Diversity in the curriculum: teaching and learning with human stories
Written by Lyfta
Lyfta boosts classroom engagement by connecting with students on an emotional level and sparking interesting discussions. Students are able to connect with real human stories introducing them to diverse cultures and perspectives which builds knowledge and cultural capital.
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being part of a panel of esteemed colleagues at the Big Virtual Conversation as part of the series of events organised by #DiverseEd . The session, hosted by the dynamic duo, Hannah Wilson and Bennie Kara, was a chance for us to hear from a range of speakers from the education sector. I had the opportunity to speak about the power of human stories to help to bring diversity into the curriculum, and the key themes are outlined in this blog post.
Asking someone where they’re from can come from curiosity but can also serve to make people feel alienated, by placing undue emphasis on their right to belonging. If you ask someone instead, “tell me about yourself, what’s your story?” it invites them to craft their response and weave their answer so it belongs anywhere and on their own terms.
When you tell your own story you can start to make sense of the connections and links that bring the elements together. I’ve been thinking about the many threads and moments in my own life that seem to have led me to where I am now.
Human stories have always fascinated me. They led me to study social anthropology at university and gave me a reason to explore beyond the pages of books, leading me to buy a year’s open ticket and accidentally spend some ten years abroad, learning, working, teaching and continuing to weave into my story, stories and histories with new threads of different hues, that had echoes of my ancestors. I learned new concepts and perspectives every time someone told me a new story.
During this time I ended up learning Hebrew, which taught me words that just don’t exist in English, opening me up to new cultural concepts and helping me see the world in new and different ways. One of my favourite words with no English equivalent is the word ‘Firgun’ (פירגון)said ‘fear-goon’. This one word describes genuine, unselfish delight or pride in the accomplishment of the other person – or a generosity of spirit, an unselfish, empathetic joy that something good has happened, or might happen, to another person. It is similar to the South African concept of Ubuntu, I am because you are. Your success is our collective joy. And in the same way, your story, is our collective story.
I believe that human stories are more important than ever. The world events of the past 6 months during the global pandemic have brought this home to us in unique and often tragic ways. Like many in the education sector, I’ve been lucky to see the importance of my work’s potential to harness the power of humanity for the common good, even at this challenging time. At Lyfta, we capture human stories in the form of powerful short films and then turn these into 360 degree explorable, immersive and interactive spaces in which teachers and their students can learn about people, places, values and skills.
While we are restricted from close human interaction and travel, these human stories seem more precious than ever. In the words of one student, Thomas, with Lyfta’s immersive platform you are “able to instantly teleport yourself halfway across the world while staying on the same spot and see how things are for real”.
One important aspect of schools’ offering for young people in their care is the element of broadening their horizons, and instilling a sense of cultural capital through the music, texts, art and experiences that are included in the curriculum, such as school trips. We know that even in normal times, many children will not have the opportunity to go far beyond their own postcode.
Teaching and learning through human stories using Lyfta can be a powerful way to ensure that students have experience of the world as part of their entitlement to cultural capital. This can be important also as a way to teach an understanding of the protected characteristics, and show how diversity and equality are promoted within our schools.
We have seen that teaching and learning through immersive human stories can bring breadth, depth and meaning to concepts, taking them from the realm of information to the realm of deeper knowledge. Exploring Lyfta’s storyworlds enables teachers to unlock critical thinking skills in their students and helps them understand complex concepts, they were not aware of previously. Engaging in learning through these powerful stories can provide important breadth. Leading authority on learning, Chris Quigley, describes this breadth as both cultural capital ie. the background knowledge of the world students need for inference and understanding, and also the range of situations students need to grow confidence in the threshold concepts. These threshold concepts are understood as concepts that ‘open up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something’.
Our vision at Lyfta is to ensure that by the time a child completes their education, they will have visited every country in the world, and will have met at least one person in every place they go. Right now, you can take your students all the way to an Ethiopian village to visit Mesgana and Gebeyeu in their family home, or hop over to Malte’s garden in Berlin to see how honey is made, or pop down to Cornwall to litter-pick with Rob on the beach, and so much more.
We have a limited number of places available on our funded CPD training webinars as part of the Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning programme. Participants who successfully complete the course will receive free access to the full range of Lyfta content and resources for a whole term.
Try Lyfta for free here: https://www.lyfta.com/
Remembrance Day
Written by Sajid Gulzar
Founding CEO of the Prince Albert Community Trust (PACT) and National Leader of Education
On October 31st 1914 a 26 year old gunner and his machine gun crew managed to hold their position against a German onslaught. The Germans were using more effective weaponry and outnumbered the gunner and his crew five to one. A second crew fighting alongside the gunner were killed as a result of a direct shell hit. The consequences of the machine gun crews being over-run were potentially devastating. The goal of the German offensive was to capture the vital ports of Boulogne and Nieuport.
The gunner and his crew held the Germans off, they continued to fire at the enemy all day. When all around him had been killed, despite being shot, the gunner continued to fight. Eventually, he was left for dead. The stand made on that autumn day on water-logged ground during the First Battle of Ypre, allowed reinforcements to arrive and the German advance was curtailed. The gunner would later be awarded the Victoria Cross. His citation noted ‘remained working his gun until all the over five men of the gun detachment had been killed.’
The gunner was born in the Punjab province of what is now Pakistan and his name was Khudadad Khan. This young man, a member of the Duke of Connaught’s Own Baluchis helped to ensure that two ports used to supply British troops with vital supplies, remained in Allied hands. He was the first Muslim soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross and there is a commemorative stone in his honour at the National Memorial Arboretum.
During the course of the Great War, hundreds of thousands of young men left their homes behind to travel to Europe and fight for Great Britain. Many would never return. My mother recalls her father telling her that some villages were almost cleared of their young men. The level of sacrifice is indescribable. Khudadad Khan’s story is one amongst countless others of courage and lives cut short on the battlefields of Europe.
Many of you reading this may be reading about Khudadad Khan for the first time. I first heard about him about 10 years ago. I didn’t know about the Indian contribution to the war effort until well into my twenties. That is despite being taught history at school. Despite teaching history at school. It wasn’t until 3 or 4 years into my teaching career that I discovered that 1.3 million Indians including 400,000 Muslims fought during WW1. That many thousands of them died on foreign shores, having never been to the nation they were sacrificing their life for. I didn’t know that 12,000 wounded Indian soldiers were sent to Brighton, that many of them died and were buried there in the cemetery at Horsell Common.
Soon after I started teaching, the events of 9/11 changed our world. I remember watching the news in horror in 2005 as the details of the 7/7 attacks in London were emerging. I was actually on a visit to the school where I would be taking up a new role in the approaching September. Following the London attacks in particular, there has been a lot of soul searching about identity and belonging. What must the level of disenfranchisement be for someone born and brought up in a country to attack it from within. This is of course the extreme end of the spectrum that goes all the way from not quite feeling you belong to all out war.
I know this may appear a gross over-simplification but identity and belonging are definitely a part of the mix. So, where does Khudadad Khan and his regiment fit in? I spent much of my youth feeling like I don’t belong, particularly when it came to The World Wars. More than once I can remember being told that I didn’t deserve to be here, that the good people of Britain had sacrificed their lives for the freedoms that my family and I were enjoying. That somehow my being here was a betrayal of that sacrifice. I remember that my defence, at least as an adult, was based on the need of the country to rebuild post war and the importance of the migration of my father’s generation to Britain. At the time though, I didn’t know that my grandparents peers had fought and died too, in their hundreds of thousands.
I remember visiting a great aunt on a trip to Pakistan when I was 20 (I didn’t feel I belonged there either but that’s a whole other blog!). Her son had gone to fight for Britain in Burma during WW2. He never returned. 50 years after he left for war, she still waited for him to return. Would my knowing these stories have made a difference growing up? Had I known about the sacrifice of my forefathers to secure our freedoms, had I known about the extraordinary bravery of Khudadad Khan and countless thousands like him? Had I been taught that I had a vested interest, a shared history of blood shed for the cause? Quite possibly yes to all of the above.
What is quite striking is the missed opportunity at this time of year to use this shared history, this shared sacrifice to bring communities together, cement feelings of belonging and to help secure identity. It is not just schools that miss this opportunity, from film to the media, opportunities are missed or just ignored. The recent Dunkirk is an excellent case in point. The film completely ignores the Indian soldiers who were present and took part in the events depicted in the film. I’ve seen many a film and a documentary, chronicling the World Wars. What I haven’t seen very often is a true depiction of the scale of the commonwealth contribution to the cause. When in the epic and beautifully shot 1917, there was an attempt to include commonwealth representation, one right wing commentator described the presence of non-white soldiers in the film as ‘incongruous’. I would suggest that the reason for this is that their stories have never been told. As far anyone learning about the World Wars in school or watching films about them is concerned, they were fought by white men, predominantly in Europe.
The commonwealth contribution needs to be compulsory learning. Our children need to know that the poppy clad fields of European battlefields are soaked in the blood of the non-white commonwealth soldier as well as the English Tommy. Part of this shared history is that our children often live in neighbourhoods, streets and even houses that sent very young men off to war. In some cases these children also have forebears who left their towns and villages more than 3000 miles away to fight in the same war for the same cause.
If you read this whilst thinking about your school’s plan for marking VE Day and Remembrance Sunday, then please share the stories of the young men and women who came from afar as well as those closer to home. Let the poppies you sell symbolise shared sacrifice and shared history in this age of divisiveness.
Cultural Competency
Written by Amardeep Panesar
Headteacher with two decades of experience in education
As an ethnic minority leader, many challenges and barriers do come our way. It is how you perceive them and more importantly yourself in order to be successful. I personally, do not see these as hindering barriers, but challenges that I know I/ we can overcome, depending on “how badly I want something”. A philosophy that most definitely comes from my foundation and sports participation – let your work do the talking!
I’m writing my first blog on Cultural Competency based on a fantastic opportunity given to me by Diverse Educators in particular Hannah Wilson, following the response on social media, I’ve realised just how powerful this platform really is in developing educators! So let’s do it…
Why is it important to be culturally aware of the needs of our children?
Let us first look at the statistics:
- African / African Caribbean people face more ingrained pathways into the criminal justice system as a result of greater levels of disengagement and exclusion from school (Wright, Francis and McAteer, 2015).
- Over the last five years, the number of young ethnic minority people in the UK who are long term unemployed has almost doubled, whereas for young white people it fell slightly.
- In 2014, the probability of Black African women being detained under mental health legislation in England was more than 7 times higher than for White British women.
- People from ethnic minorities are twice as likely to live in poverty compared to White people across Britain.
With these statistics against us and the young people we work with, it is crucial to be culturally competent when educating our young children. Both for adults who are from and ethnic minorities and those that are not, in order to give our children the best possible life chances in order to become successful citizens.
In order to fully support and understand, it is critical to understand self and others perceptions, which can be categorised under four main areas:
- Attitudes and beliefs towards others.
- Attitudes and beliefs towards others of the same group.
- Attitudes and beliefs towards members of different minorities and
- Attitudes and beliefs towards members of the dominant group.
As we read on, do take a moment to self reflect and and understand your own perceptions towards others, because we all have them. We are naturally hard wired to like people like ourselves, people who look like us, think like us, share similar values and visions. We need to continue to educate our staff and children on how/ why these perceptions exist and how collectively, over time, things will start to change by listening to each other. Diverse education is crucial, in all areas, especially in culturally diverse schools.
We can all share our experiences through school leadership and educating children. For me, as an ethnic minority leader, everything I have learnt so far has only empowered me to support others in our profession and to help individuals understand culture and children! Every day we learn…
The world assumes the young people of colour will fail or behave a certain way, we as educators, MUST do the opposite.
Diversifying representation while working with textbooks
Written by Chris Richards
MEd in Applied Linguistics and currently works as a Teacher Mentor in Madrid
I have a vivid memory of being told about the importance of images in my classroom. It was 2010, I was doing my PGCE and was eager to start teaching. I remember that this was the first moment of many that shaped the way I have approached diversity and inclusivity in the classroom ever since. As this post explains, the issue of representation in the classroom has come back to me again in recent years.
When I was teaching English language and literature in England and Wales, we made very little use of textbooks. This certainly made things challenging for a newbie, but to focus on the positive, it also gave me a lot of freedom to make my own choices about which images in the classroom. I learned quickly that you have to be careful when you do internet image searches and not for the reasons we tell our young pupils to be careful. Just last week, in preparation for my contribution to DiverseEd: The Virtual Conversation, I searched for some images. With the search term ‘reading’ I found mostly kids, mostly white. The first four were of girls and the first negative image I found was a bored boy holding a book. When I searched for ‘man reading’, men from BAME backgrounds appeared just twice in the first thirty-two images, and the first appeared twelfth.
In 2016, I moved to Spain and began teaching English in a private language academy. It was a huge change in pace, lifestyle and teaching philosophy, and was the new challenge I needed. Aside from very small class sizes (I now work with a maximum of eight), the biggest difference was the use of a course book. In the first institution I worked in here, every group has an assigned course book that we followed across the course of the academic year. Very quickly, I started to notice that representation was very narrow and, while studying for my MEd in Applied Linguistics, I decided to write my dissertation on how gender and sexuality get represented in a sample of course books. It all began with a page about “different” weddings in the UK that had four photos: four straight, white couples. To paraphrase 20,000 words, on the whole, gender was presented rather traditionally, although there were some images of women in positions of power; minority sexuality was conspicuously absent from the pages.
Whether we’re working with course books or not, we should always be ready to substitute and supplement, especially so with images as these can be a very powerful way to give, or withhold, representation. We also need to consider what texts pupils are reading, lest they are always reading the same stories and hearing the same voices. Whose stories do get told and who gets effectively silenced in our classrooms? If we give space to one image or story, we reduce the space for others. Ultimately, this is simply a question of inclusion.
Also crucial is asking ourselves what unwanted or unintended associations inclusion might bring. For example, are people with disabilities routinely referred to in heroic situations, overcoming their disability rather than as people whose identities extend beyond their differences? Are we remembering to show women in positions of power and responsibility outside the home, but forgetting to represent men in caring or homemaking roles? Are LGBTQ+ folk only shown when their minority sexuality is the defining factor?
Asking ourselves these questions initially is effort, but once it becomes habit, once it becomes part of planning and preparation routine, it becomes normal. I can’t look at a course book page now without quickly scanning it for representation. I don’t always choose to substitute and at other times I might specifically leave unrepresentative material as it is, and ask my students what they think might be missing. I turn over that critical evaluation process to them, so they can start to perform this analysis themselves. After all, I won’t always be there to recast the material they encounter in their reading and viewing lives.
My final thought is that we should always be asking ourselves who gets a voice and who gets seen in our classrooms.
Chris Richards, Teacher Mentor
Chris first taught in the UK high school system in inner city Birmingham and South East Wales, but has been working in English Language Teaching (ELT) since 2015. He holds an MEd in Applied Linguistics and currently works as a Teacher Mentor in Madrid. He is particularly interested in inclusivity/diversity, literature, and the use of first language in the ELT classroom.
Menopausal Musings: What to expect as a Senior Leader with the menopause
Written by Nicky Bright
Leadership development consultant with over 30 years of experience
A post written in response to the TES article ‘what to expect as a Senior Leader with pregnancy’.
I originally wrote this article last Easter and tore it up as being ‘too close to home’. A taboo subject, and one that has only really been raised more widely over the last 18 months or so, I worried how it would be received, and I would be perceived. But Emma Seith’s TES article on 19th July 2019 emboldened me to have another go. I had only recently sought help for the symptoms I had been experiencing with increasing intensity for about 18 months, without really realising that a) they were symptoms and b) help was available. Instead, I thought I was simply not coping well with increased pressures of work, but not wanting any signs of weakness or vulnerability to show. How wrong I was.
Menopausal women are the fastest growing demographic in the workplace (ONS 2018) and with a retention and recruitment crisis, and our profession being dominated by women, albeit with proportionately more men in senior roles, we should take note, whether we are personally affected by the menopause or increasingly surrounded by those who are. For every ten women experiencing menopausal symptoms, six say it has a negative impact on their work (CIPD 2019). We cannot afford to lose highly skilled and experienced staff who simply need some support, and perhaps don’t realise it themselves.
I now realise that I was not alone in feeling like this, as the menopause was relegated to a cursory mention when I was at school. Our biological education really only emphasised understanding your cycles sufficiently to avoid pregnancy. The portrayal of menopausal women until recently has been derogatory and laughable, providing Les Dawson and others with endless comic material. Women of a certain age are ‘washed-up’, ‘over the hill’, ‘a little neurotic’ and so on. Kirsty Wark’s 2017 BBC programme on Menopause raised the tone of the debate and is one of the pieces of journalism of which she is most proud, understandably in my opinion. Now everyone is starting to talk about it, and even more so with the announcement of a procedure to delay it for 20 years or longer (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cxwkx729dx2t/menopause). As Liz Earle said in Stella Magazine (21 April 2019), ‘If you ask any Head of HR ‘What’s your maternity or paternity policy?’, they’ll produce a document. If you say ‘What’s your menopause policy?’ there’s silence.’
As a senior leader, I’m not advocating yet another policy for us to have to update annually, but there does need to be some discussion to ensure that this vital and growing part of our workforce are not unfairly disadvantaged because of ignorance, and simply leave. We all know women who have taken earlier retirement than they may have originally envisaged who have simply ‘had enough’ and are exhausted and don’t even think to ask for help, because they probably don’t realise that, in many cases, they can be helped. Some women sail through without any difficulties, but if increasing numbers of women are working longer, and also reaching leadership positions, we need to help those who aren’t sailing through, so we can all benefit from their years of experience and talent.
Sleep deprivation is known as a tool of torture, and many young parents suffer from it. However, it is less commonly known that fatigue, through disrupted sleep patterns, heightened anxiety and hot flushes, is very common to menopausal women too. With the right support in place we can make the most of their experience and talents in the same way we do for young parents. What about rearranging a member of staff’s timetable for a year or two, so they can come in later if they have been awake half the night, or letting them go slightly earlier if their exhaustion kicks in at the end of the day. Not always possible or indeed necessary, but everyone is different and without a conversation who would know what might help? Giving staff more individual control over ventilation in classrooms can be difficult in very old buildings or new ‘climate controlled’ green buildings, so providing a fan is a simple way to help. Ensuring staff teach in classrooms close to toilet facilities is another relief for those who suffer from ‘flooding’ or need to go more regularly. Much is made of mental health support for staff these days, quite rightly, and the increased levels of anxiety and depression some women suffer can be supported too. CIPD and the NEU produce great guides for HR teams, people managers and materials to get people talking about their experiences so they can be helped, and direct others towards the right help for them.
With the benefit of HRT, more exercise because I have more energy again, talking therapies support and lots of reading and discussion with empathetic others about this, I am now feeling much more myself again – my new older self. On my journey, I have come across lots of work being done in other industries and professions to support this fastest growing working demographic, and so on Monday 18th November at the GSA Head’s Conference in Bristol I will be running a seminar with Inspector Julie Knight of Avon and Somerset Police to discuss how we can better support our staff (and ourselves?) in education. The Constabulary have had overwhelmingly positive feedback about the menopause awareness days they run, and the support networks they facilitate – we can learn from this. Women make up nearly half of their workforce with 34% over the age of 46. They have an open and proactive approach to supporting individuals and managers in order to support and retain talented staff.
I’m pleased to hope that younger women won’t ‘not realise’ what is happening to them for as long as I did, because this taboo is now being properly discussed, and so they will be prepared mentally and physically to ask for and accept help if necessary. I’m also hopeful that we can help to stem the loss of valuable talent to our profession, because our staff will feel respected and supported. And who knows, perhaps younger women won’t even need to go through it at all…
Supporting quiet shy or anxious Black, Asian and minority ethnic children with English as an additional language in the Early Years.
Written by Dr Susan Davis
Senior Lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University
Many articles that have been written in relation to the Black Lives Matter agenda, state that education is key to improving Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) children’s life chances (Blair, Bourne, Coffin, Creese, & Kenner, 1998; Blair, 2002; Ofsted, 2005). However, the system itself is at fault. The UK educational system perpetuates disadvantage: from the very earliest years of schooling (Richardson, 2007; Tomlinson, 2008) children’s sense of identity may be affected by a range of factors such as their experience of being in a minority, or having a lack of BAME role models. School staff may demonstrate unconscious bias in relation to these children. There is also an impact of differing levels of staff knowledge and understanding in relation to cultural issues. We can see how inequity becomes embedded as a result.
My research on how quiet, shy or anxious children cope in the early years classroom was based on a targeted programme entitled Special Me Time (Davis, 2012) aimed at supporting quiet children in vocalising their feelings; accessing classroom opportunities; and communication and developing friendships. Evaluation of the programme was conducted in early years classrooms predominantly in south Wales. I found that this intervention especially benefitted BAME children with English as an additional language (EAL). These children worked very effectively in a smaller group dynamic with more support. It is essential to allow young children with EAL longer thinking and processing time in relation to oracy, especially when responding to teacher questions. Quiet children with EAL need additional time to formulate replies, in a busy mainstream classroom.
The taught sessions were delivered to small groups, over a six-week period. Baseline evaluations were employed. Assessments were taken at the start and on cessation of the programme. BAME learners with English as an additional language made significant gains in their personal and social development as a result of engagement within the smaller group dynamic. This was true across all settings in the research project. A year 1 teacher on the programme stated:
‘I have some very shy children in my class, many of them would play alongside others and not join in or were led by others. A BAME child with EAL – K – was the child that I noticed got the most out of the Special Me Time (SMT) programme; after taking part, she played with other children in the class much more. Now she will initiate games with the others, where she would not do this before. She really bonded with E (also BAME EAL) during the SMT programme – they had not been friends before, but they both grew in confidence and this was due to the programme.’
It became apparent that the role of the teacher or teaching assistant was paramount, in relation to supporting the children’s oracy, confidence and engagement skills. The support needed was simple, such as giving children peaceful time in the book corner of a classroom or allowing them to work alone, or in pairs rather than in large groups. Taking time to listen to the children when they were speaking, without any interruptions, and also waiting for them to offer answers to questions in their own time, rather than rushing them, was also particularly effective. The research also found that the children had improved social and emotional skills, gained within the small group dynamic and were able to effectively transfer those skills to the wider classroom, demonstrating improved confidence and communication skills.
To conclude, it is pertinent that teachers are aware of the needs of all BAME learners and support them accordingly. Brentnall (2017) suggests that we need to train teachers in diversity awareness and equip them with strategies for supporting and raising attainment across the board. BAME children with English as an additional language need to be in classrooms where the practitioner is aware of their specific needs, in order for them to thrive. In a nurturing classroom, with a high level of support, and with an intuitive and emotionally literate practitioner, this research study suggests that the child can flourish and as a result their life chances and educational trajectory will be significantly enhanced.
References
Blair, M., Bourne, J., Coffin, C., Creese, A., & Kenner, C. (1998). Making the difference: Teaching and learning strategies in successful multi-ethnic schools. England: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Blair, M. (2002). Effective school leadership: The multi-ethnic context. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 23(2), 179–191.
Brentnall, J. (2017). Promoting engagement and academic achievement for Black and mixed-ethnicity pupils in Wales. Cardiff: Welsh Government. Retrieved from https://gov.wales/barriers-learning-faced-black-and-mixed-ethnicity-learners-report
Davis, S. (2012). Examining the implementation of an emotional literacy programme on the pedagogy and reflective practice of trainee teachers (EdD thesis, Cardiff Metropolitan University). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10369/3975
Ofsted. (2005). Race equality in education. Good practice in schools and local education authorities. Retrieved from https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/5546/1/Race equality in education good practice in schools and local education authorities (PDF format).pdf
Richardson, B. (2007). Tell it like it is: How our schools fail black children (2nd ed.) London: Bookmarks.
Tomlinson, S. (2008). Race and education: Policy and politics in Britain. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
An Ethical Curriculum
Written by Kate Smith
Compassionate school leader (and former headteacher) with a passion for developing an #ethicalcurriculum.
2020 has been the year that teachers and leaders have faced a plethora of unthinkable challenges and demands. But, despite the pandemic, and the pressure of the current Edu climate, children’s social and emotional development has to remain of the utmost importance in schools. I think now is a pivotal time to be thinking about how well our curriculum is serving our young people.
I recently joined an awesome line up of educators for the third TMBuffet, hosted by the impeccable @Mr_Speighton, and organised alongside @JamesWJCain on GoBrunch. This was a new webinar platform to me, and despite my tech issues and the kids overflowing the hot tub in the garden to distract me, it was easy to navigate and I liked the visual representation of the theatre (although there wasn’t a lot of virtual social distancing going on!) so you could see who was sat in the audience, waving you on. The platform had a great chat function too, so it was easy to interact with your audience and respond to live questions.
I spoke about why curriculum reform and evaluation is so pertinent right now; what sort of issues and themes are relevant to include when developing an #ethicalcurriculum and shared some practical steps you can use to start designing and implementing a holistic, values based curriculum in your school. We looked at the following steps as a starting point.
We are navigating complicated times. The pandemic is now exaggerating issues that we still fighting to make headway on. Child poverty is on the rise, racism and discrimination are still rife, there’s been little movement on the gender pay gap and our planet is being neglected. Sounds stark? Well it is. And I’m an optimist! We have a responsibility to our young people to ensure they thrive both academically and holistically in their education and the time is now!
It may not feel like it, but schools do have considerable freedom over how they deliver their curriculum. Academies, Free Schools and Independent Schools have even more than State Schools, so now more than ever, is a great time to think about whether your current curriculum is serving your children and your community. Curriculum development is a long haul task, but a beautiful one, and an ethically focused curriculum, carefully crafted with the whole team, will mean the children, and the staff and families, will reap the benefits for years to come.
There are certain subjects in the curriculum that are naturally easier to use as a platform for teaching more ethical topics, such as teaching about climate change through geography, or LGBT relationships through RSE or PSHCE. However, because the themes that are most relevant to teach our children, in terms of enabling them to develop into compassionate, responsible global citizens, are not explicit in the National Curriculum, then it’s down to school leaders and teachers to be creative in interweaving these key themes in, to ensure our pupils are able to create a kinder and more sustainable world.
I thank the stars the PSHCE is now a statutory subject, however, Global Citizenship is not a required NC subject until KS3. So, if you are interested in teaching global citizenship in primary, then you need to think carefully about how you can interweave themes into the subjects you already teach, or, how you can specifically carve out some time from your (already crammed) timetable.
As often is the case, the best place to start is by using what you know about your children, your community and your context. What is it they need now, and also, what they are going to need in the future? How can you challenge and strengthen their attitudes, develop their self awareness and equip them with skills, knowledge and understanding to offer them the best life opportunities through your curriculum?
Each school is contextually unique which I think is what is so special about curriculum development; it’s so bespoke and yet so diverse.
Why teach an #ethicalcurriculum?
We want to ensure that we are teaching a diverse and colourful curriculum.
We want to ensure we are teaching to promote equity and inclusion for all under represented groups and all of those within the Protected Characteristics Groups.
We want to be educating our young people on issues around sustainable living, and the importance of becoming globally minded citizens in order to make the world a kinder place.
To what extent does your current curriculum amplify these themes, and therefore, how well is your curriculum serving your young people and your community?
Step 1 : Focusing on Relevant and Ethical issues
It’s important for children and young people to see the relevance of what they are being taught, otherwise, what does it all mean for them? Black Lives Matters, The Gender Pay Gap Issue and recent Australian Bushfire Crisis are all recent events to interweave into your curriculum. Teach the children about how the issues effect their families, friends and future. Be aware of what’s going on Globally, Nationally and Locally to inspire you to incorporate relevant and ethical themes into your subjects. Additionally, identify any areas that specifically relate to your context, or that you feel are valuable on a global level.
Start this by creating a list of themes that are of interest to your school’s context. If you don’t have ideas to begin with, take a look at Global Dimension’s website and use this as a starting point to research ethical themes. If you are looking to improve Diverse representation then I’d highly recommend Diverse Educators shiny new website as a one stop shop to signpost you to those who can support you with work around the 9 Protected Characteristics of the Equality Act 2010. Then, consider where these themes would fit into each subject of the curriculum. It’s important to consider the appropriateness of each theme with regards to age, or your school’s context. If you’re keen to teach about equality for example, why not start with exploring gender stereotypes in your Early Years classrooms?
Children are subjected to gender stereotypes very early on. Consider how detrimental this can be?
A basic starting point is to think about issues that are particularly relevant to the context that you are in. There can be two ways of thinking about this: firstly, looking any gaps that you need to fill to improve your ethical curriculum offer: So you might be in a school which has issues with, for example, homophobic attitudes and therefore you need to further develop the value of compassion or respect. Or, you might be in a a school with a large refugee community, therefore, you need to nourish the values of empathy and humanity. Perhaps you’re in a school which is lacking in diversity, and consequently, your values need to promote respect and equality. On the contrary, if you are a school which is doing great work on climate change, or celebrating diversity, then you might want to strengthen your #ethicalcurriculum accordingly through a focus on the values of Leadership or Service.
As a a quick example, just think about specifically teaching about Equity. There are several themes here to be addressed; gender pay gap, global inequality in education, stereotyping, rights for LGBTQI+, racism, social mobility, the justice system, poverty, ableism, the protected characteristics… there are so many imperative topics to be interwoven in the curriculum in this area. Learning about these themes develop the values of self respect, involvement, empathy and advocacy to name a few.
We can do this through the use of children’s literature; through using media and through using lived examples. If you haven’t already used or experienced LYFTA, then I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s a beautiful and interactive online platform which support values and citizenship development through exploring lived experiences from all over the world. (Currently, you can access free CPD which enables a term’s subscription for your class, plus a British Council Level 2 CPD certificate upon completion of the webinar and review session.)
Step 2: Using Values to Guide you
Think specifically about which values you want to instill in your children, to allow them to create a kinder more sustainable world for themselves and future generations. The context of the school may influence this greatly and many MATS and Faith/C of E schools often hold their own set of collective values. Values are completely universal, however, the values you choose to focus on can still be specifically relevant to your school context too. So, the best place to start is using what you know about your children, your community. Consider what they need now, and for the future. A great place to start is by inviting your community to join you on your values journey. Share lists of values and ask them to send you the three that they think are most pertinent to them and the school. Many schools have a set of values that they focus on throughout the year; by week, month or even a term at a time. These are then creatively interwoven into assemblies, lessons, conversations, long terms plans etc. In the wise words of Mary Myatt however, ‘ Values must be lived – not laminated.’ So using your values within the curriculum authentically and deeply is the key.
There are hundreds of values to choose from. Which are relevant to you and your setting?
Consider: Which values do you need to nurture in your children, and how are you going to be active in doing that? How can we use our positive influence as teachers and leaders to nurture a school’s collective values and a set of core values for each pupil?
If you are looking to achieve a Quality Award for you work on developing values, then I would highly recommend that you contact The Values Based Education Network who can support you on this process. They also run INSET on how, as a whole school, you can develop your vision and align them with your values. This is such an empowering and enlightening process!
Reframing and Renaming
Renaming the titles of your topics or schemes of work can be incredibly powerful and help you shift your mindset and focus onto the ethical and moral aspect of a topic. You might use a KS1 Geography unit of work on the physical environment to look at the impact of say, Plastic Pollution. Then, reframe the title of your topic to reflect that focus. For example ‘The Blue Planet’ or ‘Saving our planet’, which gives real scope for exploring the effect of plastic pollution on our oceans and environment. If you’re looking at teaching a unit of work on design in DT in KS2, then why not reframe the focus onto the Effect of Fast Fashion and the impact on child labour, therefore developing the value of empathy and agency. If you are teaching about Nutrition in KS3 then can you focus your work on ethical farming, or food poverty, again promoting those values of accountability and collective responsibility.
This Banksy mural, which depicts a young boy toiling over a sewing machine making Union Jack textiles, could be a visual starting point for a lesson around child labor and humanity.
The 5 year-olds we teach now are going to be our future activists, our future humanitarians, our future engineers, our future environmentalists, our future policy makers. The curriculum we teach today is about ensuring that our children and young people thrive in five years, in ten years, in 30 years time. That’s why we have to teach children about physical and mental health, about looking after the environment, developing empathy for others and a desire for social change NOW. In doing so, we will all play our part in creating a kinder, more sustainable world.
Click here to download the slides shared at tm-buffet-2
Thank You Chadwick Boseman
Written by Karl Pupé
Qualified classroom teacher with a decade's experience across the Primary, Secondary and Further Education sectors.
Before we returned to school in the midst of all this COVID madness, my partner & I planned a weekend trip to the seaside. Because our foreign holiday was cancelled due to the current crisis, this getaway was the only chance we would see some sun (maybe), sand & just have time to relax.
When I woke up that Saturday morning, looking at my beaten-up iPhone, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I checked my Whatsapp notifications & saw the first part of a message which said “This ain’t right… 2020 is too much.”
Curious, I opened up the message & saw the soulful face of Chadwick Boseman staring at me with a heartbreak emoji next to it.
King T’Challa was dead.
Our superhero was gone.
My chest felt like an invisible hand was pressing firmly against it, like a bouncer denying me entry into a club. That bouncer’s hand didn’t leave until later in the day. I felt like I lost a friend.
In the midst of getting my child ready, while she was determined to paint her face with her jam-on-toast & my partner forcefully cajoling me with the energy of Jurgen Klopp out the door, the news feeds drip-fed me more information about his passing.
As we know now, the 43-year-old actor was diagnosed with stage 3 colon-cancer BEFORE he took up his legendary role as King T’Challa and silently battled this scourge of a disease for 4 YEARS while filming numerous pictures – how on Earth did he manage that?
As we drove down to the seaside, I just couldn’t shake my sadness… I lightly admonished myself that I didn’t know him personally & I shouldn’t his death so much to heart, but that familiar but unwelcome character called Sadness wouldn’t allow me to drop it. Sadness stood patiently at the door of my heart, waiting for me to talk to him.
It’s time to break bread.
His Roles Gave Black People A Sense of Pride & Hope
If you have been knocking around my blog for a while, you will realise that:
- I am a Black man
- I am a fierce believer in Equality, Diversity & Inclusion for ALL people.
While this year has been an incredibly difficult year for all of us, ethnic minorities have taken extra blows to the face in this brawl. Where do we even start?
We could look at the murder of George Floyd & the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests that spread around the world in the wake of the baked-in institutional racism that blights the whole of modern society.
Images of black people being brutalised & harassed are never far off our television screens and it doesn’t seem to stop.
We could look at the recent A-Level results fiasco that saw a ‘mutant algorithm’ downgrade BAME & working-class students & until very recently, threatened to destroy the lives of our young people based on their gender, race and UK postcode. We can look at the rise of the Far-Right who in light of ‘Brexit’ have taken it on themselves to hunt the ‘foreigners’ & tell them to ‘leave Engerland alone because we are ful’ up.’
It’s knackering. It’s traumatic. And doesn’t stop.
The images of the Black community that are portrayed in the media are incredibly negative on the whole. We are commonly depicted as downtrodden, poor, aggressive, unintelligent and hypersexualised. Not the people that you want to be around.
Chadwick Boseman’s roles, especially that of King T’Challa was different.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Boseman’s T’Challa leads the fictional African nation of Wakanda, a nation untouched by the claws of slavery & colonisation & the most technologically advanced country on the planet.
In King T’Challa, they had a leader who was soulful, noble, shrewd, brave & when ready, a fierce warrior who would be willing to do whatever it took to protect his people. T’Challa was also open to admitting his wrongs & actually at the end of Black Panther managed to reconcile the radical views of Erik Killmonger with his own, to create a progressive pathway to uplift all the black communities on the planet.
T’Challa, unlike Killmonger, did not hate other races. He was open to others & willing to learn. Wakanda was a progressive society as the second most powerful character in Wakanda, General Okoye was a woman who could fight with the best of the Avengers. Women were not depicted as mere damsels in distress but smart, intelligent and having agency.
T’Challa was not subservient to the Avengers, making it clear to Iron Man & Captain America that he was not a man to be trifled with & was determined to walk his own path.
In an era saturated with black masculine images of gangsters, pimps and hustlers, Boseman presented a black image that, especially our children, had never seen before.
The Black Panther film, no matter how fantastic, was an image of what Africa could be – it was a picture of the potential that we, the Black community, could become. It was a groundbreaking film in so many ways. It gave ethnic minority kids a superhero that looked & sounded like them, proudly and confidently.
Black Panther made being an African cool. I grew up at the height of Live Aid and Comic Relief, and their condescending images of Africa filled with poverty, malnourished children with flies feasting on their heads and crazy despots in military uniform.
I remember other kids I grew up with saying “shut-up you African” as an insult. But Chadwick & those that worked on Black Panther changed the zeitgeist bringing African colour, music & culture to billions on the planet.
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler recently confirmed that Boseman was a powerful force driving the film & even when the director had doubts about whether the film would work, Boseman’s positivity and confidence encouraged them to keep going, calling the film the Black community’s Star Wars. And that’s how it felt.
Despite being diagnosed with a debilitating and fatal illness, Boseman regularly contacted cancer-stricken kids and visited them in hospital, making them smile & was visibly shaken when they faltered. He knew how much this role inspired ALL children & saw it as a duty to use his image to uplift others. Having seen my own loved ones succumb to the grip of cancer, my mind boggles on how he kept going in the face of such unimaginable pain. That’s honestly superhuman & we can only applaud his strength.
‘We Reminisce Over You’
As I write this, I realise that I am not alone in my feelings. From the Twitter tribe, all the way up to former Presidents, sports giants and movers and shakers of society, Chadwick’s death has sparked mourning and introspection.
Reflecting on his impact on the world, Chadwick represented a possibility that the Black community never had. He helped to bring to life a world where people of colour are not limited by their skin and made us believe that somehow we had that same power within us too.
The drawing above was given to me by one of my year 12’s, a very talented young man called Yusef before he left to chase his dreams to become a comic book illustrator. He gave this to me as he knew from my lessons how passionate I was about how T’Challa should be depicted on-screen. This is now one of my most valued possessions.
We grieve for what he could of went on to achieve & how far he could have gone. Many saw him as our generation’s Denzel Washington or Sidney Poitier. We grieve because we wanted to see what more he could have done & what his artistry could have reflected about us. We all wanted to visit Wakanda with him one more time…
But it wasn’t to be.
Now, I look on that illustration with fondness, knowing that Chadwick Boseman, made this black-and-white image come alive on the big screen, giving joy to millions and still retaining his humility, grace and dignity until the very end.
Boseman is not a god – he was very much human with flaws and character quirks. But with his talent and belief, he made the world a slightly better place – and we need that energy now more than ever.
For all the teachers out there, children cannot be what they cannot see. They have to see heroes that live the virtues that we are trying to teach them. We may not be superheroes ourselves, but in our own little ways, we can shine a light of possibility into their worldviews. That’s a sacred trust that we must use wisely.
Representation matters. And Chadwick represented us to the fullest.
May GOD bless you & keep you Chadwick.
Rest in Power, King and thank you for your service.
Karl
Originally published on actionheroteacher.com on 31st August 2020.
https://www.actionheroteacher.com/post/thank-you-chadwick-boseman
Race & Equality – 5 Questions for Every Headteacher
Written by Viv Grant
Director of Integrity Coaching
Like many, following the death of George Floyd, I was swamped by almost daily waves of emotion. I heard someone the other day that their “mind was full and their heart heavy”. It was how I felt too. It was as though my whole nervous system experienced some kind of historical trauma.
The flagrant disregard for the life of a black person brought up many painful memories from my past, of times when I was made to feel “less than” simply because of the colour of my skin.
Swallowing the pain of racism
As a young black woman growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, incidents of racism were peppered throughout my life. When I was 15, I was told by my careers teacher that my aspiration of becoming a nursery nurse was too high and I should consider becoming a cashier in the local supermarket instead.
On another occasion, I was reprimanded for talking in class and told to “go outside and swing on the trees, like my friends and relatives the monkeys do”. Complaining or expressing my hurt was never an option, so I simply learned to swallow the pain.
Despite my school experiences, in 1988 I decided to train as a teacher.
In my first year, I was introduced to the work of Bernard Coard, and his research on “How the West-Indian Child is Made Educationally Sub-normal in the British School Education System.”
It was not the lecturer’s intention, but as the only black student in my year, I felt a deep shame and discomfort when she read excerpts from his book that matched so closely with my own experiences of the British education system. For the majority of the white trainee teachers, Coard’s work was simply an academic treatise. For me it was personal.
I come from a black, working-class family. Social and economic deprivation and racial inequality were the backdrop for my childhood years. No one in the lecture hall shared my story.
As the lecturer read how the structure and design of the British education system had led to many black children underachieving and living with a hidden, yet deep, sense of inferiority, it felt as though she was shining a light on my own hurt, leaving my bruised and conflicted inner world for all to see.
I wanted to get up and leave the lecture hall. I didn’t, but I spent four years at teacher training college wanting to escape. I was tired of being in the minority, tired of being on the outside, tired of fearing that I could never truly achieve in a system that had only ever seen black children as a problem.
Low expectations for black pupils
When I eventually qualified as a teacher, I taught at schools in Brixton and Stockwell. One of them was on the border of a road that had been a flashpoint for the Brixton riots in the late 1980s.
It was a time when, just as we have seen in recent weeks, black people protested against the level of police brutality exhibited towards them. And it was here, at this school, where I faced some of the worst levels of racism.
It was a one-form entry Church of England primary school, where the majority-white teachers believed they were there to save the black children. Expectations for them were incredibly low.
In the early days, children spoke down to me. Why? Because the only other black staff were cleaners, and, on a daily basis, pupils witnessed the derogatory ways their white teachers spoke to them (and to me) and so it perhaps seemed inconceivable that I could be there to teach them.
There were times when I cried in the staff toilets because teachers referred to black boys as “gorillas” and I found my own voice stifled by staffroom hostility when I tried to counter these abhorrent views.
Despite all of this, within six years I rose to the position of headteacher at this school. I used my position to bring about change and ensure that high expectations, a sense of pride and achievement were a reality for every black child at the school.
Quest for change
If ever there was a time for education leaders of all hues to seize the moment and do the same, it is now. Bernard Coard’s conclusions still reverberate around our education system today.
It has not been easy for me to process the emotional pain that has arisen as a result of recent events. But I am continuing to lean into the pain because I know that if I don’t, I limit my own capacity for change; not only for myself, but also for my children and my children’s children.
School leaders have to go on a similar quest. It is perhaps the most difficult quest a leader can take because it will require them to explore issues of identity and integrity and what they truly mean in the context of their own school settings.
It will require them to have difficult conversations and face uncomfortable truths about themselves and their schools. Yet it is these sorts of conversations that truly define leadership and are fundamental to growth and positive change.
Furthermore, it’s only by leaning into the uncomfortable spaces and finding help and support that something new, something better, can be brought to life.
This is what true moral and ethical leadership is about. And it is only by going on this journey that school leaders can effectively model what leadership for racial equality and social justice really look like.
In order to navigate this journey, perhaps for the first time, leaders will have to ask themselves:
- Am I willing to listen to the black communities’ stories of pain, discrimination and hurt?
- Am I prepared to let down my defences and look at my own unconscious biases?
- Am I willing to engage with the weighty feelings and emotions that are a necessary part of this terrain?
- Am I willing to shine a light on every single aspect of my school and our education system and call out all the policies and practices that have limited the progress of black children and black educational professionals?
- In this struggle for racial equality and social justice, what is mineto do?
In my 30-plus years in education, I have seen how an unwillingness to truthfully engage with these questions has hampered progress for all. However, this time I hope things will be different.
In the months and years ahead, black parents will be looking at their children’s schools and wondering whether school leaders have truly heard the deep, searing cry that has shot through the black community for racism to be eradicated.
They will be looking for evidence that their child’s experience of school will be different and that the dreams they hold dear for their children are also held by those who teach them.
We can do better and we must do better. This is a defining moment for our education system; for our black children and black teachers to see that their lives really do matter.
Inclusive Allyship
Written by Yamina Bibi
English Teacher and Assistant Headteacher
This is my speech from the virtual @DiverseEd conversation on 17th October 2020.
Whenever I want to go ‘out out’, I think about my outfit, which colour scarf will match the outfit and the perfect handbag that will enhance that outfit. The handbag might be a large or a small bag. It might have many compartments or just have the one for my phone and purse. My handbags change according to whatever it is I’ve decided to wear that day.
Sometimes, it feels to me like some organisations treat diversity and inclusion like it’s a handbag, picking and choosing the one that enhances their ‘outfit’ for that occasion. Do we just pick the protected characteristic that suits us or are we inclusive allies for every community that we say we represent? Are we committed to anti-discriminatory work in order to be the inclusive allies that we say we are? If so, how is this evident in every sphere of our organisation?
As a visibly muslim female leader, I have experienced workplaces where I have been one of a few Muslim women being represented at a middle and senior leadership level. I have known organisations where SLT are made up of male and or female white heterosexual leaders who claim to be inclusive allies but each time there’s a senior leadership role, it’s the same type of person that gets the job.
Can we truly call ourselves inclusive allies if our leadership teams do not reflect the staff and students we lead and represent? Can we be allies if we do not stand shoulder to shoulder with all marginalised groups and communities and actively ensure their voices are represented and heard? Can we call ourselves inclusive allies if we only stand and advocate for the rights of one community over the rights of other communities?
A few years ago I realised the importance of inclusive allyship in the workplace when I had wonderful white allies advocating for my voice to be heard as a visibly Muslim British woman. I noticed its power when I had colleagues from different communities such as LGTBQ+ community standing shoulder to shoulder with me and others from my community. I particularly noticed how important was for me that, when I spoke about the islamophobia I faced and the way I felt as a Brisih Muslim woman in the workplace, I was listened to and supported by white allies.
I also noticed the power of inclusive allyship when I stood and spoke to my students at an assembly for LGBT week alongside my colleague, Nick Bentley, about the power of intersectional and inclusive allyship. When a BAME student came to me to disclose that they identified as non-binary and they came to tell me because of an assembly I led on gender identity, I realised the power of representation and inclusive allyship.
We cannot underestimate the power of representation and the power of being allies because in so doing, students and staff are taught that who they are matters. They know that they bring their authentic selves to school and work and there is someone who will be recognise them and advocate for them regardless of whether they are from the same community or not.
I am very aware that my current workplace, where my Headteacher is a Muslim woman and where the Senior Leadership Team include BAME leaders, LGBTQ+ leaders and mothers, is different but it shouldn’t be. It should be the norm if we are truly dedicated to diversity and inclusion.
As a result of the diversity of my school, I am longer afraid to show up as my authentic self because I have allies who support me and advocate for me. I also look to actively and positively promote others from diverse backgrounds as a leader to ensure that diversity, inclusion and representation are not just words on our school walls or our School Development Plans but are lived by us all.
At my school, we are aware that there is still work to be done in ensuring that we are truly representative of our staff body. We must actively promote and be held accountable for our anti discriminatory work if we are to call ourselves allies.
So what can we do to ensure that allyship is not just another handbag we pick up when it matches our outfit?
- Schools should provide coaching for members of marginalised groups and communities to help them develop professionally and to ensure they have someone whose key role includes eliciting the brilliance from within them
- Actively partake in anti-discriminatory work and provide unconscious bias training for all staff regularly so we can recognise our own biases and challenge ourselves and each other to check our biases Provide opportunities for people from under presented groups to be seen and heard through in all spaces
- Ensure the curriculum celebrates diversity and inclusion and is embedded in all we do. I am done with seeing curriculums where marginalised communities are always victims, enslaved or need rescuing by someone with privilege and power such as a white heterosexual man. While it is important to remember the hurt and horrors of past experiences, we need to also show our students and staff that diversity and inclusion is a part of any successful society. We must usualise this. We need to celebrate excellence within all communities and we need to scrutinise our curriculum and our organisational values and be held accountable for the narratives we are advocating through our curriculum.
- Organise assemblies and events where colleagues stand shoulder to shoulder to show that inclusive allyship is the way forward in creating a society where everyone is welcome, represented and encouraged to thrive.
Let’s stop picking up D&I like it’s a handbag and ensure it’s a staple item in every organisation by standing with all communities in our words but most importantly, in our actions!