TalkingSense1123

This is quite a letter in today’s Courier

@JohnBaldLangLit The suspension is not really the punishment. It takes a violent and dysregulated child off the site and ensures the parents are involved and taking responsibility.

Suspending a child for assaulting a TA does no good if they simply come back and do it again. This needs to be taken seriously, and is not because the much-vaunted commitment to equality does not extend to teaching assistants, who are at the bottom of a system based on hierarchy.

@tombennett71 Also fascinating how the new Warlords of Inclusion were the offrolling and excluding MAT CEOs of yesterday. They’ve had epiphanies now they’ve achieved their gongs and promotions.

It is horrific how education leaders allow this to persist. School teachers in Scotland routinely report to me how bad behaviour is, because they have no permitted strategies to handle disruption beyond conversational, therapeutic, or restorative approaches. That’s a political and leadership failing. We know how to manage behaviour, and failing to allow teachers to do so is scandalous. There should be serious consequences for those who permit this situation to endure. But Scottish education apparently doesn’t believe in consequences at any level.

@tombennett71 It’s coming to an English school near you as ‘inclusion’ takes hold! Only a matter of time.

@PaulGarvey4 @sciantificnew @ShakinthatChalk @Rory_Gribbell Honestly, for someone who constantly puts sickeningly ‘be kind’ type virtuous posts, you’re not particularly kind are you, @PaulGarvey4 ?

@sciantificnew @ShakinthatChalk @Rory_Gribbell 😂😂 I don’t believe, I just look at the people Rogers platforms. And his own beliefs, that pervade this poor excuse for a teacher views outlet. Of course, your owner blocks critics, so I can’t speak with him directly. Coward. Time TTR was ditched by education, for its bias.

If anyone is brave enough to come on and make a case FOR the new framework I’d be very happy to hear from you. DM or reply. I’ve tried, but so far no one is keen! I want a balanced debate as far as possible. But the frustration in our profession simply can’t be ignored!

@tombennett71 They’re stuffed now due to AI. So are some doctors who do the same.

This is a very common subterfuge in elite educational discourse: make what you are saying too cryptic to be understood easily by anyone other than other elites. It's a way to indicate status, membership, and superiority. It's exactly why kids will roll their eyes when adults misuse their dense slang, even fractionally: it's not meant to be used by them, correctly or incorrectly. Real experts can explain the complexity of their subject to non-experts, because being able to do so is a sign of expertise, not hierarchy. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go read 'Epistemic fractals in post-pedagogic praxis: a transversal re-interrogation of liminal didacticities.'

@PaulGarvey4 @TTRadioOfficial You're seriously calling him a nasty piece of work? You are projecting. It's been said so many times about you, Garvey. Tom is a decent bloke giving a range of views some air time. You stick to your lane? Whatever basket weaving nonsense that currently is.

@TTRadioOfficial What?????? Don’t be stupid. TTR trying to parent shame the poorest. Rogers is one nasty piece of work, isn’t he?

JP: “We have more shame about dogs pooing on the street than children not being potty trained” What do you think? This morning on TTR, the panel discussed new research showing that 1 in 4 children start school without being toilet trained, meaning teachers spend an average of 2.5 hours a day dealing with the impact. You can find the full discussion on our YouTube Channel. #Teachers #TeacherTok #Education #SchoolLife #TeacherLife #Parenting #ModernParenting #EducationDebate #SchoolDebate #Teaching

Uta Frith, renowned autism researcher, gives an interview to the TES about autism – and the internet goes wild. We’re told that what she said will put back progress 40 years, that she knows nothing about autism, that she lacks critical thinking and that her words will harm autistic people to the point of suicide. You’d guess she must have said something really awful. Perhaps something deeply offensive about autistic people which reveals her lack of compassion and understanding. Even then, it’s hard to know how one retired academic would have the power to make others commit suicide and to turn back progress to the extent that is predicted. What she said was that she thinks the autism spectrum has expanded too far and that it isn’t helping anyone. Not those who originally received autism diagnoses, and not those who are now getting diagnoses who previously would not have done. She said that she thinks scientific progress is being held back because ‘autism’ now means something so heterogenous that we can’t identify anything that all autistic people share. Nothing biological or neurological, nothing cognitive, nothing behavioural. In her words, there are no markers. The autism spectrum is, in fact, the widest spectrum imaginable. It goes from some of the most disabled people in our society to some of the highest achievers. And there’s no evidence that they have anything in common except their diagnosis. Saying this sort of thing gets you into a lot of trouble online. There are accepted narratives that we are all expected to comply with, and one is the idea that the giant autism spectrum is protective, that it helps people to be included under one diagnosis. Any language which helps people differentiate is banned. Which is odd, because we don’t think that in any other area of medicine. No one says (for example), that we shouldn’t differentiate between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes because it’s protective not to be able to talk about the differences. It’s obvious that differentiating between types of diabetes will lead to better understanding and interventions. If you don’t comply with these narratives about autism – as Uta Frith hasn’t – then you will be publicly shamed. Your expertise will be challenged, even if you have 60 years of experience. You’ll be told that you are harming people and that you are ignorant. Personal slurs are likely to be used against you. And it’s all about social control. Shame is about social control. It’s about creating things that can be said, and things that can’t be said. Others see the shaming and keep quiet. It’s about controlling the narrative so that real discussions can’t be had. I’ve talked to so many clinicians who raise these concerns with me and who then say that they’d never speak up, for fear of shaming and even losing their job. There are important things that are not being talked about, for fear of the repercussions. To my mind, the interesting question is really why. Why is it treated like blasphemy to say that the vast autism spectrum may no longer be fit for purpose? Why are we not allowed to discuss the reality of clinical practice? Why are personal attacks the go-to when scientists disrupt the prevailing narrative? And why are we all so compliant, censoring ourselves to avoid the discomfort of shame? Listen to our podcast with Uta Frith here. open.substack.com/pub/neurosense…

@Bonniepurple @le0nardpoetry @tombennett71 *sought - when you’re virtue signalling spelling is important

@le0nardpoetry @tombennett71 Although this is available online, I’m concerned that you’re reposting an injured child with no blurring. Have you sort permission from the school, child, parents/guardians? If not, you shouldn’t be reposting it as it’s a data breach.

When a school puts the measures in place to avoid this kind of thing, their teachers and leadership get hounded on Twitter and in local/national papers until they relent and roll back. And this keeps happening and will continue to

@PaulGarvey4 @BladeoftheS Thinking poor behaviour is anything other than learned choice.

@BladeoftheS Selection by Compliance in schools.

What's something that has been normalized but is completely insane?

@DanielKebedeNEU More AI slop from the union leader with the bloated pay packet. At least check your own posts for hypocrisy and irony before allowing the bot to send it!

Forcing every school into a multi-academy trust is not reform it’s a power grab. We’ve all seen the horror stories: bloated CEO pay packets while classrooms go without support staff; schools silenced by centralised PR teams; experienced teachers pushed out by remote executives who’ve never set foot in their community. That’s not collaboration. That’s control. What raises standards isn’t a logo at the top of a letterhead, it’s proper funding, national pay and conditions, and accountability to local communities. Our children need investment, not enforced academisation. Why all schools should be in academy trusts | Tes share.google/neMWQteTkMbp9R…

@SteveChalke Oasis Performance:

Tomorrow the Schools White Paper is released with lots to say about Special Educational Needs. The way I see it, the heart of the question is not primarily about reducing the bill for EHCPs, but about ensuring EVERY child has access to the bespoke support they need to thrive!

@johncosgrove405 @amanda_spielman John: you were a disaster as a headteacher and you appear to have learnt nothing since. A period of silence from you would be greatly appreciated.

@amanda_spielman A period of silence from you would be greatly appreciated. You were a disaster as HMCI and appear to have learnt nothing since.

I’m afraid Phillipson is cherry-picking to mislead. England took a much smaller Covid hit than most education systems precisely because of the reforms she is rushing to dismantle.

@johncosgrove405 @hopkinsmmi Ah! That comment tells me quite a lot. I sincerely wish you well with that struggle. And I will leave you alone. But please check your facts before you check others incorrectly.

@TSense1123 @hopkinsmmi "The LA that removed me?" 😂😂😂 It's a bit early in the day to be drinking, Mr Anonymous.

1,300 MAT CEOs, paid average salaries of around £150,000, totals £195 million annually. Before academies there were 153 LA Directors of Education; there still are. This guy's £500k isn't the real scandal, academisation has been - and is - a colossal drain on Education finances.

@johncosgrove405 @hopkinsmmi Says you using both sarcasm and insults.You and those like you annoy me because you pretend to be all kind and open minded but, underneath it all, you’re blind to anything that doesn’t support your ideological narrative. How about the LA that removed you?

@TSense1123 @hopkinsmmi Well, that told me! I am always mightily impressed by people who throw around insults, they usually have such good arguments and sound knowledge ... 😂 Meanwhile, I actually read that article, which presumably Mr Offensive Insulting Anonymous didn't.

@johncosgrove405 @hopkinsmmi You’re clueless and inexperienced in this area, yet prepared to make uninformed sweeping statements based on your ideology. schoolsweek.co.uk/councils-take-…

@TSense1123 @hopkinsmmi Not true. LA top slice is - and was - less. The current average is 1% - 5% (with MATs typically on 4% - 7%). In addition, because geographic proximity makes them more efficient, LAs' smaller top slice delivers more, and more effective, services than most MATs can offer.

@Headteacherchat You’re being lied to

Anon post: How do schools account for tea and coffee expenses for staff within the budget? We've been informed that auditors won’t approve it—has anyone found a legitimate way to include it?

@johncosgrove405 Yeah. Similar to that pesky Industrial Revolution and that nasty internet. Let’s go back on all of it.

"Academisation has not merely changed who runs schools. It has changed what schools are. In doing so, it has weakened local democracy, narrowed educational purpose, and recast public institutions as corporate entities." Good blogpost. Thank you Paul.

@johncosgrove405 @hopkinsmmi And also most trusts take between 3 and 7%. LAs took more than 10%. Erm…

@hopkinsmmi Very, very true.

@johncosgrove405 @PaulGarvey4 But LAs were, and still are, absolutely awful at improving schools, especially and woefully poor for the disadvantaged and those with additional needs. So you’re comparing mouldy apples with oranges