The GrowlersWorld Interviews

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The Growlersworld Interviews are an ongoing quest, bringing you closer to successful and creative people in all walks of life.

Rawle Austin presents...

A conversation with Mishel Isaacs - Loving Media Anthropology and Sharing Success!

Mishel Isaacs is a beacon of inspiration, positivity and achievement. I caught up with her to learn more and share her secrets of success with the world. Rawle Austin: Could you introduce yourself to Growlersworld.com readers? Mishel Isaacs: Hi readers, my name is Mishel Isaacs, I run a small childcare business providing breakfast clubs and holiday scheme care for children aged 4 – 11 years and I have recently completed an MA in Media, Culture and Communication. RA: You work in Childcare, where did your passion for this come from? MI: Well funnily enough I trained in mechanical engineering when I left school.

I had a four year apprenticeship with a local borough council and was made redundant at the end of my apprenticeship.

After getting knock backs when applying for jobs in mechanics – no one really wanted to hire a female – I looked to train in a different field and that is when I stumbled across childcare.

RA: What has been your most proudest achievement to date in your work?

MI: To date, my proudest achievement has to be my business ‘The Play Shelter’. We’ve been running now for about six years and moving from strength to strength.

Also returning to studies late in life, I completed a degree and received First Class honours which was fantastic as I was studying full time, working three part time jobs and running a business, oh yes and I took my Maths GCSE again during the final year of the degree! RA: What advice would you give to someone who wants to work in Childcare? MI: Working with children requires someone with an outgoing personality, someone who is not afraid to show their silly side. Time and time again I have witnessed playworkers who are too quiet, shy or not energetic enough.

When working with children you need to engage them in activities and the way to do this is to participate yourself. This is vital in building good relations with children you work with.

Also it’s about being firm but fair, listening to children is of paramount importance to ensure that you are attending to their needs.

Anyone thinking about going in to childcare needs to get a recognisable qualification, NVQ, BTEC etc this is important, it’s not just about providing stimulating and challenging activities, although this is also important but you need to know the fundamentals of child development, working with parents, child protection, health and safety, equality and diversity, administering medication, first aid, behaviour management, providing for their needs, building self-confidence and esteem.

There is a lot involved and it is not just simply about turning up to play football with a group of children, it’s about what you are teaching children and this is measured through the activity outcomes which requires planning. I would say get a good qualification, be prepared to work hard and don’t forget to have fun. RA: You’ve recently completed an Anthropology & Communication Studies course. What made you decide to learn this subject?

MI: When I was studying for my Youth Work qualification, I became more and more interested in people’s behaviour. So when I decided to study for a degree, I wanted to do Anthropology but I wanted a bit more!

I have always been interested in media communication so when I saw Anthropology and Communication as a joint discipline I jumped at the chance.

Anthropology became more than just exploring the behaviour of people, it involved the study of culture, not just cultural worlds but cultural behaviours and institutional organisation, how people organise their worlds.

It was very interesting and opened my eyes to the lead up into nineteenth century enlightenment thought which has cemented the roots of the prejudices and biases which continue to exist today.

RA: How would you explain what Anthropology is to someone who knows nothing about it? MI: Okay, I would say simply it’s about seeking to understand the way people and groups function in their society and the ways in which their societies/cultural worlds are organised. The different way individuals and groups organise their worlds, historical and contemporary societies across the world. RA: You’re currently doing a MA (Masters) in Media, Culture and Communication.

Again, why did you follow this path?

MI: The MA focuses on Media Education with children and so for me it was a natural progression to combine media with children, teaching children digital video production to explore media representation and develop critical media literacy. This is where the Communication aspect of my degree came in.

I would like to refer to myself as a Media Anthropologist and investigate how children use the media to create their social worlds. I have just finished my Masters degree so fingers crossed that I get good grades!

[Update! Mishel was awarded with a Distinction for her Masters degree]

RA: What does the course involve? How would you break it down? MI: Okay, as I said it focuses on Media Education and critical media literacy. It’s based in the cultural studies tradition and employs structuralism and post-structuralism in the reading of texts and images. We used Social Semiotics and multimodality theory to analyse language as a system of signs in a variety of media texts to determine how texts are encoded with meaning and how the audience decode the messages to access meaning. Basically the different ways of reading media texts to ascertain the social messages they attempt to convey and audience research in how these messages are taken to mean.

The modules I took were Children’s Media Culture, Media, Cultural Theory and Education, Research in Media, Cultural Studies and Education, Digital Video Production and Multimedia Design and Communication. It was a great course.

RA: What is your favourite topic in this course and why does it attract you?

MI: To be honest I liked all of the modules I took, if I had to choose one then I think it would have to be Children’s Media Culture as it has helped me to specialise in my field.

It enabled me to look at children’s media differently in terms of the commercialisation of childhood and for that matter how childhood is a constructed category.

Adult perceptions of childhood are very powerful in terms of creating versions of childhood which children are expected to assimilate. RA: What is your ultimate ambition with this course and where would you like it to take you? MI: My ambition after taking this course is to explore media representations with children and travel around schools teaching children media literacy through digital video production; I want to be known as a Media Anthropologist. RA: You have a blog, Life through Digital Play, could you tell us what it's all about and what you’re aiming to achieve with it? MI: The blog was developed as a requirement of one of the MA modules to explore Web 2.0 and its uses within an educational context.

I enjoyed updating the blog and using it as muse to reflect on my learning on the course. I haven’t updated if for a while, too busy writing my thesis!

RA: Who most inspires you in life and why?

MI: My inspirations are not necessarily famous people; I’m inspired by people who have an aim and work hard to achieve their aims.

I don’t have respect for people who come across as extremely passionate when saying they are going to do something and then never make any attempts at getting it done.

Many people have told me that they admire my work ethic (studying and employment) and I used to think why? I’m just doing what I said I would, but I understand that perhaps not everyone can do this, not everyone can motivate themselves to start or continue a task.

I guess I’m pretty good at motivating myself when I want something done.

RA: How do you like to spend your spare time?

MI: Spare time, what’s that? Now I have finished my studies forever (no PHD for me!) I like to work on the business and plan the next stages, I like going out with friends to wine bars, restaurants and parties, I like watching movies, reading, computer games, listening to music and going on holiday.

RA: And finally, what words of wisdom would you like to leave us with?

MI: Ask yourself where you want to be positioned in life and then go for it. Life is too short for faffing about; achievements come when you work hard and only then should you play hard.

Lai Li Hui - Spreading Inspiration from China to the World!>

<Joyann Clarke - Branding a new Entrepreneurial Journey!

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