I am now in to my 9th year of lecturing in FE and each year seems to bring new challenges – in terms of the individual requirements of the learners, the demands on the teacher, the expectations of the institute, etc. What I would say is that every teacher I’ve come across that is dedicated…
Education is a human right I left school with relatively mediocre O level and CSE qualifications. I went to my local FE college to study nursery nursing. Here, I was able to enter the work of work and mix with adults in the work place, a whole new world for me back then. This is…
Gary Husband shares his story FE has been hugely influential in my adult life. On leaving school I didn’t consider ‘tech’ as an option, my parents had aspirations of me attending university. I went for several interviews for various degree courses and received several offers. When my A level results arrived, not only did they…
I dropped all science at 14, it wasn’t until our mock ‘O’ levels that the school realised this. Too late to do anything about it then! My mother suggested hairdressing as an occupation as I was clueless about what I wanted to do. At that time we had separate science lessons and our tutor decided…
Howard teaches in a college in the northwest and uses social networks as a supportive base to situate learning around and authenticate language in dynamic contexts. The functions of online networks can help realise underlying social principles, enable improved communication through communities of practice and facilitate visible and purposeful agency towards objectives, enhancing engagement with…
Over my teaching career, I have seen learners’ lives transformed by teachers, including me and my team. My curriculum area includes ESOL where learners have developed skills and confidence in speaking English as their second language so that they now have better jobs, friends in the community and the workplace and, in some cases, have…
I always wanted to be a teacher but was led to believe university wasn’t for someone like me. Growing up was hard, my life was turbulent and I experienced things that no child ever should, as a consequence my mental health suffered along with my education, I failed my 11 plus and my G.C.S.E’s. When…
Redborne Community College last century. The first ‘Brush Up Your Maths’ session of the academic year. At the beginning of the lesson, in comes a former student to speak to the class. “I passed my GCSE Maths, then obtained a Physics Degree + I’ve just completed a PGCE. I now teach locally.” Both of us so…
As an active young disabled member of Unison, I fully support the need for continued trade union education at local trade union study centres. As you may be aware all funding will go in 2017. I feel so strongly that this must not happen, as Unison is the biggest union in the country we need…
