When it gets tough laugh!

‘We had to laugh in order not to cry.’by teacher Jean Ramsey

Last Monday, 10th May a colleague and I went to listen to Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu giving a lecture at the Sheldonian in Oxford. There was a huge waiting list for this event and we were lucky to get tickets.

He was every bit as inspirational as we thought he would be. He is a tiny man in stature with quite a small voice so we had to strain a little to catch what he was saying. What struck me immediately was his enormous presence and delightful sense of humour: he laughs easily. As he got into his address it soon became apparent why he laughs so readily…if you did not laugh in the apartheid regime as a non white you would cry…or worse.

He told us that when he became Bishop of Johannesburg it was actually illegal for him and his family to move into the Bishop’s palace as it was in a whites only part of town. He was not permitted a passport but had to rely on travel documents provided by the regime and in the space for nationality it said: Nationality undeterminable at present. He has since had his genome analysed, and on his mother’s side, he is descended from the San people or the Bushmen the oldest inhabitants of Southern Africa they have lived there for over 20,000 years.

The test to see what category or racial group you belonged to was simply to run a comb through your hair. If it got tangled you were the lowest of the low: a Bantu, if the comb ran fairly smoothly: a coloured, if the comb passed through easily: no problem white. People committed suicide if they discovered they were to be classed as a Bantu. There were whites only ambulances and if they came across native involved in a road traffic accident they would drive away.

In 1962 he came to Britain to further his theological studies. He and his wife kept accosting British bobbies to ask for directions simply for the pleasure of being addressed by a person in uniform as ‘sir’ and ‘madam’. They would go round a corner and ask again just to experience the being regarded as a person. They had had ‘their dignity and humanity carelessly trodden underfoot’ so often at home in South Africa. He made lots of jokes one about road signs saying: Drive carefully natives cross here. One wag inserted: Drive carefully natives VERY cross here.

His great inspiration was Trevor Huddleston who was an anti apartheid activist and became his role model. Bishop Tutu constantly preached reconciliation between the races because ‘we are all children of God.’ On 27th April, 1994 ‘the world watched with awe’ as years of injustice and oppression were replaced by freedom and democracy and South Africa elected its first black president, Nelson Mandela. He promptly appointed his friend as Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. What happened then was truly miraculous. People who had been deadly enemies had to apologise in front of the whole word and they did. People were quiet as they realised that they were in the presence of something holy. He stressed that we live in a moral universe where right and wrong matter; that human beings can be extraordinarily magnanimous.

He brought his address right up to date by discussing the situation in the Middle East and especially what is happening between the Israelis and the Palestinians in Gaza. What is happening there is illegal. He explained that the best kind of security comes when the inalienable rights of all are respected. Why are we so blind and so stupid not to see this?

We must take courage though, as Arch Bishop Tutu explained, after what they have achieved in South Africa, nothing can ever be seen as intractable.

‘We must remember the past, the better to forget it.’

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Happy Teachers make Happy Students

Coaching In Schools – Jean Ramsey

I was in a rival school the other day and I have to say I was very impressed. I was lead to believe, by people who should know better, that I would encounter unruly behaviour and a demoralised staff. What I actually encountered were very pleasant young people and very professional and helpful staff. I was there to begin some one to one support for two students.

As a coach I know how very important first impressions are and my first impressions were of a calm, orderly and purposeful environment. I am positively looking forward to going back today.

I especially like the fact that they all get together in the staffroom at the end of the day for the best cup of tea in the world…I think the tea we have at break time has magical qualities, although lately, because of staff illness, we have been having to serve ourselves.

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A Teacher’s Job

What do teachers make?

I love this video for me it celebrates what is an often overlooked profession…..Teachers do a great job.

Weekly Education News wrap up

Education and Youth

It appears that education has hit the headlines a lot this week here is a wrap up of stuff that has grabbed my attention. A lot of technology stuff here this week.

Education and Technology

E3 Computer Game Developments: what does this mean for education?

The Electronics Entertainment Expo
Wrap up from Ollie Bary

Child’s play for Wii generation -Children’s playground games brought to Wii

Youth and Learning

Online push in California schools

Gov Schwarzenegger: “The text books are outdated as far as I’m concerned”
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has unveiled a plan to save money by phasing out school textbooks in favour of internet aids

Teenagers’ learning ‘too narrow’

Wales is making a better job than England of educating teenagers, a major review of learning has concluded.
The English government’s vision of learning is too narrow says the review, funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
It calls for a broader view of education focused on the “whole person” rather than academic success or “skills for economic prosperity”.

Read more youth and learning

Girls ‘hampered by failure fears’
Girls have a greater fear of failure than boys despite outperforming them at all stages of school, a report said.

Teachers

So what kind of teachers could a school get if it paid them $125,000 a year?

Blogging in the Classroom? Some Teachers say “Yes!”

Other Education News

US downturn hits schoolchildren
Undergraduates are hiring private tutors
Graduate school for unemployed college students

Gen Y Teachers

Can Gen Y Teachers change the Education System?

I believe that Gen Y Teachers are going to have a huge impact on the education system. They come into the system with different thoughts, ideas and ways of communicating. This is very exciting for me as someone who is desperate to see an education system that is more representative of the young people in it.

This became evident recently when I went to my daughter’s parents evening.

Gen X Teacher
Stays sitting and just smiles at us.
“Bronte got XXXX in her latest exam and she needs to do XXXX in order to improve. As a parent, you can support her by doing XXXX . Any questions?”

Gen Y Teacher
Stands up, shakes hands and thanks us for the Christmas present.
“Great to meet you; Bronte is so great to teach! Now Bronte, what do you think you are best at in this subject? Bronte, if I was to say one thing you could improve in, what would it be? Sarah, what would be really helpful for Bronte is if you could XXXX. Is there anything else I can help you with tonight?”
No, this is not just a comparison between two teachers, it was repeated in all the Gen X and Gen Y teachers we saw that day.

The real force of Gen Y came out that night.
1. Their acceptance of a coaching/mentoring mindset
2. Their willingness to collaborate with their students in order to achieve results
3. Their need to bring everything to a level playing field – we all deserve to be treated the same
4. Their enthusiasm and general willingness to help others succeed
5. Their belief in the community and society
It was such a refreshing change and I left optimistic about the future of education. Yet again, I was reminded of why I love this generation