Aussie Childcare Network Forum

Has anyone actually begun their B.Ed yet?
Ive started my first 2 subjects and I am finding it SOOOOOO hard to work FT and keep up with the reading and activities that need to be done week to week.
stressing out... would be great to hear from others and see how they are going

Hi there,
I am applying for next semester and struggling to find time to even fill in the forms! Have heard the first semester is the hardest, once you get your head around it and organise yourself things do get better - I hope? Working fulltime must be tough. Did you manage to get any credits from your diploma?

I got credit for 10 units which is just over 1 years worth of study.
I am just finding it hard to keep up with the reading.... after getting up at 4:45am and then working all day I am tired and most days can do a little bit but not much before I crash.
Hopefully next year when I am on a permanent 7:30 - 4pm shift I can be better organised and get into a routine.
However I had my first online quiz and got 88% so least thats good!

One subjects activity question is below, I am finding it really hard to find an artifact for this (this is for my subject that is called Self, Education & Society

Select an artifact from your everyday environment that you consider carries gendered connotations. Write a short paragraph about how and why you see this artifact as gendered - you donʼt have to necessarily agree that it should be seen this way, only that you believe that it is. If possible, photograph the artifact (a mobile phone camera will work well) and add the image file to your posting in the forum for this topic.

Can you just use a children's book that shows gender stereotypes? I did an action learning research project on gender in education for my degree and found that many childrens books showed Mum in the kitchen and Dad in the shed etc... Is this the sort of thing they are looking for?

Not entirely sure what they are looking for to be honest.
I know one person wrote about their water bottle and how it was purple and being a male he noticed most men in the gym had plain water bottles but the females all had colourful ones.
So not sure ... I suppose I could use a book, I would have to find one that did have gendered connotations, hmmmm sometimes the easiest questions are the hardest ones!

Do you actually ever have any spare time L.A??? Seems like you are one of the busiest ladies I know
Cathie

LA wow thats a good one, didnt think of it, i love playing PS3 too! gotta love them shooting games

cathiek she does have an opening between 12.00am and 12.05am lol

Do you actually ever have any spare time L.A??? Seems like you are one of the busiest ladies I know

Sometimes, well most of the time I feel that there is not enough hours in the day... In a blink of an eye it went from Feb 2011 to Christmas only a week away… This year has flown by…

LA wow thats a good one, didnt think of it, i love playing PS3 too! gotta love them shooting games

Oh I’m happy you liked that idea… LOL… I often wonder why they don’t make these games for us girls! Shooting games honestly help me to unwind after a hard day of work and it’s fun! I would love to have options where you could be a woman character in the game or just add a feminine touch to the game somehow… Also with the PS3 controllers and the system they could jazz it up for us women who play… How cool it will be if the controller came in different colours and the console was pink or purple with some cool design. I know the ps2 have a pink controller but I haven’t seen one for the PS3 but before I get off topic I say make call of duty (black ops, mw3) more accessible for us woman out there!

cathiek she does have an opening between 12.00am and 12.05am lol

Sometimes not even then! LOL!

Cheers
L.A

It is miles away from the PS3 and I think the Wii is more female oriented but when I read your post I immediately thought of something that is knitted crocheted or hand sewn. I would have thought that something like that would have a lot of female connotations. Do you think that is the sort of thing they are after?

I did the PS3 example which was a good one. Thanks LA
Others seem to be using things like handbags etc but the gaming console idea seems to be a good example esp as it is more "male" and coming from a female it was a bit of a spin on the whole thing. Lecturer wrote the following

The nature of play space - physical and virtual - is an interesting thing to think about; Some (actually, many - deep sigh!) years ago, I was involved in a project where we looked at the use of school playground spaces. The relative difference in amounts of space allocated to what was then (and probably still is) considered boys and girls games was quite stark. Think of the space needed to host "boys'" sports - cricket or football (of any code, even soccer smile ) relative to "girls'" sports - eg netball. The online and computer mediated gaming world is another more recent gendered playspace. You've identified the largely masculinist nature of games in this environment - are there any that you might see as feminine games? When females enter and engage this environment, what are the images of women with which they are presented? Does engagement (playing) require a certain set of behaviours that might be construed as masculine
In keeping with my penchant for television shows as carriers and exemplars of many of the points we would encounter in this course, have a look at what happens to Penny in the Big Bang Theory when she enters "forbidden territory":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6W1hWdmKZo?

thought it may be interesting to read for others.

This subject I am doing is really interesting and thought provoking

fefe
What a thought provoking topic.

Hey Fefe,

No Worries....Thanks for posting that up... It was interesting to read.... In the comment from the lecturer, it mentioned about feminine games and what types of games we may see. As far as from what I have experienced, there are feminine games however they usually revolve around stereotypical things such as babysitting, looking after animals, fashion design etc. Then the male games are obviously or the shooting games, sports games etc...

Does engagement (playing) require a certain set of behaviours that might be construed as masculine

Now in the beginning when I first started playing Call of Duty I didn't like it all... It did take me awhile to understand the controls and the game itself. I don't think that when I play, my behavior is construed as masculine because the way I play is different from how my husband plays when we end up playing together. Sometimes I like to play aggressive and the customizations are also different to what I think will work best for me compared to my husband. The only behavior that may be construed as masculine could be as simple as sitting on the lounge and playing for a couple of hours straight (since stereotypically males are usually seen as sitting down in front of the Tv all day).

In keeping with my penchant for television shows as carriers and exemplars of many of the points we would encounter in this course, have a look at what happens to Penny in the Big Bang Theory when she enters "forbidden territory":

It definitely made me laugh! I guess another behavior that can be construed as masculine is that at times we can also become addicted with the game itself (especially if you are doing well in the game). I also think that males don't want females beating them at their own game.... How can a girl play Call of Duty? LOL

Anyways, just wanted to share my thoughts on this and thanks again for sharing!

BTW- I agree Lindy!

Cheers ,
L.A

I agree I see all the dancing/singing type games as more girly as are the ones you mentioned.
Anyway its just interesting thinking about genders and how we perceive things around us as geared more towards men or women

Just some random thoughts.

As Educators how does this subconsciously or consciously drive our thought processes and angle our programming?
If it does how do we factor or draw more masculine (Assuming and I do apologies for this genderisation that most of us are women) tendencies into our programming?

I think this is where EYLF is a fantastic curriculum.
Rather than engendering stereotypical roles (Girls must play with dolls and dress up as a nurse and boys with trucks and dirt) EYLF looks at the child, its family, its culture, the child's strengths and the interests of the child both in the care situation and outside of care and the interrelationships between the macro-/micro-social influences.(Yes I'm a Vygotsky fan)

OOPS my inner nerd is showing I'll shush for now lol

I am about to start my bachelor degree in uni, I need to do two years, first year, the course has 45 days placement in the first year.20days in 0-2,25 days in 3-5. I thought i can do one block in my centre, then go aways to do 25 days in different centre, but i just have been told. the uni is going to arrange the placement, can not do the placement in own centre. and like first semester need to go 5 days placement at the first week, then 2 days a week until second semester, when second semester need to go 5 days at the first week again, and then 2 days a week till september, I just about need to go away 9 weeks. recently I've just got full time new job, my new boss said that's lots of time i am aways, suggest me to do the casual.I really dont know what to do? anyone suggest?

What uni are you doing it through?
FRom what I have read with my uni if you are doing it on campus or live close to a major campus city they will organise your placement however if you live interstate or rurally etc u can find your own placements

http://www.usq.edu.au/education/profexp/placement

Once again different unis will have different procedures so you would really need to request your uni if you could do it at your own centre

I am living in Victoria rurally. so only has off campus. and very strict. i've given up to do degree with them, it is going to do distance degree from UNE.they only need one year. but it is degree.