I feel my journey is worth sharing given my slow start to my learning and career, so I thought I would have a go at this. I appreciate my education and career as I have fought for it. I was educationally written off due to my poor engagement with learning and grades - illustrated later on. EDIT: September 2023, I saw this line on a friends LinkedIn post that struck me "...the grade...because actually that’s a social construct, a way of pleasing the system." Meaning that despite getting low grades, you can actually be intelligent. But the system/society denies you. A bit like how my story turned out.
As Westlife say "You've got to fight for every dream".
Many have been given it on a plate and don't value the educational opportunities available and subsequent accomplishments. I had to ask, fight and push myself hard to be where I am now. You've got to want to work hard for it. As a result, I appreciate it more because I have worked extremely hard for it and pushed myself out of my comfort zone. Those from and in ivory towers won't understand the true graft. I find that those that judge my career are those that did better at school or are in higher positions, and fear such underdogs reaching success. Because I've fought to achieve because I am not complacent. I feel I represent underdogs, through everything I have achieved professionally. Those that have already achieved at the outset, maybe they don't fight or ask because they it's a pride thing. It's also a matter of priorities; I put my education first and embraced supporting opportunities along the way. Where some may prioritise chasing promotions. I do feel I am what the definition of what people may refer to as self-made. However, I don't like this term as it implies that no support was given or accepted. And in my case, whilst I have been instrumental in self-directing and self-regulating, I have had support in the form of advice from friends and family, and the odd small financial contribution from family. But the effort I put into my career and financial security and stability has been independently me. However, often many people from hometowns like mine don't have the same opportunities, limited or little or no funding. In my experience as a non-academic individual, due to being educationally written-off, resulting it being much harder for me to access more important and higher credit-bearing courses. Whereas others in similar ex-mining communities might have been more academic and had opportunities but did not pursue them to a variety of reasons. I have trained myself to be more academic, by choice, not for ego but for the love of growth and making something of myself. However, all of this can greatly hinder people's motivations and aspirations of the young adults. All of this provides reasons of why I work and present myself in this way via my blog site, that derive from my poor educational and geographical beginnings/upbringings. With a dash of personal and workplace adversity.
Personally, just because I left school how I did and people saw me as a dunce that wouldn't go anywhere and be at Morrisons for a lifetime - I could have stopped working in Morrison's for my duration. But I felt I was meant to go onto bigger and better things. So I guess I trusted the process of that. And because I knew I was meant to do and be more than that, I feel people couldn't accept the change and I should remain that person they thought I should be. However, I had my own ambitions for my life and how I wanted it to be, and not what people think it should be. Workplace, perhaps left simply as jealous of achievements or that they feel threatened somehow. Many of my peers left school with top grades and a long string of qualifications whereas I didn't (see below). We all started at the same time, however I was in the bottom classes but they had a head start over me whilst I spent years playing catch up. I'm sometimes sneered/scoffed at for my achievements, which often come from the people that had a better education than mine started out. Especially when I didn't undertake the traditional sixth form college to university route. The reality is that is not suited to everyone and shouldn't be forced on everyone as the 'best' option.
The following video is my short 'off the cuff' video that I recorded and shared on to the person to share with their learners. I hope it inspires them to become a future 'me'. But remember, it takes time learning and being who you are meant to be - it took me a while!
- I come from a working-class background and from the small town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire - an ex-mining town (and am currently living in one), but that culture instils unwanted behaviours
- I was 'defined' as special needs by being in bottom groups/sets. I left with 3 GCSEs (D, E, F) + Entry Level 3 French = classified uneducated
- Worked at Morrisons supermarket for a bit - was unsure what to do etc
- Did an apprenticeship in business and administration
- Worked in administration jobs
- Then decided to work with my passions and push myself into a career - got a job as a learning technologist
- Did Open University certificate in information technology and computing - biggest educational challenge I had at this point
- Did initial teacher training to later become a qualified teacher
- Had my own Level 3 and 4 Digital Learning Design apprentices I line managed, trained and assessed
- Qualified assessor and lead internal verifier
- Did a masters in learning technology - the first in the family to go to university - with belonging issues, and later work at a university
- Won a national award for my personal and professional efforts - the last slide of my presentation inspired the blog post title
- Reviewed a book chapter, plus others later on
- Got my 'dream job' job at Nottingham Trent University
- Writing my first book on learning technology
- Became an External Quality Assurer
- Developed a new Level 3 Technology Enhanced Learning qualification
- Qualified Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Level 5 Diploma in Management and Leadership
- Progressed into the School of Social Sciences, in the Institute of Health and Allied Professions as a Digital Curriculum Support and Developer
- Evolved my first book into 'Digital Learning, Teaching and Assessment for HE and FE Practitioners'
- Influenced the creation of and promoted to Digital Curriculum Manager
- Achieved SFHEA and SCMALT
- Came full circle with the Digital Learning Design qualifications, delivering an inaugural masterclass to the new Level 5 Digital Learning Designer Occupational Apprenticeship Standard I co-developed
During 2012 I researched and investigated heavily on a possible career move towards marine biology, focused on cetaceans, given my huge passion and interest in them. It's a dream thing to do, but I felt it wasn't my purpose. Plus, I invested so much into my career in the education sector, I didn't want to throw it all away. My dream was to make something of myself, not to become superior, whatever it might have been. Just not to be at Morrison's forever.
My entire blog captures the journey I took through my learning, the challenges I have experienced and the things I have done to get where I am today. I talk a lot about motivating and positioning yourself to achieve what you set out to, especially with careers. Many of which are in the career development and personal development categories, so do look around. Below are similar videos that I have recorded a while ago and a blog post that may be of interest:
- Hello Daniel Scott
- My Learning Is Your Learning
- A Journey Of Employability
- This is proACTivity
- Slow learner?
- You can't take the Tarn...
- Makings of effort
- Imposter - phantom in self or environment?
- What working class means to me
EDIT: In August 2020, Theresa Beattie said the following and re-shared the video below that includes me (I'm on at 15 mins 30 secs), regarding the national GCSE/A-Level results.
"Teachers are like this. Imagine being failed for an exam you never sat by an algorithm vs being taught by people like this."
However, she opened up our chat to say she had watched some of my earlier videos (above) and commended my achievements - unexpected but needed to hear it at that moment, after an unwelcome impostor visit the day before. To which Laura later said "I hope my cringe-worthy flattery helped a little earlier today! 😆"
