Mr Kelly's Virtual Classroom

Mr Kelly's Virtual Classroom

By Mr Kelly's Virtual ClassroomEducation
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Mr Kelly's Virtual Classroom episodes

  • S9-E122: End of #Holidays #LastWeekend & #GreatMusic
    Season 9 sees me back to simple documentation of my life alongside my music choices. Nothing massive here just my thoughts on end of holidays and returning to work routine. Get linked to anchor.fm with Spotify & you can hear the music
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    7 min
  • S9-E121: #Series9 #ChristmasHolidays #FamilyTime
    Yes, the beginning of Series 9 as I get my own holidays and begin the time of year I love when all the family are home for Christmas. Closing down my Outreach with my schools and attempting to wind down. It's actually nice this year as I have a number of days including a weekend to have before Christmas Eve so there is plenty of time to get prepared. 
    Part of this for me is winding down and appreciating the fact that all the family are home and we always have everyone for Christmas dinner and then all the relations come over to ours on Christmas night for a get together. 
    I also had my emotions twinged by a news report on older people suffering from dementia and the round the clock care that their spouses and other family have to undertake because of a lack of a proper social service care system. I have personal experience of this as I cared for an elderly relative for the last five years of his life and can agree with their sense of sheer despair and continuous tiredness.
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    4 min
  • S8-E120: Last Week of Term 1, Ending Series 8
    Hi everyone, yes, in this episode I look at some of the work I'm involved with in the last week of term and also have a little philosophical rant regarding good deeds and how some people do them just so that they can publicize the fact that they have done them!
    Amazingly it is Series 8 Episode 120 and I have a avoided the dreaded pod-fade, despite a few wobbles along the way. By now I have settled in a very simple format of chat on my work and leisure alongside some music choices that can be accessed by those using the anchor platform.
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    5 min
  • S8-E119 #Election2019 #ChristmasMusic
    Yes, just closing down the whole hype of the election it's all over and #Brexit is going to happen. How it will impact on Northern Ireland is anybody's guess at this point. Northern Ireland throws up its own electoral surprised with Nationalist Politicians now in the majority at the end of an election for Westminster, history is made.
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    5 min
  • S8-E118 #ReedCheats #ToryBrexitPosition #UnitedWin again that's 2 in a row! & some #Music

    Patrick Reed insists he will not allow fierce criticism of his actions in the Hero World Challenge to "derail" him in this week's Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne. Video evidence clearly shows him improve his lie not once but twice!! He is sure to face a difficult week Down Under after Australian Cameron Smith, a member of Ernie Els’ International team, brutally criticised the former Masters champion over the excuse he made for improving his lie in the Bahamas. "If you make a mistake maybe once, you could maybe understand but to give a bit of a bulls--- response like the camera angle ... that's pretty up there (inexcusable)," Smith told the AAP at the Australian Open on Sunday. "I don't have any sympathy for anyone that cheats. I hope the crowd absolutely gives it to not only him, but everyone (on the American team) next week. I know Pat pretty good and he's always been nice to me, so I don't want to say anything bad about him. But anyone's cheating the rules, I'm not up for that.” 

    Reed (29) was handed a two-stroke penalty for improving his lie and line of play in Friday's third round, ultimately finishing two shots behind winner Henrik Stenson in third. But while he's been the subject of ridicule from his peers and could face even more flak when he tees it up as a captain's pick this week, he's adamant he will not let it affect him, that may be so but he definitely is on my 'Naughty List' and will no longer get any support from me. 

    In this the last week of Electioneering I look at the Tory Brexit position with a little help from the BBC who also seem a little confused! The biggest fear I have is a clear majority for the Tories as this gives Boris Johnson a Carte Blanch on pushing through anything he likes and that IMO is the road to disaster. A hung Parliament or a Labour Coalition at least allows for some checks and accountability.

    Manchester United dealt a crushing blow to Manchester City's title hopes with a stunning derby win that leaves the defending champions 14 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.

    Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial fired United into an early lead and although Nicolas Otamendi's late reply set up a thrilling finale, the visitors held on for arguably the most impressive victory of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's 12-month reign.

    Both United goals came in a breathless opening half-hour at Etihad Stadium, where they repeatedly carved open City's creaking back-line to devastating effect.

    Rashford opened the scoring from the spot after he was clumsily knocked over by Bernardo Silva, with the penalty awarded by video assistant referee Michael Oliver.

    The in-form England striker, who has now scored 13 goals in his past 14 games for club and country, hit the bar moments later but United did not have to wait long to extend their lead.

    United's next attack saw Daniel James find Anthony Martial on the right of the area, and he had space to turn and squeeze his shot inside Ederson's near post.

    The game was marred by allegations of racist abuse towards the United midfielder Fred in the second half, while there were also reports of objects being thrown at him from the stands.

    There is of course an opportunity for you the listener to comment back, ask questions or even request music through the unique Voice Comment link.

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    11 min
  • S8-E117: #ChristmasCountdown continues & #ManUtd #Win

    Yes, great start to December as United win against Spurs at Old Trafford, this was breathless display from United and it felt strange, when I think of how lost they can look against sometimes lesser opposition. Inconsistency is the hallmark of young teams, of course. 

    So, too, the inability to kill off opponents, as United had failed to do with Spurs as the interval neared. So it was that a sublime Ali touch-and-finish meant his team were back level in a contest that should already have been over. Mourinho did not gloat over the equaliser. Solskjær, meanwhile, berated the fourth official. It meant the second half was a test for United – and their manager. 

    They passed it admirably, thanks primarily to Rashford, who won and then converted the crucial penalty for a ninth league strike of what may prove the watershed season of his young career. In the buildup Solskjær had spoken of the need for patience and how victories can speed up the development of his side. This result has to galvanize both the team, the coaching staff and give the manager some respite from the pressure of those calling for his head at the first sign of a blip. As for Mourinho, the newfound humbleness should mean the greeting of his first Spurs loss with the grace of, well, the Humble One. 

    I also note that the 'Last Task' on #TheApprentice is a sure sign we are nearing the real run in for #Christmas as the dreaded interviews will make compelling viewing next week. Alongside my take on these I have also included a music mix which naturally enough given it is December starts to include some Christmas themed tunes. 

    There is of course an opportunity for you the listener to comment back, ask questions or even request music through the unique Voice Comment link.

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    11 min
  • S8-E116: Dropping #SocialMedia & The #ChristmasCountdown Has Begun

    Yes this time I am really dropping #SocialMedia and concentrating on close friends and family, the podcast will be my only outward communication on how I am feeling regarding different life events and it will provide an opportunity for others to comment back, ask questions or even request music through the unique Voice Comment link.

    I am continuing to include music of my choice and the best way to get the full experience is to link your Spotify Premium account to anchor.fm. You can of course just listen to my ramblings on any of the other 10 podcast platforms that I am on. I have spent a lot of time 'toying' with this idea, as I have become more and more disillusioned with the content and the commercialism surrounding the whole area of Facebook and Instagram in particular. 

    I recently looked to start a page linked to the podcast and wanted it to be just a community page, suddenly I was bombarded with encouragement to 'pay to boost my page/post reach' and I'm classed as a business!!  I have an increasing number of friends who have headed for a detox space and many of my children's generation in their late 20's early 30's are extremely watchful of their 'screen time'.  They’ll deactivate an account (or at least delete an app) to avoid the negative feelings that too much social content can foster. I have taken time off of social before but always got lured back with the thought of how it could help promote the podcast, but after falling into one too many late-night vortexes or stressing about a lack of likes, I can certainly understand the appeal. 

    And according to a new studies my generation isn’t the only one feeling the need to cleanse its social palette. Many of today's teens are also opting out largely because of the effect social media has on their mental health. Thirty-five percent of social media users cited that there was too much negativity floating around, while seventeen percent said it made them feel bad about themselves. Social media is often linked to anxiety, depression & low self-esteem and eighteen percent said they felt too much pressure from sites to get attention. My work involves a lot of work with young people experiencing difficulties in these very areas so I feel that it would be hypocritical of me to not join in. I too have been monitoring my own engagements and how meaningful they are, what responses they get & the number of engagements and I must admit to being shocked at how easily we all succumb to the trap of a celebrity-driven marketplace that is engineered to sap users’ time and attention at the cost of their well-being. As someone once said: “It feels like we’re all addicted to a drug that doesn’t get us high anymore, so I wanted to make space for something that really does.”  That space will become reserved for family and close friends, the 'REAL PEOPLE' who should matter to everyone. 

    I'm changing things subtly like removing my Snapchat emoji code from my profile pick and sticking to WhatsApp as its linked to contacts I choose from family & work. This may be invaded by some of them posting something linked to a Facebook or Twitter link but if I can't access that because I no longer have an account, so be it. I no longer have a Twitter link in my program notes and any previous notes that have the link, it is no longer viable. 

    So there it is as I include my first Christmas songs in my Podcast, my only means of promotion from here will be on the anchor.fm site through my own choice of favorites and also Podcasts I link to through comments. 

    Yes, it's December and the real #ChristmasCountdown has begun and its a time of year when I get quite nostalgic but that is for another episode. On the back of this one maybe you to can have a look at your own social media time and assess if you can improve how you use it with a view to an improved experience.

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    8 min
  • S8-E115: #Thanksgiving & #ChristmasCountdown or #ChristmasCreep

    In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November—this year, on November 28th and it has already been celebrated in Canada, on the second Monday in October the 14th this year.  

    Turkey has become the traditional choice for Americans after Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. It was part of Christmas history as far back as the 16th century, and popular history tells of King Henry VIII being the first English monarch to have turkey for Christmas. The 16th century farmer Thomas Tusser noted that by 1573 turkeys were commonly served at English Christmas dinners. Although these were feasts for the rich, royalty and landed gentry.  Even though turkeys are much more affordable today, they still remain a celebratory symbol of bounty. In fact, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin ate roast turkey in foil packets for their first meal on the Moon.  

    November seems to now have become the launchpad for the #ChristmasCountdown as #BlackFriday has now become a fortnight of sales in the run up to the last Friday in November and the media has started to hit the consumer with a plethora of enticing advertisements all designed to encourage the consumer to part with their hard earned cash.   It's a commonly held belief that Christmas makes itself known sooner year on year. But is there any truth to the "Christmas creep"? Here, John Lewis' adverts are widely regarded as the "official beginning" of the Christmas season in the UK. The same Christmas season that, by the way, does not start earlier every year. 

     Since John Lewis' "Sweet Child o' Mine" Christmas ad of 2009, the brand's adverts have come out around the same time of year for the past six years, between the 6th and the 12th of November.  But how often have you seen a box of mince pies in the supermarket in October and we have have only just had Halloween and the Family Circle boxes are on offer at the beginning of November. It's a commonly-held belief that Christmas comes earlier every year, along with all the other once-a-year festivities. Valentine's cards come out as soon as you chuck your Christmas tree into the neighbor's skip; Easter eggs immediately after that; and on and on, until all holidays overlap into one big commercial mess.  

    But is there actually any truth in this?  Are people just idealizing a past in which capitalism had less of a stranglehold on society – in which they had less of an understanding of what exactly capitalism was, because they were stupid children – and forgetting that we've been subjected to all of this seasonal bullshit since birth? I try to rationalize it all by working on the premise that these early displays allow some of us to spread our spending wisely in the run up to the 'big day/holiday'.  

    Some of the children I work with come from less well off homes and this time of year can be extremely difficult for them as they are bombarded by advertisements for lots of goods, their families will go into debt to get them the 'latest in toy' and others will struggle with just having a Christmas Dinner.  A babysitter that looked after my children was a wise old woman, sadly no longer with us and she attacked the January Sales with gusto, as this was her gathering time for the next Christmas! Now that really is #ChristmasCreep.  

    It makes sense; once retailers have stopped offering barbecues and cocktail shakers, the natural progression is to slyly shift towards marketing the warm and cosy, there to ward off the impending dread that comes with only seeing 30 minutes of sunlight a day. But does all that change our behavior as consumers? 

    Have Your Say Now - Hit these links:

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    10 min
  • S8-E114 #GPKRadio #music&chat Should Manchester United go for Poch?

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    Pochettino for United? The International has seen the shock sacking of the Spurs manager and the appointment of Jose Mourinho within a day of him leaving. 

    I also talk about essential administration, yes I hate it but at this time of year in order to ensure a proper transfer of support for the children I work with as they move from Primary to Secondary Education there is an onus on me to deliver essential information through Status Reports and updated Intervention Advices. 

    I also have included my usual #musicmix as part of the episode. 

    Remember you can only avail of the full music & chat experience by listening on anchor.fm with a Spotify Premium account.

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    13 min
  • S8-E113: #GPKRadio #MusicMix & How do you spend your Saturday's? Is Boris fit for office?

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    More music and chat in this episode around how I spend my Saturday and how do you spend yours? 

    I also talk about Boris Johnson and his links before becoming Prime Minister and how this makes me question his credibility to hold the highest office. 

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    6 min

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