Did Fairies Exist in Sussex? Does it matter now?

Did Fairies Exist in Sussex? Does it matter now?

The word ‘Fairies’ comes from the old French word ‘Faeries’. In the time when the Saxons were in Sussex the word ‘Fairies’ was pronounced and spelt ‘Pharisees’ (Parish & Hall, 1957); this is due to the old Sussex dialect.

There are a number of different classifications for fairies. When we visualise fairies we think of them as small pixie type of creatures, tiny, mystical beings with wings. We also expect them to have some form of magical powers like ‘Tinkerbell’ from the story of ‘Peter Pan’. We do not expect them to be dark as ‘Maleficent’ from ‘Sleeping Beauty’ is portrayed. As a result this is what children today suspect a fairy to look and act like. On the contrary fairies have been around a lot longer than you might first expect. One of the earliest forms of fairies can be found in the mythical beings in Greek mythology such as nymphs. There are also the Norse version of fairies which are the elves and the Valkyries. Before William Shakespeare (1564-1616) wrote about fairies in his play ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ fairies had been spoken about by Chaucer (2012) in ‘The Canterbury Tales’ where he talked about fairies covering Britain before the time of King Arthur in the 5^th and 6^th century. This leads on to where we believe fairies originated in Yorkshire and were called the ‘Cottingley Fairies’ (www.sussexarch.org.uk), as seen below.  

The Cottingley Fairies

Many tales of fairies seem to be cautionary tales, suggesting that fairies can be very helpful. However, if you are to get on the wrong side of fairies they can bring you misery and danger. Over the years fairies have been given different names, from ‘Puck’ or Pook’ derived from the Saxon word ‘Puca’ meaning Goblin (Simpson & Roud, 2000), who are seen as nasty mischievous fairies that do no good. ‘Dobbs’ or ‘Master Dobbs’ is the names given to a house fairy. It is said that if someone is working harder than usual people would say “Master Dobbs has been helping you” (Parish & Hall, 1957) insinuating that the individual had been given help to achieve such work. As said previously, there are a number of different names given to fairies and all suggest different types.   

Fairies fall into stories of Folklore and there are a number of such stories in Sussex, suggesting that at least the idea of fairies existed in the area. A sight in Sussex known as ‘Harrows Hill’ is considered to be one of the last places inhabited by fairies; a few other sights were known for having fairies as inhabitants (www.sussexarch.org.uk). Fairies are also known for not accepting gifts; many stories show farmers repaying fairies for their work with presents. As soon as they receive any gifts they leave abruptly and upset. The reason for this is still a mystery to us today. 

Does it matter now whether fairies exist or not? Whether you believe in fairies or not there has been a wide range of historical writings about them and what they have done in the past. To this day there are still people out there believing that fairies exist still, and who are you or I to say they do not exist.

Do fairies have a place in education? 
Educators have used well known fairy tales and applied them to ethical issues  in student counseling (Henderson, Kathryn & Malone, 2012). The case studies viewed in Henderson et al. (2012) addressed topics such as the threat and harm to others, confidentiality, working with minors and a number of others. The fairy tales demonstrate ethical dilemmas that students can take away. 

References

Chaucer, G. (2012). The Canterbury Tales. london: The Floating Press. 239.

Henderson, Kathryn L. & Malone, S.L. (2012). Ethical Fairy Tales: Using Fairy Tales as Illustrative Ethical Dilemmas With Counseling Students. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health. 7, 65-82.

Joe, J. (2004). Origin of the Faeries. Available: http://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/faeries.html. Last accessed 7th October 2014.

Parish, W.D. & Hall, H. (1957). A Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect. Lewes: Farncombe & Co. 31.

Simpson, J. & Roud, S. (2000). A Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 286.

Staveley, D. (2014). Fairy Folklore. Available: http://www.sussexarch.org.uk/saaf/fairies.html. Last accessed 7th October 2014.

What do readers find compelling about Michael Morpurgo's books?

What do readers find compelling about 

Michael Morpurgo's books?

Michael Morpurgo is an English author famous for his writings of ‘Private Peaceful’ and ‘War Horse.’ He is also well known for his children’s novels and many of the other wonderful books he has written. He has been presented with a number of awards for his writing, such as, Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL), an Order of the British Empire (OBE) and many others. Michael Morpurgo was born in 1943 two years before World War II ended. Many of the books he has written illustrate with words the different aspects of war and the effects they have on both sides. He mentions in a YouTube video that,

“…with any war story, is to write about the possibility of hope, the possibility of a time where there isn’t a war…they are not really about war but for a hope for peace”

When listening to the audiobook ‘Shadow’ and listening to the boy Aman tell his story you get completely drawn into how Aman's life outside of the Western world is completely different to ours, as his is a fight for survival. It is a story about a young boy, his mother and a Springer Spaniel called Shadow. The book tells the story of their suffering journey to flee their native home of Afghanistan to freedom in England, where they are to live for six years only find out they have been denied asylum. They are to be deported back to their non-existent lives back in Afghanistan, until Aman tells his dreadful story to his best friend's grandfather only to hope that his story will be heard and he and his family will be allowed to stay in England.

Book by Michael Morpurgo - Shadow

Readers find Michael Morpurgo's books compelling because they bring a sense of realism to them. When you read or listen to the books, and this could be any of Michael Morpurgo's books from the picture books for children to all of his fictional books, you are able to really imagine what he is trying to say and make you feel. The books are gripping from the first word and make you want to keep reading. A number of the books show people in their everyday lives and the troubles they go through, making you want to keep reading to see how their lives pan out; whether it is for the better or worse. The reader can relate the stories to real life which makes each of his books more powerful and moving.

Michael Morpurgo's picture books for children are informative about the world around us, for example, the book ‘This Morning I Met a Whale’ is about a whale who makes an environmental plea to a boy about how humans need to put right what they have done to the earth, as the earth's days are numbered (Morpurgo, 2014); thus informing younger generations about environmental impacts.

References

Michael Morpurgo. (2013). Michael Morpurgo Month: War. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_EOE2A1kYk#t=214. Last accessed 4th October 2014

Michael Morpurgo. (2014). Michael Morpurgo Stories for Everyone.Available: http://michaelmorpurgo.com/all-books. Last accessed 4th October 2014.

The National Trust 50 things to do before you’re 11 ¾ Is this an alternative to Forest school?

The National Trust 50 things to do before you’re 11 ¾ Is this an alternative to Forest school?

Forest schools originated in Scandinavia in the 1950’s as a way of educating children about nature. It was brought over to the UK in 1995 and was first taught at Bridge Water College in Somerset, which was the first accredited organisation to teach forest school teaching methods (Murray, 2003) to students. People have this crude idea that forest school is just for school children which is incorrect; forest school is relevant for all young people and adults. The Forest School Association (2011) describe forest schools as,

“a way of working with people in an outdoor natural space for an extended period of time, often a full year. Qualified practitioners carefully facilitate programmes which are uniquely tailored to the needs of the individuals within the group and have the fundamental aim of building participants’ self-esteem, confidence, independence and creativity.”

All of these aspects of what forest schools try to achieve are based around building upon individuals soft skills. Forest schools allow children the opportunity to respond positively to their environment and peers, where they may have previously failed to do so. This may result in the individuals becoming more responsive to future learning opportunities that arise (Murray, 2003).

The National Trust (2013) has come up with a list of 50 activities for children to do before they are 11 ¾. It created these activities because staff carried out a report highlighting that fewer than 1 in 10 children play in the outdoors, compared to the amount of time people spent outdoors half a generation ago. The National Trust has come up with these activities to get both children and their parents outside doing the basic outdoor activities everyone is capable of doing. The Trust has also compiled a number of different places around the United Kingdom to conduct these activities, which is easily accessible on the website. The image below shows all 50 of the activities and the ones I completed at 21 years old. 

50 Things to do before you are 11 3/4 Check List

The 50 things to do before you are 11 ¾ is a great idea for parents and teachers to promote to children of this generation, because otherwise they would be happy staying indoors playing, for example, video games. The list gives the children something to achieve, which motivates them to want to get them all ticked off before their 12^th birthday.

However, I do not think that the 50 things to do before you are 11 ¾ is an alternative to Forest school. Yes it gets children and their families into the outdoors to experience new activities and possible adventures. However, I do not think that it significantly develops an individual's soft skills and everything else forest schools go out to achieve. The list does not have to be addressed regularly, for example weekly as with forest schools which take place on a regular basis. There are obvious benefits to both organisations but they achieve different outcomes and one is not an alternative for the another.

References

FSA. (2011). Forest School myth busting. Available: http://www.forestschoolassociation.org/. Last accessed 1st October 2014.

Murray, R. (2003). Forest School Evaluation Project A Study in Wales . Available: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/ForestSchoolWalesReport.pdf/$FILE/ForestSchoolWalesReport.pdf. Last accessed 1st October 2014.

National Trust. (2013). 50 things to do before you are 11 3/4 .Available: https://www.50things.org.uk/parents-area/faqs.aspx#a12. Last accessed 2nd October 2014.

What is Environment Education?!

What is Environment Education?!

My own personal philosophy of what environmental education has been changing over the past couple of years and I think it will continue to change throughout my life. Years ago environmental education to me involved teaching people about recycling and the impact this has on their surrounding environments. My view on this has not changed but has merely matured and developed. Environmental education enables people to develop their knowledge, values and skills about their surrounding areas and how it impact on everything we do. Not only is it about showing individuals what negative impacts they are having on the environment but it is also informing them about how to make decisions that affect the environment, positively and improve the quality of life on earth without damaging it for future generations.  

A wide range of research has been conducted on what environmental education is and how it should be taught to younger generations. Bill Stapp (1969) creator of Environmental Education (EE) said that,

"Environmental education is aimed at producing a citizenry that is knowledgeable concerning the biophysical environment and its associated problems, aware of how to help solve these problems, and motivated to work toward their solution".

He also suggests that there are four major objectives of EE, 1."A clear understanding that man is an inseparable part of a system...man has the ability to alter the interrelationships of this system", 2. "A broad understanding of the biophysical environment, both natural and man-made, and its roles in contemporary society", 3. "...fundermental understanding of the biophysical environmental problems confronting man, how these problems can be solved...", and 4. "Attitude for the concern for the quality of the biophysical environment...". All of these objectives should be taken into consideration when educating individuals about the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (2014) (EPA) suggests that environmental education is a method in which every individual is allowed the opportunity to explore surrounding issues locally, nationally and regionally. Environmental education is not about having one viewpoint of how we should look after the environment, but teaches and gives individuals ideas and suggestions of how they can take care of the environment. Through their knowledge and understanding of environmental challenges, individuals can problem solve ideas and have the skills to make informed and responsible decisions. The North American Association for Environmental Education (2011) proposes that if environmental education is done right it will lead to environmentally literate people who recognise that their daily choices may have a bigger impact on their environment. They will understand what they need to do to sustain the environment's resources for future generations. 

References

Environmental Protection Agency. (2014). What is Environmental Education?. Available: http://www2.epa.gov/education/what-environmental-education. Last accessed 1st October 2014.

North American Association for Environmental Education. (2011). What is Environmental Education. Available: http://www.naaee.net/what-is-ee. Last accessed 1st October 2014.

Stabb, W.B. (1969). The concept of Environmental Education. The Journal of Environmental Education. 1, 30-31.