The Olympic Games has had a positive effective on the way people feel (BBC Survey discussed on BBC Breakfast TV on 14 Aug)
Of the 1,002 people quizzed by GfK NOP, 80% said they had been interested in the Games over the two weeks they were running showing the high level of involvement of British people. 83% thought the Games had a positive effect on the UK and 80% thought it had made people more proud to be British. However while 35% thought the effect of the Games would be long-term, 54% thought it would be short-lived.
Judging by the responses of the people I have spoken to this seems like a fair representation of how people feel about the Olympics. There will always be people who are just not interested or who are critical about such events but my sense is that most people got swept up in them and allowed themselves to experience emotions and feelings about themselves and our collective identity that we don't normally experience. For me the strong feelings of pride, joy, wonder, happiness (for others) and empathy (for those who felt they had not achieved their personal goal) were about being human. From the moment I witness the torch being carried I realised that there was something spiritual about this and the feelings have been reinforced over and over again.
Maybe it has something to do with the hopelessness of our current economic situation and the divisive cultural cul de sac we have got ourselves into over devolution, but it has made me see these Isles of Wonder in a different way. It took an exceptional event to trigger this and a creative use of technology (BBC coverage was brilliant and we should be proud of this as an Olympic accomplishment in its own right) to engage me physically and emotionally but it has done so and I am a different person for the experience.
The Olympics has been very much part of most people's lifewide experience and sharing the effects it has had on us is worthy of examination. How did the Olympics affect you? Please join our Twitter Exchange and share your experiences.
LIFEWIDE EDUCATION TWITTER EXCHANGE
'How has the Olympics affected us?'
Wednesday August 15t-18th 2012 Tweet to #LWE4
Did the Olympics affect you, if so how did it affect you? Did it make you think and feel differently about anything? What did you learn through the experience? Do you think it will have a lasting effect on you and our society? The Olympics is one of the few events that can claim to be global in its involvement of people and the nations of the world. So what, if any effect has it had on making the world a better place?
These are questions worth asking in the wake of what for many of us will be a unique event in our lifetime - an Olympic Games in our own country. The London Olympics set out to inspire a generation but did it infect you in an inspiring way?
Please join our event and share your thoughts and feelings
HOW TO JOIN THE DISCUSSION
GETTING A TWITTER ACCOUNT
If you are not already a twitter user, please go to http://twitter.com and sign yourselves up for a free account that will enable you to participate.
FINDING THE SESSION ON TWITTER
The start and finishing dates are shown against each event. To find an event in Twitter, use 'Discover' as the way to find the seminar/session. Discover is the search facility in Twitter. Type #LWE4 into the search window to access the session.
POSTING A MESSAGE
When you send a message (no more than 140 characters) add #LWE4 to the end of your message. Example: Hi everyone, just arrived and looking forward to it #LWE4
STIMULUS PAPERS/SLIDES/IMAGES & SUMMARIES can be found at
http://lifewideeducation.co.uk/page/twitter-exchange
Of the 1,002 people quizzed by GfK NOP, 80% said they had been interested in the Games over the two weeks they were running showing the high level of involvement of British people. 83% thought the Games had a positive effect on the UK and 80% thought it had made people more proud to be British. However while 35% thought the effect of the Games would be long-term, 54% thought it would be short-lived.
Judging by the responses of the people I have spoken to this seems like a fair representation of how people feel about the Olympics. There will always be people who are just not interested or who are critical about such events but my sense is that most people got swept up in them and allowed themselves to experience emotions and feelings about themselves and our collective identity that we don't normally experience. For me the strong feelings of pride, joy, wonder, happiness (for others) and empathy (for those who felt they had not achieved their personal goal) were about being human. From the moment I witness the torch being carried I realised that there was something spiritual about this and the feelings have been reinforced over and over again.
Maybe it has something to do with the hopelessness of our current economic situation and the divisive cultural cul de sac we have got ourselves into over devolution, but it has made me see these Isles of Wonder in a different way. It took an exceptional event to trigger this and a creative use of technology (BBC coverage was brilliant and we should be proud of this as an Olympic accomplishment in its own right) to engage me physically and emotionally but it has done so and I am a different person for the experience.
The Olympics has been very much part of most people's lifewide experience and sharing the effects it has had on us is worthy of examination. How did the Olympics affect you? Please join our Twitter Exchange and share your experiences.
LIFEWIDE EDUCATION TWITTER EXCHANGE
'How has the Olympics affected us?'
Wednesday August 15t-18th 2012 Tweet to #LWE4
Did the Olympics affect you, if so how did it affect you? Did it make you think and feel differently about anything? What did you learn through the experience? Do you think it will have a lasting effect on you and our society? The Olympics is one of the few events that can claim to be global in its involvement of people and the nations of the world. So what, if any effect has it had on making the world a better place?
These are questions worth asking in the wake of what for many of us will be a unique event in our lifetime - an Olympic Games in our own country. The London Olympics set out to inspire a generation but did it infect you in an inspiring way?
Please join our event and share your thoughts and feelings
HOW TO JOIN THE DISCUSSION
GETTING A TWITTER ACCOUNT
If you are not already a twitter user, please go to http://twitter.com and sign yourselves up for a free account that will enable you to participate.
FINDING THE SESSION ON TWITTER
The start and finishing dates are shown against each event. To find an event in Twitter, use 'Discover' as the way to find the seminar/session. Discover is the search facility in Twitter. Type #LWE4 into the search window to access the session.
POSTING A MESSAGE
When you send a message (no more than 140 characters) add #LWE4 to the end of your message. Example: Hi everyone, just arrived and looking forward to it #LWE4
STIMULUS PAPERS/SLIDES/IMAGES & SUMMARIES can be found at
http://lifewideeducation.co.uk/page/twitter-exchange
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