Wan i thi furst things ah learnt when a began teechin in FE is the need tae be flexible and adapt quickly to, if no shiftin sands, shiftin timetables an classes. 

I hud originally planned to exlpore Scots wurds in a mental health context wi a group ae ‘care’ students.’ 

Thi group ur aw adult returners wi ages rangin fae early twenties tae late forties. Like ma ither group they ur also Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP) candidates oan the ‘Access to Nursing’ course. Indeed, sum ae them ur already sittin oan offers fae local universities (HEI) tae advance thur studies next session. 

Maist will pursue General Adult Nursing but some will progress intae Mental Health Nursing. In addition, ithers huv elected tae remian in FE an pursue an HNC either in Healthcare or Social Services and may progress tae HEI thi followin session. 

Ah deliver a stand alane unit in Mental Health issues. This unit intoduces not only a cleerur unerstaunin ae diverse mental conditions an treatments but also the stigma and changes in attirudes baith in delivery a services and the reposnses ae wider society towards mental health an wellbeing. 

Oor academic year is in twa semesters. A hid anticipatit deliverin the unit as wi began Semester twa. A hidne taught this group previously tae this. However, at the last minute ah hid tae accomodate three significant amendments tae ma timetable and discovered that ah hid to share the delivery ae this unit wi a colleague. Afore a went intae panic as this wid effectively hiv halved the inishul teaching time ah hid wi them ma colleague an a met and devised a plan. A would take the group fur the furst few weeks and prepare them fur the class exam whilst he would pick up thi class as we approachit Easter and prepare them fur an investigative report. 

This meaqnt a cud focus on changing attitudes and stigma whilst he cud facilitate thur learnin ae different conditions. 

Ma task wis, wit a thocht, a simpul adaptation ae a current activity. Usually, when deliverin this unit, a invite thi candidates to consider thi type ae language society uses within mental health contexts. This includit consideration ae derogatory wurds. Oan a side note, ah dae huv tae express that oor candidates, that is wans counsiderin pursuin the caring dirsciplins, ur reticent about expressin mony ae these wurds. Ah aye tak that as a sign ae hope furra futir. 

Thi ammendit activity wud see this shiftin slightly away fae a focus on thi language wi yuise as labellin tae a consideration ae Scots insteed. 

Ah confess that ah wis overly optimistic. Logistically I found it haird tae get thru ma teachin material quick inuff tae instil a sufficient level ae trust in thi students wi me tae express thur deliberations. Ah hid established a rapport wi them quickly inuff but thi trust needs tae be deeper tae enable them to yuise thi type ae language we need to considur. So, a felt a hid tae push back thi date a intended fur this task. 

In the meantime, a met wi a colleague who hid been deployit in the State Hospital (Carstairs) furra large pairt ae his career in mental health services. Ah hid expectit him tae hiv hid a wide experience ae Scots wurds yuise in the hospital towards the patients/inmates., Hooever, we struggled tae hink ae mony. He said that they would rotuinely enquire ae the inmates/patients “Hoo’s thi heid thi day?” And, atween us, wi could come up wi contenders such as ‘bampot,’ ‘eejit’ an ‘spangle.’ None ae these, a course, tended tae express wit a wis hopin tae achieve. 

In addition, ma internet searches thru various Scots langwage repositories tendit tae draw blanks. In ma naivity a hauf expectit tae perform a fairly simplu search an be offerit a barrage ae wurds. A even anticipatit mony tae be derogatory. A drew almaist a complete blank. A found sum archaic wurds an a cupl ae different dialects. 

Followin oan fae unit three a wis keen tae further develop ma experimentation ae Interdisciplinary Learnin (IDL). A felt the blendin ae Scots and sociology thru cultural and social capital hid been successful albeint needin further refinement. 

A wis buoyed wurkin through Unit 4 especially the IDL aspect ae Modern studies and the exploration ae the wurld ae work. Thi excellent exampuls focussed oan traditional agricultural an heavy industries so wis confident that a wud hiv a similar outcome investigatin the professional wurk within mental health servies. 

Ah intend tae complete thi task oan Monday 9th February. A’ll add tae ma poast wance a hiv sum feedback fae the students tae share wi ye.