Tag: english learning

Weekly Lesson: Government Housing-Friend or Foe?

Weekly Lesson: Government Housing-Friend or Foe?. For study until 14 July 2024 Subject : Government Housing-Friend or Foe?

For study until 14 July 2024

Subject: Government Housing-Friend or Foe?

Audio: On usual social media platforms.

The UK was a very industrial place until Margaret Thatcher came on the scene in the 1980s. For many people up until that time the daily grind involved working shifts in the local factory. In my case, my whole family worked in the local steel factory, that included my Father, Grandfather, Great Grandfather and even my Great Great Grandfather until he was fired for promoting Trade Unions in the early 1900s. Meanwhile the women were working (where there were not enough men) in the local thread mills, which offered  lighter work.

In the early days, going back to the 1840s my family lived in small cottages which were only big enough to hold a handful of people. Like most people of their day they raised between ten to fifteen children. By the time the 1920s came, slums had developed, there was no running water, no indoor sanitation and “rows” of houses were built around the steel work factory with simply two rooms and running water with outside toilets. In the 1930s the Government realised there were issues with sanitation and started to build housing estates known as “housing schemes” or “council estates” which they could rent to employees of local factories. This marked the beginning of organised housing – built around towns which were themselves formed to support local industry.

Moving forward 100 years to 2024, the Northern part of the UK is dominated by these estates and the Government remains one of the largest property owners. In Scotland the Government owns a quarter of all total rentable accommodation. I remember visiting my Grandparents in the 1980s and both my maternal and paternal Grandparents were happily living on Council Estates. The towns where they lived had three Council Estates. They knew all of the neighbours, people who were economically the same and were either friends or relatives. These estates tended to be full of old hardened women who clearly had battled their way into old age whose families had left home years before. In many ways they were the matriarchs of these estates, knowing exactly what “buttons to press” to ensure the Government took action when they need a repair to their homes or have someone forcibly removed. It felt strange because the people were poorer compared to today yet they were incredibly proud.

In the North of the UK today, renting an apartment or house from the Government is considered perfectly normal and accessible for everyone (because there’s little choice) whereas in the South where there was less industry and more education, fewer of these estates exist.

Since the Government owns a lot of property, they are also one of the largest employers in Scotland and Northern England. Plumbers, Electricians, maintenance people, office staff and housing managers are all required. As you would expect from the Government, the salary isn’t great even though the working conditions are better than the private sector, so they generally attract unskilled workers who are happy with a lower pay. This is a very attractive option for boys who do not want to enter further education, many of whom grew up and live on Council Estates themselves.

Things are slowly changing. The local Government here has started to demolish some of these old homes in order to build new ones for residents. The combination of an ageing population as well as houses no longer meeting basic standards of living such as energy saving and noise pollution means that they need to look at how they provide accommodation. Some of these estates historically had very bad reputations and needed to be demolished as well owing to their high crime rates and social problems.

Since the 1990s the Local Government has been proactively demolishing and rebuilding, making these properties safer to live in. Selling the ground to property developers also means many Council estates are surrounded by luxury privately owned property developments, which creates a kind of a hydrid, displacing the cold sting of poverty associated with these estates in the past.

Unlike today where we can define “home” as a mental construct, a structure of Love and Family, a place of peace we can choose to reside in, in the old days home and house was all about physicality, bricks and stone.

As the metaverse or holographic universe comes upon us, we will once again be asked to redefine dwellings as an ethereal space. The jury is out on what exactly the future will look like but it will likely offer us personal and communal spaces to live together.

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Affirmations

Monday – There is a place for me in the Learning Community

Compare how learning alone compares to your experience of being in School with others. What is your learning tribe or community?

Tuesday – I can Learn at any age or point of life

Why do you think age is a barrier for some people?

Wednesday – I am flexible enough to make change

Why do we lose our mental elasticity as we get older? How do we stop that process?

Thursday – I choose to learn today because it brings me joy

What other healthy choices do you make daily to support your learning and your mental health?

Friday – I speak English and it gets better every day

How do you measure your progress? If you do not measure your progress, make a mental note to ask your teacher for ways to do this.

Weekly Lesson: Teachers, Then and Now

Weekly Lesson: Teachers, Then and Now. For study until 7 July 2024 Subject : Teachers, Then and Now Audio : On usual social media platforms.

For study until 7 July 2024

Subject: Teachers, Then and Now

Audio: On usual social media platforms.

Women in particular used to have very defined roles in society and I recall that my teachers in the 1970s and 80s were for the most part unmarried women. 

There was an expectation that they would devote their lives to education and could not be educators as well as look after a husband. Female teachers were simply not allowed to marry, culturally or legally.

 That rule had been officially lifted in 1944 yet the tradition remained, likely out of fear that a community may judge a woman unfairly. After all, in the 1970s and 80s, most of our elders were born before 1944 and they themselves were educated by unmarried teachers.  Sex, sexuality and physicality were completely repressed during the 19th century so a woman who was abstaining in order to educate children was a serious vocation. It was perhaps a throwback to a time when we would have been educated by Catholic nuns and Priests.  There were practical reasons for this as well, particularly regarding the high number of unemployed men.

 By default we often referred to teachers as “Miss” rather than “Mrs” because it showed more respect.  Female teachers here in the UK were expected to be single until 1944 and if they were found to be married then they were sacked.  Women working, was generally seen as something negative but exceptions were made of course for cooks, cleaners and general domestic roles, but even those kinds of roles were reserved for single women or spinsters who had no chance of marriage or a profession because of their age or class system.

By the time the 1970s came, times were indeed changing and more women were becoming teachers. Our social revolution of the 1960s had left its mark and women felt empowered to do anything they wanted.  The Headmaster in my School was Mr Cameron, of course the opinion was that his job as Head Teacher with all of its administrative tasks needed a man to manage it and I often wonder how he dealt with ten woman on a day to day basis. He was an older man, never having been married himself. When he was due to retire the school held special celebrations for him and wished him well. He was so taken by our Love for him that he changed his mind and decided to stay longer which perhaps gave us a glimpse into what his life was really like. Perhaps just like the rest of us, he had his own self doubts and loneliness but he was not allowed to show those publicly.

The Teachers I recall were very happy.  The older ones who were well passed their sell by date seemed very contented. They were like matriarchal figures, quick to give advice with a very blunt practical masculinity (yes they were all women) which surfaced when required.  Corporal punishment was still in place until 1981 and you really did not want to be on the receiving end of that, especially if you were in any way squeamish. It involved being belted across the hands with a trouser belt or cane until you almost bled. The weirdest part of that punishment was the ritual. The most well behaved boy in the class was sent to collect the belt from another teacher, giving the message to the other class that someone had been playing up. That belt was then carried back with great reverence to the class of the troublemaker so that everyone could see what was about to happen. A few of the teachers even cried when carrying out this brutality as I recall and on the other hand (excuse the pun) some of them enjoyed it.  Questions remain in my mind about why  a bunch of middle aged women had men’s belts hanging on the walls to punish us with?

By the mid 80s married teachers were becoming as common as single ones. In my community today  there are still a number of older teachers who choose note to marry, but they are mainly retired, morally upright woman who look like relics from another time and then of course there are also nuns. Some of them are in prison serving sentences for physical cruelty to children in the 1960s. Others are simply sweet old ladies.

Times have changed and now teachers are required to be formally educated. In the past they simply had to attend “teacher training colleges” whereas now there is an expectation that they will hold at least a Degree. Headlines appear regularly about inappropriate relations between kids and teachers as well as violent threats and lack of safety in the classroom.  Some of the teachers do not look much older than the kids.

As my colleagues and I discuss our experience of school days, one thing we all agree upon is this: We would never send our children to  British schools, we would either “home school” them or live in another country. There is an opinion that frankly speaking, children here are exposed to too many things.

I yearn for the old days but do understand things were not perfect then either,  it simply looked that way through the eyes of a child.

Monday’s Affirmation – I am a valued member of the language learning community

Reflect on your own childhood – what opinions do you hold about school? Describe your friends you learnt with and compare them to exchange partners that you have now.

Tuesday – I am making progress every day

In what ways were you successful in education? What do you regret?

Wednesday – I am a capable learner

Write a short essay on how education has changed in your country.

Thursday – I find joy in learning

What could you do to improve your joy level in learning? What would stepping outside your comfort zone mean?

Friday – Mistakes help me learn

Compare punishments – making mistakes at school and making mistakes as an adult.