Category: Critical Reflection

This work is a reflection on my own experiences of collaborative data science work, using the DEBRIEF framework. It is adapted from my report initially submitted in March 2022.

Describe events ‘Six students, including me, worked together on the Group Project in the Data Science module. Most of us had never met before and we had not previously worked together. I was initially working from home due to various circumstances. The other five were present in person. We were working on the Open University Learning Analytics Dataset (OULAD). The question we examined was: ‘How can data about students’ interactions with the University educational technology help them improve students’ engagement and academic achievement?’. I focused on student withdrawals. We worked with R Markdown. The choice to work with R was made in my absence by other students, as those students felt most confident using R. GitHub was used for version control. My ideas included looking at withdrawal dates and using a logistic regression model to predict which students were likely to withdraw. I suggested the ‘sum of clicks’ and ‘score’ as possible predictive factors for outcome. Others were supportive of these ideas; we each wrote part of the code to implement them. Another student suggested the ‘number of late submissions’ as a predictive factor and this was also included. We did EDA individually, before bringing our results together to build a predictive model and report our findings (Baraskar et al.: 2022).

Evaluation ‘ While working remotely, I repeatedly asked for team calls to be scheduled and for help with file management in R, but unfortunately, these things did not happen. It soon became clear that traveling to Newcastle was necessary. Attending in person made it much easier to discuss things such as division of work, as well as to ask for help with any R issues. Collaborating using the GitHub branch system usually worked well, but this way of working was new to me. I was sometimes unsure of what to do or whether what I had done had worked, partly due to remote working. Two people worked on the same sub-tasks for several days before realizing it and one person worked on a topic that was out of the scope of the project. However, using GitHub also means our research can later be further developed, by ourselves or others. As Poduska (2020) states: ‘[] you’re not only collaborating with people right now: You’re collaborating with people in the future’.

Now I have experience of collaborative working on GitHub, I am keen to work in this way again. Guides to working with GitHub are available such as Mines (2018). In data science, collaborative working is increasing (Zhang et al. 2020:1) and it was valuable to get this experience.

Technology such as Teams and WhatsApp enabled us to hold group meetings and communicate from different locations. Technology can be prone to failure and perhaps our group did not always use technology in the best possible ways. As well, connecting virtually is not the same as, or as good as, connecting in person.

It was great to work together to find solutions, make new connections with other students, and further develop teamwork and communication skills that are highly valued by employers. As a group we benefited from a flowchart about selecting the right type of predictor (Bevans 2020); a team member had found this online. Other team members provided interesting perspectives on areas including Maths and Software Engineering, which improved business understanding. At first, one person could not see the point of looking at withdrawals, but I pointed out that a large part of improving students’ engagement is preventing withdrawals.

I am very much an ‘ideas person’ and it was great to work together with others who were supportive of these ideas and were better than I at writing R code. Students who were strong in R spent time helping me. This was time they did not spend doing technical work, but without their help, I could not have done my own technical work. Conversely, I helped those whose first language is not English.

Bring out emotions etc. ‘ I felt isolated during the early days of this project. I did not feel involved in the data management process, decision-making, or team discussions. However, I found the subject area interesting. I was also glad to work in a sub-area of the task that intrigued me. I felt happy when our group work improved significantly towards the end of the project. On one occasion, I felt powerless and confused when there was a conflict between two other group members. This conflict took place on our group Teams chat. In this situation, I was unsure of what action to take, but I decided to wait and see how things developed. I did not get involved in the situation. The conflict seems to have been short-lived and I was relieved when it got resolved. This showed me that the ‘fight, flight or freeze’ response (Cannon 1915, quoted in Frothingham 2021) is a very real thing. When the conflict occurred, my response was to freeze. If I face a similar situation again, perhaps there will not be much I can do about my initial reaction to freezing, but maybe I could prepare a list of resources that I or others could use. These could include Brett and Goldberg (2017), Lewitter et al. (2019), and Indeed (2021). Perhaps in the future, I can consider whether to act in the same way again or become actively involved in conflict resolution. My decision will probably depend on the situation.

Review in light of previous experience ‘ I have worked in remote international teams as a freelance translator since 2011 and before that, as a charity worker from 2007 to 2011. Usually, teams work well remotely but sometimes there are signs that my presence in person is needed. As several of these signs were present during the early days of this project, I traveled to Newcastle for some days. It was helpful to attend in person and this seems to have been ‘the right call’.

Perhaps I could have made greater efforts to educate the other group members about ways of working in remote or hybrid teams that make sure everyone is included. I do not know how much experience the other group members have of working in remote or hybrid teams. Some of the reasons why I did not further emphasize my own experience were that I did not want to ‘show off’ and I did not want to be perceived as being ‘old’ (even though I almost certainly was older than most or all other group members). However, I asked several times to be better included in the group (while working remotely) and unfortunately, this was fruitless. It is difficult (and possibly pointless) to speculate why this was the case. As Rosling (2018:206) states: ‘The blame instinct is the instinct to find a simple, clear reason for why something bad has happened’. But according to Dekker (2006:73): ‘The reality is that there is no such thing as the cause, or primary cause or root cause. Cause is something we construct, not find’ (italics are Dekker’s).

Identify lessons learned ‘ If I am present in person when others are working remotely, I hope to go out of my way to include the remote workers, as the remote workers are not able to unilaterally include themselves. If someone else is sick and has hospital appointments while I am healthy and have a more flexible schedule, I hope to adjust my schedule to suit them, because that would be something I could do, but not something that they could. If someone is genuinely struggling to code, and I know how to write that code, I shall aim to set time aside to work with them.

On a different note, the choice to allow group members to select areas that they are interested in worked well and is something I would hope to repeat in future projects.

I realized near the end of this project that I could have contacted one of the other group members, who had not been attending in person and who had not submitted any code by the end of the first week. I could have checked how they were doing and what they were working on. I didn’t need anyone’s permission to do that, and I shouldn’t have let remote working stop me. However, I had become too over-focussed on my own situation and my own desire to be fully included in the group. I simply couldn’t look away from myself to see that others might also be struggling and that they might have appreciated it had I reached out to them. The group dynamics became more apparent after I had started to attend in person. When working remotely, it is difficult to know who else is also not present in person or what the in-person interactions among other group members have been like. So, I must remind myself that there are many things I don’t know, and that ‘I don’t know what I don’t know’. Following Broadwell’s (1969) framework, this could be viewed as moving from the ‘unconscious Incompetent’ to the ‘Conscious Incompetent’. Broadwell originally used these terms to describe levels of teaching practice, but the terms could also apply to levels of awareness or understanding.

I found that when working in remote or hybrid teams, much time must be allocated to group meetings and communication within the team. Meetings take time away from the technical work but are absolutely necessary. Remote working (as I have also previously experienced) takes away the constant conversations in the workplace, be these process-related or social. Being the only remote worker made it difficult for me to influence any aspect of the project work. Working remotely and individually on EDA meant I did not know how my work fit into the overall picture or whether I was replicating anyone else’s work. It also made it harder for us to develop creative ideas together.

Establish follow-up actions ‘ In the future I will try to clarify early on whether my presence in person will be needed. If there is anything that prevents my presence in person, I will be meticulous about making arrangements for successful remote work. I will also try to find out who to contact and what to do if there are any issues with working remotely. I will continue to praise and encourage those group members who demonstrate genuine teamwork. In future projects, if I face any difficulties, I shall aim to communicate these clearly, until these have been heard and I have been able to work out a way forward together with the other team members.

I aim to invest a lot of time into learning how to code better in R and how to use GitHub, as these things will help me to be a more independent and competent practitioner in this field. While some degree of interdependence among team members is necessary and good, I no longer wish to have to ask for so much help on future projects.

In future projects, it would be beneficial to clarify, early on, what everyone’s strengths are. This would help with the group working process and the division of tasks.

It might be interesting to attempt the same problem using Python, as Python programming skills are valuable. However, there was insufficient time for this in the two weeks of the project.

Feedback on those actions ‘ It seemed to be appreciated when I responded in kind and caring ways when other group members wrote in the WhatsApp chat that they had to be absent (due to a religious festival and an accident). However, the project has aims and a deadline so maybe I should have tried to encourage people to work at other times to ‘make up for lost time’ after they had had to be absent. Kindness and meeting deadlines might appear to be conflicting aims but there are ways to successfully manage both these aims together. The schedule and the total number of hours that someone works could be less important than whether they are keeping up with their workload and meeting deadlines. A recent Government report (Government Equalities Office 2019:18) found that:

‘[] offering flexible working helped retain staff, fostered loyalty and attachment to the organization and improved staff wellbeing, which in turn made them more effective workers.’

In future projects, if I am unable to work for part of the weekday daytimes, then I will aim to work some weekends and evenings, as I did on this project while tracking the hours that I work. If the person who is unable to work (or unable to be present in person) for some or all of the weekday daytimes is someone else, I shall aim to keep in touch with them. I will do this even if I am working remotely, working different hours, or both. The reasons for keeping in touch would be both to make sure that the other person is okay and to check whether they are keeping up with the project workload.

Bibliography

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Personal Reflection

Throughout the module Global Perspectives in Business, I found this class exceptionally motivating and informative, and I personally believe that I have gained a vast understanding of the concept of Global Perspectives in Business. I attained knowledge about developed and undeveloped countries and their cultures within the business environment. I have recognized that my knowledge of Global Perspectives in Business has remarkably augmented by attending the lectures. I realized that the worldwide practice of businesses has become very complex due to the effect of globalization. In addition, this class helped me identify and implement macro-environment analytical tools for analyzing the global business environment. I was able to understand the ideas of PESTLE (Political, Environmental, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental) analysis, and the class has helped me apply the tool in this assignment.

The lecturer presented the concepts of globalization which I figured will bring risks to businesses due to impacts from the factors that occur. The lectures helped me identify that globalization can create challenges for international businesses. However, I have discovered that change can be beneficial in bringing new opportunities for business expansion in the global environment. Aside from this, globalization also poses threats to the new and existing enterprises on the market. I found this particularly interesting as it opens up the global economy and increases in trade between nations.

Global perspectives in business have also helped me identify the impact of globalization on societies, governments, and corporate organizations. This lecture helped me gain an insight into how important the issue of culture is to the business environment, which surprised me as I didn’t think it was such a threat. Globalization threats may include issues related to cultural diversification e.g. lifestyle, religion, and cultural events, as well as security issues. As any business can join any market, it has been concluded, that genuine market research can help people who work in International Businesses to expand their horizons successfully. From the multi-cultural concepts addressed, I figured that all present cultures play a significant part in the business environment as well as legal governments around the globe.

I have also built an understanding of ethical issues involved in the global business environment, and how certain behaviors and morals will impact the overall achievement of the business. I found it interesting that businesses with ethical standards (e.g. ones that take an environmentally green initiative), will continuously attract and retain numerous high-quality employees, customers, suppliers, and investors while generating more profit in the long term.

The feedback I have gained through lectures and from my tutor will help me better understand different global perspectives in business, as it has educated me to stay open to different viewpoints. I was provided feedback to use more real-world business examples e.g. case studies, which has allowed me to better understand the content of the course and different perspectives of business. I specifically researched Ted Talk videos on business presentations, such as: how ‘Capitalism will eat democracy’, ‘Globalism isn’t declining – it’s transforming’, and ‘How diversity makes teams more innovative’. The feedback I was supplied, has permitted me to use real business-related examples when backing up course content and facts, to ensure it is more sufficient and understanding. Incorporating real-world examples into business content has been useful, as it increased my engagement with the lesson and helped me gain valuable insight into the skills I was being taught.

During the module, we formed a team of five in order to create a movie on the cultural differences in different countries. Our teams were allocated based on diversity, which helped the development of ideas as there were cultural differences among the individuals. Our group consisted of three people with British backgrounds, and two with Asian heritage, which allowed us to explore different cultures and perspectives on how individuals go about their day-to-day life.

In the group work, I felt myself relying on the others to progress through the project, as certain members of the team would not participate or communicate as well to meet up. I presented great leadership and group-work skills as I encouraged teamwork and cooperation, organized most meetings, booked study rooms to host the meetings in, shared views and ideas, hosted research, and helped create and edit the final presentation.

While collaborating in a team, we discovered some obstacles e.g. not everyone cooperating, some members didn’t have certain software to be compatible with communication, time management wasn’t accomplished very well, and there were many disagreements. We were able to overcome these obstacles and cross-cultural barriers by identifying and working through them efficiently. I was able to recognize and acknowledge early signs of differences in communication and expectations, which allowed me to define tasks and make decisions in order for us to complete the project.

Our Group used different methods to communicate with each other, including voice calls, the smartphone application WhatsApp, e-mail, Facebook group chat, Canvas, and text messages. These methods were successful as they helped us create and finalize the presentation at times when we weren’t all present as a group.

Throughout this module, I have enjoyed working with people who are culturally different and developed an ability to stay open and embrace diversity. Being culturally aware has permitted me to develop a willingness to learn seek new experiences globally, and make new friends. I made a conscious decision to establish friendships with individuals in my group who were all culturally different. Some friendships were more difficult to build than others due to our cultural differences, so, I had to be patient and persistent. I felt myself reaching out and using my initiative more than I am used to, which created trust in the other member’s relationships towards me. I have learned that building relationships with people who are culturally diverse, allows me to appreciate society and gain an understanding of what business perspectives it can hold through cultural, legal, and corporate environments. Building on cross-cultural relationships will be a development I can proceed with through the rest of my University studies, as it will allow me to grow as a person professionally, and drive my creativity and innovation.

This module has benefitted me, as it has enhanced my interpersonal skills and given me a broader perspective on teamwork with cross-cultural people. Staying aware of cross-cultural differences by monitoring our behaviors, attitudes, and biases, all ties in with effective team working. I also used skills throughout, to ensure communication was consistent and that I worked effectively with members from different cultures. I can therefore broaden these skills within my University life, remembering that cross-cultural teamwork is not about reducing people’s differences, but it is about making the most of the added value that a diverse team can offer. This will ensure I can effectively work within a team and with a global mindset.

Oral presentation:

According to my understanding, the most crucial part of any kind of oral presentation is analyzing your audience and adjusting your tone accordingly. Though a few peers argue that the crucial part is about the purpose of the presentation and to include explicit research and findings to prove the idea effectively, unless I connect to the audience, I can’t make an impact on them. By conducting an audience analysis, you can gather segment information on your crowd and decide their comparative attributes, foresee their degree of intrigue and information on the subject, and their apparent mentality toward you as a credible source of data. This data and knowing the area or setting for your introduction will give rules on the most proficient method to meet the crowd’s desires and decide the tone of the discourse (Englehart 2004.).

The example I stated to support my argument is ‘Ted Talks’. The speakers always address the crowd, keeping them constantly involved which helps the audience to connect to the idea through the speaker. I also mentioned my own experience during a seminar presentation where adjusting my tone created comfort between me and the audience which was incredibly helpful throughout the presentation. A few intriguing ideas my peers helped me understand is the importance of smooth transitioning, the importance of believing in our own idea and yet, encouraging positive criticism. As I’m not from an English-speaking country, watching, speaking, and writing relevant content in English could really help overcome my stage fright is one of the best suggestions given to me by my peers.

Self-awareness and emotional intelligence:

The initial reaction to self-focused attention is self-evaluation, which can be either favorable or unfavorable. (Wicklund 1975.). Recognizing my weaknesses, strengths, biases, attitudes, values, and perceptions helps in understanding myself. Self-awareness is an important trait in a leader as they have to be spontaneous and deal with situations considering what’s best for everyone on the team. I constantly keep thinking about people and their opinions.

I took the initiative and forwarded 16 personality online tests to my teammates as a part of understanding our personalities. It really helped us see things about ourselves that we didn’t know we had. This made us understand how much scope is there for improvement. Having a good IQ is a great asset but without EQ and EI no matter how good we are, reaching the pinnacle will be a great challenge. My teammates helped me realize how much a person can impact others by improving their empathy level and also helped me see that people have strong limitations. Which made me realize how biased I am on a few religious aspects, which isn’t correct. Respecting other’s opinions even if you don’t believe in them is an important aspect of self-awareness. This helped me learn that it is alright to agree that we disagree and that doesn’t make either of us wrong.

Intercultural communication:

Culture is usually referred to as something that is derived from, or created by the intervention of humans – ‘culture’ is cultivated. The concept describes both the underlying value as well as the behavior that can be observed (Dahl 2004.). Coming from a high-context cultural background my initial days in Australia which is a low-context cultural country were rather confusing. It took me time to get comfortable. While engaging myself in a conversation, I ended up offending people’s personal space by pointing out my straightforward opinions. Gradually, I evolved accordingly by understanding and respecting the culture.

In the group discussion, I stated many examples of Advertisements and Campaigns conducted by different organizations that ended up offending people all over the world. One interesting example is, that The Kurl On Mattresses in India aired a new advertisement where a cartoon version of Yousafzai is seen being shot with a rifle. The ad then shows several iterations of Yousafzai as she recovers in a hospital and ultimately goes on to win an award for her advocacy. Along the way, she falls on a Kurl-on mattress and ‘bounces back.’ (Fromowitz 2017.). Such Advertisements landed the companies in controversies. In this era of global integration and the constant growth of Globalization, it is very important to understand the concepts of intercultural communication. Growing up in such a culturally diverse country helps me understand its importance.

Negotiation and conflict:

I was one of the 10 students who were selected to represent my university in a campaign which is conducted in Karnataka, India. It is a 30-day campaign regarding academic research. The seniors will be selecting 2 students as representatives at the end of the first week. I was qualified and was expecting to become a representative, but I did not. My co-students told me the reason I wasn’t selected is because I am a woman and Kannada isn’t my first language. The survey and the research have to be completed in English it has nothing to do with my first language. I was offended by their biased nature. So, I went and spoke with my seniors. They offered me to be a co-representative, assisting the elected representatives. I deserved the position as a representative, but I didn’t get it, my ego was hurt, so I turned down the offer.

Now I realize that the situation could have been a Win-Win as they offered me to collaborate. But instead, I made it into a Lose-Win because of my ego. The seniors had other reasons stating why the selected candidates were good but I let my ego cloud the judgment leading to this misunderstanding and I ended up with nothing. The source of my conflict is poor communication and lack of trust the only way to resolve it is by communicating by keeping an open mind and being transparent. This unit helped me critically analyze the situation and understand how I should’ve handled the situation back then but, I will take care to avoid such mistakes in the future.

Introduction:

The company I have chosen is Nestle. Nestle has announced its new Food Grade Recyclable Packaging. Now, I am going to convey this message to the External and Internal stakeholders. The external stakeholders I have chosen are the consumers. The effects of plastic are directly been faced by the consumer so it’s important for them to know about this initiative in the appropriate way. So, the media I selected is the Press Release as it is direct, straight, and easily receivable. The board of directors has come to this decision together, they want to let the employees know about this initiative. The External Stakeholders selected here are the employees. The choice of media selected is Power PowerPoint presentation as it is face-to-face interaction and the message can be conveyed clearly according to the plan. This method will be easy to understand as the material will be organized in order to identify the main purpose and idea.

Press release:

Nestle has announced that it is going to stop using unsullied plastics and is going to introduce recyclable plastics to pack food to develop innovative packing solutions by investing up to 2 billion CHF.

Moving forward on the initiative taken in 2018 to achieve plastic-free packing by 2025, Nestle will reduce the use of plastics by collaborating with the New Plastics Economy as a core partner and will help in advancing the circular economy. (Meier 2020.).

“No plastic should wind up in landfills or as litter. Making reused plastics ok for nourishment is a huge test for our industry. We are finding a way to make a more extensive market for nourishment-grade reused plastics and lift advancement in the bundling business. We invite others to go along with us on this journey.” said Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestle. (Meier 2020.).

‘We are satisfied to see Nestle submit a CHF 2 billion speculation toward making a circular economy for plastics. Accomplishing the responsibilities reported will essentially contribute towards understanding this vision” said Andrew Morlet, CEO, of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (Meier, 2020.).

There is increased awareness that the environmentally-conscious consumer of the future will consider ecological and ethical criteria in selecting food products. As the supply of such food-grade recyclable plastics is limited, Nestle is committed to spending more than 1.5 billion CHF to pay for the raw materials required to successfully achieve this goal towards sustainability, accordingly, Nestle will take care in keeping the earnings neutral due to this initiative. (Pardo and Zufía 2012.).

Packing is vital in ensuring and taking care of items through the phases of their strategic systems. In reality, both dispensable and reusable packing containers are utilized. (Bortolini et al. 2018.).

The packaging system is the principal cause for part of the major changes such as the shell life value, the preservation, meeting with quality, safety, and nutritional requirements of the food. (Pardo and Zufía, 2012.).

Nestle has done thorough research through Nestle Packaging Sciences to come up with this innovative solution as the majority of Nestle products are food-based, usage of plastics is causing harm to the environment and sea life. (Meier, 2020.).

Presentation transcript:

As the world’s largest Food and beverage Company, we know we have an important role to play in shaping sustainable solutions to tackle the issue of plastic waste. So, Nestle proudly presents, Food Grade Recyclable Packaging! (Improve packaging performance 2020.).

We make some of the most well-known food and drink brands in the world and many of them are packaged with plastic in the interests of freshness, affordability, and safety (Brands 2020.).

The sachets, bottles, and cartons sold often end up either being burned or dumped – creating a pollution problem.

Nestlé leaves a pollution footprint of 95,000 tons per year (Laville, 2020)

The packaging system is the principal cause for part of the major changes such as the shell life value, the preservation, meeting with quality, safety, and nutritional requirements of the food.

Plastics offer a unique combination of malleability, availability, hygiene, and safety, making them ideal packaging materials. The properties of plastic polymers also provide a lot of flexibility and freedom in design, whilst being lightweight but strong, enabling the packaging to be tailored to the product. (What is Nestlé doing to tackle plastic packaging waste?, 2020)

Our vision is that none of our product packaging, including plastics, should end up in landfills or as litter, including in seas, oceans, and waterways. In order to achieve this, we have set ourselves the ambition of ensuring 100 percent of our packaging is reusable or recyclable by 2025. (Improve packaging performance 2020.).

• Develop packaging for the future
• Help shape a waste-free future
• Drive new behaviors and understanding

To further drive innovation and understanding of a circular economy for plastics, Nestlé became a core partner of the New Plastics Economy (Improve packaging performance, 2020)

The New Plastics Economy initiative represents an important catalyst on the journey to achieving a circular economy for plastics. We are pleased to be able to contribute to this work through our expanded role as a Core Partner.

This vision of a circular economy for plastic is underpinned by three main actions: (1) Eliminate unnecessary plastic items (2) Innovate to ensure that the plastics we do need are reusable. (3) Circulate all the plastic items we use to keep them in the economy and out of the environment. (Borealis, Nestlé, and Walmart join New Plastics Economy as Core Partners – New Plastics Economy (en-GB), 2020)

Nestlé Institute for Packaging Sciences is developing sustainable packaging materials. Through the Institute, we are currently exploring a range of innovations, including new paper-based materials as well as biodegradable/compostable polymers that are also recyclable. (Working towards a waste-free future, 2020)

In conclusion, the supply of such food-grade recyclable plastics is limited. Nestle is committed to spending more than 1.5 billion CHF to pay for the raw materials required to successfully achieve this goal towards sustainability. (Improve packaging performance, 2020)

Reflection:

During the research, I have understood that even though the conclusion of the message I am trying to convey is the same the choice of relevant matter varies. While developing the message for the External stakeholders such as the customers, it’s important to let them know what the company is doing and let them know if there will be any changes that will affect the customers or suppliers in any way. Press Release is a much appropriate way to send this message to the customers as the message is directly conveyed so the scope of misunderstandings or controversies is relatively less.

But when developing the message to internal stakeholders such as the Employees, it’s not just about ‘what’ the company is doing, it is also about ‘how’ and ‘why’ the company is doing it. As a part of the company, it is important to have complete knowledge about what is going on and how the decisions will or should impact the work performed by the employees. The best way to send this message is through a PowerPoint presentation as they will already be familiar with the company’s intentions, motivations, and goals, it will become much easier to understand the changes that the company is adapting to and the reasons for it.

References:

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11. New Plastics Economy (en-GB). 2020. Borealis, Nestlé, And Walmart Join New Plastics Economy As Core Partners – New Plastics Economy (En-GB). [online] Available at: [Accessed 4 May 2020].
12. Pardo, G. and Zufía, J., 2012. Life cycle assessment of food-preservation technologies. Journal of Cleaner Production, [online] 28, pp.198-207. Available at:

The two videos I watched were Why Mathematics is Important! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u8pBjcTd-s and Math Anxiety https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs9aGVUZ3YA. Both videos changed my views, feelings, and thoughts about math. It was amazing to learn how math is very powerful and useful. It was also interesting to find out how to deal with the stress or fear of dealing with math. Each video had its own way of expressing the world of math. For that reason, I was not only able to react differently to each video, but I was also able to take away different knowledge from each video.

I am not a big fan of math when it is challenging. Math that is challenging causes me to ask the following questions: Why does math exist? Why do we need math anyway? Why can’t math classes be an option? and, do we even use math in the real world? The video Why Mathematics is important answered all these questions for me. The video explains how we use math in sports, shopping, construction, driving, music, etc. I never knew how much I use math in my daily routines until I watched this video. If I did not know how to count, add, multiply, divide, or identify shapes, I would be incapable of shopping, driving, and understanding sports. This video proved that math is a tool and the second video I watched proved that math is a skill.

In the second video on math anxiety, a math major named Saramoira talks about her thoughts on math, how people should view math, and ways to deal with math. In the opening of the video she talks about how people would say she must be a genius, I’m creative, or I hate math when she says she is a math major. When I first heard her say she was a math major, I had a similar reaction to the people she talked about in the video. The first thing I said was “Wow she must be extremely smart” when she said she was a math major. Saramoira allowed me to feel confident about doing math. Her video taught me that math is just like learning how to dance, sing, or ride a bike because it requires practice. Nothing comes easy, it takes patience and hard work to accomplish anything. Math is a skill and the only way to overcome any fear of math is to treat it like a skill.

References

1. Mathematical. (2013, October 21). A math major talks about fear. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs9aGVUZ3YA
2. Mr Scaminaci. (2014, October 13). Why Mathematics is Important! Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u8pBjcTd-s

Religion Assignment

This essay contains various reflections on my personal religious experience here at Marino Institute of Education in my first year of the B. ED course as well as some of my opinions and thoughts on assigned college readings.

Through writing this essay, it has allowed me to reflect on my religious education so far in my nineteen years of life and I can now proudly say that I know what sort of religious education teacher that I want to become thanks to the work of the legendary Gerry O’Connell. Gerry has opened my eyes and the eyes of many to how religion should be taught in the primary school classroom and how we as student teachers can change the future of teaching religion in primary schools.

RE & The RE Teacher

On our first day in the religion lecture, Gerry introduced us to the religion course in a unique and different way. He shared some funny jokes and was very relaxed which I did not expect as I presumed all college lectures were very strict and stern. However, Gerry took a different approach and was very interactive with the whole year. The first topic that we were introduced to was ‘RE and the RE teacher’. I found this topic to be an ideal topic to start off with as throughout the lectures Gerry continued to ask us extremely important questions about our future teaching careers. Questions such as ‘What are teachers like?’ and ‘What kind of teacher have you decided to be?’ made me think long and hard about my future as a primary school teacher and what type of teacher that I want to become. I wrote all my thoughts and answers in my journal which Gerry recommended doing and I found this to be very helpful as I know that I can look back at it in a few years’ time even when I am on my first-year placement. I remember leaving the first lecture still not fully sure what to expect over the next year, but I did know for certain that I would look at Religion and how I would teach it to the children in a completely different way than simply following an Alive-O book page by page. Throughout the lectures on this topic, Gerry showed us many videos, one being a talk by Taylor Mali called ‘What Do Teachers Make?’. I found this video very enjoyable and inspiring as it reminded me that I am not interested in the financial element of teaching but the enjoyment and rewarding feeling that I get from it. “The most fundamental factor in effective RE, as in the effective teaching of any other subject, is the teacher”. (Watson and Thompson 2007). I found this quote from one of Gerry’s assigned readings to be very motivating as it reminded me that for my students to be enthusiastic during a lesson, so is the teacher. I must educate myself about the topic that I am teaching whether it is religion or not, so I can connect with my students on a deeper and more meaningful level.

Spirituality of the Person, the Child, and the Teacher

The second RE topic was ‘Spirituality of the Person, the Child, and the Teacher’. One lecture that really stood out to me was when Gerry showed us a TED Talk by Rita Pierson. To say that this video was inspiring would be an understatement. She talked about the importance of relationships in the classroom and how “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like”. This video was so inspiring that I found myself thinking about it every time I was in the classroom. I ensured that every interaction that I had with a child was a positive and enjoyable experience as I know that I want my students to learn from me, and to be inspired by me and the content that I deliver. Throughout these lectures, I realized the importance of the spirituality of the teacher as it ensures a deeper and more meaningful connection with your students and the subject being taught. When reading one of the articles ‘Can Spirituality Transform Our World’ it made me question the relationship between religion and spirituality and how they are somewhat different. I realized that spirituality focuses on your inner self and is more open to interpretation while religion is more structured as well as following someone else’s rules or guidelines. In Gerry’s lectures, he gave us lots of advice when it came to encountering children’s spirituality. Some that stuck in my mind and that I wrote in my journal were to ‘say less and hear more’ and to ‘value and enjoy the unusual and spontaneous’. This reminded me of the idea that spirituality is open to many ideas and opinions and to expect the unexpected when it comes to a child’s opinion on the topic. I found Gerry’s advice to be extremely helpful for my preparation for placement and my future teaching career.

Compassion and Mindfulness

One of my favorite topics that Gerry explored was ‘Compassion and Mindfulness’. I have always had an interest in mindfulness and it gives me great pleasure to say that I think Gerry has a great interest too. Gerry started this topic by focusing on compassion and introduced us to it by watching a video called ‘The Charter of Compassion’. Throughout this two-minute-long video, I couldn’t help myself but think about the teaching profession. We “work tirelessly” and “honor the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody with absolute justice, equity, and respect”. These are just some of the quotes from the video that instantly reminded me of teachers and how we were all extremely compassionate human beings. As well as that we discussed as a class the 12 steps to a compassionate life suggested by Karen Armstrong, – Learn about compassion, look at your own world, compassion for yourself, empathy, mindfulness, action, how little we know, how should we speak to one another, concern for everybody, knowledge, recognition and finally love your enemies. I found it extremely interesting how everyone interpreted the steps differently and how there were various opinions about what each of the steps meant to them. One of the main aspects of Gerry’s lectures was the concept of meditation and mindfulness. Currently a very relevant topic in the primary school classroom I thought that getting us to participate in meditation allowed us to understand how useful it can be to relax and appreciate the world around us. I think that participating in meditation, slowing down, and living in the moment can allow children to clear their heads and feel at ease before continuing into the day. Using meditation as a transition between lessons or simply as an activity to relax and appreciate the moment with the children throughout the day is something I took from the lectures. The one lecture that really stood out to me was when Gerry turned off the lights and played the song ‘Patience’. The whole year sat in silence, closed their eyes and simply relaxed for roughly five minutes. I found this extremely helpful as it allowed us to unwind and forget about our busy and hectic days as well as an idea that I could use in the classroom. Gerry also gave us access to multiple mindfulness exercises on Moodle which I read through and I now know that I will be using many of them not just in my religion lessons but throughout my day in the classroom with my students.

Morality and Ethics

Gerry then introduced us to the topic of Morality and Ethics. I really enjoyed this topic as it completely changed my perspective on teaching. In one of Gerry’s lectures, we discussed Emmanuel Levinas’s idea of school mottos. Rather than being selfish and having a motto such as ‘To Be the Best That I Can Be’, I learned that we should instill the idea that we all need to work together and look out for each other, not just think about ourselves. Mottos such as ‘To Be for Others’ would be more suitable to promote this idea of unity and togetherness. I have now realised that we shouldn’t be teaching children to achieve individually but fostering an inclusive approach, still ensuring that they achieve academically and socially too. As well as that we of course need to teach our students the difference between right and wrong, and Gerry offered many ideas in his lectures on how to go about it. He had many suggestions such as following the curriculum, small group work, and storytelling. From my experience in Gerry’s lectures, I think it’s fair to say that he enjoys storytelling and is exceptional at it. He demonstrated not only a great understanding of how to tell a story but also to keep us all engaged with the session. I think using story-telling as a tool to teach Religion, can be very effective in the classroom, especially when teaching about morality and ethics. By reading a story based on this topic children can explore the differences between right and wrong and can even discuss their opinions in small groups. As mentioned by Roth and Thomas (2013) using stories and picture books can stimulate spiritual conversations among the children and allow for a greater understanding of the topic. As well as that we discussed as a class that the teacher will not always be there in every situation to tell the child if something is right or wrong, meaning it is important for us as teachers to teach them to be able to know for themselves.

The Context of RE in Ireland & Further Afield

One of the very first questions that Gerry asked us on this topic was ‘Do we remember our first introduction to world religions?’. I can honestly say that I had to think long and hard about this as I do not remember learning about world religions in primary school. However, I vividly remember rote learning each major religion in secondary school for the scary and daunting Junior Certificate exam. This made me realize that we as primary school teachers don’t place enough emphasis on this subject which I believe is wrong as I think all students should be exposed to the different religions across the world from a young age as the person, they are sitting beside could be part of a different religion. Gerry offered some great advice in relation to introducing world religions into the classroom. Ideas such as bringing in artifacts and inviting guest speakers were just some suggestions that stuck in my head. From Gerry’s lectures on this topic, I realized the importance of teaching children about world religions so they can learn about the various cultures that people belong to and their different beliefs. By educating our students on world religions they will have a deeper understanding of the lives of those around them such as their own peers and classmates. It will allow for a more welcoming and understanding society where everybody is accepted and respected no matter what their beliefs or values are.

World Religions

In all my years in education, I had never really learned about other religions and I didn’t feel the need to until I went to Gerry’s lectures. He explored many different religions but with a completely different approach than I imagined. He taught us that it is simply not enough to know a few facts and information about a religion like key terms and festivals but to try to understand how Jews, Muslims etc see the world around them. I yet again saw teaching religion in a completely different way. Rather than throwing a few facts and pictures on a PowerPoint, I now realize that I need to be more creative but sensitive when teaching world religions. By educating myself properly on different religions I can deliver better content to my class by inviting guest speakers in from other world religions to speak to students and tell them how they see the world. In one memorable lecture, Gerry gave us a quote. “For it cannot be stressed often enough that there can be: No peace among the nations, without peace among the religions. No peace among the religions, without dialogue between the religions. No dialogue between the religions, without investigation of the foundations of the religions.” (Küng,1992). This thought-provoking quote really stuck with me and reassured me about my views and opinions about world religions. Although I mentioned that there’s more to teaching world religions than some fun facts, Gerry did share some information on the many religions. He enlightened us on the many festivals such as Hanukah, Shabbat, and Eid Al Fitr. Some of these festivals I had never even heard of before, so I felt very happy about myself walking out of these many lectures and being more informed about the various religions across the world. I am now a lot more content knowing that I am educated about these religions and I look forward to teaching them in my future career.

RE Programmes, Pedagogies and Methodologies

During these lectures on this topic, Gerry introduced us to many different types of methodologies that we can use in the classroom. I was of course drawn to his storytelling yet again as he is truly amazing at it. One lecture that instantly comes to my mind is when he used sand to tell a story. His great use of resources instilled the idea that they are so important in the classroom as I believe the children will be more engaged and interested in the story. I thought the method by which Gerry went about telling the story was very interesting. He did not jump right into the story or even in fact tell us that he was about to tell a story. He simply just set up a rug with sand on it. This created a sense of wonder amongst us and our whole class was silent and watching waiting to see what he would do next. Lockett (2009) writes that “Storytelling allows students to share common interests and improve social skills through conversation and play. It creates an environment that caters to maximum learning by engaging the students and making the learning process more fun and captivating”. I really enjoyed how Gerry used his fantastic story-telling ability to teach us about important topics such as morality etc and I now know that I will bring these ideas into my classroom in the future.

As well that Gerry also showed us many different RE programs available for primary school teachers. He showed us various programs such as ‘Grow in Love’, ‘Goodness Me, Goodness You’ and of course the famous ‘Alive-O’ book which many us remember only doing in primary school. Before these lectures, I wasn’t aware of the many programs available to teachers and how certain schools use certain programs. For example, ‘Grow in Love’ in Catholic schools and ‘Follow Me’ in Church of Ireland, Methodist and Presbyterian schools. At the end of this topic, Gerry kindly showed our year an example of a religion lesson plan which I found very helpful as they are slightly different from other lesson plans in different subjects. I am now more confident in terms of my school placement when teaching religion and writing my lessons. I feel as though I have an abundance of ideas and different methodologies that I can use in the primary school classroom thanks to the help of Gerry.

Teaching RE on School Placement

As I have already mentioned before, Gerry introduced us to the various RE programs that are available to primary school teachers. I quickly found out that on my school placement, I will be using the ‘Grow in Love’ program which Gerry spent a lot of time talking about (as many of us are using this program), showing us multiple lesson plans that are included in the program. I personally was not familiar with the program as when I was in primary school, we used the ‘Alive-O’ program however, Gerry went through the program to ensure we all knew about it before placement. I learned that the program’s pedagogical approach is, let’s look, let’s learn, let’s live. The “Let’s Look” section, involves the children looking into an aspect of the world around them keeping religion in mind. This part of the lesson encourages children to be alert and aware of the various things that are going on around them. “Let’s Learn” refers to using drama, music, poetry, and visual arts. This requires the teacher to take the children’s ages and stages of maturity and development into consideration before planning this part of the lesson. The final stage of the program is “Let’s Live” In this section, I personally believe this is where the lesson comes to life as the children can take what they have learned in the lesson just taught and try to in their own ways apply it to their life’s, making the lesson worthwhile and valuable. I learned that there are many stories included in the ‘Grow in Love’ program and I believe this is where I will try and adapt Gerry’s excellent storytelling skills. His slow, calm, and methodical way of telling a story really inspired me and completely changed the way I tell stories to young children. He always seemed to maintain a calm and peaceful atmosphere and I truly believe this way of telling a story was fantastic and inspiring.

To conclude, I think it is fair to say that I did not expect my religious education here in Marino to be this fun and enjoyable. Looking back at all these reflections, it is obvious that I took a lot from Gerry’s interesting and strange lectures but most importantly I had lots of fun. Gerry’s lectures taught me that you can teach religion in so many ways, each as different and interesting as the next. I can also say that I now know exactly what type of religious education teacher that I want to become and that I hope to become

Reference List

1. Lockett, Jordan S.; Jones, Rose B. (2009). Why Tell Stories? Kappa Delta Pi Record, v45 n4 p176-178.
2. Brenda Watson and Penny Thompson. (2007). The Effective Teaching of Religious Education.
3. King, U. (2011). Can Spirituality Transform Our World? Journal for the Study of Spirituality.1(1), (17-34)
4. Lesley Roth & Trudelle Thomas (2013) Spirit books: promoting conversation with picture books, International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 18:4, 351-368
5. Küng, H. Judaism: The Religious Situation of Our Time, London: SCM, 1992, p. xxii
6. Lecture Notes 2018/2019

Public Health England (2017) projected that smoking costs the National Health Service £2.5 billion. A study by ASH Action on Smoking and Health (2016) that smoking costs Cheshire West and Chester £89.3 million a year, nearly £1,673 per smoker per year (Inside Cheshire West and Chester, 2017). When reflecting, the latest statistics report by the National Health Service (NHS, 2019) showed that throughout 2017/2018, 14.4% of adults in England smoked – to break this down to the Cheshire West and Chester area, approximately 31, 320 people are current smokers. Within Cheshire West and Chester, ½ long-term regular smokers die from smoking and of these, half will die middle-aged (Inside Cheshire West and Chester, 2017). Smoking was linked with 778,000 deaths and 489,300 admissions to hospitals in the UK. During 2015/16, smoking contributed to 1,483 per 100,000 hospital admissions in Cheshire West and Chester. Reflecting on these statistics, it emphasizes how smoking is a significant public health issue and why lowering the population of smokers would improve public health, as well as lessening preventable admissions and deaths. (GOV.UK, 2017). Socio-economic evidence also shows that those who live in more deprived areas of Chester are twice as likely to smoke as well as being less likely to quit (Office for National Statistics, 2014). As A Result, those from deprived areas are twice as likely to die from lung cancer (Cancer Research UK, 2016). Although there are wide-ranging reasons why individuals smoke, lifestyle factors such as peer pressure, parental influence, stress release, and mental health issues play a key role in this decision (Cunningham.M, 2011). When I explored and reflected on a range of local and national interventions designed to empower communities to tackle smoking; evidence by Cheshire Change Hub (2020) It suggests that smokers are four times more likely to quit if they use these support services. Some of the local support available includes:

• Smoking cessation – A free stop-smoking community support service, that offers individuals the support and action plan for quitting. (Cheshire Change Hub, 2020)
• NHS stop-smoking medication – prescribed medication that suppresses the urge for nicotine and increases the chance of a smoker quitting. (NHS, 2020)
• Stoptober – A social marketing strategy that encourages smokers to quit during the month of October – Results from 2014 found that 62% of participants stayed smoke-free at day 28, suggesting this initiative is an effective way of promoting smokers to quit (Ellison. J, 2015).

In order to tackle this public health issue, the government and local councils have introduced policies and guidance to deter smoking:

Updates for government policy, ‘A tobacco control delivery plan 2017 -2022’ which indicates specific milestones the government hopes to achieve nationally and locally in order to meet the policy aims.GOV.UK(2018)

• Increased the price of cigarettes and limited quantity size to 20 cigarettes to make smoking less affordable. (Gov.UK, 2015)
• Reduced opportunities for people to smoke. For example, limited opportunities to smoke in public places and banned smoking with children in the car. (Gov.UK, 2015)
• Cheshire West and Chester Council have introduced smoke-free hospitals including Chester’s Local hospital – The Countess of Chester. Leighton Hospital and Cheshire and Wirral Partnership have also introduced a smoke-free hospital. (Inside Cheshire West and Chester, 2017).

There is now extensive free support available to everyone in Chester and the UK, regardless of social status or geographic location. It is vital for the government, councils, and society to work together to discourage new smokers and help those currently smoking to stop, in order to create a healthier lifestyle for all.

A key Public Health England aim is to achieve a smoking-free generation by 2025 (Gov. uk, 2018). To reach this goal, the government must continue to develop new ways of supporting individuals to quit smoking – and prevent new smokers from starting. This will help to manage and improve the long-term detrimental impact on health, well-being, and lifestyles and reduce smoker-related illnesses.

To reach these targets, the government will continue to review the sanctions for retailers selling tobacco illegally, in order to prevent tobacco sales to underaged individuals. The Government has provided training to health professionals (Making Every Contact Count [MECC]), to help them provide support and information about smoking cessation during routine contact with smokers. (Craig & Senior, 2018), (Gov. uk, 2017). Upon reflection, It shows how essential for Cheshire West and Chester Council to understand what works well locally in order to target smoking cessation, promote healthier lifestyles within the community, and tackle some of the inequalities within society. (Gov. uk, 2017). Aiming for a smoking-free generation will encourage individuals to adopt healthier lifestyle choices, which will, in turn, lower the likelihood of illness or admission into the hospital. This would save the NHS a significant amount of money and allow resources currently allocated to deal with smoking-related illnesses to be redirected to other priority health areas. Continuing to encourage smoking cessation and actively discourage new smokers can have a significant impact on the future of public health within Chester and the UK.

The topic of contrast has been key to U.S. women’s liberation since the commencement of ladies’ development in the United States. At the point when Sojourner Truth, a dark lady, strolled into the predominately white Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio in 1851, three years after the main Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, jaws dropped. Not a sound could be heard. The truth was a monumental lady. She stood nearly 6 feet tall and bore the scars of fierce beatings, the offer of her youngsters, and the loss of her own folks while she was auctioned off into subjection. Encompassed by wealthy, taught white ladies and their honorable men supporters, her quality from the outset mixed dread, however, in the end, offered to ascend to stunningness. The white ladies at the gathering would not like to sloppy their battle and requests for ladies’ privileges with the awkward subject of race and the privileges of shaded society, in spite of their obligation to Fredrick Douglass’ endeavors to keep the disputable issue of ladies’ suffrage focal at the main Convention in Seneca Falls. However, when Truth rose to go into the discussion, her words, gathered under the title ‘Ain’t I a Woman,’ drew solid profound respect, yet augured what might come to be the basic inquiry of Western woman’s rights: What precisely is a lady?

In the discourse titled ‘Ain’t I a Woman,’ Truth uncovers the logical inconsistencies natural to the utilization and significance of the term lady and uncovers the political, financial, and social presumptions fundamental to its utilization. Taking the stage at the Convention in Ohio, she stood up against the revelations of a few men. They accepted that ladies were to cease from strenuous work, both physical and mental, so as to more readily satisfy their ‘womanly nature.’ But Truth remained unaware of this supposed nature that they embraced and incited. What she knew was drudge and work as burdensome as any man could persevere.

That man over yonder says that ladies should be helped into carriages, and lifted over a trench, and to have the best spot all over. No one ever causes me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best spot! What’s more, ain’t I a lady? Take a gander at me! Take a gander at my arm! I have furrowed, planted, and assembled into stables, and no man could head me! What’s more, ain’t I a lady? I could fill into such an extent, and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash also! What’s more, ain’t I a lady? I have borne thirteen youngsters and seen most totally auctioned off to subjection, and when I shouted out with a mother’s sorrow, none yet Jesus heard me! Furthermore, ain’t I a lady? (Truth, 2009).

Right around one hundred years after the fact, Truth’s scrutinizing can be heard in Simone de Beauvoir’s test to claims that the importance of womanhood is plainly obvious. In her historic and accepted work The Second Sex (1949, first English trans., 1953), Beauvoir set the course for the ensuing investigation of the ‘lady question’ in the West by placing the issue of sexual orientation into the center. Reacting to the male uneasiness that French ladies were losing their gentility and were not as ‘womanly’ as they trusted Russian ladies to be, Beauvoir thought about whether one is brought into the world a lady or whether truth be told, one must turn into a lady through different socialization and inculcation forms. This basic point of view drove her to challenge the convenience of the class of lady by and large and to ask whether it was, truth be told, useful as a term speaking to all the encounters of the supposed individuals from the ‘second sex.’ Perhaps nothing better delineates Beauvoir’s interests with respect to the authenticity and viability of the classification of ‘lady’ than the advancement of white, U.S. standard women’s activist idea comparable to challenges presented by ladies of shading, poor people, lesbians, foreigners, and ladies from ‘third world’ countries. In making their voices heard, these underestimated ladies extended women’s activist speculation by indicating that philosophies of womanhood had the same amount to do with race, class, and sexuality, as they had to do with sex.

Women’s activists in the U.S. have decided to distinguish, uncover, and subvert the longstanding sexual orientation generalizations that have been utilized to overwhelm and subordinate ladies. Key to any hypothesis of woman’s rights, at that point, is the manner by which terms like ‘lady,’ ‘female,’ and ‘ladylike’ are translated or misinterpreted. The pioneer ladies in the U.S. suffragist development talked about and battled for ladies’ privileges, utilizing the term lady to mean all ladies. What they neglected to perceive was that their idea of womanhood was displayed in the encounters and issues of a small level of females who, similar to them, were solely white, working-class, and generally accomplished. In any case, the supposition that working-class white ladies’ encounters spoke to every one of ladies’ encounters was made by the early Suffragists, however, it kept on forming the perfect of womanhood well into the second influx of the American women’s activist development and past.

In The Problem That Has No Name, a book that helped usher in the second flood of women’s liberation in the U.S., Betty Friedan uncovered the concealed disappointments of ladies who had gotten tied up with the ‘persona of female satisfaction’. Exchanging their professional desire for the guaranteed rapture of marriage, parenthood, and home life, numerous ladies rather ended up caught and disengaged behind white picket fences in what Friedan depicted as the ‘housewife’s disorder.’ But, what Friedan likewise neglected to perceive was that this disorder influenced just a specific minority of ladies—in particular, the individuals who were white, working-class, and regularly exceptionally taught, such as herself. She didn’t understand that the twofold and complimentary sexual orientation divisions she accepted, a lady as breadmaker and man as provider, were based upon a racialized man-controlled society that rejected ladies of shading, poor people, and foreigners from this ‘persona of gentility.’ It was these ladies who might be called upon to leave their kids and homes to think about the youngsters and homes of the white ladies who had effectively ‘freed’ themselves from family life to intentionally go into the work power.

Limiting the lives of ladies of shading by expecting that the encounters of white ladies were illustrative of the lives, all things considered, Friedan envisions solidarity among ladies’ encounters that essentially doesn’t exist. As per Chime Snares, this perfect sexual orientation solidarity is based upon a presumption of equivalence that is bolstered by the possibility that there exists a typical abuse of male-centric society around which ladies must revitalize. ‘The possibility of ‘basic abuse’ was a bogus and degenerate stage masking and beguiling the genuine idea of ladies’ differed and complex social reality’. This unpredictability is particularly revealed in the lives of ladies of shading who must battle with various and covering types of persecutions – including abuse by white ladies, who neglect to recognize the various battles going up against ladies who dislike them.

Stress, stress, stress! It is affecting everyone, including me! I stress about school so much. It was my biggest pressure as a teenager. Most of the time, I feel like I need to be a perfect student. Also, my parents pushed me because they wanted me to be the best student. I always need to pass every test, get all A’s, and get a 4.0 or a higher GPA. There are many other reasons that make students stress more about school. One of the biggest problems is anxiety and depression. It means that students are being nervous and stressed out. Also, classroom pressure is a big conflict. Schools are putting so much pressure on students. They give us so much homework to do! Deficient health is always a problem that teens need to overcome. With all these kinds of issues, it’s very difficult being a teenager in today’s society!

The cause of anxiety that most teens have today is probably classroom pressure. I have experienced this. Many schools are giving teenagers a lot of homework and tests. It even has reached the point where students feel overwhelmed. Sometimes, I would sleep very late at night because of homework that I would receive. It’s not easy at all. Moreover, Schools are pushing students to choose their career path when they are only 13 years old. That’s ridiculous. According to the article, “Why Kids and Teens May Face Far More Anxiety These Days” Marco Gardos, associate professor of psychiatry and clinical director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital, states, “Now we’re measuring everything. School is putting so much pressure on them with the competitiveness… I’ve seen eighth graders admitted as inpatients, saying they have to choose a career” (qtd. in Nutt). This shows how teens can get very stressed by worrying about their career path at such a young age. , I started to think about it in my sophomore year in high school. Eight grade is still

Stress, stress, stress! It is affecting everyone, including me! I stress about school so much. It was my biggest pressure as a teenager. Most of the time, I feel like I need to be a perfect student. Also, my parents pushed me because they wanted me to be the best student. I always need to pass every test, get all A’s, and get a 4.0 or a higher GPA. There are many other reasons that make students stress more about school. One of the biggest problems is anxiety and depression. It means that students are being nervous and stressed out. Also, classroom pressure is a big conflict. Schools are putting so much pressure on students. They give us so much homework to do! Deficient health is always a problem that teens need to overcome. With all these kinds of issues, it’s very difficult being a teenager in today’s society!

The cause of anxiety that most teens have today is probably from classroom pressure. I have experienced this. Many schools are giving teenagers a lot of homework and tests. It even has reached the point where students feel overwhelmed. Sometimes, I would sleep very late at night because of homework that I would receive. It’s not easy at all. Moreover, Schools are pushing students to choose their career path when they are only 13 years old. That’s ridiculous. According to the article, “Why Kids and Teens May Face Far More Anxiety These Days” Marco Gardos, associate professor of psychiatry and clinical director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital, states, “Now we’re measuring everything. School is putting so much pressure on them with the competitiveness… I’ve seen eighth graders admitted as inpatients, saying they have to choose a career” (qtd. in Nutt). This shows how teens can get very stressed by worrying about their career path at such a young age. , I started to think about it in my sophomore year in high school. Eight grade is still early! In addition, other things can lead to anxiety, not only classroom pressure. Gardos also explains, “Anxiety can be an early stage of other conditions. Bipolar, schizophrenia late run life can initially manifest as anxiety” (qtd. in Nutt). Anxiety can lead to many other conditions. In the end, you can feel how difficult it can be to be haunted by classroom pressure.

When teens have a problem with their mental health, it affects their physical health as well. Poor health is an important topic when discussing anxiety. If teenagers don’t get a lot of rest, eat healthily, and sleep well, they will not be able to think properly. This will increase their stress level. Sometimes when I sleep late, the next morning I wake up very early, dragging myself out of bed. The rest of my day would be awful. My body would not function correctly. It would be very hard to concentrate in school. According to the article, “Teens on the Hamster Wheel” Dr. Alexa Bagnell, a child psychiatrist at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, states, “In adolescence, melatonin, a hormone in the brain that initiates sleep, is released later at night, so teenagers are already fighting their biology to get good rest. Add in the constant white noise of electronics, energy drinks, and homework, and the average high-school student, who needs between nine and ten hours of sleep, is only getting seven hours of sleep” (qtd. in Anderssen). This conveys how teens are affected by the number of hours they sleep and the poor nutrition that students receive. Poor health is a crucial factor that leads to anxiety. There are so many ways to handle anxiety. A Hudson High School speaker, Ali Gaffke, came to our classroom to discuss how you can cope with anxiety. She responded by saying, “Self-care is very important. You should take care of yourself by, eating healthy, listening to music, watching TV, sleeping, taking walks, and more.” This is true, sometimes when I feel very stressed, I watch TV and ignore my stress. Taking care of yourself is essential in order to avoid anxiety and stress.

Since many students are affected by stress and anxiety, it is a big classroom conflict, and it can lead to poor health for teens. This is an important discussion to have because, with so many people affected, teens need to be aware that stress is hard to deal with. Try to avoid being stressed. Without this knowledge, many adolescents will miss a great opportunity to see how they can take their selfway for a moment from being stressed out. Hopefully, in the future, people will be more open-minded and make it easy being a teenager in today’s generation.

“Being black in U.S. society means always having to be prepared for antiblack actions by whites – in most places and at many times of the day, week, month, or year. Being black means living with various types of racial discrimination from cradle to grave” (Feagin, 167). Racial discrimination is still happening today and is currently affecting the life chances and life situations of the minorities in the United States that have witnessed discrimination. So, that is when we ask ourselves, what does it mean to be black? What does it mean to be white? W. E. B Du Bois uses the term double consciousness to identify the issues of race. Du Bois mentions double consciousness in ways that influenced the impact on history to create a pattern of significance. A major source of black people’s stereotypes is the media. Research has shown that television shows and movies tend to exaggerate African Americans as living in poverty, not wanting to live in two-parent homes, and having criminal backgrounds. This gives the assumption to Caucasians that African Americans have a different lifestyle and different family values than Caucasians. Although our African American men face more discrimination or racial slurs than our African American women, however Caucasian men today still consider African American women as sex objects. In previous centuries, Caucasian men have been the standard male icon for handsomeness, masculinity, and manly virtue. Also, Caucasian women have been the icon of female beauty. Therefore, Caucasians have identified African American women as ‘ugly’, their hair is too ‘wooly’, and their skin is too ‘dark’ (Burt, Simons, & Gibbons, 2012).

In the documentary ‘Race: The Power of an Illusion’, the authors defined race as, “simple external differences rooted in biology are linked to other complex internal differences, like athletic ability, musical attitude, and intelligence” (‘Race: The Power of an Illusion’, 00:01:43-00:01:53). The students, in this documentary, collected blood samples from each other to determine if they had similarities in their DNA. More so, the students were asked to explain whom they believed they shared similar characteristics with and who they thought were different. Most of the student’s answers were based on facial features or skin color. If a certain person looked like them or was their skin color, they believed that that person would share the same DNA with them. After the data was obtained, the students examined the results to notice that the person that looked like them did not share much of the same DNA, but those who did not look like them showed similarities in their DNA. Therefore, their observations, about people that looked like them or shared the same skin color as they were false.

As said in the video, “Race is not based on biology, but race is an idea that we ascribe to biology” (‘Race: The Power of an Illusion’, 00:04:58-00:05:05). The part where they say “race is an idea that we ascribe to biology”, to me that means that there are more genetic differences within any racial group, and just because we look like them does not mean that we are exactly like them. However, we may share the same characteristics or traits as someone in another ethnic group rather than our own. Also, the majority of the world does not believe this or consider this because they base their decisions on outer appearance or history. Instead of doing research, the majority just believe what they were always taught or based on their mindset. I personally believe that race is said to be a social construct because we tend to forget about genetics when discussing race and ethnic groups. Based on experience, people who are the same color associate with each other more. People who share different skin color is less likely to associate with each other. It is classified as a social construct because the world has the mindset that certain people or certain skin colors are the superiors and other skin colors are inferiors. People are known for labeling others due to the idea of ‘race’. With not much of an attempt to change, the world will continue to label others where they see fit.

The documentary states that “how a society constructs or understands race varies across societies and even across parts of one society”. Different societies see race in many ways, and they categorize it differently. People were raised differently, so everybody was taught differently. For example, if someone’s family view race as a biological concept, then the children to come will also believe that race is a biological concept. However, some people become curious about ‘race’ due to current events, and that is when some branch out and do some research. Depending on how most of the world was raised, they will more than likely believe their parents in whatever they tell them. It is just how the world operates.

So, what does it mean to be white? In my opinion, it usually means dealing with the ideal person in the United States. To my knowledge, being white means more power and authority. A white man does not have to worry about not being able to find work, or faces discrimination or racism, not getting harassed by the police, and not getting accused of a murder they did not commit. Which now leads to the question, what does it mean to be black? In my opinion, being black means sudden hatred. Rather a white person is racist or not, when they see a whole crowd of black people, they instantly begin to worry or become terrified. A black person easily lives in the fear of not returning home whenever they leave out, due to police brutality. Not only that but being a black person in America, especially a black man, it is very easy to become a target of the white man. Therefore, some African Americans live up to the stereotype that was brought upon them because that is what society thinks of them, criminals for example. In my opinion, racism still exists, and it will never end unless society wants it to end. When society learns to accept other races as one equal society, then the world would be at peace in a way. As W. E. B. Du Bois explained about double consciousness, “It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity”. If the world could understand this statement more, then more citizens would have their own identities. Society would always be miserable and will always feel cautious. We all live in the same society and we all undergo some of the same problems, so why should skin color matter? We as a society should not have to live in a world that constantly bashes another race for being a color that they did not choose.

To conclude, race is often defined in numerous ways, and everyone has their own definition of race. Race can be determined by influencers and a person’s surroundings. Race has many dimensions and is said to be a social construct.

References

1. Burt, Callie Harbin et al. “Racial Discrimination, Ethnic-Racial Socialization, and Crime: A Micro-Sociological Model of Risk and Resilience”. American Sociological Review, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Aug. 2012, www.ncbi.nlm.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3777442/
2. Horowitz, Juliana Menasce et al. “The Role of Race and Ethnicity in Americans’ Lives”. Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project, 31 Dec. 2019, www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/04/09/the-role-of-race-and-ethnicity-in-americans-personal-lives/
3. Newsreel, California. YouTube, YouTube, 24 Apr. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8MS6zubIaQ
4. PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, 2003, https://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background-01-03.htm

The impulse towards realism is generally seen as a dominant feature of Victorian fiction as it was a movement that deviated from idealistic romantic fiction and portrayed real-life events and situations accurately. In this essay, I will analyze how realism is a dominant feature to a certain extent in Charles Dicken’s “Great Expectations” and compare it to the minor realism illustrations in the “Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde. Furthermore, I will argue that psychological realism is depicted in the realistic portrayal of morality and gentility in both main protagonists, “Pip” and “Dorian’s” social superiority which was an important societal issue in Victorian Era society. Realistic gentility depictions are echoed in the way Dorian is consumed by his superiority in “aestheticism-beauty” and Pip in his behavior and newly discovered gentleman’s wealth and status. However, both of the novels deviate from the traditional attributes of a realism text by intertwining various subgenres into the narrative.

Realism was created in response to romanticism in which the writers were concerned with the “moral decisions of individuals in a complex” Victorian society (Wheeler, Michael, pg9) One of the primary purposes of a realism novel was to be a “vehicle for moral teaching “(pg10 Wheeler, Michael) in which the individuals learn from their own experience whether for the good or bad which is evident in “Great Expectations” and in “The picture of Dorian Gray”. The protagonists shape their own fate through their actions and suffer the consequences at a later stage.

“Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens is a realism-dominated text as it “attempts to portray all the varieties of human experience” by illustrating the real life and struggles of Pip who is the narrator and main protagonist in the novel (http://www.ricorso.net/tx/Courses/LEM2014/Critics/Watt_Ian/Rise_Chap-1.pdf (pg2)

However, the novel deviates from traditional realism novel by intertwining gothic and romantic elements into the narrative. The novel is adhering to realistic principles and attributes by writing about a common working-class character Pip. Thus it becomes a Bildungsroman as it portrays realism in Pip’s growth through life lessons and experiences from childhood to adulthood and presents real-life events through a series of firsts and eventually comes to a reassuring conclusion that there is more to happiness than money, such as friends, family, and integrity. Thus, unlike previous romanticism writers Dickens depicts realism by accommodating “new ideas about the individual’s growth and development” in which the reader is witness to Pip’s development throughout the novel ( pg 204) https://books.google.ie/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GKofBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=realism+in+great+expecations+dickens&ots=jLoObhquWR&sig=hd6W6RJP0eldJdTuHT4dSKb0k4k&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=realism&f=false.

Pip realistically struggles to gain self-fulfilment and states his deepest desire to change his circumstance “I wish Joe had been more genteelly brought up and then I should have been so too” (pg86) which ultimately determines the rest of his life due to his actions of pursuing this idea of “nobility/wealthy status “while sacrificing his morality. Dickenson used omniscient narration in a chronological narrative of Pip’s development which adheres to realism through the credibility of the plot thus the reader can sympathize with the character when his morality has returned to him through his lessons and he illustrates his regret for his choices “all those wretched hankerings after money and gentility that had disturbed my boyhood’ (p.233). The title of the novel itself “Great Expectations” foreshadows Pip’s development and pursuit of his high expectations in his aspirational desires to belong in an upper-class society and be suitable to Estella.

The novel adheres to realism by depicting the society’s morality and realistic tiers of wealth through the portrayal of the divide between the rich and the poor, for example, the sub-class is represented by the generous escaped convict Magwitch who is warm-hearted by giving his money to Pip to make him a gentleman “ I’ve put away money, only for you to spend” ( )) In the stark contrast to the representation of the selfish upper class “rich and grim” Miss Havisham who lived in a “large and dismal house, barricaded against robbers” and ironically lived in isolation. The “barricades” furthermore emphasize the lower-class and upper-class divide. The reader learns that money does not buy happiness which is evident in the case of Miss Havisham who is rich and yet rotten to the core both internally and externally ( quotes), in contrast to Joe who is poor and is kind (quotes), in result we learn that the richer and no better than the poor and therefore no more moral or generous.

Thus, Dickinson depicts a realism in the social and moral issues of 19th-century society through a “scaring critique of the Victorian socioeconomic system” which the reader notices through Pip’s developed social consciousness and experiences in which he succumbs to greed and commits sins through his feelings of social inferiority (pg205)https://books.google.ie/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GKofBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=realism+in+great+expecations+dickens&ots=jLoObhquWR&sig=hd6W6RJP0eldJdTuHT4dSKb0k4k&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=realism&f=falseWhich furthermore emphasizes the idea that with money comes greater expectations which was a recurring concept in a judgemental high-class society. Furthermore, Dickenson pays close attention to the setting and time in order to illustrate a sense of realism as London is portrayed as a “most dismal place, the skylight eccentrically patched like a broken head, and the distorted houses as if they have twisted themselves to peep down at me through it ( pg ) and the reader can relate to the realistic setting and the …

In contrast, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde is primarily concerned with the aestheticism movement in beauty and art. Nonetheless, the novel depicts elements of realism in the conflict of morality, which is evident in the portrayal of Dorian who is motivated by real-life urges such as greed, lust, and confusion between being morally good or bad which were common problems of contemporary society life Wilde adheres to realism by his “central concern with the moral decisions” of Dorian in a “complex” Victorian society. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.taylorfrancis.com%2Fbooks%2Fdownload%3Fdac%3DC2013-0-22246-4%26isbn%3D9781317896098%26format%3DgooglePreviewPdf&hl=en&sa=T&ct=res&cd=6&d=3709317909792055193&ei=tQe3XOe_MIewmwGZirvYAw&scisig=AAGBfm2vTTEoiF95ify9BAYfWCBGspZt2w&nossl=1&ws=657×887&at=English%20fiction%20of%20the%20Victorian%20period

The realistic portrayal of the decay in Dorian’s morality is represented in the “portrait” as it bears the consequences of his evil actions and the burden of age “But here was a visible symbol of the degradation of sin. Here was an ever-present sign of the ruin men brought upon their souls” (pg). Realism writers did not let their characters worry about the consequences of their actions and instead followed their urges and did as they pleased in the present moment which is evident in Dorian who succumbs to Henry’s influence in the idea that the “only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it…Live. Live the wonderful life that is in you. Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new temptations. Be afraid of nothing ( ). Dorian surrenders to decadent pleasures and as a result, degrades his inner self and morality throughout the novel which is evident in the portrait of Dorian which degrades the character. Dorian Gray deviates and isolates himself from the ideals and expectations of a superficial society and further sinks into sin with no regard for conventional standards of morality or the consequences of his actions until it’s too late. Thus, Wilde attempts to “weaken the pillars of conventions in the Victorian society”. http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol04/07/18.pdf Furthermore, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” criticizes

There are realistic societal issues portrayed in Dorian’s struggle with aging and his decaying moral conscience, however the “largely unexplained alteration in Dorian‘s portrait indicates that Wilde‘s novel is outside the Victorian realist tradition” (http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol04/07/18.pdf Thus, Wilde can be argued to be contradictory and it can be a struggle to confine him to realism alone as he stated in the preface that he “implied a distinction between decoration and realism” and that he has not “clearly defined” it (Wilde). Furthermore, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” reacts to the idea of realism in mortality and that youth and beauty will not last forever and portrays Dorian’s deviation in his attempts to have eternal youth which shows “Wilde’s supreme ideal was not to be devoted to the factual life but mostly to the spaces of imagination”( http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol04/07/18.pdf) which is evident in the mixed sub-genres and the theme of the supernatural in the novel. Dorian is portrayed as the “other” having been already distinguished from a society based on his beauty and youth being different, he is furthermore isolated when under the influence of Lord Henry’s ideas of hedonism. Thus, he showcases resistance and breaks the norm and the societal conventions of the time.

In both novels, the two main protagonists “Pip” and “Dorian” state their superficial desires which shape the rest of their lives, and in an attempt to change their circumstances of pursuit, they become victims of their self-imposed cruel fate. Thus, realism is depicted in the realistic portrayal of gentility and sacrifice in both of the main protagonists’ pursuit for social superiority for example in Pip who is willing to sacrifice his morality in his desire to be wealthier and of a noble status (Dickenson, 86) and Dorian who wishes that he remained his youthful and beautiful self in exchange for his soul and morality (Wilde, 42). In the superficial society of the 19th century there is a sense of realism in the fact that actions shape the world around them whether for the greater good or the bad, it enhances the importance of having morality.

However, although there are realism elements evident to a certain extent, both novels deviate from traditional realism novels by incorporating various subgenres into the narrative. This is evident in “Great Expectations” as the gothic element of the story allowed Dickenson to illustrate a grim setting and atmosphere that can make the reader be sympathetic towards the characters in particular to Pip who wonders through the graveyard of his family. In similarity to Wilde who employed elements of the aestheticism movement, supernatural and gothic in the portrayal of Dorian and his immortal youth in the narrative.

To conclude, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and “Great Expectations” illustrate realism to a certain extent in the portrayal of realism through the depiction of the gentility in the main protagonists and their realistic desires for wealth, beauty, and status which can arguably be traits of psychological realism. However, upon a deeper glance, both of these novels deviate from the traditional roles/features/attributes of realism by intertwining