College week: Love our colleges

This week has been national college week. A week to raise awareness of the importance of colleges and the essential services they provide. Obviously, I am a huge fan of colleges, I teach at one after all. Today I don’t want to talk about the facts and figures (I’m rubbish at maths) nor do I want to talk about the extensive range of qualifications colleges offer or the fact that colleges help train workers that this country desperately needs. Instead, I want to focus on a different aspect of college life, the pastoral side, not from a teachers perspective but, instead, as a student.  

Not only do I work at  East Riding College, (we are No. 1 in Yorkshire by the way) but I also studied there. I studied there when I first left school and went back a fair few years later to carry out my higher education studies. When I went back to study my battle with epilepsy had already started and my biggest concern was that I wouldn’t be able to learn because of my seizures, memory difficulties and constant brain fog. I can remember sitting down with MY tutors, Tracey and Kelly, and telling them all my concerns, they were AMAZING! they told me not to worry and put support in place for me, including letting me record my lectures so I wouldn’t miss any content if I had an absence seizure during a session, they also allowed me to have extensions if I needed them and I honestly cannot count how many additional tutorials they gave me. I’m sure they won’t be able to count the amount of times I said “what is going on”.   

The reality is, studying with epilepsy is hard! I have said many times how epilepsy impacts on my memory, my energy levels and my ability to concentrate. It is difficult to write 10,000 words when you can only concentrate for 10 minutes at a time. It is embarrassing to sit in a room with others and have no clue what is going on. I always smiled through it and laughed it off but there were times when I felt awkward and was filled with anxiety that I was not as good as the others in the class. There is no doubt in my mind that I would not have been able to complete any studies if I had gone to a large university where lectures are held in huge halls for a hundred people and tutorials are once or twice a year. If I had not been able to study at the college and benefit from all the extra support offered, I would not have the qualifications I have today, and I wouldn’t be doing a job I love.  

This is why colleges are so important. They provide a service that few educational settings can offer. Smaller classes and group sizes means more support from tutors, more discussions and more opportunities to learn. The college environment provides opportunities for independence while still being full of support. Colleges make education possible for EVERYONE, regardless of circumstances, previous qualifications or disabilities. So, get behind your colleges, back them, support them, not just this week but every week.