In my sidebar links under education, I link to "To Miss With Love" a teacher who has been blogging for years about how the poorest kids are badly let down by the educational system and culture. I found and so have others, that there comes a point when you run a successful blog when you have said all you have to say to your online audience and want to find a way to make a greater impact in the real world. For the author of "To Miss With Love", Katherine Birbalsingh that epiphany came recently.
So the other day she stopped blogging and appeared on the main stage at Conservative Party Conference. She brought the house down with an insightful testimony into how education was failing and what needed to be changed. Click to 1.17 for her impassioned speech. Well, naturally enough, she has now been asked to stay away from her work as deputy head at St Michael and All Angels Academy C of E in Southwark, London.
Cranmer's got the story by the scruff of the neck as have some of the nationals. Some people suggest that she should work in the private sector or help Michael Gove with helping to reform education. I would humbly submit that it isn't in those areas where there is a lack of talent or an excess of wrong-headedness. No. She should remain as teacher in the state sector.
She hasn't been punished by her school for speaking against the establishment but rather, for doing so effectively. She should keep her job and the people who punished her for exercising freedom of speech need to go. This is the sort of battle we need to win.
Update
The battle has been won. Katharine has been reinstated. However, in the fight against the left-wing establishment, Katharine may need our support again, so please join this facebook group.
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12 comments:
Oops, a few corrections. She hasn't been reinstated. She was never suspended, or sacked. Her blog has gone because it contained some barbed personal comments about her colleagues that were unsurprisingly felt to be inappropriate. She's not the first person to attack work colleagues in a blog, or the first to be caught out.
Her school were able to send her home because they are an academy. The two day break was justified not by the principal but by the sponsoring authority, the Diocese of Southwark. They did not approve of the way in which she identified individual pupils, or the damage done to the Academy's reputation.
Rather than join a Facebook group, which is, to be honest, hardly going to get the bishop quaking in his slippers, your readers should support the National Union of Teachers. On educational matters they are more widely respected than Facebook, and are supporting Ms Birbalsingh as well as others who have become victims of Academies. They also support her criticism of league tables.
Er - no corrections needed, thanks.
If you're asked to work from home that IS a suspension. Her students and colleagues will certainly get the message that KB was punished. It was inappropriate to do that. And please don't ask me to swallow the idea that the headmistress was merely the messenger for an outraged board of governors. Nobody buys that.
Maybe you could give me the link to personal comments about her colleagues. Her blog wasn't a forum for attacking colleagues and being as she managed to stay anonymous for so long, the so-called attacks you refer to can't have been that personal.
I've joined several campaigning facebook groups which have succeeded - including this one, so thanks for your appeal, but I think my readers can decide for themselves what is the best way to support Katherine.
Well it seems that you've made a lot of unsubstantiated claims here and given some poor advice, so I should point out to readers where you're coming from in this debate. From your facebook profile that you like Labour and a page called Nobody Likes A Tory.
Hmm, you're certainly not familiar with the teaching profession then. Here are a few facts.Being asked to work from home for two days is NOT a suspension. It does not get recorded on an employment record. It does not involve a disciplinary hearing. Its effect is less than that of a formal reprimand. Teachers have been sacked outright for bringing their school into disrepute by posting comments on Facebook. Therefore, on a scale of 1 to 10 of disciplinary options available to the sponsoring authority, it rates just above doing nothing at all. She was off for fewer days than she had off to attend the conference.
"Nobody buys that" is a pretty lame justification for an opinion, and is usually only used when there is no factual evidence to support an accusation. If you knew about schools you would be aware that all disciplinary matters involving staff involve at least one governor. Academies allow for greater interference by the sponsoring authority than would be allowed if the LEA were running the school.
I cannot link to her comments about staff in her previous school because the blog has been taken down. If you read what you posted you would already know that. Whilst the blog stayed anonymous, her colleagues were unaware that they were being discussed online. Now that her cover is blown, her former colleagues are less than impressed, which I assume is why she had the decency to remove the blog.
Your assertion that the facebook group, with fewer supporters than there were pupils in her school has succeeded is delusional. She was sent home for two days. When the two days were up she returned. Maybe you can set up a facebook campaign for the sun to rise in the morning, and notch up another success.
You say that I have made " a lot of unsubstantiated claims". Care to mention one? You were at least correct that I like Labour, although I disagree with their introduction of academies which are a gimmick costing far more than their record justifies. I, like most teachers, supported the Tory idea of the National Curriculum which has changed education for the better, and cheered when Gove abolished the pointless and expensive GTC.
The sad thing is that Gove has offered nothing to address the problems which Ms Birbalsingh was highlighting.
Hmm, you're certainly not familiar with the teaching profession then. Here are a few facts.Being asked to work from home for two days is NOT a suspension. It does not get recorded on an employment record. It does not involve a disciplinary hearing. Its effect is less than that of a formal reprimand. Teachers have been sacked outright for bringing their school into disrepute by posting comments on Facebook. Therefore, on a scale of 1 to 10 of disciplinary options available to the sponsoring authority, it rates just above doing nothing at all. She was off for fewer days than she had off to attend the conference.
"Nobody buys that" is a pretty lame justification for an opinion, and is usually only used when there is no factual evidence to support an accusation. If you knew about schools you would be aware that all disciplinary matters involving staff involve at least one governor. Academies allow for greater interference by the sponsoring authority than would be allowed if the LEA were running the school.
I cannot link to her comments about staff in her previous school because the blog has been taken down. If you read what you posted you would already know that. Whilst the blog stayed anonymous, her colleagues were unaware that they were being discussed online. Now that her cover is blown, her former colleagues are less than impressed, which I assume is why she had the decency to remove the blog.
Your assertion that the facebook group, with fewer supporters than there were pupils in her school has succeeded is delusional. She was sent home for two days. When the two days were up she returned. Maybe you can set up a facebook campaign for the sun to rise in the morning, and notch up another success.
You say that I have made " a lot of unsubstantiated claims". Care to mention one? You were at least correct that I like Labour, although I disagree with their introduction of academies which are a gimmick costing far more than their record justifies. I, like most teachers, supported the Tory idea of the National Curriculum which has changed education for the better, and cheered when Gove abolished the pointless and expensive GTC.
The sad thing is that Gove has offered nothing to address the problems which Ms Birbalsingh was highlighting.
Hmm, you're certainly not familiar with the teaching profession then. Here are a few facts.Being asked to work from home for two days is NOT a suspension. It does not get recorded on an employment record. It does not involve a disciplinary hearing. Its effect is less than that of a formal reprimand. Teachers have been sacked outright for bringing their school into disrepute by posting comments on Facebook. Therefore, on a scale of 1 to 10 of disciplinary options available to the sponsoring authority, it rates just above doing nothing at all. She was off for fewer days than she had off to attend the conference.
"Nobody buys that" is a pretty lame justification for an opinion, and is usually only used when there is no factual evidence to support an accusation. If you knew about schools you would be aware that all disciplinary matters involving staff involve at least one governor. Academies allow for greater interference by the sponsoring authority than would be allowed if the LEA were running the school.
I cannot link to her comments about staff in her previous school because the blog has been taken down. If you read what you posted you would already know that. Whilst the blog stayed anonymous, her colleagues were unaware that they were being discussed online. Now that her cover is blown, her former colleagues are less than impressed, which I assume is why she had the decency to remove the blog.
Your assertion that the facebook group, with fewer supporters than there were pupils in her school has succeeded is delusional. She was sent home for two days. When the two days were up she returned. Maybe you can set up a facebook campaign for the sun to rise in the morning, and notch up another success.
You say that I have made " a lot of unsubstantiated claims". Care to mention one? You were at least correct that I like Labour, although I disagree with their introduction of academies which are a gimmick costing far more than their record justifies. I, like most teachers, supported the Tory idea of the National Curriculum which has changed education for the better, and cheered when Gove abolished the pointless and expensive GTC.
The sad thing is that Gove has offered nothing to address the problems which Ms Birbalsingh was highlighting.
Excellent riposte, PT.
I've missed her too ever since that first time when she went offline and then came back sporadically.
Oh the irony. Last night there was a post here pointing out your ignorance of the educational disciplinary system, and the delusional belief that her two days at home finished after two days because of the facebook page (and not because, well, she was only actually sent home for two days).
I also highlighted the bottom-feeder of a justification 'nobody buys that' because you had no other evidence to support your view, pointed out the stupidity of asking for a link to a site that you yourself have reported as taken down, and asked you to actually state which 'unsubstantiated claims' of mine you are referring to.
And then tonight this post has 'disappeared'. Please tell me that you, a campaigner for the freedom of speech for teachers, have not censored a teacher just because the facts do not support your allegations.
In case it was a technical problem you are suffering, my earlier, disappearing, post is here.
Hmm, you're certainly not familiar with the teaching profession then. Here are a few facts. Being asked to work from home for two days is NOT a suspension. It does not get recorded on an employment record. It does not involve a disciplinary hearing. Its effect is less than that of a formal reprimand. Teachers have been sacked outright for bringing their school into disrepute by posting comments on Facebook. Therefore, on a scale of 1 to 10 of disciplinary options available to the sponsoring authority, it rates just above doing nothing at all. She was off for fewer days than she had off to attend the conference.
"Nobody buys that" is a pretty lame justification for an opinion, and is usually only used when there is no factual evidence to support an accusation. If you knew about schools you would be aware that all disciplinary matters involving staff involve at least one governor. Academies allow for greater interference by the sponsoring authority than would be allowed if the LEA were running the school.
I cannot link to her comments about staff in her previous school because the blog has been taken down. If you read what you posted you would already know that. Whilst the blog stayed anonymous, her colleagues were unaware that they were being discussed online. Now that her cover is blown, her former colleagues are less than impressed, which I assume is why she had the decency to remove the blog.
Your assertion that the facebook group, with fewer supporters than there were pupils in her school has succeeded is delusional. She was sent home for two days. When the two days were up she returned. Maybe you can set up a facebook campaign for the sun to rise in the morning, and notch up another success.
You say that I have made " a lot of unsubstantiated claims". Care to mention one? You were at least correct that I like Labour, although I disagree with their introduction of academies which are a gimmick costing far more than their record justifies. I, like most teachers, supported the Tory idea of the National Curriculum which has changed education for the better, and cheered when Gove abolished the pointless and expensive GTC.
The sad thing is that Gove has offered nothing to address the problems which Ms Birbalsingh was highlighting.
Luckily, there was a copy of my missing post in cyberspace. Please feel free to point out any inaccuracies.
Hmm, you're certainly not familiar with the teaching profession then. Here are a few facts.Being asked to work from home for two days is NOT a suspension. It does not get recorded on an employment record. It does not involve a disciplinary hearing. Its effect is less than that of a formal reprimand. Teachers have been sacked outright for bringing their school into disrepute by posting comments on Facebook. Therefore, on a scale of 1 to 10 of disciplinary options available to the sponsoring authority, it rates just above doing nothing at all. She was off for fewer days than she had off to attend the conference.
"Nobody buys that" is a pretty lame justification for an opinion, and is usually only used when there is no factual evidence to support an accusation. If you knew about schools you would be aware that all disciplinary matters involving staff involve at least one governor. Academies allow for greater interference by the sponsoring authority than would be allowed if the LEA were running the school.
I cannot link to her comments about staff in her previous school because the blog has been taken down. If you read what you posted you would already know that. Whilst the blog stayed anonymous, her colleagues were unaware that they were being discussed online. Now that her cover is blown, her former colleagues are less than impressed, which I assume is why she had the decency to remove the blog.
Your assertion that the facebook group, with fewer supporters than there were pupils in her school has succeeded is delusional. She was sent home for two days. When the two days were up she returned. Maybe you can set up a facebook campaign for the sun to rise in the morning, and notch up another success.
You say that I have made " a lot of unsubstantiated claims". Care to mention one? You were at least correct that I like Labour, although I disagree with their introduction of academies which are a gimmick costing far more than their record justifies. I, like most teachers, supported the Tory idea of the National Curriculum which has changed education for the better, and cheered when Gove abolished the pointless and expensive GTC.
The sad thing is that Gove has offered nothing to address the problems which Ms Birbalsingh was highlighting.
Luckily, there was a copy of my missing post in cyberspace. Please feel free to point out any inaccuracies.
Hmm, you're certainly not familiar with the teaching profession then. Here are a few facts.Being asked to work from home for two days is NOT a suspension. It does not get recorded on an employment record. It does not involve a disciplinary hearing. Its effect is less than that of a formal reprimand. Teachers have been sacked outright for bringing their school into disrepute by posting comments on Facebook. Therefore, on a scale of 1 to 10 of disciplinary options available to the sponsoring authority, it rates just above doing nothing at all. She was off for fewer days than she had off to attend the conference.
"Nobody buys that" is a pretty lame justification for an opinion, and is usually only used when there is no factual evidence to support an accusation. If you knew about schools you would be aware that all disciplinary matters involving staff involve at least one governor. Academies allow for greater interference by the sponsoring authority than would be allowed if the LEA were running the school.
I cannot link to her comments about staff in her previous school because the blog has been taken down. If you read what you posted you would already know that. Whilst the blog stayed anonymous, her colleagues were unaware that they were being discussed online. Now that her cover is blown, her former colleagues are less than impressed, which I assume is why she had the decency to remove the blog.
Your assertion that the facebook group, with fewer supporters than there were pupils in her school has succeeded is delusional. She was sent home for two days. When the two days were up she returned. Maybe you can set up a facebook campaign for the sun to rise in the morning, and notch up another success.
You say that I have made " a lot of unsubstantiated claims". Care to mention one? You were at least correct that I like Labour, although I disagree with their introduction of academies which are a gimmick costing far more than their record justifies. I, like most teachers, supported the Tory idea of the National Curriculum which has changed education for the better, and cheered when Gove abolished the pointless and expensive GTC.
The sad thing is that Gove has offered nothing to address the problems which Ms Birbalsingh was highlighting.
Luckily I found a copy of the missing post in cyberspace. Please feel free to point out any inaccuracies.
Hmm, you're certainly not familiar with the teaching profession then. Here are a few facts.Being asked to work from home for two days is NOT a suspension. It does not get recorded on an employment record. It does not involve a disciplinary hearing. Its effect is less than that of a formal reprimand. Teachers have been sacked outright for bringing their school into disrepute by posting comments on Facebook. Therefore, on a scale of 1 to 10 of disciplinary options available to the sponsoring authority, it rates just above doing nothing at all. She was off for fewer days than she had off to attend the conference.
"Nobody buys that" is a pretty lame justification for an opinion, and is usually only used when there is no factual evidence to support an accusation. If you knew about schools you would be aware that all disciplinary matters involving staff involve at least one governor. Academies allow for greater interference by the sponsoring authority than would be allowed if the LEA were running the school.
I cannot link to her comments about staff in her previous school because the blog has been taken down. If you read what you posted you would already know that. Whilst the blog stayed anonymous, her colleagues were unaware that they were being discussed online. Now that her cover is blown, her former colleagues are less than impressed, which I assume is why she had the decency to remove the blog.
Your assertion that the facebook group, with fewer supporters than there were pupils in her school has succeeded is delusional. She was sent home for two days. When the two days were up she returned. Maybe you can set up a facebook campaign for the sun to rise in the morning, and notch up another success.
You say that I have made " a lot of unsubstantiated claims". Care to mention one? You were at least correct that I like Labour, although I disagree with their introduction of academies which are a gimmick costing far more than their record justifies. I, like most teachers, supported the Tory idea of the National Curriculum which has changed education for the better, and cheered when Gove abolished the pointless and expensive GTC.
The sad thing is that Gove has offered nothing to address the problems which Ms Birbalsingh was highlighting.
I think that if you keep sending comments they go into spam. I have kindly checked my spam filter and published all your comments!
In terms of correcting your accuracy, it's almost a line by line task.
Firstly KB only took Monday and Tuesday off to be at conference which is the same number of days as she was asked to work at home.
You mention that on a scale of 1 to 10 being sent home rates just above nothing at all. Well I can't remember a deputy head being sent home, but the issue isn't the severity of the punishment but the fact there was a 'punishment' at all.
You didn't seem to like my scepticism that a board of governors would independently sanction the deputy head in this way. Indeed KB's own account describes how Irene Bishop visited her office to say she wasn't happy and sent her home.
Seems to me that you are very blinkered person who prefers to start with a conclusion and make up the facts to fit that.
Of course the blog has been taken down - which is why I asked you to substantiate your claims knowing that you couldn't. It was taken down before she spoke to conference which is why not only does your claim that her colleagues were offended after she revealed herself not stand up but your allegation that she insulted colleagues on her blog is completely unsubstantiated.
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