I am a teacher in a school - is this right?

[TTlover]

Hi all.

I am a primary school teacher (UK) and after the racism that has been happening in the football, I taught the children in my class a lovely lesson on equality.

The children then made equality posters and anti racism posters.

We then went to put the posters up around the school.

The head teacher approached me and asked all of the children to take them down.

I feel really upset by this. It wasn’t an issue with the blue tac on the walls as there are always posters going up from other classes.

I had to turn all of my children around, ask them to take their posters down and then come back up to the classroom with the children confused.

Perhaps I should have asked first, but I really didn’t see it being an issue.

Did I cross the line? Now I feel anxious.

@lunar1 Jesus - I’m sorry for trying to make the world a better place for children in your son’s position !

OP Thanks for raising this with the kids - essential to have discussions raised by teachers like you :-)

Just find out what the HT's rule is so that you know for next time how to land it more successfully. And if you find out that it's just about keeping the corridor walls clear, tell your class so that they know that maybe?

@TTlover can you tell us what the heads reasons were when you ask her tomorrow?

I thought the posters were great!

There are pamphlets in the reception about core British values at our school.

I picked one up to read it because as a generational white english woman I didn't actually know how to put into words what being British meant.

It was a load of well meaning buzz words about democracy, individual freedom, respect and following the law.

To be honest we all know at the very top of government they don't follow these

Anti-Semitic
Fear of the islamic faith
Break their own rules and lie all the time
Priti Patel is a protected bully and hard hearted woman

And they've cut foreign aid

Mutual respect just watch a House of Commons debate

If any of the politicians from any of the parties hit 2/5 core British values they'd shock me!

Sorry I went off on a tangent there. Please tell us what the head said and DO ASK HER!

[quote TTlover]@lunar1 Jesus - I’m sorry for trying to make the world a better place for children in your son’s position ![/quote]
Thinking that racism against children can any way be in the same sentence as your previous post shows that you need an awful lot of education on the topic before you can be of any help to children bullied because of the colour of their skin.

Bloody hate teacher bashers, ignore them OP! Same as people who whinge about the NHS. Entitled brats!

You did nothing wrong. Maybe the head has a strange reason you are just not privy to, I would just go and ask or just forget it and make up a reason for your class so they don’t feel too sad about their posters not going up.

Only racists think anti-racism is a) a political movement (it’s vastly bigger and more complex than that, and is in fact a major moral issue of the day) and b) therefore something a school/sport/business should be ‘above’.

The same kind of people who use the word ‘woke’, no doubt.

I am of mixed race and @lunar1 doesn't speak for me, OP. I apologise to you on their behalf for their rudeness. @lunar1 You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself! How dare you. It's people like you looking for a fight that close the lines of communication and cause white allies to clam up and turn away, you cause far more harm than you even realise. You, yourself, have a lot to learn about race relations. You really know nothing at all. If you have any decency you will apologise to the OP yourself.

I would have loved this, as a parent.
I'd have thanked you. I get so fed up with equality and equity being treated as side issues when my children and I have to live with inequality and inequity every single day.
I'd also have had words with the Head if my child told me about having to take the posters down. I'd have wanted to know why too. My children would have been pretty upset. If you shouldn't have been putting the posters up, the Head should have dealt with that differently.

The only caveat is that you didn't teach them poorly! If your version of equality and anti-racism was a load of rubbish then I wouldn't have been too happy 😆

If nothing else, this thread shows why it’s so important that discrimination issues are taught extremely sensitively and carefully. There are wide ranging views, strong feelings and people happy to turn it into a point scoring exercise. There are also things stated as fact when they are not fact. I don’t think there is anyone here saying racism is an acceptable thing in any way.

As mentioned above I’m a senior lawyer specialising in discrimination matters and I find it tricky at times and so a non specialist could really get themselves into difficulty. Even with thought and lots of planning schools can get it very wrong.

I think the OP realises why the HT might have taken the posters down (and it might have been nothing to do with their content) but we won’t know until she speaks to her today.

Lunar1 - you haven’t been rude. I’m sure lots of us can imagine that a lesson like this could seem ‘othering’, or at the very least make some of the children feel self conscious. Some might welcome the chance to share their experiences but as teachers we need to be aware of the full range of possible feelings that our lessons might inadvertently trigger. That comes with experience- and we all make mistakes along the way.

The op is getting very defensive, now claiming that her lesson wasn’t done on a whim when she earlier said it was taught in response to very recent events. That she can’t understand that there might be children in her class for whom this is a painful and real issue, that needs sensitive delivery and not just a trite make a poster lesson is concerning.
I’ve been a teacher for a long time and I don’t feel professionally qualified to plan a lesson like this at short notice. OP still hasn’t shared what was actually in the lesson.

@Sittinginthesand

Lunar1 - you haven’t been rude. I’m sure lots of us can imagine that a lesson like this could seem ‘othering’, or at the very least make some of the children feel self conscious. Some might welcome the chance to share their experiences but as teachers we need to be aware of the full range of possible feelings that our lessons might inadvertently trigger. That comes with experience- and we all make mistakes along the way.

The op is getting very defensive, now claiming that her lesson wasn’t done on a whim when she earlier said it was taught in response to very recent events. That she can’t understand that there might be children in her class for whom this is a painful and real issue, that needs sensitive delivery and not just a trite make a poster lesson is concerning.
I’ve been a teacher for a long time and I don’t feel professionally qualified to plan a lesson like this at short notice. OP still hasn’t shared what was actually in the lesson.

I agree with this and I agree with @lunar1. Op has been very defensive and contradictory throughout, from "I'm a great teacher".. to.... "I wouldn't know politics if it hit me in the face " to ..."actually I do know politics" ... From "I planned this in response to the football" ....to 'this was well planned out and we've already been learning about racism" and then as has been said absolutely ridiculous comparisons such as racism to stereotypes about white people liking roast dinners.

OP. You've made a mistake. You've put posters up when you shouldn't have done and I think we cleared that up a long while back. Speak to the head and sort that out

You DO need to educate yourself before tackling this again if the way you have portrayed yourself on here is correct - because you haven't been consistent in what you say you know, have done and what you understand.

And you know what, that's ok. You don't need to be so defensive - if you don't know absolutely everything about racism as a whole topic then that is fine. You don't have to, you don't need to portray yourself as the expert that you have tried to say you are.

Because this moment in our history is about us learning, and bettering ourselves. It's about finding out and understanding more and more deeply about racism and race relations. It's NOT about trying to defend yourself and say well it's ok for me to have taught this, because I know it all.

It's about self reflection and thinking what could I do better, what do I need to learn more about to be more informed about how other people around me live.

So no, I personally don't think from what you've said that you are equipped to have taught this lesson, and you shouldn't have put posters up around the school. But, it's ok. You can and should learn - that is what we ALL need to do.

You don't need to defend yourself on here like you've tried to do, and in tryings you've clearly shown so many contradictions and areas where you aren't sure you just need to own this, and say ok, I'll learn more for next time.

That would be the right thing to do.

I agree. I didn't think the OP sounds like a great teacher at all, frankly.

@Sittinginthesand I have shared above what was in the lesson.

At the end of the day, I am the one who has been through teacher training. I know the children in my class and we have a great relationship.

@YarnOver I am not an expert on many things, but my job is to teach them in the best possible way I can.

If I have helped to get the message across that racism is wrong - then I feel that I have done my job!

My question was not actually about the lesson. The lesson went really well and the children were engaged and there were many opportunities for discussion.

We teach about many things in school that arise at a certain time. So are you saying to hold off teaching them in order to plan, so that by the time the message is delivered, it will not be effective?

[quote TTlover]@YarnOver I am not an expert on many things, but my job is to teach them in the best possible way I can.

If I have helped to get the message across that racism is wrong - then I feel that I have done my job!

My question was not actually about the lesson. The lesson went really well and the children were engaged and there were many opportunities for discussion.[/quote]
But this is my exact point !

You're all I'm a great teacher, the lesson went really well, there were many opportunities etc

But look at the contradictions I've pointed out.

OP if you have been through teacher training then you will know that teaching is first and foremost a reflective practice.

You asked for advice on here. You received it. You have turned it all down to insist you were right and your lesson was great. You are acting very arrogant.

What you need to do, if you ask advice as you have is read and reflect.

Not get to the end and say well I'm a great teacher and my lesson was great.

What exactly have you learned ? And more over why did you even bother posting? You were never going to accept any criticism and you're just going to pick out the messages that say you're great to add to your already "I'm great" narrative.

Read. Reflect. Learn. Grow. Stop the arrogance because honestly it's getting embarrassing for you right now. You're not looking good.

This is what the OP said was in the lesson further back in thread:

"We discussed stereotyping, ethnicity, race, white privilege, diversity and I’m proud of this."

'We teach about many things in school that arise at a certain time. So are you saying to hold off teaching them in order to plan, so that by the time the message is delivered, it will not be effective?'

I don't think you're going to miss the window when it comes to racism . . . 🙄

@Discodancing

This is what the OP said was in the lesson further back in thread:

"We discussed stereotyping, ethnicity, race, white privilege, diversity and I’m proud of this."

Yes but she also said "I don't know anything about politics. I wouldn't know politics if it hit me in the face"

Which is my point. You can't teach a lesson where "we discussed stereotyping, ethnicity, race, white privilege, diversity and I’m proud of this." And say you don't know politics!

The two quite frankly do not mesh!

I’ve re-read your posts and I can’t see where you describe the lesson other than ‘we discussed…’ and a child shared. That’s why I think your lesson was an impromptu discussion and then a time filling exercise of drawing a poster. I’ve been teaching long enough to spot a quickly planned lesson - aka ‘winging it’. Everyone - teachers, kids, parents, knows that a quick drawing and a slogan on a bit of a4 isn’t an in depth/ serious piece of work, although I’m sure the children enjoyed it. And that can be fine - we’ve all done it, but not on a topic of this seriousness. As others have said you seem unable to accept that this is an issue that needs careful thought - of course things need to be dealt with as they arise but reflection afterwards is such an important part of teaching! Every lesson we teach will have bits that could be improved - even the excellent ones. Sometimes things go wrong - it’s not shameful to admit that - it’s essential if we you going to keep growing and maturing as a teacher. You also haven’t answered if the children were already aware of the racism? I’d be interested to know how diverse your class is as that would make a difference, how did any children from BAME backgrounds other than Black feel?

@NeonDreams

I am of mixed race and *@lunar1* doesn't speak for me, OP. I apologise to you on their behalf for their rudeness. *@lunar1* You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself! How dare you. It's people like you looking for a fight that close the lines of communication and cause white allies to clam up and turn away, you cause far more harm than you even realise. You, yourself, have a lot to learn about race relations. You really know nothing at all. If you have any decency you will apologise to the OP yourself.

Don't you ever dare apologise for me again, if I want to apologise I will. I spoke for my family who have been through a horrific time at the hands of racists.

This is not a topic to be covered on a whim by someone clearly uneducated on the topic. The op is completely incapable of seeing under the surface of a situation, thinks that her class all had a jolly good time in her lesson.

How on earth does she know that? Racism and all forms of bigotry is a vital topic, one that needs care and attention not an impromptu lesson because of a news headline.

I absolutely support you @lunar1 and it's shocking someone tried to apologise for you.

Everything you've said has been incredibly well articulated and OP should be listening to what you have to say

Unfortunately she does not seem capable of reflective practice and so I hope as she continues in her career, as many of us have done for much longer than she has, that she develops some humility and ability to think about how she can improve. As all good and indeed outstanding teachers do.

We can, should and have to, always improve.

Saying you're a great teacher and that's your back up simply isn't good enough.

It won't stand up to ofsted, it won't stand up when you ask questions here and don't like the answers and most importantly, it should not be enough for you. We can all, always do better.

@YarnOver, thank you for understanding. I have honestly never been more grateful for the teachers who looked after my DS at school when all this went on. They were so well educated on the topic. Follow up discussions within the school community were planned so carefully and sensitivity.

It enabled three other children who had experienced similar to come forward, and absolutely none of it came back on my ds.

This week after the football they discreetly spoke with him, knowing that it might be a difficult time. I have so much admiration for my children's school teachers, they really made it a safe place and didn't treat the headlines like the topic of the week.

I'm so glad that your son's teachers have been so good @lunar1
This is how it should be done.

However I'm willing to bet that unlike we have seen on this thread, your son's teachers would not, if pressed , state they are great teachers, have everyone engaged , and couldn't have done anything better. Because teaching is alwsys about what you can do better.

I am so glad that they've helped your son so much, this is great. Many could learn from this.

@TTlover

We teach about many things in school that arise at a certain time. So are you saying to hold off teaching them in order to plan, so that by the time the message is delivered, it will not be effective?

Have you talked to the head?