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Liz
Liz

Me and my arthritis, by Liz Sabin.

In June 2006 at the age of 16, I was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. At the time I was in the middle of my GCSE exams,which I completed and gained 6 Cs and a D. For over a year I had a swollen big toe on my left foot. I saw a lot of medical professionals (eg doctors, physiotherapists), but none of them knew what was wrong. It was only when my right foot became swollen that I found out that I had Arthritis, and then a few weeks later my right knee became swollen and I was told that had Arthritis in it as well.After being diagnosed I felt shocked and scared, but also relieved to finally know what was wrong with me. Now 18, I have also completed a home learning course. I was a Millennium Volunteer and through my involvement engaged with the Edge Learner Forum.

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Archive - July 2009

Tuesday 28th July, 2009

Teachfirst Summer Institute 09

By Admin

 

 The Edge Learner Forum (ELF) is all about making education better for young people where it really matters- in schools and institutions on a day to day basis.

So, on July 27th an elite squad of London members made their way into deepest darkest Kent to take part in the Teachfirst Summer Institute, a 6 week course to prepare trainee teachers for the real school experience. The ELF was invited down to kickstart some conversations between young people and the teachers,  REPRESENTING the point of view of the STUDENTS they’re going to teach.

 

    student voice

 

ELF members and the teachers took part in workshops, each group putting themselves in the place of a failing school and then cooking up an ingenious ‘Action Plan’ to turn things around.  After some hardcore brainstorming, it all went a bit ‘Dragons’ Den’, with each group having to present their big solution back to a panel of judges.

And to round it all off, a handful of brave members got involved with the closing presentation, summing up the day for a whopping 300 people!

 

When things got underway, the whole room was bubbling with fresh ideas. One group came up with an idea for an 'Olympics at school', to sync up with London's 2012 Olympics and inject some variety into education.  There was also a brainwave for a massive Activities Day programme, which would see everything from live science demonstrations to business workshops for young people to a carnival with games and stalls, to get the parents interested! 

 

 

 

The winning groups were picked based on how strong their action plan was, how well they presented it back, and, most importantly, how much they LISTENED to the opinions of the young people who took part.

 A big congrats to everyone who came down and took part. Among the champions were our very own Huda and Roxanne, so extra congrats to you two!

Let' s hear from a few of the eyewitnesses:

 

Nathan: 'The thing I liked best about the event was that the trainee teachers were really listening to what we had to say. When it came to the report our ideas came up, you could see them in there. That was great.' 

Diven: 'I liked it because there was a lot of focus on the student perspective. Usually in school it feels like a one-way thing, with the teacher always telling you how to do things. This was a chance to reverse that.'

Adam M: ' I think it worked. It showed that there's not a huge gap between the teachers and the youth, which is what a lot of people believe. The curriculum is the real problem-it's too regimented.' 

 

Thursday 23rd July, 2009

Talent Matters - Jade's Perspective

By CJ

Current photo

Talent enterprise and NESTA organised an event in London on the 8th of July called ‘Talent matters’. As a member of the edge forum I was interested in attending and giving my ideas on what talent is and who has it. It was a long day that was well organised with a few famous faces around. The location was modern, differently furnished but inviting to be in and everyone attending received a personal name tag (which gave everyone a sense of importance and well, we knew each others name). Although I didn’t really feel like I was engaged in many of the activities or presentations that took place-we were all talked to as a group of networks rather than individuals. There were plenty of times where I would lose track on what was happening and I don’t speak alone when I Say it was fairly draining. However, there were many refreshments that would give members a bit if energy to focus on what was coming next.

On a positive note, the opinions and stories of the celebs that were there was intriguing to listen to and to find out how their journey was to get to where they are now was very beneficial and in a way, inspiring.

  If there was one thing I took away from the event, it would be that everyone has talent, even if it is undiscovered and there is a job out there to suit every person. From a personal view, I realised that I can talk about edge confidently and explain exactly who we are and what we do. I got a sense of enjoyment from speaking to total strangers from other networks and comparing why we were there.

 

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