1/ After talking to some of my colleagues in person & over social media, I am shocked that even Post COVID19, the toxic level of bullying, unfairness & quite frankly, discrimination in schools have not let up.
Looking at our bat poo-poo world, I would have thought,
2/ That those in positions of authority would have been more compassionate about the wellbeing of their staff.
This is not a pop at SLT/Mid Management - I know many very hardworking, honest & virtuous leaders that are leading their staff the best they can & I salute you.
3/ But I am calling out the management who deny good worthy staff opportunities. Who make their team do their work because they want an ‘easy life.’ Who demean & humiliate their staff & punish those who call them out of their poor behaviour. Those who take joy
4/ out of making their teams lives miserable. There is a silent bully culture in some schools that must be called out to preserve the mental health of the teachers within. Every human being deserves to be treated with dignity, respect & honour
5/ & that’s absolutely priceless. There is no money in the world that someone can pay you to treat you like garbage.
I can’t stand bullies & feel that it’s important to point this out on #Edutwitter - Bullying damages people’s lives.
Let’s be kind to each other.
6/ You never know what someone is going through.
We spend most of our waking hours in work. Let’s not make it a living hell for our colleagues.
1/ A quick PSA: I’ve just had a conversation with a dear friend who has experienced racial discrimination in a school to the point of damaging her mental & physical health. She has been forced to leave because she felt the constant battle would destroy her health further.
2/ She is not the 1st either. That school has had a drain on Global Majority talent because of the incessant bullying & ‘hush-up’ culture.
The irony is they are taking procedures against her at the start of #BlackHistoryMonth.
Guys, in this month while the usual slides of
3/ MLK & Nelson Mandela get shown, if your school is not pursuing active anti-racist policies it’s the equivalent of trying to train a dead horse to run at Ascot.
Please understand, especially during this period, to understand that the systemic injustices are not just in the
1/ I’m neck-deep in writing AHT2 & I’ve just had an epiphany.
When I started writing AHT2 it was going to be a direct sequel to AHT1. But as I have started to write down my ideas, it has evolved into something else - it’s becoming very different to my 1st project.
2/ & this made me scared.
The mind gremlins (my doubts & fears) started to talk to me saying:
“What you are writing ain’t good enough”
“You are going to disappoint the fans of the 1st book.”
“Who do you think you are to try & write this type of book?”
& I got writers block.
3/ Believe it or not, I considered quitting the project. But I realised that you have to evolve & try something new & it may not land how I wanted to but at least I tried.
Whenever you do something creative or entrepreneurial & you put yourself in a place of discomfort
This was inspired by a brilliant teacher that I met at the @TeachFirst BAME conference this past weekend.
This teacher was wondering how I got my book out there & I explained that social media (especially Twitter) was the source of most
2/ of my progress. I had a microscopic budget & didnt have a fancy PR person to help me but I slowly figured it out.
She seemed a little sad & told me sheepishly ‘I have nothing to offer all I do is teach. At least you have a book.’ That bothered me greatly - she was a damn good
3/ educator & I knew that she had so much talent to bless us with. But, with my limited wisdom, wanted to create a little guide to help educators get more from social media that will help enhance their careers & maybe give them the same life changing opportunities it gave me!
1/ It’s ok to not be ok. I’ve been speaking to a good friend of mine (I’ve asked his permission to tweet & he said yes) about depression & feeling despair.
I spent the last couple of days going back & forth with him talking about our lives, our triumphs & our struggles…
2/ Here’s some key learnings that this weekend has shown me.
A) Check up on your friends. Seriously. - We often ask ‘how are you’ but most of us never tell pple how we truly feel. Some of us put a really brave face on but we have been struggling for months. Create a safe space
3/ for your friends & loved ones to really talk about how they feel. You might be saving a life (& yours too.)
B) Be kind to yourself - Many of us put insane pressures on ourselves to be ‘successful’ by all the material markers of society ie cars, houses, 💷,
People denying your lived experience is infuriating.
Many promises were made after George Floyd but now I see it was a social media trend. People are bored now.
Now we have been told to shut up, sit down & carry on as normal.
Institutional racism is real.
2/ Also I’m getting tired of educating people who don’t want to do the work.
After George Floyd, many PoC laid bare the struggles that we faced in our daily lives & gave intimate details of what it’s like to constantly be treated different just because of your skin colour
3/ We posted resources, gave lectures, made documentaries & had webinars to discuss this.
Because of BLM & George Floyd, #BlackHistoryMonth was expanded for 4 months!
I had hope then.
But this report has confirmed my worst suspicions. It basically said we are making it up. OK.