Defended JK Rowling; banned from PHSCE

[Worriedthisisactuallyhappenin]

I have name changed for this as outing and have been vague about my connection to it but I am quite involved in the situation and don’t know what advice to give.

A person I know is a teacher in an all girls school and as part of being a form tutor does PSHCE with them. Last week they were looking at cancel/call out culture and looked at the examples of JK Rowling’s discussions around trans/women’s rights. Every student in his form agreed that she was a hateful bigot that shouldn’t be allowed to say those things. They then looked at some (censored) examples of the things that were said in response to her, and the students again all agreed that they were an appropriate response to “hate speech” though a few thought they shouldn’t have been so rude. The person I know tried to encourage a bit of critical thinking and encouraged them to think how loss of female only spaces could impact people eg. rape victims, women of certain religions, and to think about who decides what is considered hate speech and how JK’s message could be considered that while the responses to her weren’t.

Since then they have been called into a meeting with the head and asked to hear their side of the story as students had complained that they were defending a transphobic bigot. Having heard their side of the story they have been told they are no longer able to teach PHSCE as it’s “obviously not working”

I don’t really know what I’m looking for, maybe just reassurance that there are still other people out there that would be worried by this!

Just because the students don't agree with the teacher or JKR doesn't mean they haven't considered their opinions.

It doesn't mean they have considered them either. Either way, why is presenting them with possible opposing opinions the wrong thing for the teacher to do?

Just because the students don't agree with the teacher or JKR doesn't mean they haven't considered their opinions.

But the views of the students are irrelevant in this instance - the problem is that the teacher was effectively demoted for encouraging them to consider other opinions.

If they had a debate and the teacher was simply shocked by their views, that would be another matter. But from what OP described, it seems the teacher was stripped of some of his professional responsibilities by management (and without a clear explanation) because the students complained that he considered JKR's perspective.

The focus seems to be on "why aren't the students considering the teacher's/JKR's views".

Doesn't it go both ways for a debate? Shouldn't the teacher be listening to the students and considering why the students aren't on JKR's side?

@LonginesPrime

Just because the students don't agree with the teacher or JKR doesn't mean they haven't considered their opinions.

But the views of the students are irrelevant in this instance - the problem is that the teacher was effectively demoted for encouraging them to consider other opinions.

If they had a debate and the teacher was simply shocked by their views, that would be another matter. But from what OP described, it seems the teacher was stripped of some of his professional responsibilities by management (and without a clear explanation) because the students complained that he considered JKR's perspective.

From the OP I got the impression that JKR's, shall we say controversial, views were being forced on the students and the students were expected to agree with her. If that is the case then no wonder they complained.

Well, OP said:

My friend is quite upset that they’re being viewed as bigoted when they felt they held a very middle of the road view about people’s rights to express themselves and other people’s right to disagree

We obviously have no way of knowing what actually happened or how it came across, though.

MargaritaPie

I understood from the OP, that the teacher had been given some teaching material for the class, which included JKR's views on trans/women's rights. There was no forcing the stuff on the pupils. The pupils reported the teacher because he didn't share the pupil's views and was trying to offer alternate information.
If this is a sign of things to come, then it is going to be very difficult to recruit teachers.

@MargaritaPie

Just because the students don't agree with the teacher or JKR doesn't mean they haven't considered their opinions.

What the OP described, where they complained that the teacher was a bigot for presenting this lesson, is not what happens when people are capable of considering other perspectives.

@MargaritaPie

The focus seems to be on "why aren't the students considering the teacher's/JKR's views".

Doesn't it go both ways for a debate? Shouldn't the teacher be listening to the students and considering why the students aren't on JKR's side?

You don't seem to understand the point of the lesson. It's not about finding the right answer.

The teacher is trying to lead the students in an exercise around looking at things from other perspectives and engaging in public discourse.

He already knows how to do this, and doesn't need to learn it from a bunch of teenagers.

He's run into trouble I suspect because they don't have the skills and background in place to have the discussion about cancel culture. But that's not his fault any more than if he had been assigned to teach them algebra and found they didn't know order of operations.

I think I had a narrow escape with JKR. We weren't doing about cancel culture, we were doing about internet bullying. I used her as an example of someone who had received some really horrible threats and we spoke about how even if you don't disagree with someone, we should all aim to be as civil online as we would be face to face. All the students completely agreed with my position. We didn't get into her views whatsoever, only the kind of treatment she had received on Twitter. We then went on to discuss not just siding with our friends purely because they are on "our team", but calling out bullying behaviour even in our own friend group and showing support for people on the receiving end
That's the sort of lesson I would do exploring cancel culture. It isn't about the person's individual views or whether students/teachers personally agree or disagree with the view. Equally a lesson about cancel culture isn't a lesson for teachers to decide to get into what would be at best a very superficial and poorly considered discussion of topic A,B,C.
A skilled teacher with a group they know well, on a topic they know a lot about and have the skills to facilitate an interesting tangent well might take the risk because risk/reward professional judgement comes into play.

Turning a lesson on cancel culture (regarding any topic) into a discussion about the rights and wrongs of whatever issue the teacher wants to pursue is playing with fire, even if tangentially related. In the OP's case, their friend has been either naive or needs some training on PSHE teaching.

For me many on this thread encapsulate the entrenched misogny that lays the foundation for violence against women.

Threatening violence is NEVER acceptable - and children need to be told that explicitly, without exception. It cannot be justified.

I would make a Prevent referal as the school and the head teacher are failing in their obligation to challenge extremism and promote British values which, dispite the mealy mouthed sentiments above, include freedom of speech.

Turning a lesson on cancel culture (regarding any topic) into a discussion about the rights and wrongs of whatever issue the teacher wants to pursue is playing with fire, even if tangentially related. In the OP's case, their friend has been either naive or needs some training on PSHE teaching.

I'm not convinced that is what he was trying to do though.

It sounds to me that they jumped on this "she should not be allowed to speak" thing, but clearly didn't actually know what she's said, and he was trying to say, most of the time people have reasons for their ideas, and you have to look at them to understand what they are getting at. And was trying to give them some direction about how you might approach that by asking them questions.

I really hope this isn't a fee paying school because the parents aren't getting their moneys worth.

LobsterNapkin
I'd not like to say anything was done intentionally, but do think he's been naive.
By getting into the rights and wrongs of Rowling with a class of students he doesn't seem to know very well, he took a risk. I'd say the same on any controversial issue in PSHE. In this case it didn't pay off.

It would make more sense to me in a lesson on cancel culture to discuss in the abstract whether anyone should be subject to threats of sexual violence because others disagree with them, or if someone has a different view to you it is possible to be amicable and disagree, or ask students to privately reflect on a view they deeply hold or an opinion they hold and ask whether they believe they should be stopped from speaking because someone else thinks they are wrong. Going into the rights and wrongs of a complex issue without proper planning and preparation and it's not the lesson objectives is the sort of situation that many people would avoid.

From the OP I got the impression that JKR's, shall we say controversial, views were being forced on the students

Well I can only conclude that reading comprehension is not your forte then.

J K Rowling was the lesson plan. It wasn't the teachers choice to introduce her as an example, she was the given example by the school endorsed lesson plan. Why are so many posters not getting this?

Students reporting their teachers to higher authorities for their political opinions has been seen before. In places like North Korea, Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia. It’s worrying to see it in 21st century Britain.

I honestly think the current generation of teenagers are going to have a nasty war when they’re middle-aged. They’ve been brought up by internet echo-chambers and Twitter to believe in mob rule. It’s now leaked off the internet into schools and workplaces it will continue to spread. If they aren’t taught at school about freedom of speech and agreeing to disagree then we are headed to a very nasty place.

MsGoodenough
I've already mentioned up thread that it sounds like the planning provided wasn't appropriate because of how little structure it gave to staff when dealing with this issue.

Either way, the lesson was about cancel culture. Not a lesson about whether students think JK Rowling is right or not. It's entirely possible to teach a lesson about cancel culture without the lesson ending up a poorly considered and poorly prepared tangent about whatever topic was in the PowerPoint. It doesn't matter whether it is this issue, or any other issue, teaching PSHE is a skill, it needs appropriate planning and structure by those leading it, and teachers need to be appropriately supported in teaching it well. If any of those 3 aren't in place, the chance of situations where (either though foolishness or lack of skill) teachers misjudge the lesson increases.

That's my fear too Skysblue

If they aren’t taught at school about freedom of speech and agreeing to disagree then we are headed to a very nasty place.

True, but if adults aren't allowed freedom of speech on these issues and sensible, professional women are terrified to tell colleagues that they believe that people can't change biological sex because that viewpoint is considered so abhorrent, what hope do we have for teachers in schools or the children they teach?

J K Rowling was the lesson plan. It wasn't the teachers choice to introduce her as an example, she was the given example by the school endorsed lesson plan. Why are so many posters not getting this?
If the teacher was as clued-up as he would like to think then he would know that JKR and teenagers is a dangerous mix. He should have trodden more carefully. He has a whole year to drop this into conversations; Rome wasn't built in a day.

if adults aren't allowed freedom of speech on these issues and sensible, professional women are terrified to tell colleagues that they believe that people can't change biological sex because that viewpoint is considered so abhorrent, what hope do we have for teachers in schools or the children they teach?
The tide is turning. Or is it a supertanker? Anyway, thanks to Maya et al, we're slowly getting there.
We haven't heard much from OP. I hope that our messages and suggestions are being relayed to her friend.

I totally believe that is true. Many women do not believe being a woman makes them beautiful. They have a lot of internalised rage I find. This tragically affects many women and girls regardless of age and background. I cannot tell you how many times I have been thrown under the bus by many other women throughout my life. Always taking up for men despite their most egregious and violent behaviour. Always with the excuses. They don't believe that there is anything great about being a woman that's why so many of them think we should let men into our spaces. Some of them are to far gone and that has to be recognised. Like Harriet Tubman said I freed hundreds of slaves and I could have saved many more if they realised they were slaves.

@senua - messages dutifully relayed to friend!

They have received a formal letter from the school saying that while the head doesn't believe the comments were transphobic, that the students did not consider the lesson was taught in line with the british values of tolerance and respect. The letter outlines the British values that are expected to be followed in lessons and states that if there is suggestion that they are not teaching in line with them in the future then further action might be taken

Honestly if I got a letter as patronising as that, I’d be looking for another job

Musing on this (have teens myself) and wonder if they are desperate for a “cause” to rage about against adults? It’s now rightly mainstream to be tolerant towards all minority groups. This seems to be the only bone of contention they can find to fight with the “mother authority figure” about? Hence the odd self righteous rage stirred up in the youth? Just a thought.

MsTSwift
I think there is a desire to set themselves apart.

When I was a teen most people had some part of teen subcultures and it was driven by music. There's always been fashion and style cultures with young people, and some young people when I was a teen were quite comfortable exploring sexuality without the need for any labels.

Now fashion and lots of popular music feels so dull, samey, and there doesn't seem to be the same self-expression in many areas, but students are more likely to walk around with pronoun badges on and decide their opinion on any given topic is of equal or greater value than anything anyone else has to say on the issue. The level of self-righteous certainty on a range of topics is alarming.

OP That letter would have me looking for another job. If the head wants to identify an area of professional weakness and support development in that area, fine. If the head feels that with the evidence in front of them on any given issue they need to take further action, fine. Writing a letter to a member of staff bollocking them based on the fact the STUDENTS have decided that the teacher isn't doing their job properly is madness.
A letter like that, combined with the way the students have behaved, tells your friend exactly where the school's priorities are: rolling over to the loudest students instead of running an effective school.

They have received a formal letter from the school saying that while the head doesn't believe the comments were transphobic, that the students did not consider the lesson was taught in line with the british values of tolerance and respect. The letter outlines the British values that are expected to be followed in lessons and states that if there is suggestion that they are not teaching in line with them in the future then further action might be taken

Hang on - so management agree that he's done nothing wrong, but the students have decreed that he should be demoted?

It sounds like a written warning - I would absolutely be going to my union if I were this teacher - his gender critical beliefs are protected under the Equality Act, but aside from that it sounds like he was actually trying to promote tolerance and respect for other people's views (and for women). I would want that letter removed from my record.

It's completely unacceptable - it sounds like they are misinformed as to what the law says and are applying Stonewall/Twitter
law.. I would be taking this further and would feel utterly let down by the school.

In what world does a school say "well, we've investigated and you did nothing wrong, but we'll have to punish you anyway so the pupils don't kick off"??