Socialising

Didn't blog anything yesterday, Friday, as I was out last night. The day itself was excellent. Friday's always are. Got my modular class in the afternoon. Am I impressed with them or whit! This wee group of stars are in our core programme, and have stuck with their introductory psychology for a year. They are so enthusiastic. A good mix of young and old thay have helped each other along all the way. In their last module Cogniitive Psychology they have to observe an experiment and write a report on it. This is something that psychology students at higher levels freak about! Not this mob.

For a start they want ro run the experiment themselves, and do it in public. This will be a great experience. I've taken them through the bones of it, highlighted and translated all the difficult research language, and now they are away planning its implemtation like Eisenhower planned D-Day! Some are getting the materials together, some are drafting up the raw data sheets, some are working on covering the ethical issues etc. etc. It isn't needed, but at their insistence they are even doing a inferential statistic to discover if they get a scientific result.

They will conduct their experiment during our College Open Day on the 16th June. Brilliant stuff. Emulating a very famous Canadian psychologist called Alfred Bandura they also want to video it, to be later analysed on a minute-by-minute, frame-by-frame basis. This would be seen as immense stuff if they were undergraduates in a Uni. They are not. Just working class boys and girls who were all scared stiff when they came to College a year ago. When I said 'Only if the participant doesn't object' they all nodded sagely having immediately grasped the ethical dimension to psychological research. Mostly all came to Kilmarnock college last August with no qualifications. That won't be the case for them come this August when their results come out. I am so proud of them, I really am. Can't wait to report how it goes.

Last night I went out to The Treehouse in Kilmarnock to join some of the staff who were celebrating our colleague Grace Sheed's escape from Kilmarnock College to the Facuklty of Education at Stirling University. Grace and me were at Uni together, and she was on the staff of the college when I joined up nearly 25 years ago now. We've known each other our whole adult lifetime. A good comrade-in-arms, and an occasion I couldn't let pass. Good luck to you Grace.

Today we went up to see my mum in Glasgow, and went to Mitchells in Carmunock for lunch. A lovely place, and a lovely meal. They have a brilliant fish tank table in their lounge, which probably cost about the same as our car! Mum was in great form. Starts off by telling us who has just died of course. She is of that age I'm afraid. Her generation are dropping off fast. This time it was Dermot, my cousin Patricia's husband's dad. Taken into hospital for somethi9ng else and caught an infection. As did my mum's sister Helen and an uncle of the family all in the last 12 months.

This is just too high a coincidence. It must be very worrying for an older person to be told they are going into hospital nowadays. Too many are not coming home as a consequence of contracting something deadly while there.

My sympathy to Kathleen, Nick, Patricia and Leo.

Salva Sgarlata

Five years ago I taught psychologoy to my first school's class from Queen Margaret Academy from Ayr. A pupil in that group called Salva Sgarlata made an immediate impression on me. A character, he was mature for his age, a true gentleman, and one of the most respectful youngsters I've ever met. We hit it off right away, and very much enjoyed each others company in the classroom. Sadly Salva had to chuck the course as it became too much on top of everything else he was studying. I tried my best to keep him on board, tutoring him at home, but as happens you lose folk. I thought I would never see him again.

He geve me one of the best lines on psychology I have ever come across. He was asked by a journalist from our local paper, who had come in to get a story on our first school-college initiative why he liked psychology. Salva said 'I like psychologuy because it helps me understand why I am as I am.' I thought that was brilliant, especially from a 17 year old. So much so I used it in my book. Crediting him of course.

Today I got a call from Reception to tell me a young man was in to see me. Guess who it was. Sgarlata himself. He looked brilliant. Tall, articulate, confident, well built Italian-Scot, with so many gifts its scary! I am 48 and he can only be 21 or 22. Though we don't actively seek it, it is the very best of compliments a teacher can receive when someone they taught goes out their way to see you again. It makles your feel so good for all sorts of reasons.

Thank you Salva for making my month. Even better than the Scottish Cup Final result!

Upgrade To A Better Future

As mentioned we upgraded the site to a better hosting package yesterday. Graeme was round at the crack of dawn to catch me before I went to work to begin to get some R&D done. I am amazed at what new applcations are now available to us. The future is really quite exciting. Just tonight we put up our first interactive psychology game. Called
Psychological Hang Man it is a prototype and an example of greater things to come.

If we were to attract some hard ball support we could then produce a psychology site to rival the best in the world. Now that would be something, eh! There is nought wrong in trying to be the best you can be. Its called self-actualisation in psychology. My mum used to tell her students 'Reach for the sky and you might hit the ceiling. Reach for the ceiling you might never get off the ground.' Absolutely bang on in the education game, and a lot of other areas of life as well. She got an OBE for her services to teaching. Something about which I am very proud. As indeed are Lawrie, Bryan and Des.

They are my three younger siblings. Lawrie lives in Manchester, Bryan in Hook, Hampshire and Des in Liverpool. He is the baby! Gave up being a dentist to become a priest, and now has a parish in Liverpool. I still laugh when I think about this. Imagine he became the Pope! My career and popularity would soar, but for all the wrong reasons. Stay in Liverpool, Dessie!

Thursday tomorrow, so better go and get the bin out. If I don't do it nobody will, and two weeks domestic refuse is too much. They are introducing different bins up here for different things. Glass, Paper, Garden, General Waste etc. That will be an even bigger pain to take out every week. You won't be able to move in some small gardens for bins. Glad once again that we have a fairly big one. Some folk will have to stack the things on top of each other!

Now to shift the Green Giant before I forget.

Veni, Vide, Vice

And so they did! HNC IB came in today to sit their assessment, and I'm glad to report did even better than yesterday's class. They came (apart from Vince!), saw, and duly conquered their Psychology B exam. Performance ranged from good through excellent to first class. I am so pleased for them. And even for those who stumbled, all is not lost. They will pass after some mild remediation. A great end to a good year for mostly all in my charge. Higher and Intermediate psychology on June 3rd and that's about that for the chalkface psychology teacher in Kilmarnock College for 2004. Time was when we all used to relax after the exams, but not anymore. Admin beckons to tie everything up. That for sure is the worst part of my job! I have always found it crazy that teachers don't heve their own secretaries. Prior to teaching I worked in a number of jobs. In all of them I had my own office staff. And an office and phone to match. The resources teachers get are rubbish.

We are very excited here at www.gerardkeegan.co.uk. Our web design company Silkspool is beginning to pick up business. We hope to have an article in the Kilmarnock Standard this week that should bring us loads of hits. Plus we have upgraded our server package in order to do so many more things online. Discovered a great learning tool called FlashCardMaker, which I have high hopes for as an aid to students. We are also pushing forward our idea for a sexy psychology game, which is so secret Graeme would kill me for even mentioning it, so I won't. For the time being!

Henrik had his testimonial game tonight against Seville at Celtic Park. A full house of 60 000 plus. It wasn't the best of games I've ever seen, though the Bhoys won 1-0. The great Larsson has played his last game in the green and white of his beloved Celtic. They will miss him next season, but the opposition won't!

The end to the day has come with another bit of pleasing news. The garden designer
Diarmuid Gavin won a silver-gilt at the Chelsea Flower Show. He is a bit of a hero of mine. I see a touch of madness in him, which I appreciate. So well done him, too.

Just Another Manic Monday

Been remiss in my Blogs over the weekend, primarily because of the great weather we have been having. Not so nice today, and we've got to take advantage of the rays while we can. Looks like its not going to last though, but we'll see.

Garden is beginning to look good, I think. Always does when its tidied up and dug 'n things. Its great to wake up in the morning to the birds singing. Even better at night when the sun goes down. They go nuts for hours chatting each other up. Haven't seen any foxes this year, but they are about. I hear the wean's rabbits thumping like crazy at night as they try to put Mr Fox off a potential dinner. It might even be his Mrs. as there was a pair of them here last year at this time.

We got a brilliant report in work for the Integrative Assessment part of our HNC Social Science course. The best in Scotland by far we were told. That's good to know! Inspections of any kind are worrying. A bit like being scrutinised by the Educational Stasi. But when I think about it we should never really be that concerned. In my department none of my colleagues have been teaching for less than ten years. More than a majority have been at it for around 25 years each. We have hundreds of years experience teaching what we do. Experience makes success.

This I saw this afternoon when my HNC 1a group came in to sit their final psychology assessment. They wrote like wee troopers in the main, and most had obviously prepared well. They were different to the people they were at Christmas when they did this sort of thing for the first time. Much more mature in an academic sense. My constant Glaswegian naggings have worked! They have become students. At the end one guy said to me that he couldn't wait to get back after the summer to HND, he had enjoyed his exams that much this time. I knew where he was coming from, but cautioned him to get a life!

I have the other HNC 1b section tomorrow. They are doing the same gig. I bet they have the same mind set as todays valiant band, and for the same reasons. Maybe tell you if they did tomorrow.

An Excellent Day

Had an excellent day, I really have. Was up and out in the garden for 7.00 a.m. this morning taking advantage of the brilliant weather we are having. Got the back lawn cut, which is a mammoth task, while Caroline did a power of weeding, tidying up and planting in our raised garden bit. It would be great to get the other half done tomorrow! As Caroline is away for a training walk to prepare for her imminent West Highland Way trek I guess I'll be on my own. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that makes me go fast if on;ly to keep in front of the mutant weeds.

Also today, my wee site got its 10 000 visitor, Both Graeme and I are chuffed to nuts, I can tell you. www.geradkeegan.co.uk has been going just six months. In our first 3 months we were delighted to attract 1000 of you. In the next three months another 9 000 came along! This is fantastic news for two web enthusiasts. Thank you all very much.

In the afternoon it was the Scottish Cup Final. Dunfermline v Celtic. Against the run of play Celtic were 1-0 down at half-time. However the second half saw Celtic come storming back to win 3-1. Two from Henrik, and a belter of a third from 'Stan' Petrov.

Away to bed happy and content. Can't wait until tomorrow.

A Neural Conference

What's a neural conference you might ask? Well its a brand new idea in psychology that a friend of mine Michael is working on at the moment. He is into biocognitive psychology. Or the relationship between the biology of the brain and our ability to problem-solve. In his view, and its a sound one, the brain kind of shuts down from time to time to allow neural conferences to take place as our mind tries to solve a problem that is perplexing it. We are not aware this is taking place, as the brain needs all its resources without us bothering it! Essentially Michael thinks neural conferences produce eureka type ideas.

This is brilliant stuff, and I can see an immediate human model. Today I got together with Joe Lappin, a bloke in work charged with delivering the Kilmarnock College response to the Scottish Executive's enterprise agenda. Bloody difficult as nobody has actually defined what this actually means. Just that they want one! Joe is one of the brightest buttons in the box. A vast knowledge and understanding of all sorts of things. Apart from computers! Anyway, we got chatting and in the course of our mind meld have by tonight created two new businesses for two Ayrshire people. One in community/voluntary group web design, the other in socio-psychological market research. I just know that from these two initiatives will grow loads of others. The getting together of the right people to 'crack the nuts' is a human neural conference.

We maybe want to encourage more of this in Scotland if we want to become a tiger economy in the 21st Century?

But maybe not on a Friday night!

Psychology Chat Room

Graeme has been at the 'developing' again, and today put up our trial Chat Room, accessible from Area 51 at www.gerardkeegan.co.uk.

This should prove interesting. We will see how it goes, and if it isn't abused we'll maybe upgrade to a better one. The abuse thing is peculiar. Our Forum is very good, but occasionally we get a bampot posting complete nonsense and rubbish. These are not bona fide guests, members or students, but teachers! Unbelievable, but there you go.
Wonder if this will happen in the Chat Room? We'll suck it, and see folks.

Still felt crap today. This flu thing isn't shifting. As the day went on I felt worse not better. Was teaching nightclass as well this evening, but called a halt early. The voice was packing in. Hurrah, many might say. Hope its permanent! (But it won't be).

Dreadful times in Iraq and Palestine. Was astonished at Jack Straw our Home Secretary annuncing that Israel should abide by international law.

Oh, just like we did when we illegally invaded Iraq last year!

Not Quite 100%

Got into work and instantly felt the worse for it! Mounting the stairs was a huge effort. My legs felt like lead. None of my schools group had come when I met my boss Gianna in the staffroom. Must have looked under the weather as she said I should get home and back to bed! I agreed that this might be a good idea, sat chatting for a while and then made good my escape. Only to bump into two students who had eventually arrived from Ayr to do their assessment. I sat invilating for an hour or so coughing like fury. But eventually they finished, and I treated myself to a taxi up the road.

I went thru a taxi phase a month or so back. Got them everywhere, morning, noon and night. Until Caroline found out! Got a telling off about economising. Ha.

I do get frightened of debt though. Sign of my upbringing, where debt got you in the Poor House. People have a misconception about this. Think their debt dies with them. Not a bit of it. Your creditors line up, with the government and their agencies at the top of the preferred list. Unsecured debt like credit cards get paid last. Usually by then there is nothing left of the estate. Hence why people think credit card debt is written off. It is in this instance, but so is everything else you had!

Dunno where that train of thought came from. But who gives.

Off to bed to sniffle away to myself without annoying anyone.

A Day In Bed

Woke up yesterday morning to what can only be described as a 'summer flu'. Red streaming eyes, nose, sore throat etc. The shivers as well. Decided that KC could do without me and phoned in 'sick'. Spent most of the day in bed dosing myself with Lemsips and cold drinks. Much better today, and ready to face the world again.

Just as well, as my line manager phoned to see how I was in the afternoon. As I am never off work this is a mixture of concern for you, and concern that there is nobody to cover your classes if you are unwell. If a teacher goes sick in my College during the teaching year the students are in stook. Things go on hold until the teacher is back. There has not been a permanent job in my Faculty for years and years. Those that are there are on full timetables with no slack. Our staff are ageing, and there is no 'new blood'. I predict a staffing crisis in Scottish FE in 10-15 years time as my generation die off or retire unless this trend, now institutionalised, is corrected.

Now to go and do some teaching. Maybe pen some more this evening.

Cultivated Denial

I got an e-mail from a fellow teacher recently telling me they were in a state of 'cultivated denial' concerning their students. Reason being the exams are upon us. I think this is a brilliant phrase. You knock your pan out all year like a manic Mr Motivator, but at the end of the day lob the psychological ball and say 'Its now over to you pal.' And so it is. My examination students are no doubt sunning themselves in this excellent weather. I always think they'll have forgotten all the psychology I taught them come the exam on June 3rd. That would be a laugh, wouldn't it!

Day passed without incident. Got some marking in while my HND finished their last assignment. Mostly all are away to Uni, which is great. Come a long way since they started as 'baby' social scientists, some as long as three years ago. Advised one young man Graham, not to take the offered 3rd year place, but enter in 2nd year instead. Too much man. 'You want to enjoy the sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll, as well. An integral part of the Higher education curriculum' I said. I met people from all over the world at student parties. We talked about all sorts of things in an amazing atmosphere. Probably learned as much in the Beer Bar as I did in classes. And my lecturers would probably agree! It was the time of my life, and my experiences have kept me going in stories for 30 years now.

Managed to find the hose connection I was needing. £1 it cost me and hopefully will stop me soaking myself everytime I have to water the flowers. That really gets the wean going! Ha. Everything is growing well, if in an untidy haphazard way.

Hope the weather keeps up. Makes the day that much easier to face, don't you think?

Best Wishes Henrik: King of Kings

Today saw Sweden's Henrik Larsson play in his and Celtic's last league game at Parkhead. The Hoops were down 1-0, when in the last 10 minutes Larsson scored twice to win the game 2-1. One goal in particular was reminiscent of the great Denis Law.

Coming to the East End of Glasgow in 1997 Henrik has been an outstanding player for Celtic. Probably the best my generation of supporter has ever seen.

He has got one good transfer deal left in him and has decided now is the time to go.

www.gerardkeegan.co.uk wish him well.

Weans and Webs

A 'wean' (pronounced Wayne) in Scotland is a child. They never cease to amaze and amuse me. Yesterday I was up at dawn, and out into the garden to create some semblance of order. The front needed done bigtime. I worked for hours cutting the grass, weeding, digging the border, and tidying up. The humid weather didn't help and I was fair jiggered. My 13 year old Toni had to be persuaded, cajoled, and even mildly threatened to give me a hand and brush up some grass. She pled an important prior commitment, like hanging out at her pals. Told me that gardening was 'boring' etc, gave it 10 minutes and then bogged off. A while later I looked up the street, and what do you think she was doing? Helping her friend's dad creosote his fence!! I'll need to ask him what the secret is.

Been messing around on Google this weekend and discovered something quite astonishing. There are around 2, 000, 000 psychology forum's on the www. Ours at www.gerardkeegan.co.uk is now in the Top 50. Wow!! Double wow in that the site and the Forum has only been going 6 months. Thanks to all for making this happen. I am amazed and delighted. We are putting school and college psychology in Scotland on the world stage.

And all from Hurlford, too!! LOL.

Had a great evening last night in an excellent restaurant in Troon. Cicchini's I think it was called. Went out with Polly, and Jimmy to celebrate the end of Caroline's exams, and ate well in good company. The place was stowed out, and both it and the town will get even busier with the British Open coming to Royal Troon this year.

Caroline is away for her Sunday walk in the country with the 'girls', Linda and Karen. Toni is waiting for her friend's to get out of bed, and out to play. As for me, today sees more gardening and maybe a visit to a garden centre. Such an exciting life us psychology lecturers lead, eh?!

Then its back to work tomorrow.

I don’t just like Fridays, I love them

Reason being that the weekend is here. No work until Monday. Brilliant! Spent the day interviewing for our HND Social Sciences course. It’s dead easy, if a bit tedious. All candidates have been with us a year on HNC, so there are no issues. Just pass the first year, and you are ‘in’. Nice to meet the non-psychologists, whom I don’t teach. Saw one guy who wants to leave after his HND and do a degree in archiving or similar. I was able to tell him about becoming a chrtered librarian, but if anyone else in the UK knows of even more pertinent degrees, please e-mail me and I can pass this information on. Best laugh doing the interviews this year happened last week. One of my students failed to show at 9.30 a. m. He arrived at 12.30 p.m. looking a bit harrassed. On enquiry as to where he’d been he said ‘I was still drunk.’ I killed myself laughing and gave him an place on the course for his honesty!!

Had my usual Friday lunch of fish, chips, salad and coleslaw. Great start to any weekend in my view. Sat with Charlie and Jim. Been told that I’m teaching a wee modern studies class next session, which I’m looking forward to. Haven’t taught politics for years. But it should be little hassle. Was asked to consider teaching Higher sociology as well, but I declined. Even if you are ‘Superteacher’ it is not a good idea to teach something that you are ill prepared for. When problems arise you get no support from the folk who persuaded you to do it, Candidates’ grades then suffer, and that is not a professional way to do things.

Caroline then picked me up and it was ‘Home, James.’ She’s now away to buy us a new Hoover. We have had three in the last 12 weeks, all of which eventually died, or so she tells me. I am not close to Hoovers. But I’m sure she’ll pick a nice one to which she becomes very attached. Toni should be home from school soon. She was meant to go to a sleepover at her friend’s tonight, but has been misbehaving. Mum has thus said ‘no’. I wonder if Tone will be able to change her mind for her? Wee bugger, who is the apple of my eye.

It was the best time of my life when she was at St Columba’s Primary. Because the College was just across the road I took her to school every day from age 5 to age 11. When she saw her school on the horizon she was off like a bullet, she enjoyed it so much. We drive this enthusiasm out of our learners by the time they are 13. Questions need to be asked about this if Scotland is ever going to be a tiger economy. 1: 5 adults in my country can’t read and write, and is a shocking statistic for somewhere that alleges the best education system in the world. Not so.

Weather is dull and humid. Must get my grass at the front cut tomorrow. I’m letting down the cul-de-sac! All the old retired geezers have immaculate gardens here. They are out all day every day during spring and summer. I get some in when I can. It would be nice for once to have the garden up and running before the summer starts, rather than chasing your tail during it. Fat chance.

Anybody want a job creosoting my boundary fence aka the Berlin Wall?!

Now to relax and play a new Christy Moore CD that Joe Lappin lent me. No grass cutting this evening, I doubt.

Glad Thursday Is Over

Thursdays are a long day for me. Classes from 9.00 am until 930pm. Thats like an actor doing three performances a day. Still, tomorrow is FRIDAY, and thats something to savour.

Tonight I had my modular ‘Introduction to Psychology’ class. I am astonished every year as to just how many turn out to do this course. Three, 12 week classes generate around 80 students, who then usually remain with us another year. If the cunning plan works, Id like to have really big numbers doing all sorts in a years time on Thursday nights. General interest, modular, intermediate and Higher. That would be cool. There are two sisters in the group who chat all the time to each other! I feel a ‘voice-hearer’ and can appreciate why a schizophrenic has difficulties with auditory hallucinations. They are sweet though, and I would never say ‘shut up’. They’ll maybe get the classroom script eventually.

Caroline had her last law exam today for this year. We can now return to normal at Furnace Court, thank Freud. Female mature students are murder to live with! They work incredibly hard but fret far too much. We’ve been keeping out her way the last fortnight, while she has been putting in the study shifts. Law is extremely difficult; I have only ever known one ‘natural’ at it. Hughie didn’t take one note all the years he was at Glasgow Uni. When he went to lectures, he just sat and listened. He’s now a Judge, whom I see nearly every day going the High Court in Glasgow. Most others have to work their socks off. Its only when the course is over that you actually begin to understand law. And even then?

I did the same course from 1992-1997, also at Strathclyde. Unit, after unit, after unit for 5 years! What a slog. I knew the treacherous A77 intimately. Poor old Caroline has to do 6 years, as she hasn’t a first degree. But you come out the end of it a completely different thinker. Plus I know all about my mineral rights if ever I buy a house on top of a slag-heap!

Being a Thursday the politics programmes are about to start. I enjoy Newsnight and Question Time, and usually end up debating with the TV set. Looks like the Daily Mirror and the Government are about to tear lumps out of each other over the dodgy photographs alleging British torture in southern Iraq.

I’ll away and have a look at what the chattering classes are saying.

I think I'm Getting The Hang Of This, Mr Grimsdale!

It was a great day today until I heard the evening news.

The weather in Hurlford, Ayrshire has been brilliant! Went into work this morning in my sandals and short-sleeved shirt, and got the rip taken mind you! But I love the better weather, which is the gardener in me.

First spent some time chatting in the Staff room with my boss, Mick Roebuck and a few of the other philosophers. Peter, Joe, Jim, Iris and Grace. Eventually we all had to move and it was upstairs to get wellied into the marking. There are enormous piles of disparate stuff on my desk this time of year. Nightmare. The secret in teaching is to do a little a lot, otherwise it goes mental. As do you.

Was doing well, and had knocked about 2” off the 4’ 6” mountain when two of my school’s group pitched. They were in to do an assessment, so it was down tools and finding somewhere to sit and invigilate the assessment. Top floor. I was knackered running up and down the stairs getting them organised, and then myself relocated. Two bags of marking is like two tons when you have to climb up three flights for the third time in 15 minutes. They got it finished and off they went on their study leave like their colleagues. One is off to the Royal Scottish Academy in September to do music. Imagine having such a talent as that? Explore and enjoy Holly.

Lunchtime saw a Union meeting. These used to be sparse and grey affairs, but not anymore. There was a great turn out. Mind you, always is when pay is being discussed! I think we are beginning to value ourselves more. A lively debate on an offer that we rejected. Too long we have been the Cinderella of education in Scotland. Or so said the Scottish Executive a fortnight ago. We are now coming to the reckoning on this one, methinks? A wage to reflect what we are told we are worth.

P.M. was more marking, and a tedious journey home by bus. I’ve never learned to drive as a result of interesting eyesight, and buses and trains are my only hassle in life. Cheered up immensely when I found Graeme in the office beavering away as he does.
The Boy Wonder did his thing, and now the Blog as we can see. Excellent has been our favourite word on www.gerardkeegan.co.uk this last six months. The gestalt is something else. We get such a buzz when we see our visitor figures climb. 88% of websites are never seen by anyone. We in less than 6 months, have attracted nearly 10 000 visitors. Incredible. And thanks.

But then the News.

That poor guy Nick Berg, beheaded in Iraq, and the US promising a major doing in return. But with whom? Not a good idea at all, as has been this whole misadventure. In Scotland we have the big Plastics factory explosion in Maryhill, Glasgow. A major tragedy in my home town. Reminded me never to leave the house on an argument with Caroline or our wean, Toni aged 13. You just never know what’s around the corner.

Thoughts to all concerned.

Now for a wander around the garden, apprentice to all I survey.

Blog Beginnings

Decided to create a blog on the site today. As you do when you are in work and the mind wanders! No idea how it will develop, as that will depend on the energy thing. I'd like to try and keep an online diary, so maybe that's a good start?

More anon. once this is 'up' and posted.