In the undertaking of the PGCert (and even on this blog) I often refer to myself as ‘The Digital Woodwork Teacher’ because that’s how I feel surrounded by and being taught by so many academics.
I don’t teach theory, I teach actuality.
During my teaching practice, I’ve been advised to include more academia…”If it doesn’t relate to academia, should they even be studying it at university?” Was one question posed to me by an academic colleague.
To answer this more clearly than I could, I referred to Ken Robinson, author of the book ‘Creative Schools’ quoted in a ted talk from 2006 (https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity?)
“My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status”
Ken Robinson
This is how I feel partaking this particular strand, I am torn between producing amazing journalists, and producing amazing journalists who will get paid adequately.
Whilst I don’t necessarily agree that formal education is guilty of strip-mining young people’s minds solely for particular commodities that help students get into college. I do believe in Ken Robinsons challenge to educators and teachers (especially ones like myself) to be willing to try something different.
Brandon Busteed,(Forbes magazine https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonbusteed/2020/08/23/with-passing-of-education-luminary-sir-ken-robinson-his-call-for-creativity-lives-on/#5cac08e55253) said on Ken Robinson:
“Can we stretch our own thinking about the kind of thinking we want students to engage with? Can we create more opportunities for them to ‘draw from a blank canvas’ and put their ideas into applied action? Can we find more ways to allow students to flourish in their own unique ways using their own unique strengths?”
My own experience is still tainted by the creative arts not being seen as a ‘proper job’ especially by those such as myself with immigrant parents for who quality education is seen as the major solution to all of life’s practical problems.
With societal odds stacked against you from the onset, why wouldn’t you arm yourself with as much education as you can muster? Get a good job, be a productive member of society? I still think this is true, but the definition of ‘proper job’ has changed.
The average social media influencer salary in the United Kingdom is £32,680 per year. In comparison, bloggers in the UK make nearly £30 thousand.
In 2019, around 30% of British influencers made between £100 and £250 per sponsored post, 27% charged £100 per post, 11% earned between £251-£500 and 6% made £501-£1000 for promoting brands through their content.
Olajide Willaim Oltunj, aka KSI , the 26-year-old British YouTuber gamer has 9 million followers on Instagram and 22.4 million subscribers on Youtube.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KSI
The young gamer has now started a career in music and amateur boxing and has already shared fights with other famous influencers, including the American Paul brothers. He also stretched his YouTuber career by having a collaborative channel with his friends.
KSI is estimated to have a net worth of £20 million
(https://dontdisappoint.me.uk/resources/lifestyle/how-much-do-influencers-make-uk/)
Median household disposable income in the UK was £32,300 in the financial year ending (FYE) 2022, a decrease of 0.6% from FYE 2021, based on estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Household Finances Survey. (bit.ly/ONS_Survey_2022)
“If you earn proper money from it, is that not infact a proper job?”
Me, when I got my first proper media job, 2009
We need to train the next generation to flourish and in order to do that, our teaching practices must be adaptable
What challenges does this pose? especially with TikTok, the worlds 6th largest platform boasting xx subscribers currently banned from a number of US universities and most government devices across the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_of_TikTok
Even woodworking can assist in the brain’s production and reception of dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. As you engage your muscles and mind in activities you enjoy, your brain will release healthy doses of these neurochemicals. They regulate mood and ease mental illness symptoms.
And cut…