Children failing in Maths

Hot off the press is the news today that students who were in the top ten per cent in Maths in primary school under perform in Secondary School when compared to students in Australia, Scotland, Slovenia and Norway. The 2009 Programme for International Student  Assessment (PSA) showed that overall pupils in English Schools came 28^th for maths out of five countries.  The Institute of Education also states that the highest achieving students appeared to make less progress relative to their overseas peers particularly those in East Asian countries between the ages of 10 and 16. 

It cannot be argued that the current Government’s emphasis on raising standards and implementing changes to achieve this, is commendable.  However, having taught in the Primary and Secondary Sectors (Independent and Public) I conclude that what is MOST worrying is the clear cultural shift in how education is valued across the board.  Now whilst this is a generalised statement as my experience is based in London only, it’s NOT a shift that’s just occurred and the evidence appears the same in many other areas in the UK (particularly urban areas).  This decline, which I’ve witnessed first hand has been seeping into our culture for over thirty years. 

Many students in our Schools are disenchanted with a system that values success statistics over individual nurturing and motivation.  Many students in our Schools lack confidence.  Many students in our Schools (particularly in the Secondary Sector) believe that education is no longer the key to their success so the temptation of celebrity and beauty, reliance on the State System or crime becomes more attractive and appealing. 

 

We MUST BE WORRIED when groups of failing students make the statement:  

                             “What’s the point?”

There is clearly no one answer to such a complex subject but I'd suggest we're being asked to look more closely at what we perceive to be not only the failing students, but the failing teachers, the failing graduates, the failing business owners, the failing parents, the failing governments, the failing economy…..the failing…..the failing.....

Maybe the first step is to understand who or what might be causing the underlying problem.  I suggest this because we might be successful in fast tracking a small portion of our students to excel in maths and keep us up with international statistics but that still leaves us with the same problem that’s been incubating and is now fully fledged in our culture.   

What about the rest who continue to fail and are still shouting:   

What’s the point!?   

These youngsters are now the future of our society and they CANNOT be ignored, even if we think they can.

Follow my blogs if you’d like to find out my suggestions or read my Power of Self book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AYIJAEA to discover where you might stand. 

LB xxx

www.lbbacchus.com 

Help I'm Pregnant! -The First Baby Bump Scan

Hi, welcome back to the second blog in this series:  The First Baby Bump Scan.

Ok so we’ve survived the initial hormonal onslaught and changes.  The mammary glands have settled down or we’ve been so accustomed to the incessant ache and growth that we hardly notice, and then it’s time to attend the first scan filled with excitement or trepidation or both.

The excitement:     Ooooh I can’t wait to see MY baby!

The panic:              Is the baby still there? 

                               Is the baby ok?

                               What if the scan shows it has two heads and no limbs???!!!!

We wait in an overflowing waiting room shocked that the whole world seems to be having babies at the same time and then your name’s called incorrectly (unless of course you’re called Jane Smith). 

Undressed and donning the most unflattering piece of cloth the hospital tries to pretty up with flowers that lost their colour in millions of washes, we lie prostrate on the hardest padded bed trying not to rip the white paper.  The Sonographer then applies lashings of freezing jelly by squirting it onto the bump and an equally freezing monitor is pressed onto you (often far too hard for comfort) and voila….there it is…. baby in all its black and white, distorted glory. 

It’s now that we’re secretly grateful that the picture’s explained because the head could easily be mistaken to be the bum particularly when different sides are shown.   Then to put our worried minds at rest the heartbeat’s shown.  Now this thumping mass is beating so fast you’d think the baby had just done a Zumba dance class, which immediately causes panic again until eased by the words of the professional stating “It’s a healthy heart beat.”  Phew!

Armed with the black and white photo of the oversize headed, squashed limbed stranger with pouting lips we’re gripped with the reality that a real, live someone has taken official, unquestionable residence in our body and for most of us it feels goooood! 

This picture which if we’re really honest is virtually identical to the millions of other baby scan pictures somehow has an identity that only a parent and those closely connected to the parent can attest to.  

This is My Baby yet to be given its birth name as the first scan can’t usually detect the gender.  So baby My is forced into the faces of anyone who moves, yet stood or sat still enough to be subjected to the glory of the inside of our womb and we’re satisfied.  Now the evidence exists, we are parents.  It’s real!  We have the proof!  Baby My is there and we can’t wait to meet him or her, but for now baby My’s scan picture and the growing lump in your tummy will suffice.

Let’s meet again on the: I’m about to have the baby blog.

LB xxx

www.lbbacchus.com

HELP I'm pregnant!

If you know me BREATHE!!!....I’m NOT pregnant...now!!! A miracle hasn’t occurred (highly unlikely anyway as it would have to be another immaculate conception!)  Rest assured folks I remain WAY beyond the baby making stage as Melanie Menopause has been my pal for the last 6 years and she’s not gonna allow any pesky eggs to encroach her space!!!! 

This, is the first of a series of blogs which will track the journey of parenting from conception to the time when you're strumming your fingers on the dining room table as you face a fully grown adult who's making all the choices you hate, yet defiantly reminds you they're grown even though they still behave like they're two when the mood takes them.

This blog is:  YIPPEE I'm having a baby" and "OH NO, I'm having a baby!" (for those caught off guard, or those of us depressed at changing roles from free young thing, to responsible mature thing!)

Now I was lucky!!

Whilst not in the 'I can't wait to have a baby, dream camp' commencing as soon as puberty hit, I wasn't averse to welcoming a mini me/him into the world.  The thought of cute baby clothes, cuddly toys and the most gorgeous creature cooing up at me, was a thrill.  This delightful thing would bond me like glue to my husband as we shared our mutual self-satisfaction of creating another human being (hopefully in one of our images).  The bond that would grow with love and satisfaction at seeing our little miracle grow.  Oh the delight, the sheer bliss, the ecstasy...

Then the REALITY!!!!

REALITY 1

sick   nausea    sick    nausea    sick    nausea    sick   nausea    and more    sick!!!

It hits you like a silent Creeper from nowhere.  The Creeper's called the Creeper because you never know when it's coming.  It does however, have an irritating knack of coming at the most inappropriate times:  In a queue, on the bus, at work, in the middle of a conversation with the next door neighbour...ANYWHERE!  Some people call the Creeper, Morning Sickness!  They're WRONG...'cos mornings can stretch into the entire day and afternoon and night!  At this stage you become more familiar with the toilet bowl than with any other person you know, and if you're really, really sick, you prefer the toilet!

REALITY 2

Even if you’re lucky to stay stick thin, your raging, changing, hip-hopping hormones make you feel like you ate an elephant (vomit), look like an elephant (in your mind only) and your mammary glands become so painful you’d love to donate to someone else because you don’t want them!  And all of this from the get-go when baby is less than an inch big and looks like a mutant alien from a Science Fiction film.

REALITY 3

As if the metamorphosis from my body, to my body shared or stolen wasn’t enough there are the inevitable panics…..
Panic 1-Child birth pain!
Solution???...It's called: 'One born every minute' or any other child birth programme we can find!  This compulsion to watch keeps us glued to the screen to witness pregnant mums screaming and groaning because of the tremendous pain they can't stand.  The women cursing at their partner 'cos for once they can!  The emergencies where mum or baby nearly die!....That's what we need....A good dose of reality!

Panic 2-Will it be healthy?
Will the baby have the right number of toes and fingers?
Will it have a nose?!
Panic 3-Will I be a good parent?
Will I make enough money to live comfortably?
Will I want to leave baby and return to work?
Panic 4-Which school will he/she go to?
Which Uni?
Which area to live in?

Panic 5-Success
S'pose she can't sing and dance like Beyonce?
S'pose she can't squeeze into lycra like Kim Kardashian?
S'pose he won't make the Sport Squad?

And all of this from the get-go when baby is less than an inch big and looks like a mutant alien from a Science Fiction film.  Anything sound familiar?


Stay tuned for: Mothering-The first Baby Bump Scan.  The ride gets bumpier (pardon the pun)!

LB  xxx

 www.lbbacchus.com

Book writing for the novice. No. 2

TIPS ON HOW TO START WRITING A FICTIONAL STORY

Ok,

You have a great idea and you want to share it with the world, where do you begin?

Do you want to write free hand on a pad?

PRO:  You can write anywhere.

CON:  You have to transfer your work in typed form.

Do you want to use a word document on a computer?

PRO:  You can see your document in typed form.  You can edit, spell-check, delete etc. 

CON:  You could be encumbered if your typing skills aren't good.

Do you want to dictate into a Dictaphone?

PRO:  You can talk your own thoughts without interrupting your flow.

CON:  You still have to go back to the typing/editing stage.

Once you've decided on how you'll record your story, the next step is brainstorming (your own brain).  To do this, identify words or sentences that will remind you of salient points you might want to use.  At this stage don't worry about grammar/spelling and don't worry if you never use anything from your list because one thing's guaranteed, your story will evolve and change.  Go with the flow and allow your ideas to come without your interference.

What's the title of your book going to be?
Once you've decided, and again your title might change.  (Each of my books: Theft of Hearts, Scaredy Cat or Mountain Lion and The Secrets of Stress started life as other names.) 

Think of your book as a sandwich.  You have two slices of bread and the filler in the middle.

The top slice is the introduction of main characters and plots.  This is where you spread the butter (as thickly as you can) because from here the filler will sit comfortably!

The filler is the main focus of the story. (The main point of the book)

The bottom slice is the conclusion. (How the story ends-what happens to the main characters etc.)

Now the above is a simplification of a basic structure because within each category, new characters/settings/plots emerge and you'll discover that as the story develops.  You might also find that the beginning, middle and end merge a bit, but that doesn't matter provided the key elements are in place.

Here's a rough idea of how to develop your story.  (Remember at this stage, jot down words or notes to prompt you later.  Enjoy allowing your imagination to run free, you can gather it all together later.

Names of primary characters.

What they look like, their ages, ethnicity, temperament etc...

What will be the initial setting for your story?

Words to describe the setting

How will you introduce the first plot/issue/leader for the main story?

What will the main part be about

Other characters and any other sub-plots/issues etc.

Describe roughly

What's the ending going to be?

Sad, triumphant, cliff hanger etc...?

This preliminary stage to writing your story should help you to indentify your enthusiasm for the project and you might want to start writing your story straight away.  If you do, go for it!  If you don't let time be your friend.

My final tips are:

DON'T EXPECT PERFECTION because you're bound to be disappointed.

ENJOY the wonders of your imagination.  If you don't, who will!

BELIEVE you can create a wonderful story and you will no matter how long it takes!

ASSUME your readers will be aliens and won't know anything you're talking about, so describe, describe, describe.  Unless of course, you don't want to!

HAVE FUN!!!

LB xxx

www.lbbacchus.com 

It's scary being left all alone

Finding ourselves alone for whatever reason can be scary.   Many of us face this at some time in our lives.  Here’s my video take.  

Want to discover if you’re a Scaredy Cat or Mountain Lion?   

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AYIJAEA

Words are Powerful

Hi,

Even though it happened nearly two months ago, news about the two Australian DJ’s whose prank call to the London Hospital where Kate Middleton was admitted, continues to hit the headlines.  The news now, that their radio show has been axed but they get to keep their jobs.

There appears to be moral indignation and disgust in some camps as to the culpability of these two people.   Whilst we ought not to underestimate the sad news that has suggested the nurse who took the call committed suicide as a result of a prank by the two DJ’s, the chance that this is the only reason, is possibly slim.  I surmise that to take one’s life is the last, desperate action of someone who has quite simply had enough.  To have had enough…would suggest that other challenges and difficulty may have been present and the person could take no more.

Now this is probably the last thing anyone directly involved in this tragic situation might want to hear but I suggest that the two DJ’s in question could gain some comfort from the knowledge that their prank and their use of words to distort the truth has served us all. 

If we care to think about it, many of us hand on heart have used words carelessly, hurtfully and also to distort the truth even if it’s the white lie we so often excuse ourselves for.  It appears clear that the DJ’s didn’t intend the reaction and consequence of their words, but that is as it is...There is a consequence for what we say and do.  This consequence affects every man and woman living on this planet whether the consequence is good, bad or indifferent. 

These incidents and use of words affect us all.

Most of us have been given the gift of speech to project our feelings and thoughts through the words we use to convey the latter.   We’re given different ways to project these words, the most common: 

Written and Spoken.

Now if we took a moment, we would understand the power of this.  

Words + written or oral projection = POWERFUL PROJECTED WORDS

My condolences go to the family of the nurse who must still be grieving and the DJ’s who will probably live with their mistake for a very long time.  For me, I give my thanks that I’ve been given the opportunity to remember to think carefully and project my words wisely but like the DJ’s the only snag is I’m a flawed human, but I’ll try!

Please read my blog: SUICIDE for my perspective on suicide.

LB xxx

www.lbbacchus.com 

Up in SMOKE!

 

Now this blog isn’t intended to be a lecture on the why you shouldn’t smoke…the illnesses smoking causes….the cost and the other host of reasons that bombard us, because like me, if you were or are a smoker, it just doesn’t help!  With the best intentions (and we make those frequently) put a drink in your hand at the local pub, meet up with friends, go on holiday and chill with your sangria or other favourite tipple, the best intentions fly out of the window like a gust of wind. 

Smoking = Chill out. 

Smoking = Time out…even if that time out has to be spent huddled in a corner of a dingy building or on the pavement freezing your nether regions off outside the night club or on the garden patio under a hoody trying to keep out of the rain. 

Smoking = The treat when things go right. 

Smoking = The comforter when things go wrong. 

Smoking is the cigarette buddy that keeps you company even if no-one's there.

Smoking is the alternative to that cream cake, so you can continue to fit into your jeans.

When you try to give up it’s just isn’t as easy as they say!

Chill out.  Me time.  Comforter. Weight Watcher.

These are powerful things that magnetise us to the cigarette buddy.  Without it what will you do with your hands?  What will you do when you’re standing outside the club watching your mates dragging on their cigarette buddy?  What would you do when you have that drink that reminds you your cigarette buddy isn’t there anymore?  What would you do when your other half has ticked you off , or your boss has sacked you or…or….or….?

Where will you get the WILL POWER that’s needed to say NO when your mate’s wafting a fag under your nose?

When you try to give up it’s just isn’t as easy as they say!

I was a smoker.  I smoked on average twenty cigarettes a day.  I haven’t smoked for 22 years.  I stress 22 years!! Now that might seem like a statement that I’m over the hill (and I am) or it could be taken that if I can do it (give up smoking) and keep to it for so long it MUST mean YOU CAN because one thing’s for sure I don’t have an exclusive brand of will power.  I have the same amount as you.  I just decided to USE IT.

I loved smoking BUT I decided that my children needed a mother and if I was diagnosed with an illness I’d brought on myself the torment of the illness let alone the illness itself would be unbearable.  

Now as statistics show children who have parents who smoke are highly likely to smoke themselves this fact shouldn’t be ignored.  I proved the statistic right as I’ve watched my children all become smokers and the story starts again….

BUT

My daughter now doesn’t smoke AT ALL after many, many attempts to kick the habit.  Whilst I make no personal claim for its success, she managed to become a non smoker by using Ciggys electronic cigarettes which I was told is an electronic vapour cigarette without the harmful chemicals of normal cigarettes.   I’ve got to say that watching my daughter puffing on her electronic cigarette in the house and on the plane and in the restaurant shocked me but she wanted to stop smoking and this was her method. 

She stopped buying real cigarettes and in less than a year she had kicked her habit completely - No more cigarettes real or fake!  Am I saying this is the way to do it?  The answer’s NO.  I gave up naturally using my choice and will power.  My daughter gave up using an electronic cigarette.  She's given me their website. http://www.ciggyselectroniccigarettes.co.uk/

One thing’s for sure, in my personal experience both ways have clearly worked.  Finally, one thing a cigarette smoker should remember:

Cigarettes can take you away (prematurely) from the people you love and who love you!

LB xxx

 www.lbbacchus.com

What does success and failure mean to you?

What’s good about our technological world is that it connects us almost instantly and with relative ease to find inspiration and words of wisdom that can motivate us and give us the courage to keep going when times challenge us. 

Inbred in our human DNA is the instinct to survive.  In a world that's now highly competitive and stressful many of us need all the help we can get to keep going, to maintain positivity when the odds seem stacked against us.  We need to be reminded of our need to make renewed affirmations that we will succeed.  We will climb that mountain.  We will win the race.  We will be noticed, noted, recognised, emulated, adored.  We’ll live in the lap of luxury or if our aims aren’t so grand we’ll be able to pay those pesky bills (easily) and have some left over for the little luxuries we can afford.

What many of us don’t realise however is before we can succeed we have to determine our relationship with success.  By this I mean, do we really feel worthy of it?  Now that might seem like the strangest thing to ask when we’re hyping and punching the air with our positive “let’s go conquer the world statements”, but deep down some of us are scared. 

Now I realise this is relative and not in the true essence of the word and its meaning, but for the sake of this blog I refer to worldly success.  Worldly success shines a spotlight on us.  The spotlight makes us visible to ourselves and everyone connected to us (directly or indirectly).  Worldly success requires maintenance and this means constant focus and attention on the maintaining of our success.  Then comes the wretched anti.  The anti success which we all know as FAILURE.

Now failure is something many of us get.  We get it, because it often lurks in the shadows and depending on how good we get at affirming our positive success mantras and rejecting any possibility of failure its shadow can pounce if our mood is low or we’ve encountered the last straw, the rejection, the frustration, the brick wall!

We’re told don’t think of failure only success…success…success.  Failure must be rejected and abhorred because to even consider it would mean torment and pain; a worthless, unfulfilled life where we're subjected to watch only the few who shine brightly under the spotlight of worldly success.  The failures scrabble about in the darkness as they search relentlessly for that elusive light!  What we don't realise is that when we become so scared of failing, with the greatest will in the world we'll find ourselves drawn back to the wretched thought of it or exhausted by having to pretend it's not there.  

So what can we do?  

How's about looking at what we perceive to be failure, acknowledge that if it comes we're being given a new opportunity to diversify or explore another route, grab the opportunity that our perceived failure brings.

Do you want success?

All you have to do is:

Recognise that failure is the flip side of the success coin.

Recognise that success is relative to you and you alone and should not be dictated by others who often have their own game plan.

Recognise that you can shine under your spotlight of success if you have tried and done your best.

ACKNOWLEDGE that success as a human being is determined by the love you have for yourself and the love you share with others.

Here's to SUCCESS!

LB  xxx 

PS.  If you enjoy reading my blogs please LIKE me on facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/lbbacchus1?ref=hl

www.lbbacchus.com

If you want it create the space for it!

 

Are you a clutter bug or know someone who is?

Clutter….What clutter?!

Ok I’ll give some examples:

• The clothes we keep in the wardrobe that we bought years ago. Now chances are we’d need the Atkins diet or total starvation to squeeze into them but every time we meet them hanging forlornly from their hanger, we swish them to the side with a longing stare and renewed determination (that lasts exactly one minute!) that we WILL get into them soon!

• The shoes we’ve hardly worn because they pinch our toes and give us callouses but even though they cause us pain we can’t bear to give them away.  In the back of our deluded minds our feet are going to shrink or for some miraculous reason the shoes will magically get bigger!

• The magazines we’ve stockpiled on a designated table or under the bed because we know we’re going to need to read that article or buy the lotion, or remember we’re going to look just like +Beyoncé one day.

• The books we can’t bear to part with even though dust is the only thing that touches them anymore!

• The plastic Chinese or Indian takeaway containers that outnumber your regular crockery and have laid siege in the cupboard and tumble out every time you open the door because they will come in handy one day, one year, one decade!

• The plastic shopping bags…Oh we must keep them!  After all we have to do our bit for the planet and conserve the good ones (that we’ll never remember to use again).  We will of course happily dash the ones that have ruptured and strewn our food all over the ground and smashed our favourite bottle of wine which we were salivating to open as soon as we had the excuse of dinner, or a treat for having endured the day!  

• The underwear that we’ve over worn in particular the faithful pair of Bridget Jones baggies essential for the time of the month when we’ve grown three sizes. 

• The Calvin Klein Y fronts that now would only look great on David Beckham. 

• The socks…you know the long and short one you’re forced to pair because you just can’t find the twin.  The black one with the navy one that we hope no one will notice.  The single one that’s just too different to be paired with any other one so has to join the other ten single ones, we hope we’ll reunite one day. 

• Lastly the bras.  Oh the bras….the ones that are too small (but we will lose weight and get our massive mammary glands into them one day).  The too big ones that we keep just in case we’ve succumbed to the Chinese and Indian takeaway too often or the oven is getting ready for some buns, or the augmentation worked a treat!

Tip of the iceberg or the exaggeration of  a woman who likes to write blogs?

See what you think.   

Take a look around the room you’re sitting or lying in right this minute.  See any clutter?  Things you won’t use, don’t use, can’t use!  Chances are you’ll find something, even if it’s hiding in a drawer or cupboard.     

Why am I so confident?    

The answer’s simple…

Many of us accumulate and it takes conscious effort to get rid of things we hope we’ll use at some time or the other.  Truth is chances are high, we just won’t and here comes the important part:

If we’ve cluttered our space with things we don’t need, we won’t have space for the things we do!

Want to create space?

LB   xxx

https://www.facebook.com/lbbacchus1?ref=hl

www.lbbacchus.com

Book writing

 

TIPS ON HOW TO START WRITING A FICTIONAL STORY

Ok,

You have a great idea and you want to share it with the world, where do you begin?

1.    Do you want to write free hand on a pad?

PROS: You can write anywhere.

CONS:  You have to transcribe your work in typed form.

2.    Do you want to use a word document on a computer?

PROS:  You can see your document in typed form.  You can edit, spellcheck, delete etc.

CONS:  You could be encumbered if your typing skills aren’t good.

3.    Do you want to dictate into a Dictaphone?

PROS:  You can talk your own thoughts without interrupting your flow.

CONS:  You still have to go back to the typing/editing stage.

Once you’ve decided on how you’ll record your story the next step is brainstorming (your own brain).  To do this, identify words or sentences that will remind you of salient points you might want to use.  At this stage don’t worry about grammar/spelling and don’t worry if you never use anything from your list because one thing’s guaranteed, your story will evolve and change.  Go with the flow and allow your ideas to come without your interference. 

What’s the title of your book?

Think of your book as a sandwich.  You have two slices of bread and the filler in the middle.

1.     The top slice is the introduction of main characters and plots.  This is where you spread the butter (as thickly as you can) because from here the filler will sit comfortably.

2.     The filler is the main focus of the story. (What’s the point of the book) 

3.     The bottom slice is the conclusion (How the story ends-what happens to the main characters etc.)

Now the above is a simplification of a basic structure because within each category new characters/settings/plots might emerge and you’ll discover that as the story develops.  You might also find that the beginning, middle and end merge a bit but that doesn’t really matter provided the key elements are in place.

Here’s a rough idea of how to begin to develop your story. (Remember at this stage jot down words or notes to prompt you later).  Enjoy allowing your imagination to run free, you can gather it all together later.

Names of primary characters. 

What they look like, their ages, ethnicity, temperament etc.

What will be the initial setting for our story?

Words to describe the setting

How will you introduce the first plot/issue/leader for the main story?

What will the main part be about?

Other characters and any other sub plots/issues etc.

Describe roughly

What’s the ending going to be like?

Sad, triumphant, cliff hanger etc.?

What will the ending be about?

This preliminary stage to writing your story should help you to identify your enthusiasm for the project and you might want to start writing your story straight away.  If you do, go for it!  If you don’t let time be your friend.

My final tips are:

DO NOT EXPECT PERFECTION because you’re bound to be disappointed. 

ENJOY the wonders of your imagination.  If you don’t who will? 

BELIEVE you can create a wonderful story, and you will no matter how long it takes. 

ASSUME your readers will be aliens and won’t know anything you’re talking about so describe, describe, describe.  Unless of course you don’t want to!

I wish you luck.

LB xxx

www.lbbacchus.com