Being well balanced
Being a voice of reason in a polarised world
This morning I read a post in the Primary School Leaders Facebook group. The original post by Emily Morris highlighted a complaint that a parent had made about the school's use of BBC newsround by teachers as a resource to stimulate discussion with their pupils. The complaint came about because this parent had seen a YouTube video which described how Newsround was biased and untrustworthy. Most responses were incredulous. Some offered advice. And there was one that really made me fume:
"BBC is bias and leftist teachers are too"
I wasn't just annoyed that a primary school leader used such awful grammar. I took umbridge with the "leftist teachers" comment. This was my response:
"I take issue with this. Whilst many teachers are certainly liberal in their views, I have never worked with a teacher that promotes their political views in a primary classroom. My sample size is now over a thousand. I have heard teachers asked difficult questions about their own opinions, and they handle them brilliantly, to ensure that they talk about a range of opinions that represent tolerance and help to develop a sense of what democratic debate means."
I stand by this. To do so would be a breach of the Teachers' Standards, particularly Part 2 which states:
"Teachers uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school, by:
- treating pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect, and at all times observing proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher’s professional position
- having regard for the need to safeguard pupils’ well-being, in accordance with statutory provisions
- showing tolerance of and respect for the rights of others
- not undermining fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs
- ensuring that personal beliefs are not expressed in ways which exploit pupils’ vulnerability or might lead them to break the law."
I have a confession to make. I have never voted for the winning side in any national election. I voted Lib Dem in the first election I was entitled to vote in from 1991 onwards. I changed my vote to Labour in 2010. I voted Remain. I haven't even managed to be in the majority when voting for my MP. I am a perpetual electoral loser.
My voting history reflects my beliefs in a tolerant, progressive and fair society. So yes, I'm probably a little to the left of the political spectrum. However, I respect other people's political views. I accept my electoral defeats, and I accept that there are political decisions taken that I would really rather weren't. However, those decisions are (generally) enacted by a democratically mandated process, and they are what they are. Some of the decisions I don't like actually benefit me personally - so I'm sometimes conflicted.
I have a right to my views (as long as they are lawful). I rarely take an evangelical stance.
When working in school, and especially when working with children, I keep my opinions to myself. I always have done, and so has every colleague I've ever worked with. To reiterate - to do otherwise would put me in breach of the Teachers's Standards. And whilst I'm now self-employed and not actually contractually bound by them, I will always uphold the standards whilst ever I work with schools.
The staffroom is a different matter. This is a place where adults meet, decompress and discuss their lived experiences. Due to the very nature of the teaching profession this is one of the few places where we interact with other adults for significant parts of the year. Therefore, within an environment of tolerance I do sometime discuss my frustration with political decisions (and did so between 1997 and 2010 as well). It is a safe space. I am not attempting to convert anyone, and I am more than happy to debate with others who hold different views. I seek to understand their views, and always respect their opinion even if I disagree. I should not have to be silent in a staff room. I don't think I'm alone. Of course, what's said in the staffroom stays in the staffroom.
The FB debate continued, with the opinion holder going on to say:
"Then why is my school full of REMOANERS and Trump Bashers. Now it's anti-Isreal stuff. Full of teachers and pupils learning History from Instagram."
Post has since been removed...
Maybe this colleague's staffroom is like this. If it stays in the staffroom, then that's fine. I think the views expressed are a worrying example of how it is becoming ever more challenging to hold different views. There is a sense that only one view can be correct, and it is not the view of the majority in this staffroom. I worry that the polarised views expressed with such conviction by a loud minority are creating a climate for radicalisation, and are endangering British Values. It is a concern when this is happening in society. It is terrifying when it is happening within our profession.
