Somebody dropped the temperature on the island without telling me so the fire is on early and I have moved my 'office' closer to it. It has been a very busy couple of days so I am taking this afternoon to catch up. When someone throws in a curve ball it is very exciting but it also messes with the everyday things that make our world go round.
The boys and I have been following the Great British Year on the BBC and have used it as a hook into some more in depth natural history enquiries. George has been studying the Eider duck while Max has been looking the Shag seabird and its very funny habits. We are members of the RSPB and use their site a lot in home school. We have Molly to thank for our growing fascination with birds and we can now walk along the beach and name just about every bird species that happens to pay a visit.
I have started to try and organise my home school experience into some sort of order so that I might finally tackle the ebook I have been promising. It is not going to be an easy task as it is ten years of experience but I am going to keep the focus on activities that parents can do with their children. You don't have to be home schooling to be interested as I know that parents of school based children are always asking me about what we get up to.
George and Max are older now and well through their schooling so independent learning is the most common approach with some gentle guidance from us. When they were younger it was different as they all needed a lot more input. We have managed to maintain a dialogue with Molly despite the fact that she is now way ahead of both Pete and I in her chosen subject. Pete can still have a sensible discussion about the science that she engages with and |I try and hold my own with her research activities drawing on my experience as a university lecturer.
Molly is underway with her dissertation and making some brave and bold decisions which I hope will light up the sky a little so that fellow academics will know she is on the map. She is a born researcher as she has the capacity and interest to drill down into the subject. She is also naturally curious and her studies have developed her lateral thinking skills. We are hoping that these skills coupled with a determined attitude will deliver a respectable undergraduate dissertation. This will then provide an excellent launch pad for her masters research.
I loved my masters degree despite it being very hard work. I was teaching almost full time at the same time as studying and Molly was born mid way through. There is no doubt that a masters degrees encourages original thinking and I have drawn on it a great deal over the years. I am filled with horror when I think of what the English young people are facing as they consider a university pathway. £9,000 a year just for fees is a huge amount of money and, in many cases, a huge amount of debt. Molly got into the system just before that was introduced so her fees are £3,500 a year. Big difference.
Of course, it would have been ideal if Molly had chosen a degree course in a Scottish university because there would have been no fees at all. I can't see that strategy being sustainable for much longer but it is a real gift for Scottish students. Molly was looking for a very focused course and only a couple of universities offered such options and they were both in England. Where I think Scottish universities let their students down is the in the length of the course. In almost all cases it takes four years to achieve an honours degree whereas you can achieve the same outcome in three in English universities. I have advised many students with their UCAS applications over the years but now I find myself questioning the intent if they are considering a degree from an English university. I am sure thee courses are very engaging and the experience just as good as it always was but the fees are just too high. They have also gone up against a culture of taught hours going down so there is a value for money debate to be had.
That said, there are lots of reasons to go to university particularly if the qualification is necessary for a chosen career as in teaching, for example. Beyond that I would encourage young people to at least consider other options. Vocational learning is seizing its opportunity as university is no longer the obvious choice. The new apprenticeship schemes are beginning to bed down in the system and offer a real alternative to university education. Distance learning options are also taking their opportunity and they allow young people to work part time while studying alongside.
It is an incredibly tough job market out there at the moment so I believe that young people need to add value to their education by seeking out relevant and rewarding voluntary work that will deliver necessary work experience. Molly grasped that very early on and has now developed a very impressive CV for someone so young. There are so many voluntary opportunities out there and they can make a real difference to a young person's experience.
I am delighted that my new site One soul many hearts is offering just these type of opportunities. Robyn is our new newsletter assistant and she is currently getting to grips with Mailchimp software ready to publish the first edition. She is also taking on some book review work. I have lots of ways that young people can get involved so if you know of anyone who might be interested do let me know. All the work can be done in their own time and from home and I hope that is appealing. The site will give them a platform to share their work and I will be able to provide references as necessary.
I have had a discussion with a major retailer today and they want to start offering more short term internship options over the internet. They already operate a very sophisticated management training programme but they can see how small work experience opportunities may be useful to the young people of today as they attempt to enter a very challenging job market. We were on the same page when we agreed that we all share thee responsibility of supporting young people. I already support a number of young people as they establish themselves in blogging and social networking. Molly has her own Conservation Stories blog and it is something to be very proud of. She can direct potential employers to it and this is just another way of improving her chance of a job in the very competitive conservation sector. I am always willing to help others.
I am off back to Mailchimp to try and keep up with Robyn.....it is how it should be.
Until tomorrow. xx
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