The fact that Katherine's methods are so threatening to large sections of the teaching profession is such an indictment of our progressive education system. I could listen to her all day. She knows exactly what she's doing and most importantly she knows why she's doing it, so she speaks with incredible clarity and passion. I love this woman!
The irony here is these parents CHOOSE to send their children to her school, because she has what I would consider to be the correct standards in education and is the highest ranked school in the country with the majority of students leaving with '8s' and '9s' at GCSE. This seems like an example of people having cake and eating it too.
Islamists crave power and want to have schools like the middle east , these fckers forget they are in England , we should get all rhe flags out just to remind them
These news shows all say this teacher wants to Ban Prayer in School like it’s all schools - it’s just Her school. I don’t understand why this student’s parents didn’t choose an Islamic school instead? It’s clearly told to applicants that their main values are school unity and academics.
💯 As an ex teacher who had a headteacher who was very weak in discipline, I absolutely see that this woman is so effective. Also tough love very much works….even good kids will get away with what they can…human nature. The strictest teachers that did the extra work by not allowing anything to go by but who also clearly loved the kids were by far the most popular with the kids and got better academic results and harmony in the class room. No one benefits from chaos. When people/kids get away with stuff and/or lapse into apathy/victimhood they really are not very happy. She is a brilliant headteacher, who cares and the results are there. Even the best will always have their detractors who don’t understand or have their own agendas….no need to argue with them but they should go elsewhere and not ruin things for others.
@@yusufgleason6478and why would that be? Do you have a problem with discipline? With kids being responsible and respecting their peers and teachers and generally people around them? Rather than being indoctrinated into the latest progressive madness?
What an amazing woman. What an amazing school. What a privilege for the children going there. We need to embrace her ethos and deep understanding of children and education, not taking her to court! This is so totally wrong!
I am half Indian, half English. 100% British. This is what she is talking about. Not fighting for our differences, but what unites us. Otherwise we fall apart. We should all be British and proud of it.
I disagree. It is coming from the system itself. The public schools and US dept of Education say it constantly. Changing schools to be "transformative ", and it is not an improvement at all.
Take away the court case , the government need to get their heads from up their backsides ,and support this lady 100% school is there to educate not bend to people who think , they are above laid out working rules
Katharine Birbalsingh is one of my all time favourite people. Staight talking and effective. I've been a volunteer maths teacher in a couple of local Islington schools where the cohort was almost exclusively immigrant and poor. One school spent a lot of time on crowd control because the discipline was awful - the teacher in charge of one class left the room for a while whilst I was there and I banged desks and shouted at the children to sit down and shut up. Which they did very quickly and looked relieved to have someone in control. The other was more like Michaela - much more discipline and peace and quiet. The children thrived with the discipline. I recall meeting a parent with her child on the bus and the boy told his mum that I was one of his teachers - she was very grateful for all the help that I gave him even after I explained that I was not a full time teacher but a volunteer. The issue seemed in both cases to boil down to the ethos of the head. This case has brought the issue of Islam to the fore for me - always and everywhere Islamists will insist on having their own way - even after buying in to the ethos of the school this Islamic parent/child decided to try it on. Enough already - the message to Islamists must be a loud FIFO. They are drinking in the last chance saloon.
Absolutely depends on the headteacher, as the leader in any place. A decent leader, with clear boundaries, discipline, ethics and that will filter down to everyone…otherwise it’s extra hard for individual teachers to maintain the discipline if they are not backed up by the hierarchy.
Poor people and immigrants in Islington… Surely not? Haven’t you heard? We’re all rich and trendy here, according to the press. To be serious though, while I agree having boundaries is necessary, I do worry that if a school is too strict it can entirely squash individuality. I also worry that if ‘no excuses’ are valid, there is little empathy. Some children will have legitimate excuses for not always being able to finish homework e.g. they are a carer for a parent, have sub-optimal living conditions or live with a drug addict or alcoholic parent. Not every child has stability at home, not every child has a parent that can either help them with their homework or; cares about their education. How does the school support those children if there are no valid excuses. I’m not knocking Katherine, I attended bog standard comprehensive schools in Islington myself, many moons ago - I know how unruly kids can be. I’m just not sure prison like ‘single-file, look straight ahead’ and ‘no excuses’ strikes the right balance.
I don't believe for a moment that a child is the main actor in this lawsuit. There are adults behind this legal move and they show a remarkable degree of insolence, arrogance and stupidity. They knew very well what kind of school this is and yet they entered a contract, accepting rules that they now want changed to suit them. I'm glad to see that Freddie emphasised the point that the claimant in this suit is Muslim. No other religious group seems to be so aggressive in trying to change the developed country that accepted them as immigrants to suit themselves and to make it more like the country they left behind. Which obviously wasn't a good place if we consider that it is very hard to change one's country of birth and you have to be really motivated to do so. I immigrated more than three decades ago to my present home, Canada, and not for a moment did it occur to me that I should ask for special treatment on religious, racial or any other grounds. Bravo to Katharine Birbalsingh for her work. I am of a generation fortunate to have had teachers like her.
I am a committed Christian and thoroughly enjoyed assembly and RE at school,however,the forced change of the demographic on British Society makes it impossible for schools to cater for all religions. This teacher has the correct answers and should be fully supported by the authorities,not having to face High Court action.those parents who are unhappy with the regime should be asked to take their children from the school as they are the ones sowing the seeds of division. All power to Ms Birbalsingh
I remember RE as well and I also remember when we had prayers in primary school. This is a Christian country, we used to have Christian values but now it's gotten away from that tradition.
Spoken like a true ignoramus. Please conduct a deeper research into religious freedom of expressions, in addition to multiculturalism. Research themes: tolerance and acceptance
@@babytt8487 No this is not a Christian country this is a secular country. Freedom of religion is a british value which also means freedom from religion. You are under absolutely no obligation to practice Christianity in this country. And to be perfectly honest the further we’ve moved away from Christian values like bigotry, science denial and oppressing women the better things have got for everyone. Some of us don’t want to go back to the dark ages of prayer over medicine and legalised domestic abuse.
@@Jaimechann The UK and the whole of Europe was founded on Christianity dimwit, who are you telling? When Christianity was in the UK were things this bad? I don't think so but you have your "lawlessness" society if you want to, the "religious values" that make up the "British Values" come from Christianity, and no women were never opppressed under "Christianity" women were actually less likely to be "feminist" under "Christianity" and families weren't so broken when the core values of Christ were implemented in Christ. But OKAY continue on.
A veggie school. I had no idea! If that was the cost of sending my kid I would do it! You did not hear the screetchers complain that no ones allowed to eat meat - but they complain about the pray issue. God I’m slowly hating my country. Keep up the great work KBS - I’d love a job there!
Kids certainly don't need to eat meat with every meal of the day. A school lunch program that's well-balanced but meat-free makes economic sense and also avoids all the issues around pressure to provide "halal" meat, which many non-Muslims find objectionable due to the slaughter methods.
I am a retired teacher and I concur with this wonderful head teacher. Discipline,.personal responsibility is extremely important for the development of cohesion in schools and most importantly for building a sense of nationhood. This school describes the kind of school which I attended both in primary school even down to shared lunch and silence in corridor. I loved my primary school. It was well disciplined and there was NO bullying unlike my secondary school where I experienced racial abuse because I was only black child in my school.
This unbelievably inspiring woman has obviously dedicated her life to giving deprived children the best possible start in life - completely insane and an absolute disgrace that this is being taken to court!
Thank you for this insightful discussion. I have immense respect and admiration for Katherine. Her approach is vital for facilitating a cohesive and safe learning environment that allows all students to thrive. I truly hope the outcome of this court case is in Michaela’s favour.
This is exactly the type of schooling I had in the 60s. Discipline is not a bad thing for children, we needed boundaries. We had assembly in the morning which set the day. Now chaos reins in schools because kids don’t have boundaries 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Same for me in Australian schools in the 1970s. However the gkids school is pretty disciplined though ofcourse naughty boys nolonger get the cane. I think if she is trying to enforce British values it should be the Lord's Prayer permitted only.
I was at school in the 60s and some of the classes were pretty chaotic as some teachers were unable to keep order. In my experience it was the clever kids who caused chaos and bullied other kids.
@@ruthbashford3176 I went to school in the 70s and 80s in Australia. Boys still got the cane for small infringements of discipline, and girls were not allowed outside for lunch for lunch, if for example they spoke without being given permission to speak. And as for school dinners, in my country it's the parents responsibility to supply packed food for their kids or provide them to purchase food if that's available at their school. If a child doesn't have access to food that's a child welfare issue not the taxpayers responsibility. In addition in a government school during this period we said the Lord's Prayer every morning. We swore allegiance to our God, our queen and our country, and then read the abridged children's Bible for half an hour. My husband was educated in the UK and his experience was similar except he got school dinners which allowed his mother not to cook for their kids but just give them toast or baked beans or something. Ridiculous. Whilst his parents ate meat and vegetables in the evening. British parents treat their children dreadfully in my experience.
They sing "God Save The Paedophile Family Head" every morning and have a very conservative ethos. It's hard not to be political. That said she's got it about as right as possible. I don't like the British thing but it's your country and to make it work..getting rid of religion and having discipline is a huge step in the right direction. Great idea/experiment. Hope is proves continued success and then gets widely adopted.
@@kap849 they do, so do other religious group's!! But other religious groups don't threaten to kill people or blow up buildings if they don't get their own way.
What an amazing woman. I hope she wins her court case The school sounds amazing. And she shouldn't let the same religious bullies spoil it for everyone
If you don't like the school don't go or send your child. The parents want the child to go to that school because it's a good school a good reputation and good results
So other schools have prayer rooms? The discipline described is nothing unusual by asian standards. Singapore's population is 16% muslim - no hijab, no prayer rooms. Islamists scent weakness and use this hijab, diet, prayer as wedge issues to normalise special accomodation.
Islamic schools have prayer rooms. We have the opposite of the Singapore model here, the Woke reject finding binding metanarratives and instead glorify all that makes us different.
That’s the experience I’ve had when working in Islamic countries- it defines every part of their being , it’s a cult that is trying to indoctrinate the world .
Katherine is such an important and impressive educator! I hope she wins in her case and other educational Institutions start to follow her lead on multiculturalism
It's no religion at school. You want religion, go to your particular choice of church, mosque, sinagoge, temple, santeria place or wicka forest on your own time, thank you. Do not impose your faith on others, it's very bad manners. Yes, the Michaela approach is obviously the correct one. And everyone with brains knows it is.
Absolutely brilliant good for this head teacher! There should be more of this type of school in Britain Canada USA and certainly all 1st would. Countries!
Her school experiences a huge mix of children who come from other countries and cultures. Their parents may have faced wars, extreme ideology. All children need strict guidelineses & rules. She's doing an amazing job of guiding children who will work together and be pround of the country they live in. We live in Britain not India, Pakistan, the middle east, Africa or Slovakia we all need a great education & to live to work together in a team which will make Britain the envy of the world in the right way. Dont understand this prayer room rubbish; never had any when i was in school- wonder why the world is messed up...
What an awesome individual. Compassionate. understanding, has empathy and caring about those in her care. The children. I strongly suggest we sack the education minister and put her in sole charge of education in the UK.
A Muslim prayer can be delayed but not missed. Like if your in a lesson or a doctor in practice or other responsible work. In which u can pray as soon as you get free.
What she says makes so much sense, and what she does actually works. Kids need that structure and discipline while they learn what good choices look like. What you get otherwise is kids running around with knives or being exploited because they haven't learned what a cohesive society is
This is an eye opener discussion I though my position was for full religious freedom, but the head teacher made a compelling argument for unity under one culture. I would become vegetarian for the reason she exposed Bravo
I was actually disappointed with how she dealt with the food issue. I feel it is unfair for all the kids to miss out on meat. It could have been handled by a meat dish and a vegetarian dish and both served at the same table as you would in a family with one vegetarian family member would. But I come from a country where schools don't provide meals, children pack lunches and have picnics on the grass.
@@grannyannie2948 Your idea presents a logistical problem. The supplies to make the food are tightly budgeted, and providing two alternatives would inevitably lead to either waste, or involve too much managing, adding to the cost. The vegetarian meal is a very practical solution, and presumably the meat-eating children are getting it at home, so are not missing out.
@@juvenalsdad4175 Well I confess the government supplying food for kids is a foreign concept to me. Here children bring packed lunches from home. Many schools do have a shop selling food, but it's ran for profit and you order what you want, a hamburger, a meat pie, whatever, and you pay what it costs. After all feeding your children is a child welfare issue, not the states responsibility. But I do think she is being grossly unfair. She has completely capitulated to the wants of the vegetarians whilst leaving children on a carnivore diet absolutely no food at all to eat. And the carnivore diet is incredibly popular especially amongst boys, and is a more natural way to eat.
Muslims pray 5 times a day - however it is only one prayer through out the school day which take 10 -15 Min at lunch time - prayer is a gift from God, which benefits mentally, spiritually and physically. It is exercising mindfulness, focusing on the greatness of God and showing gratitude. The different positions in pray helps stretch the body and relaxes the muscles. I don’t understand why the school can not accommodate a pray/reflection room/space for all students to use from all faiths/no faith and backgrounds. If anything it would truly benefit. We are not a Muslim country - however we have British values - acceptance and tolerance of other faiths and backgrounds. In 2024 most educational establishments have prayer/reflection rooms for all people from different faiths /no faith to use. My Christian RE teacher allowed us to use her classroom to prayer, I worked at a college and my non -Muslim colleague encouraged me to use the multi faith centre to ensure I didn’t miss my prayers. At university we have prayer facilities/reflection room to use. Recently at a hospital the nurse asked if my father would like a private space for his prayers. There are Multi faith centres in airports and shopping centres. Other secular schools have accommodated prayer/reflection rooms - don’t understand why this head teacher can’t accommodate something so simple where the rest of the country has managed and have accommodated for years.
What a fantastic woman and head teacher. Don't these people understand that she has a method that is admired around the world. If they keep pushing they will end up with their kids at another underperforming school. The silent 50% will also suffer. Any school would take this fantastic teacher in a flash. Another example of no compromise by Muslims I'm sorry to say. They need to wake up.
Brave to this lady with her clean aims to challenge the supremacy of Islam.. Islam doesn’t want equal treatment it want special treatment and to subjugate all others.. we need hundreds more head teachers like her..
I WISH there was a school like this in every city in the world! She’s right, children NEED rules, structures, and routine to a degree. The entire generations would be better off if all schools were like this.
She's on nearly all media outlets given so much air time, how about bring the other side on too to represent their side of story in their own words. Why is she allowed to talk about an ongoing court case so openly before the verdict is passed.
Hats off!!! This woman not only has stood for VALUES, but has such a superb perspective of what children should be.... Think it's time that UK takes a tough stand for those who don't fit in the culture and uncivilized. The world is in the 21st century and not the 7th century values!!!! The Govt should enforce strong laws as Prayer rooms are intended for only a particular faith- whether at airports, railway stations, etc. Deport those to 51 countries who possibly would take them....
The comments section is an absolute cesspit of people who haven’t got a clue about how schools actually run. You don’t need silent corridors and children walking into school like they are in the army barracks and saying good morning and good afternoon to every adult. This headteacher is rubbing her own mental health issues onto teachers and children and not preparing them properly for normal life. Imagine what happens when these children go to university and people ACTUALLY talk in corridors and DONT walk in single file.
I was a trainee teacher at a school whilst Katherine was there. She was dedicated, smart, dynamic and cared deeply about the children she taught. The educational establishment should listen to her, she was always unafraid to take on the bullies (whether they were the pupils or management). The outstanding results at her school show that the proof is in the pudding.
I agree, although I'd boil it down to "Vision is lacking in schools from the western world". It's not just discipline, it's the unanswered question of why we need discipline that's confusing so many children, I think.
@@ruthbashford3176absolutely. There’s no way this is coming from the kids alone. Similar cases have emerged in Luton over jilbabs in school uniform policy (highly impractical and even unsafe in some classes). The local imam was actually pushing it using a teenage girl and her family as a proxy.
I never needed boundaries, I set my own. It is society that fails to adapt, not the individual! The individual will without any shadow of doubt learn the consequences of their actions. Society at best can be a guiding force, teaching the individual lessons of history. Don’t stick your hand in the fire for it will burn and hurt, but some still seek to learn the hard way. No matter how the lesson is learned, it is learned!
@@robertholland7558 That's you though. I learned a lot from a Superhead not unlike Catherine, who took a failing school and turned it around within a year. The school was in a deprived area and many of the kids had difficult home lives. Their home lives impacted on them and they brought their anger or upset into school, and that then impacted on other kids around them - sometimes involving bullying. By imposing boundaries, discipline and structure she gave those kids security which, for at least 8 hrs a day (she had breakfast and after school clubs for this reason)- took the chaos out of their lives. Their academic and emotional outcomes improved as a result.
@@pennylando3145 you are comparing guidance and boundaries, two completely separate concepts . I don’t like the concept of “ super heads”. I learned from the university of hard knocks! But sure it might work for some who lack self discipline. Life itself is the greatest teacher of them all. I spend more time in libraries than classrooms.
@@robertholland7558 You pick a lesson that is hard on you but what if the lesson is hard on someone else. What if the lesson is, 'if you put someone else's hand in the fire it hurts them'? Individuals can adapt in many ways, not necessarily for the wider good.
@@robertholland7558 I certainly don't disagree that life is a brilliant teacher, but where you start in life and who is in the background of it causes different outcomes for different personalities. To clarify though, the Superhead I'm talking about ran a middle school. 9yr olds who are witnessing domestic violence before they've left for school in the morning and reacting to it isn't a matter of them lacking self-discipline. In my opinion they are helped to acquire it by teachers like this one removing some of the chaos from their lives for a few hours, providing them with structure and fairness and showing them that there is another way. Middle school pupils are aged 9-13yrs and without writing an essay on the subject, during her tenure at the school, the anti-social behaviour among this age group in the area dropped significantly.
@@robertholland7558 confidence is built through discipline. Reliance? They thrive on relying on someone else? I assume you meant self-reliance…which is also built through confidence, which is developed through discipline.
She's basically doing what we ALL used to do in the class room. I'm Canadian and this is exactly how the class rooms I went through were run. There was more "freedom" in high school but elementary and middle school (junior high) were just like this...and it worked. During my final year in highschool, 179 out of 183 students graduated (minimum C- average) and everyone I know who applied to university was accepted
As the mother of two teachers one at an academy in England the other in China, i can totally agree with Katherine. One suffers daily abuse from rude kids who should be expelled whilst the other enjoys teaching a class of well behaved students who want to learn - guess which is the English school🤔
I used to work at a Acquired Brain Injury Rehab Unit and used to try and have strict boundaries, with a clearly outlined timetable throughout and clients had to actively participate otherwise they were asked to leave. Obviously, this was tailored to the clients ability. However, this approach was constantly undermined by middle class professionals who thought having a brain injury was an excuse to ignore all the rules and behave as badly as possible. This also often applies to other groups such as Learning Difficulties/Autism etc. But clients do far better when they have structure and a proper routine. They feel safer, know what to expect and generally are much happier. Its a big mistake to think having a disability excuses you from all responsibility and ends up with far worse outcomes. I applaud this woman and I imagine parents are queuing up to get their kids enrolled here.
The lady proved her approach successful. Government should support her and use the same approach in other schools. Instead they fight the good work and amazing achievement.
Yes, it would be a great shame is the most successful state school in the country was made to change its ethos. Alas, in this crazy world it is all too easy to imagine that being the outcome.
@@missABR1 yes it would be a great shame if those with little wisdom and ethics have more power of those with greater wisdom and better morals. It is a huge shame that the case even went to court. I hope this troublesome pupil goes to another school .
As a teacher, I stand with Katherine. ❤ Teachers like me ARE the silent majority, it's the minority that are stupid, they're just very loud and annoying!!
Well, you couldn’t possibly support Katherine on EduTwitter without a massive pile on (often from people with #AntiRacist, #BLM, #ActuallyAutistic or SENMum in their bio) so we just stay silent.
@@LeekowalskiWalker I personally am not, I also blame some of my spineless colleagues who refuse to speak up about things like this, and also the trans problem.
@@SkepticalTeacher "Teachers like ma ARE the silent majority" ... "How are you silent though?" ... "I personally am not" the level of education of teachers is clearly very poor.
This woman is my heroine! She is standing up for the right thing despite all the noise around her. Keep up the good work, we need you! You are inspirational!
I so admire this woman. As a retired teacher, I saw that without discipline in the classroom and on the playground, not only chaos, but violence ensues. Good for her. And prayer does not belong in school unless it’s a religious school!
Same ..totally agree. If prayer was simply well wishing for everyone without exception and an encouragement towards kindness then it would be fine and healthy ( actually I preferred the Catholic schools that I taught in for this reason) …but otherwise better to keep it out of schools.
@@theinngu5560 A priest who is into research did a study into religion and schools. It turned out that as long as they kept religion out of conversation, the kids could avoid violence. (And you can probably guess what religion it was that caused conflict.)
It sounds Victorian?? I'm eighty & that's what school was like in the 1950s. I think that Katherine Birbalsingh is extremely impressive & the children are lucky to have the Michaela Academy. Of course the child who's taking the school to the High Court will be getting legal aid so it'll cost the tax payer. It's outrageous & will make more people Islamaphobic.
Thinking back to my education in 80s/90s, as a Christian I was surrounded by Muslims, Hindu, Jews… I was completely aware of their cultural backgrounds mainly from visiting their homes. But I can’t think of any occasion when that would seep into daytime hours and give reason for division. Katherine is bang on the money with this.
This woman deserves a medal! This was one of the best interviews I've ever heard. If more people/teachers were like her, our societies would be much better.
What really makes children unhappy is being bullied by other children. And bullying flourishes where children are left unsupevised. Plus, good kids don't bully.
Happy children don't bully others... unhappy children do bully others... often in schools that are great academically, or without adequate outlets. Silent corridors mean that some other venue for self-expression is needed. Hopefully, frank discussions are welcomed in tutorials.
Bullying flourishes where children (and adults) feel controlled, coerced and without agency. School - the institution, and environment - has coercion and removal of agency, at its heart. There seems to be a markedly lower prevalence of bullying in the home education community. I agree that bullying needs to be addressed in schools, for those who have to be there, along the lines you've proposed. But (1) the very nature of the institution and 'education' system is the root cause of the issue, and (2) for those who are privileged enough to be able to make it work (I realise that's not everyone), home education is an effective alternative.
@@Being_Bohemian Those are genuinely interesting points, but if the root causes of bullying are feelings of being controlled, coerced and being without agency surely those things are par for the course at home? For their own safety and socialisation, parents have to control their children, they may have to coerce and the very fact that they are children means that their personal agency is going to be limited.
Part of the problem which we face is that in Islam there is no guidance as to how to share power and influence in a pluralistic society. Islam tells the followers what to do when in power, and when not in power how to work towards being in power, but nothing about sharing power. And that very problem shows its head in so many facets of the 'multiculturalist' problems this nation faces. If we had no Islam then a whole raft of problems would vanish, we all know that to be true, but we also know that we arent supposed to notice or admit that the Emperor is Naked. 🤡🌎
The headmistress is admirable for her commitment and work helping form children. The model should be replicated instead of wasting time through the courts. As the parents of the one girl who wants to pray at school were aware of the rules prior, they should move her to another school instead of wasting tax payers money.
the flak this woman gets from certain types on social media amazes me. she clearly has the recipe for schools to be highly successful. we should be rolling it out in every state school
8 месяцев назад
We are not a multi-cultural country. We have let multiple cultures create colonies in various places around the country and Islam has taken over in about 50 locations. This is all about Islam's naked ambition to take over as it always does when it gets close to parity in a society and it is no accident that the increase from 30% to 50% has occurred and then this has followed. We must assert English culture deliberately and doggedly and KB is doing us a great service in this regard. Unless our elected representatives do what is necessary, there will be a great deal of trouble ahead and a civil war. Look at the history of the 56 Islamic totalitarian countries to see where this is heading.
I'm Australian and I believe that only Christian prayers should be said in schools and the Bible should be the only Holy book permitted. We were until five minutes ago Christian and it's a valid part of our culture. If Islam becomes dominant they won't think twice about inflicting it on our children. If Islamic families are unhappy it's their parents problem to provide the money to fund private Islamic schools or perhaps reconsider which country they move to. It is not the British taxpayers responsibility to make foreigners comfortable. It is the foreigners responsibility to assimilate.
@@grannyannie2948 good thing you are an Australian, that sort of backwards thinking creates disharmony in schools which is absent of faith and growth of reason. We must be on guard against Islam true but also be on guard against Christians too. All faiths need to be curtailed in order for reason to blossom. That is why the Aborigines in Australia are so bad off, due to these lesser British who became Australians.
It is difficult to imagine how one pupil could organise a law suit of this nature without some 'guidance' from others. The Michaela School ethos has been under attack from the more left-leaning education institutions since it's inception, and even more so as it's success rate has been confirmed by experience. I would hope that the Muslim parents who's children have benefited from the school would be a bit more vocal in their support.
There are always NGO, pro-bono lawyers, funding and similar for minorities, especially Islam. If you are White working class then good luck accessing 'justice'.
The Muslim parents would likely defend the things they like about the school, they are highly unlikely to suggest that a prayer room isn't needed, even if that's what they think. The community pressures are very real, so is their fear of upsetting the local imam or even the allah god.
It has nothing to do with Left leaning, what if Karl Marx was taught continuously, would a law suit by right wing parents be considered a an attack by the Right? You are politicizing the actions of one parent from one faith as if it was a Left wing plot.
It absolutely is a test for British society. Her school is a microcosm of British society. Her methodology should be applied to all schools nationally, AND should be applied to the country as a whole in terms of how a multicultural society should function and accommodate.
Multiculturalism can never work you have to have an overarching dominant common culture or you don’t have a country or unity - you might be thinking of multiracialism which is not the same thing
Multi culturism is a failed model and was doomed to failure from the start, it's divisive and leads to ghettoization. We are a multi ethnic society, but we need one thing that brings us altogether, a shared culture religion is a personal choice and should be a private matter and left out of the shared social realm.
@@jamesmarshall4530 what she meant is to have multicultures at homes but one dominant british culture as a uniting factor. You can't say it is a monoculture either.
What this school has seen is a microcosm of what is and will happen on a national level. As the Islamic population increases so will their demands, their confidence to make us all change to suit them, it is already happening and many of us warned about this more than 20 years ago. Time and again this same pattern repeats, councils are being gradually habitated by people keen to subvert, look at Birmingham and their nepotistic taxi contracts, look at how halal is default in so many schools and restaurants, look at how they abuse the freedom of speech and expression every weekend in London and more. We are running out of opportunities to turn this ship around, and we are so far gone that there aren't any liberal solutions left. There were in 1989 and Satanic Verses, there were when Ray Honeyford warned us all, there even were after 9/11 and 7/7... not any more, we have millions who won't stay quietly and won't go quietly. It is a right mess and only the naive and ignorant Panglossian types deny or can't see it.
I remember reading - with growing astonishment - certain comments about Ray Honeyford. These comments were along the lines of how racist he was for 'demanding' that children spoke Engish. As someone who, for work purposes, found herself thrown in the deep end in Germany, barely able to say "hello" and "excuse me", I could only marvel at the stupidity. Had they any idea how helpless you are when you can't speak the language? How you would be unable to deal with an emergency, access education, interact with officials who might not speak your language, ask for what you want in shops and cafes, struggle to travel if you can't ask for directions or a ticket, and a thousand other everyday reasons why you must be able to communicate? What these people were in fact proposing was that children from immigrant backgrounds should be disenfranchised from the society they were living in and be left to face risks and quite possibly dangers, all in the name of a belief that learning English was 'racist'.
@Richard - I have no idea what Panglossian is (perhaps I should google it😂) but I guess the phrases 'sleepwalking' and/or 'wilfully ignorant' sums up the British character on this issue, especially in light of the events, plus Lee Rigby's and others' terrorist inspired slaughter, that you quote. My view is that it won't end well when, for example, a muscular Israel/Palestinian discussion garners 15,000 complaints and Ofcom threats of investigations against the interviewer, or a British teacher is hounded out of teaching and his home into hiding for the sin of endorsing free speech. We are not seeing many/any one (correct me if I'm wrong) hounded out of a career or home for endorsing proscribed terrorist organisations. I rest my case.
@@marciamcgrail5889 'Panglossian' is from from Candide by Voltaire, Dr Pangloss is a character in the story who always thinks that things are great, the best of all possible worlds, he's foolishly optimistic. We sure have a problem don't we brother, what a mess.
I am OUTRAGED that the mother’s legal claim is being paid by the British taxpayers. Does this mother work? I am SO sick and tired with this Islamic creep that our inept leadership has enabled. Look around the world at any Muslim country…….conflict, discord, poverty and a complete lack of joy!!!
Absolutely right - "order and structure make children happy, chaos makes them unhappy" It also allows an atmosphere of creativity. What a fabulous woman, I pray (no pun intended - lol) that the Michaela system spreads.
This is the system we used to have! My schools were still like this in the 1950s and early 60s; it was the norm. I was lucky to dodge the modern chaotic schooling that came in soon afterwards.
I wish I had a teacher like her. She is a blessing, she should be training teachers. Discipline is everything, not only to be a responsible well adjusted member of society but also to develop self worth.
"If we can run a school along these lines then why not a country?" She makes a very compelling case for how to deal with the challenges of a multicultural Britain, would be fantastic to see her taking those approaches to the country as a whole. She was the chair of the Social Mobility Commission (an advisory committee to the DfE) for 18 months but resigned last year so she has tried to some extent
What a breath of fresh air. Wish we'd had that ethos in the school my children went to. Thank you Katherine for such clarity and vision. Truly inspirational.
