With module one of my degree studies almost behind me I have already module two ready to kick off in October. It has the makings of a really fascinating seven months studying the course of medical history and society from 1500-1930, something which has always interested me. It’s as close as I will ever get to medical school anyway…

I suggest to anyone out there looking for a challenge to sign up for a course of study in an area which has always interested you – do it now and you wont regret it. If you are like me and have always been interested in the medical side of things – but have better grades behind you but not good enough for doctor training – then how about medical assistant school…? this would be excellent for those of you who have wanted to break into the medical field but are not quite cut out for the long years of study required for becoming a fully-fledged doctor.

I urge you mums out there especially to have a good think about where you want your life to take you after the kids have left school – where will that leave you…? don’t be left behind – go back to school yourself – NOW!!!

Popularity: 2% [?]

White children are set to become a ‘minority group’ in Birmingham, a census is expected to show. A study by the University of Manchester has predicted that more than half of children in Birmingham will be from black and Asian communities when the census is carried out at the end of March. In 2006, 53 per cent of children under 16 were from white families and this figure is expected to drop substantially to 47 per cent when the census is carried out in two months’ time.

Various public bodies have attempted to predict when the ‘tipping point’ will be reached which will push Birmingham’s ethnic minorities into a clear majority. Although children from white families will still make up the largest single group, youngsters from ethnic backgrounds will be in the majority which means the white children will be classed as a ‘minority’. Researchers from the university calculated four years ago that the proportion of children aged under 16 who are from black and ethnic minorities will rise to about 64 per cent by 2026. The study suggests one reason for the reduction of white families is movement out of Birmingham to other areas of the West Midlands and the UK.

Another reason is the continued immigration of people from Pakistan, African countries and China. Ten years ago, the 2001 census showed that 70.4 per cent of the Birmingham population was white and 29.6 per cent were a mixture of various ethnic backgrounds, with British Asians and African-Caribbean dominating. The impact of these changes in the population is already being felt in the city’s education system. The council’s education department has warned that language difficulties among non-English speaking pupils is contributing to poor performances by some schools.

Last year Asian children were reported to outnumber white pupils in Birmingham primary schools for the first time, according to city authorities.

Popularity: 2% [?]

It has been just on ten years since I left the last educational institution I attended – a music institute – and in the years following the idea of ever returning to full or even part-time education was something that flitted through my mind from time to time. Having had two more children in the past few years combined with moving to live in various different countries as well as running a hotel as part of one of those moves, being able to fit in the time and space for study proved too challenging for our peripatetic lifestyle. Now that we are pretty well settled where we are Arnold decided to persuade me to sign up with the Open University – more a campaign of constant nagging to be exact – to which I finally gave in recently and signed up for my first course of study in a decade.

All the paraphernalia has at last arrived; the box of books (quite thick and heavy I noticed..), the CD’s, the DVD’s and then there is the student website to negotiate – the forums, the assignments, the tutorials at the local university. I decided to embark on a course relating to the Arts as my world pre-Arnold was heavily related to music and performance and so AA100 The Arts Past and Present seemed the ideal starting block for me. Basically it covers literature; poetry and plays ranging from Homer, Aesop and Faust through to music from Mozart, opera, films and even Madonna, so it looks very interesting and should keep me out of mischief until October. From this point I can work either towards a degree in Arts/Humanities or turn in a whole new direction for myself and head down the Sciences route – but we’ll see in a while, after I reacquaint myself with Cleopatra.

Popularity: 2% [?]