learning

The joy of a jotter

a buff cardboard covered exercise book, sometimes called a jotter
~ nicoladonnelly ~ Leave a comment

The news that my son, Leo, uses a jotter at school is not the news that I expected to move me this week. We have experienced surgery, recovery and clinic this week. It has been a lot. But it wasn’t any of the big stuff that made me watery-eyed. On a catch-up call with Leo’s teacher I found myself blinking. Leo at 8 years old has finally started to engage with classroom tasks and develop a love of learning. His developmental delay and stubborn streak have made this a bit of a challenge before. The teachers’ perseverance has worked. And the news that brought this all home to a 90s-educated, comprehension loving, stationery fiend….? He has a school jotter to keep his work in.

I wrote my first piece in months in response.

Leo does his school work in a jotter.

Pardon? A jotter? Leo has a jotter? It’s not the update I expected.

I was on a call with Leo’s teacher. The language we usually use – assistive, adapted, enhanced, sensory, specialist – precise and niche. Words that are modern, scientific, evidence-based. Words that are a marvel in this life, that provide equality of opportunity and create sparks of activity leading to potential. Words that are not tangible. Like apple. Or ball.

A jotter. A word that belonged in the dusty attic of my brain. A word that, once rediscovered, opened a door to spring classroom days. A crisp cardboard cover opened to a white, smooth page. A ruler placed neatly, a pencil margin drawn. The date precisely printed in the column and then cursive words forming a title. The first act in a new day of learning. Leo has a jotter. Leo is learning.

I knew that, of course. Leo shows me he is learning every single day. New words, new facts, new stories. Delivered in a multi-platform, rich, considered environment. An environment I can appreciate, but not really understand. This is the first page of learning I can comprehend, something I can also turn the page on. Leo has shown he can be an intentional learner this year. To find joy in a task well done. To make learning physical. How do I know? Leo has a jotter.

#Upfront – a confidence course for women (Reviewed)

~ nicoladonnelly ~ Leave a comment

I first came across Lauren Currie in 2016 when I was feeling a bit lost. I had just closed my retail business, my dream that had not worked out as planned and was looking to the next opportunity. Dealing with failure is hard and exposes vulnerability, and in my case, in a fairly public way. My first encounter with Lauren is documented in an old blog post written at the time. We tried to get an in-person Upfront course going in Dundee a year or so later but unfortunately, we just couldn’t get the numbers to make it viable.

I continued to follow Lauren’s progress on social media and enjoy her blogs. An entrepreneur, yes, but with a mission. To do things better. Her content and attention were increasingly about the visibility of women on stages and panels, in board rooms and in public discourse. She absolutely walks the walk and started the Upfront movement. Allowing people to experience stages. Building public speaking skills. Ultimately, helping people, specifically women, find their confidence.

2020 has brought lots disruption and necessary innovations and I was delighted to see one of them was Lauren taking her Upfront course online. In some ways my confidence has improved since my teens. I don’t fear public speaking, I can contribute in meetings and I can advocate for myself. But it doesn’t feel comfortable and I know I can be much better. I don’t think I allow myself to fully explore my potential and I often pause from sharing or publishing what I really think. I worry far too much about others think about me.

I signed up for the six-week course. I took the four payment instalment option and for clarity, I paid full price and have not been given a discount or incentive to review or recommend this. (I can provide a link to get a discount, so ask me if you want it! It takes the course from around £385 to £308). I paid personally and did not approach my employer in this instance. I signed up before my son was back at nursery, knowing that we would be spending a week in hospital for planned surgery, that we would spend a week on holiday and with the commitments of work. I know there is never a good time to fit learning and development in – there is only making time.

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A confidence crisis in women – turning anger into hope-driven action

~ nicoladonnelly ~ Leave a comment

Lately I have had the pleasure of joining a group of intelligent, capable, hard-working, beautiful, thoughtful women on a confidence course. They work around the world and in all kinds of organisations. I don’t know, but I can imagine, they earn vastly different salaries and I know they are of different ages, stages, backgrounds and nationalities. And listening to this group of women has made me angry. So angry. The kind of angry that sparks hot tears and sets your stomach spinning. Not because they were saying anything awful, they were speaking truthfully. But because they were reflecting the deepest, darkest thoughts I have had, and my female friends and relatives probably have too. They were sharing how a lack of confidence was holding them back in aspects of their life. It is debilitating. It is destructive. It is devastating.

And here’s the thing that really drives me crazy – this lack of power is completely embedded across institutions in society to keep women feeling like this. How dare our childhoods do this to us? How dare society malign us? How dare we allow our gifts to be hidden away while mediocracy reigns? We are missing out on talented leadership, original thought and creative innovation that can solve the types of challenges that are really puzzling us in the world and we are owed the voices of these women, as much as women are due to be heard.

So, I am angry, but I am taking action. I am halfway through Lauren Currie’s Upfront course and it has my rapt attention. Lauren talks about finding a positive and joyful view of issues as anger disengages audiences. It makes a lot of sense. Especially when I think of the speakers I enjoy the most – they are charismatic and they give me hope. Thankfully, finding positives in a situation, focusing on things I can control and practicing gratitude for life’s gifts are things I have been working on for most of my adult life. I can find hope in many places, but I have been needing the final piece to take action and speak up – the audacity.

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