In conversation with Helena Morrissey and Marie Daouda. Held at The Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford on 17th October 2022. Please obtain the relevant permissions before re-uploading any Roger Scruton Memorial Lectures video.
What talents Birbalsingh combines. Not only the insight to see the problem, not only the courage to put her convictions into practice, but, as this lecture shows, she is also one of the best orators around. Thank you, Katherine.
As an older person I look around waiting for the adults to step up and sort out some of the awful things going on at the moment. I now realise that in public life there are actually very few adults. They have never been taught what it means to be an adult probably due to progressive education and laissez faire parents.
"Wow!! The best video on you tube.....what a lovely Lady.....but she is so right....what she is doing now was normal in all my education at Infant,Primary,Junior and Secondary School. All local to where I lived....no cars needed!!?
Looking back, (I am in my 70's) I realise that I am an idle person and that I am not the only one. If I have achieved anything it is because mature, sensible adults, many of them teachers, encouraged, poked, prodded and, in reality, forced me to do, learn and become competent in things that I really could not be bothered with. They pushed me up and I am so grateful that they did!
Very true. My best teachers were ones who were fair but demanded the most. HS chemistry teacher let you bring any notes or books to tests but it did not matter. If you had not studied you did poorly. My HS biology teacher had us do things that College grad students would do. One day she came in a bit chocked up. She had Time magazine with a man on the cover for the Nobel prize in medicine. She said she taught him at one point. Had a HS history of Western Philosophy teacher who was tough but one of my best teachers.
Oh Yes! Des my heart good to hear this great lady unashamedly promote how her school operates. And why should she be ashamed? By all reports Michaela is doing wonderful service for it's pupils.
She is so right and I admire her for having the guts to speak out about what is happening in our schools. She has a lot of courage to go against the norm in education now which destroys children's futures.
I start watching everything I can on youtube with Mrs. Katharine Birbalsingh because I saw her on Dr. Jordan Peterson channel. I am so grateful for her work and efforts. Thank you.
What a fantastic lecture from a truly amazing woman. I can only hope that this philosophy becomes far more prominent throughout society and truly rue the fact that there was nothing more available to my son than his bang average progressive local secondary school. Despite it's miss-credited 'good reputation' i truly fear for his educational environment, with the obvious lack of discipline and control of its many unruly pupils being at the absolute core of it's inability to offer students the education they deserve. Not to mention a far more worthy return for our taxes.
"The only way to be creative about something is to know a lot about it" - THIS. This is the most important point everyone seems to be forgetting these days. You can't be a creative critical thinker if you're ignorant. If you're firm in your beliefs while being ignorant, you are not a critical thinker. You are indoctrinated.
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” ― Pablo Picasso Give the kids knowledge and structure so they can be creative. (Paraphrasing Katherine Birlbalsingh) She’s right.
Sir Roger Scruton was a historian Miss Birbelsingah. Who was also concerned about the education of children. He was just a name which rang out loud. Echoing through this country. Legend. How capable do you want children to be? They will end up lonely focusing only on the possibilities of their abilities. Powerful and a fighter.
The only way I think the grammar system can't be gamed by wealthier families would be to have someone from the grammar schools visit the primary school and sit in on a few lessons. From that they'll be able to gauge which kids have a higher natural aptitude for learning. Shouldn't be the sole basis but it can certain be used in conjunction with an exam to get a more balanced result.
In my experience, as a teacher for 40 years, a school is only as good as its teachers, combined with competent leadership. Without that, there is chaos. I was fortunate enough to have had a wonderful career, in my four schools, over the forty years. Three of those schools were in rural, community-based schools. The other was a city community school. Parents’ input is vital.
How does the government ensure that this style of teaching is promulgated in and by the teaching training establishments? As a former governor of a primary school in a deprived area, I saw the result of progressivism and the poor outcomes, not just academic outcomes, but in wider life skills.
The European Enlightenment saddled us with a deformed view of freedom that persists as the ideological foundation of progressivism, which reduces freedom to mere autonomy.
This wonderful teacher ,Headmistress should be the Education Secretary of the Country. Education should not be taken for granted. Look what has happened to Scotland, we always knew they had a very high standard of education. In the last ten years they have fallen so far down the league tables. All of England should go back to Traditional schools and discipline. I have been a teacher of 30 years and this is the only way to prepare children for life!
By referencing this on Linkedin I'm already getting a small does of the same fascicle (not quite ad hominem but close) that Katherine get 10000x more of every single day. It's lazy to simply say its a 'Dickensian experiment' which is so few people take the harder route of having a well considered opposition to Micheala's ethos. The real issue is how can we help Katherine she scale and deliver her ambition for children beyond Micheala?
I would love to see her engage with progressive American teachers of various races and backgrounds. The audience here does not look very diverse from the camera angles. Her ideas need to reach the leaders of Title I schools here in the states.
Good talk, a bit more pugnacious than you'd expect given the context (memorial lecture for a heterodox but soft-spoken philosopher) although I felt a lot of it was preaching to the converted. I think she was at her most persuasive when referring to how little kids know coming from Primary school - not knowing where Paris is and all that. More could have been made of that, I think, to really make the progressives who have been in charge of UK education for the past few decades squirm.
10:52 *doing your homework gets you a merit, but not doing your homework get you a detention* - Is the goal just to get a merit/avoid a detention? Or has 'homework' got anything to do with learning?
51:07 *humans are inherently good* - assumptions on human nature! Children love playing and helping each other! Especially their basic psychology needs are met ☺
I'm one of the people she talks about. Old school left, small 'c' conservative and appalled by all of it, to the extent that I no longer vote or identify with any of the parties. They appal me equally, albeit for separate reasons.
59:39 *Freedom comes from self control* - I think you're definition of freedom is different to everyone else's Katherine... what are you trying to say exactly?
48:40 *When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear* - just giving you the truth 🤣🤣
43:36 *schools are meant to education the populace* - mmm, pretty sure Nick Gibb said schools were there to support the economy and create compliant citizens...
52:01 *I have been good to this child because I haven’t told them that the grammar in this sentence is dreadful* - Um? Why derogate them? Can you... just help them use the right grammar?
I've always held the belief that one should listen to the contents of ones argument and not be swayed so much by the delivery - but this was a difficult listen. It was a seemingly quite aggressive delivery that seemed incongruent with her message. Only a shame in so far it might put those off who are teetering on the edge of understanding and holding 'small c' conservative values with regard to education.
51:35 *you end up having no teacher, no father, no mother* - Sooooo, if my father becomes my friend... he's... no longer my father?! I'm not sure I understand your logic! False dichotomy #5
10:21 *crying out for order and structure* - implying order and structure are incompatible with a ‘relational’ approach (see Devon County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Brighton and Hove City Council guidance). False dichotomy #3
I have great respect for the woman, but the constant insistence on the "small c" sounds very weird. We get it. Make point in the beginning and move on. Conservatism isn't a tory property.
16:33 *we prefer to teach a man how to fish rather than give a man a fish* - is that why you micromanage children's lives through external regulation and introjection?
I studied A Level English (86-88) and not one black author or poet. I was happy to study Shakespeare, Dickens and Keats. You present black issues unreasonably while normalising the status quo. At least be fair on this.
You're right about so much but you need to talk TO people not AT them. You're not right about EVERYTHING. People switch off because they want not be themselves NOT what YOU want them to be
9:28 *parents and teachers shouldn’t be friends with the children […] inspire, respect, and admiration, yes, but not friendship, that is to muddy the lines of respect between child and adult* - False dichotomy #2
9:15 *you can’t possibly be a very good teacher* - Well, according to Katherine, it's IMPOSSIBLE to teach well, and learn something from your students. False Dichotomy #1
What an awful self-promoting grifter. No substance behind anything she says, just empty platitudes to appeal to little Britain. She will go far, unfortunately.
8:31 *Teacher should be the authority in the classroom leading form the front* - Yes, like robot encyclopaedia vomiting information for children to believe and regurgitate.