Is this the mother of all calling out - Katherine Birbalsingh

[DramaFatigue]

Katherine Birbalsingh has done the mother of all calling out and I can't help but sit here with my jaw on the kitchen table in awe.

She has written a 4-page open letter to Sir Kerr Starmer calling out Jess Phillip's behaviour online. Whilst I don't always agree with KB's methods of the school she runs, I do think that Jess Phillips behaviour towards her is shocking and unbefitting of someone who could be running the country. JP should resign TBH.

https://news.sky.com/story/headteacher-katharine-birbalsingh-brands-labour-mp-jess-phillips-social-media-posts-racist-and-bullying-12913139

Katherine Birbalsingh is awful. She regularly voices her "opinions" online and in media articles, her views at times are so extreme that they seem to be purposely designed to invite trolling. She can dish it out but she can't take it back, writing a four page letter to Keir Starmer claiming she's been singled out by JP because of racism is a bonkers response and a very low attempt to play the race card. She can GTF.

This. To claim you know what domestic abuse is like ‘in your bones’ because an ancestor was raped by a slaver is a ridiculous stretch, and actually quite insulting to those who have actually experienced DV with their actual bones.

That is one hell of a mistake to make though, if I Google image Tina Turner, I’d have to scroll through a lot of perfectly adequate images of her before I came to one which included him. Why do that? Seems KB was looking for a bit of attention and she got it.

'm a litle surprised that KB is talking about racism, but I can see her line of argument that she feels she comes in for a lot of additional flack for being a black woman with right-leaning politcal views. She clearly thinks that JP was looking for any excuse to give her a kicking

Surely she gets a lot of flack for being a ^very* high profile and controversial headteacher. She works hard to keep herself in the news. I don’t believe race has anything to do with it.

All the KB haters - i’d love to know your alternative views for achieving her academic results?

Her school’s results seem superb. Local parents are keen to get their children in. If JP wants to attack her professional competence she needs a sounder base to do it than an ill-judged tweet.
KB invited her to come and see for herself. She should have accepted.

As an aside - twitter and the media are awful. People from all backgrounds - and famous or not famous - can be subject to pile ons from others if they get mentioned in a tweet or an article. I was quite surprised when a reply I did went viral and the number of replies and mentions I got. It wasn't a pile on - but I have learnt to be careful what I post and often not to post stuff even though I want to say something because I know what can happen and the pile ons that can happen.

Think before you tweet.

KB clearly made a massive error tweeting that picture and is trying hard to deflect because she is clearly a bit of a narcissist who can’t admit she’s ever wrong/makes mistakes. Accusing JP of racism is ridiculous. There’s no evidence for that. Although JP probably shouldn’t have got involved beyond the original calling out tweet, as it looks a bit petty.

Perhaps they think academic results aren't the be all and end all of life and that happy, well-adjusted children might be a better aim? Just a thoughr.

Kick children out of a school who don't suit your learning environment.

So you filter people out.

Dead easy.

The school has some of the best results in the whole country for all their kids including those with SEN. Clearly it is a great school for those with SEN

The letter is poorly structured and too long.

I think you misunderstand the real world and how educational opportunity is all too often the domain of the wealthy. She is giving these kids the most valuable gift, and I applaud her.

She may not advocate DV but her methods of teaching her pupils control is for their own good and punishments are a good thing make them extremely vulnerable to being victims of abusive relationships.

Attacking tweets from HT isn’t really the usual route if there’s an issue

People do get into hot water for incorrect tweets including politicians, but usually it’s the public who responds to it

What a ridiculous point we have reached when disagreeing with someone makes you a hater.

I do think that very strict methods control isn't conducive to mentally healthy, creative students.
At the same time I'm not sure how a school can have large numbers of 'deprived students' and give out demerits for things like forgetting a pencilbox.
Indirectly they seem to be trying to select the students who either are 'determined' enough to succeed, that they take responsibility for themselves at a young age. Or those who, while deprived in other measures have parents very invested in their children's education.

For responding to a picture of Tina and Ike with a no-ifs-or-buts condemnation of domestic abuse?

Was there something more in the tweets?

Both of them chase the limelight at the expense of their students (KB) /constituents (JP).

But to a large extent politicians, especially those in the cabinet and shadow cabinet, are in the limelight. Headteachers, not so much! I couldn’t even name the 5 secondary heads in my own small town.

I think it's definitely a stretch to call JP a racist as she has never struck me as one over the years, but JP should not have called into question the safeguarding at the school as she has no proof of that and running down the school seems counterproductive when the Michaela School gets good results:

In its first set of GCSE results in August 2019, half of the pupils who sat exams got Grade 7 or above in at least five subjects and almost a quarter got Grade 7 or better in all their subjects.[31] Overall 18% of entries received grade 9, the highest grade, compared to 4.5% nationwide.[7] In maths, one entry in four achieved grade 9.[9] The school's Progress 8 benchmark score placed it fifth nationally.[32][33] In 2021, the first A-Level cohort, 82% of the school's students were offered places at Russell Group universities.[34]

It'a shame to divide along party lines when the challenge to get a better education for working class children who can't afford a private education is shared by both.

60% of those from independent schools in higher education attend a Russell Group university, compared to just under a quarter of those from comprehensives and sixth form colleges.

She's the ones who's always on the Tv and in the media stating she's a black woman with right view views and how that makes her different.

I wouldn't have even known her political views or given them a thought if she didn't go on about them so much!

I work with a lot of HTs. I don't know any of their thoughts or even their opinions on their teachers striking. They are professional.

KB is an attention seeker who puts herself in the limelight and then plays victim.

She's no different from the likes of Katie Hopkins and Jack Monroe.

JP is a person of great integrity. Some knowledge. Who’d be a politician.

Yes I am, and I’ve read the letter twice. I see JP saying she’d like to see their safeguarding policies. Not the same thing. I also see KB taking things to insane degrees - the fact that JP called her “that headteacher” being reminiscent of a slave being beaten for refusing to abandon his name, for example. I think it’s far more likely she did so to avoid adding to the Twitter pile-on, replying to followers without coming up in searches

JP and the labour party don't even know what a woman is ffs

And JP actually questioned the safeguarding at this persons school

Is take that very seriously too

There seems to be some tweets about KB saying "Black kids always have the race card to play"

And a tweet saying "If a child says teacher is being racist, back the teacher. Whatever the child says, back the teacher"