How spending so much time out of an education setting can have a devastating impact on a young person

Hello everyone! How are we in September already?! I feel like this year is coming & going too fast.

Anyway, I have began a new job on Monday (1st of September) in a nearby college, and as the above title states, I want to share something very important that I have seen for myself whilst I was working there. This is all in the hope that other people reading this will find this post as insightful as it was for me having to witness it. Plus, this will give me something to do whilst I'm off work ill today as well.

On my 1st day working at a nearby college, I was working in a class where there was a boy who would not come into class, and had spent the whole day standing outside. This was all because he had been out of education for a WHOLE year. With that said, just spending 1 whole day in an education setting was enough for him to be overwhelmed, as he has unfortunately been so used to not being in one for this long. 

Now, you'll be asking yourself: "Why was this boy out of education for an entire year?" The answer was (according to my colleague) the school was having problems with him, so they couldn't cope with him anymore. This, in my eyes, is nothing other than totally unacceptable for any young person. Let alone for anyone who has special educational needs, like this boy does.

There is proven evidence that being out of any educational setting for a prolonged period of time can have a really devastating impact on young people, as they fills their head with so much uncertainty, and not having any learning in an actual learning environment makes young people feel anxious, because they will be behind everyone else, regardless whether they are neurotypical & non-neurotypical people.

Although it is valid there are loads of educational settings that are struggling to accommodate SEN kids due to a sky high new cases for ASD, ADHD or any other condition, it is NOT valid for young people with SEN to be out of education just because the education system cannot find a way to cater for their needs. This is why so many SEN kids are falling behand in life due to a lack of education. I know things are getting done to improve the statistics, but this simply cannot continue for the foreseeable...

Luckily, Challengers (the part-time organisation I work for) have 2 specialist settings in Guildford & Farnham that run during the weekday where they support people from the ages of 2 - 18 who are currently out of education. Although they are not education settings in any shape or form, they do, however, provide these young people with activities that will become really beneficial for their social & emotional development. They know what it's like when a young person with SEN feels insecure by having their education placement broken down, as well as knowing the ripple effects it has on their families.

To gain a more visualised insight, I have attached a video:

My thoughts on the "Check in on those around you" video

Alrighty, although World Mental Health Day has come & gone, I still want to provide you all with a video that shares a silent, but powerful message. 

As the title states, I also want to share my thoughts on the video, as I want to spread the important awareness of checking in on the people around you. This is because everyone has a right to check in on people around them, as it helps to those people to feel wanted when they feel like they are alone by thinking that nobody cares about them.

Even though this video (below) is produced by Norwich City FC, it was also a collaboration with Samaritans for the purpose of raising awareness on World Mental Health Day.

  

What do I think of this video?

I think this video was very well presented, as its aim was to spread the importance of checking in on whoever is around you. In this case, the video consisted of 2 men at a Norwich City FC football game. The man on the right was clearly trying to enjoy himself. The man on the left was also happy, but not as much as the man next to him.

I actually found it heartwarming to see the 2 men looking like they're enjoying themselves at the game together, as if they were bonding in a friendly manner. 

This was where the deceiving truth lies beneath. 

The man on the right, was purposely PUTTING ON a happy face, just for the sake of the man on the left not being able to tell how he is actually feeling like INSIDE. And because the man on the left failed to notice by not checking up on him, he just presumed that man was having the time of his life, when really, he wasn't feeling that way on the inside.

If those 2 men were actors in that video, I'd say they had done a professional job at portraying their characters in it, as I'm sure it wasn't easy to play 2 people showing their presumed feelings on the outside.

The end part of the video showed the man, who was sitting on the left, walk silently over to where he was sitting during the football game. He was also looking sad while holding the man on the right's football shirt. This indicates me that the man, who was sitting on the right, must have done something to himself that made him not come back to the next game with the man on the left...

I thought the ending part of the video was just right to conclude it, as well as deliver the morale of the video itself. I'm sure everyone else can agree that the ending scene must have touched deep inside the mind, as you must be thinking to yourselves: "If only the man on the left was checking in on the man on the right, he would still be here now..."

That is the end of my view. Please do feel free to share your own thoughts on this video, and do remember to keep on checking in on the people around you. 

Take care.💚

Why going to an education setting with so much opportunities can make a person thrive in life

Evening all! Hope you're all enjoying your week so far, whatever you're doing. I'm just trying to keep myself as busy as possible with my extra credit & any upcoming work I have with Disability Challengers.

As the title states, I am going to be discussing why an opportunity-filled education setting can really do people with gifted mindsets the world of good. What I mean by this, is how academic people want to be able to excel, as well as show off their learning ability in an education setting like no other.

And I will be using Epsom College for my chosen example.

Why did I choose Epsom College as my example?

I chose Epsom College, because it has so many learning opportunities like no other place does. Well, that's my opinion anyway. In comparison to other education settings, I see that this one has every single opportunity in stock, whereas other places don't. (Not trying to cause offence here)

What really helps support my option, is that I have watched the virtual tour on YouTube. The video consists of 2 students giving you the tour of the place, as well as talking about what their educational life is like for them there. Here's the video in case if you're interested to see for yourself: 

How does Epsom College cater for the needs of the gifted?

For starters, Epsom College considers the fact that there are (and still will be) people out there who want to wish to be well educated. Not just to be educated, but to be educated to the very best of standards. 

This is done in such a way, because the students who attend there, have an inquisite mindset by wanting to develop their interest in something in every single approachable way possible. It's as if their mindsets are constantly barking at them to be able to learn every bit about what their interested in that will help them what they want to do in the future.

Is there any evidence that those students do well in life after Epsom College?

Yes there is! According to the website, there is evidence that shows the support students get while applying to universities across the UK & abroad. Evidence in the website also include careers talk, discussions of their academic ability & seeking work experience. 

Conclusion:

Not every educational setting has to be made out as a stereotypical "Normal place of learning." Primarily because this particular education setting just happens to stand out more than the rest. As a matter if fact, non-typical education settings seem to achieve more praise due to how well they stand out.

The psychology behind social media

Hello all, Happy Sunday! I hope it's been a good one for you, especially with the hot weather today.😎

Since my last post, I've been keeping myself occupied, by staying off the internet and going out walking, which is what will be bringing up today's topic of social media.

What is social media?

Social media is a multi-communication app, which allows us to connect with friends and family, by making your own posts, pictures and stories to share online with them.

Even though, it may be fun and enjoyable to use for posting about your happy moments for everyone to see, such as going out travelling, clubbing or just hanging out with your friends and family etc. It can otherwise be very well known for "Controlling your happiness" (This is a quote, which has been taken from a friend of mine's documentary that'll be displayed at the end of the discussion)

Going back to my last point, social media sometimes has the capacity to control your happiness, especially when you're feeling depressed and bored, by saying to yourself: "Do you know what, I feel like just scrolling through my social media feeds, to see what everybody else has been doing, so that it makes me feel happy" 

Doing this, only shows that you have no interest on focusing on yourself, by looking into other people's lives on social media, which will then lead your mindset to start "Comparing yourself with other people" (Another quote taken from the upcoming documentary) As you judge yourself where you stand in your life progression, against other people in theirs. This is when your mind starts saying: "I feel like I'm doing A LOT better in life then these people, as I've got many pictures, as well as posts on there, which always gets likes and comments. Whereas, this person is boring, as they can never be bothered to post anything"

Don't get me wrong, whenever people like and comment on your posts, it does feel "Rewarding" (Another quote) to you, as those people do genuinely appreciate what you are doing in the making of that post, as well as yourself for that matter, as it makes YOU appreciate what you actually physically do in life, in order for you to receive that amount of praise. I always feel the same way too when this happens on my social media.

Finally and foremost, it is NEVER a good idea to spend lots of long hours on social media everyday, as it drains all of your productive time, which you could be physically doing something towards your goal or hobby, as these are the things you're interested in to make you become into a successful person one day in your life. Plus, it drains your mental health, by constantly looking into your eye-damaging phone screen, so that it brainwashes your mind, by making it think there's nothing fun to do in the outside world anymore, and you'd rather be indoors constantly surfing the internet 24/7, as this becomes your new favourite form of entertainment.

I think I've pretty much concluded everything in that topic now.

Thank you very much for taking your time to read through this long and extensive post today, and as promised, here is my friend's awesome documentary about his outtake on social media.

The topmost reason I wanted to share it with you all in this post, is that he words every single thing about my OWN use of social media, meaning, I couldn't word it any better, as he explains everything. I'll leave you to enjoy.

Documentary: Detached

If you want to see of more of what my friend does, then click on: Nicholas Stone

What happens to your mind whilst craving fast food?

Hey everyone, I hope you're all enjoying your weekend, even though the weather has not been great right now. In this post, I thought about answering a somewhat curious question, which some of you may have or may not have asked.

I know it's good to have fast food every now and again as a treat, but it's NEVER a good thing to have fast food EVERY SINGLE DAY.

At the end of this post, I will attach an educational video explaining why.

Why do people love fast food so much?

For one, they are popular grown restaurant chains originated in the US, (I'm talking about McDonalds, KFC and Burger King etc.) since then, they have become popular restaurant chains in the UK, Europe, Africa, Australia and even China. This was because these companies made millions enough money for other restaurant chains to expand.

Secondly and foremost, they use the same recipe over and over again which is extremely unhealthy, but does taste horrifically good in the way which they make the food. If this makes sense to anyone?

What happens to your mind after eating fast food and what does it do?

After taking just one mouthful of food, your mind goes through all of these "nice thoughts" as you cherish the mouthful of that horrifically good food by saying: "Ohhh, this is so good, I love this taste so much, I never want it to end!"

After finishing your food, your mind is suddenly nagging you: "I must have more of that food, as it's so good" This is because it wants to cherish the taste forever and ever, so therefore, you waste more money, all because you now have an addiction to fast food. More to the point, you're also in the position where you don't know when to stop yourself anymore, as your newly fast food addiction has taken over your WHOLE mindset and craving fast food is all you can think about.

To make a long story short, this was the EXACT reason why I chose to stop eating fast food all together.

As mentioned, here is the attached video. It is a documentary by the way.

 

Thank you for reading through. As always, please do feel free to share your thoughts on my posts in the comments or with me in person and I shall see you all soon!