students

Being content

~ credo2014 ~ Leave a comment

Every where we look we are being given advice on diet, exercise and how to avoid stress. The secret to healthy mind and body is partly to be content and grateful. respect yourself and your own wellbeing and then you are of course better placed to help others.

A great deal of the success and longevity of the older generations has been, I was told today,was that they didn’t have great expectations and were more content with what they had. Definitely some truth in that, material things are not important we just get tricked into thinking we must have the lastest gadget, phone or accessory.

I remember somebody saying ‘the younger generation know the price of everything and the value of nothing’  -this all sounds very cynical and negative but to a certain degree this is also true and we must all take some responsibility for that too.

Being mindful and grateful on a day to day basis calms the mind and in turn helps us to achieve more and in a more orderly and productive manner. We place ourselves under personal stress by taking on too much we just don’t always realise it.

 

Changing times

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Today I discussed with a colleague how times had changed within education. We spoke about how previously teachers could hit children with a cane, throw black board rubbers at their heads and even wash their mouths out with soap for swearing.The latter I witnessed myself… I kid you not!

Thankfully we have come a long way and teachers are better behaved and hopefully so are the children. My colleague was in her 80’s and interested to learn about safeguarding and how staff are not meant to be ‘touching’ children -and those of us who have had safeguarding training know that even when administering first aid one has to be mindful and only act appropriately.

Equally teachers are now coping with far more stress factors than in our day at school aside of  league tables; drugs, self-harming and of course cyber-bullying not all changes are for the better and life is not easy for our teenagers. The opportunities are vast but the pressures are too.

The main advice is to keep an open communication line and take an active interest in one’s children not just their friendship groups but their well-being too. Parenting the most rewarding yet difficult assignment you will ever be given.

What we cannot see

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I sincerely hope our Prime Minister’s intentions to increase budgets for mental health assistance within the NHS and the Education sector comes to fruition. Sadly the things we cannot see are often dissmissed.

I was reminded today on an early morning walk as I approached a rather dense bush which was concealing a number of birds vocalising loudly… I couldn’t see them but they were there. This can be true of people in need of help with emotional problems they are struggling to overcome. If one has a leg in plaster or anything visual we automatically find people engaging and giving us sympathy.

I make a point of asking if somebody is ok whether they have a leg in plaster or not and I am mindful that people that either haven’t had children and/or their’s grew up in a different time seem indifferent to the stress of our teens today. It’s tough, the pace of life and expectations is great and with the added pressure of exams and continuing increase of cyber bullying and self-harming ..they need our help and support not our criticisms.

 

Making the most of opportunities

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January is often a time for reflecting the past year and re-examining what has worked and what appears to have been a struggle both in work and personal life. For those fellow self-employed followers, this month often is used for focused marketing activities and getting to grips with new projects and meeting new clients.

How ever, you have spent the first week of 2017 ensure you make the best of any networking opportunities and spend time with positive colleagues that inspire rather than hold you back.

Having focused my time and attention to being a mature student the past couple of years I am now spending time on some of my neglected writing projects. I am gently reminding my writing colleagues that sometimes the timing isn’t right..but now perhaps it is. So dust off those manuscripts (word docs) and either start chasing publishers or have a stab at self-publishing.

 

 

Re-focusing

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After the long Christmas and New Year break it is very hard to get back on track and re-focus one’s mind on our careers and/or studying.

With the return to University for the January exams I wish all students well. Remember: plenty of sleep, keep well-hydrated and have regular breaks from the studying. Exercise if you have time as that is so important to well-being, and, dare I say a little sugar treat now and then.  During exams keep both of your feet firmly on the floor being grounded really helps with concentration and helps one relax. If your legs are in knots so are you!

I know a little of how you feel  I have two courses waiting my attention and focus so less of the procastinating and more action Ms M.

Part of my new year’s action plan is to be more tidier…getting there it’s a slow process and my deadline is to have made great in-roads by the weekend.

Being grateful

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It’s been the longest time that I have been away from my blog as I decided on a few days reduced technology. Instead I have focused on my chocolate eating…

I have been extremely fortunate in being surrounded by those I love this Christmas and received some truly fab gifts. Including a mug saying ‘silly old woman’..yep that’s me! Like many families we have had our difficulties to overcome even over the festive period but we managed to set those aside and enjoy each other’s company and be grateful for all that we have rather than focus on what isn’t going right – as that’s life.

This year we have had one or two unusual presents enter our home though being slightly crazy and very quirky my ones were well received! I won’t mention the really odd gift which strangely enough has been a great sense of intrique and amusement to one and all. Laughter is of course the best tonic and we are never short of that in our house mainly at my expense as my beautiful daughter thinks I am a bit wierd…

To said daughter who sometimes reads my blog I am sending heart felt wishes for a very Happy Birthday and may all your dreams and desires come true. I am prouder than words can ever say..you are indeed my best project ever.

As my own Mother used to say:

‘I love every hair on your head and there are too many to count’

CAPTURING CHILDREN’S INTEREST

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Get them reading and visiting the theatre whilst they are young…

Earlier this week I attended a talk on the history of pantomime and we discussed how taking our children to Panto may indeed be the first experience they have of attending a theatre.Such a shame the ‘elf and safety/fun Police’ stopped sweeties from being thrown into the audience.

It is never too earlier to introduce children into live theatre or musical events. I remember taking my own daughter and friends to the panto and local am dram shows and they always enjoyed the magical experience. When our children were studying for exams with ‘An Inspector calls’ as one of their books on the reading list –  an afternoon at the theatre to see the production on stage was a great help to the students in understanding the plot.

Actor Simon Callow is quoted in a daily today revealing it was his Grandmother who introduced him to ‘The Pickwick Papers‘ age just 13. So inspiring your child this way you may just be raising the next great actor as well.

Not sprouts! Yuk

On a Christmas inspired note… ‘The Daily Mail’ reports that brussel sprouts…yes that children’s favourite are indeed healthy for not just the body but the mind too. University research is being conducted into vegetables rich from vitamin A – could well be a positive element in the fight to find cures for Alzheimer’s. Here’s hoping the proposed trials prove fruitful.

Play nicely over Christmas fellow bloggers and followers and don’t over indulge too much..except perhaps on the vegetables.

Following dreams

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Had an interesting chat today with a young man in a supermarket who had decided not to go on to university but to have some fun for a while whilst he decided what to do.

I hear this a lot, and I am mindful that so much pressure is put on our teenagers to decide their chosen career path long before they are really ready. It’s of course great for those students who have always known what it is they want to do, have the ability and apply themselves well to follow that dream.

As I often say not all children can be academic but that doesn’t mean they should be written off, they are of course beautiful in their own way..so nurture and encourage until they do identify their dream. Meanwhile they can get on enhancing those all too valuable social skills.

It’s never ever too late to learn, speaking as a mature student I know that’s true.

Making the right choices

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Sometimes in life we are faced with making a difficult decision and after a lot of soul searching and balancing up the negatives and positive we may still be left in a bit of a quandary as to what to do. Are we making the wrong choices for the right reasons and is our reason big enough?

Discussing weighing up the benefits of ‘getting experience’ with a colleague earlier today we touched on how certain sectors are quite unprofessional and small minded in their approach and maybe without realising can be quite offensive in questioning one’s skills and abilities.

We both agreed that the minute one starts to justify one’s skills the battle is lost, though of course we have to make allowance for ‘the other man’ maybe not fully understanding the high calibre of staff they are talking to nor respecting their CV and qualifications quite as much as they should do.

This situation and the question on being ‘ over qualified’ and whether one should dumb down one’s CV is one often run past me by colleagues wondering what to do for the best in searching for that dream job/project in their advancing years.

There are a lot of people who truly do not value self-development as much as those of us mature students who spend many hours gaining extra qualifications with a continual hunger for learning.

This week I am faced with making a few myself..and I am deliberating..time for cuppa and a choccy digestive – easy decision for me!

 

Working for experience

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Over the past few weeks I have had several chats with fellow professionals about the value of experience and what to encourage our children to get on their CV.

I am still working on projects for experience for my own newly acquired skills and this never ends if you have a hunger for learning. Whilst we don’t want our children to be exploited there is no getting away from the fact that they do need to do voluntary/community work and preferable within the chosen field of their proposed career.

Recently I met and chatted to somebody from a national charity who agreed volunteers often go on to be offered permanent position. Reverting to the subject of students; they of course need to be able to impress their selected universities that they are right for their course and an excellent candidate for their university.. So that personal statement needs to demonstrate good social skills -remember it’s not just about the exam results.

Please visit Innovate My School’s website and view my articles on tips for writing personal statements and developing social skills:-

http://www.innovatemyschool.com/ideas/item/1617-seven-tips-for-writing-your-personal-statement

http://www.innovatemyschool.com/ideas/developing-social-skills-and-being-community-minded