a very useful tool for teachers to; post the homework tasks or small tasks which came from a lesson. It also allows the teacher to help and support the children whilst at home. It would allow them to find problem areas that many children are coming across where they could then take 5 minutes to write a post explaining the work for them before it’s due handing in the next day. It would also be/is an amazing way for peers to help and support one another as i found many times when i asked a question it was not the teacher who answered me but a peer. It also has a wonderful feature of the parent being able to have an account where they can track their child’s progress. Personally we did not use this in secondary school as it was only in my 5th year this was introduced and by this point we were responsible for ourselves; not our parents, therefore they weren’t contacted. However I think this would be a brilliant way of involving parents with their child’s learning and development where they can actively be aware.

How are the challenges/opportunities afforded by social media framed? How will you frame things – positive or deficit viewpoint?

The way social media is framed makes it difficult to bring through opportunities using it. However I think that by using it positively to help and support children will eventually change the way it is framed. Social media allows many challenges to arise, with children especially. I don’t feel social media benefits children in primary school as I find the majority of the time it’s unnecessary however when the children are open about having social media and are discussing it within the classroom then I think it allows opportunities for teachers to then discuss it further with them making sure they understand how to use it and what to be aware of. Websites that were linked in Derek’s power point for this were extremely interesting. NSPCC Net Aware was a brilliant resource which I wasn’t even aware existed, after watching the videos in the lecture I decided to read more into it, I think it’s a useful tool which I then send to my mum as I have younger siblings/family members. The website Thinkuknow I found again, to be a brilliant resource which I sent to my little brother to have a look at as he’s just turned 9 years old. I also sent the link to the 14+ section to my sister who is 15 to allow her to get involved, reading and understanding social media a lot more. I think these websites are how the challenges social media brings should be combated. Using these, allowing parents and children to use them so they’re aware of; the different sites, the different activities you can do on them, the problems that can arise from these, how to overcome these problems, how to be safe online, understanding the different terminology before doing anything etc. There’s so much these websites provide, if only more people knew about them! I think it’s important for children to visit these sites and be aware of as much as they can about online social media; the benefits and the dangers. I think the more progress happens with social media the more the way it is framed will change.

Sexuality; Nature or Nurture?

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Twins; how can they be brought up the same, around the same friends and family yet have hugely different aspects of their personality? The video Carrie played for us in our lecture really interested me and I was fascinated by Mark and John’s story. Hearing them explain how they were brought up; by the same parents, in the same home, around the same people, sharing the same friends and just sharing their general environment it’s thought they would be very similar people. However there was one thing significantly different about the twins; John is gay and Mark is not. While watching this video it was running through my head that clearly nature has a much larger roll to play as their experience with nurture was exactly the same. When reading the nature – nurture debate (Boyd, D and Bee, H, 2012) it highlighted the fact that nature v nurture can be discussed using the terms heredity v environment; so then both Mark and John’s childhood environment were the same meaning their heredity must be different, does it not?

If this is the case then being gay was in John’s genes. However if this were true then what G. Stanley Hall believed does not add up to me,

“G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924) believed that milestones of childhood were dictated by an inborn development plan and were similar to those that has taken place in the evolution of the human species.” (Boyd, D and Bee, H (2012) P.3)

This then means that both Mark and John’s milestones should have be relatively similar at around the same ages, but this wasn’t the case. John was 26 when he really connected with his sexuality which is clearly a significant period of time after Mark was in connection with his. Personally I see sexuality as being a milestone therefore the fact they were completely different at completely different ages then can it still be nature?

Looking into this left me quite puzzled, until I looked more into epigenetic’s. Realising that epigenetic’s is the modification of genes highlighted to me that this may be the case for John, he has the same genes as Mark however some have been modified by being switched on or off resulting in their difference in sexuality.

As Mark and John are not identical twins then it’s believed they wont share the exact same characteristics therefore their environment may have had a different effect on them (Boyd, D and Bee, H, 2012). Having different characteristics mean an individual will connect with their environments dissimilar. Mark and John have been brought up in the same environment, sharing some of the same genes (with some being modified) but due to their characteristics being unique this means they may have interacted differently with their same environment giving them a different outcome as they grow older.

This then highlights to me that there are a number of things which may have been the cause of the difference in sexuality been the twins however I believe both nature and nurture played an important factor in John being gay and Mark being straight. I believe that many outcomes are due to nature where your genes play a big part and possibly some have been modified making them different in both twins however I do also believe that nurture has an important link to many other characteristics of a person and will also contribute to John’s sexuality as he may have interacted with his environment in a different way from Mark.

I’ve found this topic very interesting and I’ve enjoyed reading, finding out more about this subject. This was a topic which grasped my interest and I was eager to find out more.

References

BBC ONE. (2009). The Secret Life of Twins. [Online Video]. 01 October. Available from:http://bobnational.net/record/15715. [Accessed: 19 October 2015].

Boyd, D. and Bee, H. (2012) The Developing Child. (13th edn) London: Pearson

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