The Power of Belief

Please bear in mind that this is merely a thought provoking blog - so keep smiling :) - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!



This time of year is often filled with hope, joy and a belief in one special individual (No I do not mean Justin Bieber lol). Children's belief in Father Christmas, Santa Claus or even Jolly Old Saint Nick has been something that has gone on without question for hundreds of years and even the description of a large man in a jolly red suit stems back to the early 1400s.

Over the years we have seen 'Father Christmas' become an icon associated with the religious holiday on December 25th through the means of the media and throughout history in our childhoods. Every year we seem to anticipate the arrival of the Coca-Cola advert depicting Father Christmas as a 'lover' of Coke as the 'true start of Christmas' but does this not show us that the once so innocent childhood belief in Father Christmas has become just a commercialised prop to increase sales of an already worldwide product's success?

Why should Children 'believe'?


A belief in a higher being that is not necessarily God or a religious figure is something that as adults we should encourage in children. Without the belief in Father Christmas or the Tooth Fairy many children would in some ways lose faith in the fairy tale and could end up being more pessimistic towards other 'beliefs'. Some have mentioned the possibility of not letting their children believe in magical stories but is this not essentially telling the children not to have an imaginative and creative mind? I can often recall dreams and stories as a child of far off places with magical creatures and wanting them to be real but they would only exist in my imagination, these magical images in my imagination were always prompted by family and friends asking me to share and to be creative so if we refuse to let a child believe in these stories they may loose all ability to imagine a world that is entirely their own.

Myself (like many others my age) grew up with J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of books and Warner Bros. film adaptations, centred around this magical world which, to the reader/viewer was not only believable but felt entirely real. This belief in a magical world became a fundamental part of not only my childhood but many others around me, from my parents, grandparents and even my younger cousins that are too young to even remember the release of the books! As a creative person myself, watching a favourite series of books become this visible world right before my eyes helps prompt the imagination further. So, if my parents were to disallow the belief of a large magical bearded man in a jolly red suit then surely books and films such as Harry Potter shouldn't be present in the child's life but then children would loose their imaginative and creative side which as teachers we all know that a child's imagination is a power that is rivalled by no other!

Are Childhood Beliefs being Commercialised?


'It's not Christmas till the Coca-Cola advert comes on!' How has a worldwide celebrated holiday become dependent on a brand of fizzy drink? When put like that it sounds ridiculous don't you think? For many years now myself and colleagues have often joked when saying that it is not Christmas till the Coca-Cola advert is played but surely this can not be the case with children as well. As soon as it turned December 1st the children would come up to me and say 'I had chocolate for breakfast!' with the biggest enthusiastic grin you will ever see. Some even say that they have sent their letters off to Father Christmas, they look so excited and we join in with their belief, 'What did you ask for then Jimmy?' surely this is something we must always promote for as long as the child believes so should we.

Giving a child something to believe in is in many ways human nature when it comes to bringing up children (depending on cultural and religious differences of course) and this is something us as teachers should expand on, teaching them to focus their imagination into creative ways as a child's imagination is a gift that should never go untouched.

I shall leave you with one final thought.. Would you not give so much to be able to think that magic was real and that Father Christmas has flying reindeer just one more time? I know I would..

Thanks for reading, remember to keep believing :) - If you don't believe in something you'll fall for anything... (wise words no idea where from mind you!)

DJ-ing and Teaching? Really?

As a student I have to find ways to entertain myself and DJ-ing is one of them and when ever someone comes up to me after I have finished on a night and asks 'What course are you Studying?' I say Primary Teaching and they all look shocked! Ha, as if they didn't expect someone who DJs to teach, yet alone teach younger KS1 Children. How many DJ-ing Teachers do you come across?? With the Exception of Mr Oliver Quinlan of course! He actually got me thinking, are DJ-ing and Teaching fairly similar?

I coincidentally started my first school based work experience just 2 weeks before I began to learn to DJ 3 years ago this October, my world was full of learning you could say. Learning how to interact with the children correctly, what language to use, what the children's names are (fairly important some would say!?).

Does this link with DJ-ing though?

Both are performed to a crowd that is the most obvious comparison we are all 'performers' as we teach the class what they need and in some ways what they want to be taught. If I play the wrong song or miss match a beat the audience will tell me, much like if I go to fast for my class or say something they do not understand you can tell by their facial expressions whether they do or do not understand.

Playing the right music in the classroom AKA providing them with the right information, the correct style of learning that best suites the classes needs as much as humanly possible. Surely trying our best is what anyone wants for us but as teachers sometimes that may not be enough (depending on the circumstances of course) passion is something that we as the next generation of teachers need to continue to have.

The audience is your class, the club is your classroom and the music is your curriculum. Much like many students music is a key part of their day to day lives especially at University, not a day goes by that I don't hear some music blasting out of Student Halls across campus but some people like myself and other DJs really embrace music and If I can embrace the curriculum and make it my own like I have with my music then I think I might be doing something right!

So maybe I should start thinking that the class is my audience, the classroom is my club and the curriculum is my music and that the children need a 'dj'...