Horrified!

[Educator2014]

Today I happened on an article about how a mother was treated by when, on this site, she expressed concern about her 14 year old studying Mogadishu.
I have to say that as an educator myself I am concerned that children are subjected to such sensitive topics in this form. A teachers job is to educate and create better world citizens. I take no issue with the topics covered, racism, bullying, violence, self-harm and suicide are sadly all still part of our lives and educating children on their effect on history, as well as on the current personal and world view will aid in preventing history from repeating itself. The problem is how the topics are presented! For Mr Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education to say “Students allowed themselves to be moved by its themes rather than be hung up on the sometimes gritty vernacular" is a cop out.

As an educator I understand that sometimes parents concern for their children can go too far, but this mothers concern is legitimate!
For educators to attack her is unacceptable!
‘As a teacher, I will say very bluntly how sick and f tired I am of parents like you who think they are experts on all f areas of the curriculum.’
If a student spoke like this they would be reprimanded and this from a person responsible for the education of your children?!
"Censorship – that’s what you want. So you can impose your middle- England, white, middle-class values on a world that no longer exists."
This smacks of race and class discrimination! Again this from an educator?!
What hope do today's children and in turn the future of modern society have when educators seem unable to articulate themselves with out profanity or bias.

Thread about a thread much?

Have you actually read the thread itself?

You might change your views on the "attack" if you read the original thread, and the other threads already discussing the newspaper report.

Sorry, my understanding was the original thread was taken down

Original thread is here

Please read it and then realise quite how the Daily Mail took it out of context.

Then read the other thread that has already been started here

Educator? Am I correct to assume you are not a secondary school teacher then?

Oh give over

Your last sentence makes no sense. It's not a statistically-significant sample. A few teachers swearing (on a on a forum for adults) does not equate to "educators seem unable to articulate themselves [sic] without profanity or bias."

For educators to attack her is unacceptable

There is of course no evidence that they are educators, as you can claim to be anything you want on mumsnet.

But obviously, you will have to take my word on that

I myself am a brain surgeon

newt A brain surgeon you say, where can I buy a diploma for that

The University of Life, Little-Wittering-By-The-Sea, Middleshire

Sensible article from the Guardian here which might put things into context

What's an educator? Why not just say teacher. Or are you not a teacher?

Mumsnet is not a professional workplace. It's for adults to talk to each other.

I'm sure the 'educators' on here are capable of using appropriate language within the classroom.

Students would be reprimanded if they used bad language at school. So will teachers. Last time I looked this wasn't a school but an anonymous forum.

As an educator, presumably you have full command of the apostrophe when teaching your extensive and well educated classes?

Yes well as I have pointed out on one of the other threads, Chaucer says 'cunt' all the time and King Lear (That's Shakespeare btw OP) depicts poor old Gloucester having his eyes gouged out: in fact I believe the exact quotation is "Out, vile jelly ". Mr Rochester keeps his mad wife locked up in an attic - personally I find this a bit more disturbing than the word 'fuck' - what do you think?

Webster - rape, murder, incest, rape and more rape.
Shakespeare - lots of incest, and if you really want to get into the revenge tragedy genre, read Titus Andronicus - poor old Lavinia is not only gang raped but also has her hands cut off and her tongue cut out so she cannot name her attackers. Still, at least it doesn't say 'cunt' - phew! what a relief!

Hardy - child suicide in 'Jude'
Lord of the Flies - child murders
Byron, Shelley etc - all off their heads on heroin - oh, ok, opium.
But no 'cunts' or 'fucks' = yay, result

I could go on but actually just can't be arsed......oh, and I'm an 'educator' btw .

Oh dear, yet another ill-informed rant about literature. Is it time to wheel out Mrs Schofield's GCSE again?

You must prepare your bosom for his knife,

said Portia to Antonio in which

of Shakespeare's Comedies? Who killed his wife,

insane with jealousy? And which Scots witch

knew Something wicked this way comes? Who said

Is this a dagger which I see? Which Tragedy?

Whose blade was drawn which led to Tybalt's death?

To whom did dying Caesar say Et tu? And why?

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark - do you

know what this means? Explain how poetry

pursues the human like the smitten moon

above the weeping, laughing earth; how we

make prayers of it. Nothing will come of nothing:

speak again. Said by which King? You may begin.

As Carol Ann Duffy points out, literature has dealt with such issues forever. Donnie - you could go back further than Chaucer and bring in Aristophanes' Lysistrata in which the women of Greece go on a sex strike in an attempt to convince their husbands to negotiate a peace treaty during the Peloponnesian war. The stage directions and dialogue indicate that the men have erections in some scenes.

You are soooo the original OP!

OP, perhaps you could let us know how you feel about Ian McEwan's Atonement, Carol Ann Duffy's poetry and Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber? All of them are absolutely standard texts at sixth form level and all of them include the word 'cunt'.

Do you feel this outweighs their literary merit and the themes and concerns they tackle? I would be interested to know your opinion.

What do you mean by "an educator"?

BAN THEM ! BAN THEM ALL! (waves pitchfork)

I hereby urge a FATWA upon all literature with rude words in! Even though I haven't actually read any of them I still hate 'em!!!!

Are you op's best friend?