Diverse Educators

A Manifesto

Bennie Kara, Hannah Wilson

• Publisher: University of Buckingham Press
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781915054999
• Topic: Didattica
• Subtopic: Didattica inclusiva

Structured around the Equality Act and written collaboratively, Diverse Educators: A Manifesto aims to capture the collective voice of the teaching community and to showcase the diverse lived experiences of educators.

The book is divided into ten chapters, one for each of the nine Protected Characteristics (Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Pregnancy and Maternity; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Race; Religion and Belief; Sex; Sexual Orientation) with a tenth chapter exploring intersectionality.

Framed in theory and interweaving personal and professional narrative from over 100 contributors, this ground-breaking text responds to current and historic debates, while remaining accessible and solutions-focused, with high-quality input on practice, pedagogy, people management and policy.

Each chapter shares provocations for the reader and for the school system on the changes we would collectively like to manifest in education.

'Comprehensive and insightful' James Coleman

'This is a powerful resource for educators everywhere' Dame Alison Peacock, Chief Executive Chartered College of Teaching

'Ambitious in scope and, appropriately, diverse in perspective' Russell Hobby, CEO Teach First

'A must-read for anyone working in or with schools' Andy Buck, Founder of Leadership Matters

'A genuinely extraordinary book' David Weston, Chief Executive of the Teacher Development Trust

'Has the potential to make a real difference' Samantha Twiselton, Director of Sheffield Institute of Education

'An upstanding and brave manifesto' Karen Giles

'Teachers and educators will find it invaluable' Steve Munby, Visiting Professor, Centre for Educational Leadership, University College London

CHAPTER 1: AGE

CHAPTER EDITOR: KATIE WALDEGRAVE

CHAPTER CONTRIBUTORS

1. Patrick Thomson – Towards age-inclusive, sustainable careers in the education sector

2. Ian Hunter – Valuing Age Diversity in Schools

3. Jo Brighouse – The Crime of Miss Jean Brodie: Why are experienced teachers no longer valued?

4. Nicky Bright – Menopause and Schools

5. Leila MacTavish and Isabel Instone – The potential benefits of age-inclusivity

6. Richard Lewis – Age and teachers: challenges and opportunities

7. Hugh Ogilvie – Experience and resilience create the counterbalance to imposter syndrome

8. Jane Clewlow – Stage Not Age: Ageism in Schools

9. Tulika Samal – Knowledge transfer: Shifting the Focus So Differences Become Strengths through Mentorship

10. Savitri Patel – Story Book Villains: Where are the Positive Older Role Models in the English Literature Curriculum?

BIOGRAPHIES

Katie Waldegrave is co-founder of Now Teach, a charity helping experienced career-changers to retrain as teachers. Previously she co-founded First Story, the creative writing charity for students in low-income communities. She began her working life as a history teacher and is committed to improving equity in education (and, on the side, to writing).

Hugh Ogilvie is a teacher of English and Drama, covering all secondary key stages, with a particular interest in A level Literature and continually developing pedagogy and practice, allied to an undimmed passion for lifelong learning and positive relationships between staff and students.

Ian Hunter is Chief Executive of the Knowledge Schools Trust in London. He was a late entrant to the world of education, having had prior careers in global businesses and consultancies. He completed a MEd degree in Educational Leadership as part of his ‘re-training’. He has employed Now Teach teachers since 2018 and particularly values the diversity and difference that they bring to both the classroom and staffroom.

Jane Clewlow has worked in educational leadership for over twenty years, leading teaching, learning and staff development in schools spanning London, Salford, Manchester and Dubai. She has undertaken a variety of roles including: Head of English, Head of Year, Assistant Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher.

Jo Brighouse is an experienced primary teacher in the Midlands. She is a former TES columnist and writes under a pseudonym.

Leila MacTavish is the Head of Ark Teacher Training. She previously worked as the Vice Principal of the City of London Academy, Highbury Grove, and the Head of Initial Teacher Education for Future Academies. Leila is a trustee of Untold and the Charities Advisory Trust and a governor at Ark Brunel Primary Academy.

Isabel Instone is the secondary curriculum lead for Ark Teacher Training. She trained to teach with Teach First and has held a number of teaching roles in London, including Head of Science at Reach Academy, Feltham, before joining Ark Teacher Training as a professional tutor and Science Subject Lead.

Nicky Bright spent thirty years in education, eight as Head and former Chair of the Girls’ Schools Association’s Professional Development Committee. Nicky runs Bright Lead Ltd. A leadership development coach and facilitator, Nicky serves and enables leaders and their teams to be their ‘best selves’ and raises awareness of the impact of the menopause.

Patrick Thomson leads the age-friendly employers’ programme at the Centre for Ageing Better. Patrick works closely with employers, recruiters, and intermediaries to bring about behaviour change within organisations to maximise the benefits of the ageing workforce. As a former member of the Government Social Research Unit he commissioned and managed projects for the Department for Work and Pensions’ ageing society strategy, leading to the evidence base for the removal of the Default Retirement Age.

Richard Lewis is currently a History teacher in an inner London secondary school teaching years 7 to 13. He currently holds the title ‘the oldest NQT in Westminster.’ Prior to teaching Richard was a banker and an international management consultant developing teams across national and corporate cultures.

Savitri Patel works as a Programme Manager for Now Teach, supporting career-changers to retrain and remain as teachers. Prior to that, she was an English teacher and Head of Media Studies and spent five years as Learning Projects Manager at a London theatre.

Tulika Samal is originally from India and has over fifteen years of experience as an educator in varied roles that include, but are not limited to, the Principal of a residential school, Vice Principal, Headmistress and Junior High Math teacher in Phoenix, AZ, USA. Tulika is the Co-Founder of Eddoxa, an education consultancy excelling in providing various services to schools.

THE PROTECTED CHARACTERISTIC OF AGE: INTRODUCTION

KATIE WALDEGRAVE

INTRODUCTION

Ageism: discrimination or unfair treatment based on a person’s age

In his 2021 book, Extra Life, science writer Stephen Johnson sets himself a thought experiment: what if there was a newspaper which was published only once every century? What would the headlines be? Almost certainly, something along the lines of ‘Average human lifespan doubles.’ Our species has pulled off an astonishing achievement.

The story of our altered life expectancy is a fascinating one. The impact of that story plays out in every part of our lives. I had twins in 2016 in the UK; there is more chance that both will live to 100 than that both do not. They will think about education, careers, love, leisure, retirement, health and relationships in ways which are completely different to that of my grandmother, born in 1911 with a life expectancy of fifty-eight.

It often seems that we have not quite kept up with the news. Data collection still captures the experience of people in age brackets spanning decades and then sticks ‘sixty plus’ on the end, neglecting to realise that this is 23% of the UK population. It is no longer realistic, or desirable, to expect that we will all work until sixty-something and retire. My children will be working into their eighties and this is to be celebrated – but it will take some thought.

DEFINITIONS AND TERMINOLOGY

Every few months a version of the same article appears about ageism experienced by older teachers. There is a strong sense amongst the contributors to this chapter that we do not value our ageing workforce. Some countries are better at it than others. But like most problems, the practical manifestation is money. Older teachers can be replaced with cheaper young ones. They may not be quite as good, but they will put up with more hours and in the end it more or less balances out – and balances the books.

We are not serving our students, nor any of our teachers with the system we currently have. This is not a problem limited to the education sector. Patrick Thompson, of The Centre for Ageing Better, outlines the problem of ageism powerfully:

The National Barometer of Prejudice and Discrimination, shows 26% of people said that they had experienced discrimination based on age in the last year, a higher proportion than any other protected characteristic, including gender, race, or disability.

But it is particularly acute in education.

The effect of a relatively young workforce is not good for that workforce. When I started teaching I endlessly worked beyond midnight only to wake at 5.30am and start all over again. Now I have three children, more responsibilities and a slightly thicker skin, I simply would not and could not do it. In 2016 I set up an organisation called Now Teach, which brings older career changers into teaching. One of the things they are often valued for is holding their boundaries. When I was considering my career progression, my family and whether/how to apply for leadership roles, it might have been useful to speak to more people who had faced those same questions. Perhaps I would not be one of the thousands of teachers, particularly women, who drop out of the profession without really intending to.

Most of all, it does not benefit the students. If you are ageist – that is to say, have negative expectations of older age – as a child, then you will experience a worse older age. Study after study has shown us our life expectancy, health and happiness will all be worse. As teachers we know this: our students fulfil the expectations we put on them. It is incumbent on us for their sake, if for no other reason, that we eliminate ageism from schools. The only sure-fire way of doing this is to ensure the teaching population of any school is age diverse. The more the generations mix, the better off we all are.

LANDSCAPE

Scientists predict that some of the five-year-olds in my twins’ class might live until the 2130s. To equip them for that future, they need things people of all ages can offer. The importance of exams, the vagaries of family life, the anger of adolescents, all appear different to us when we have seen it all before. Schools must hang on to these different perspectives. Not least because ageing is going to be a very inequitable conundrum.

People in the poorest parts of the UK live ten years less than people in the wealthiest. Even more worryingly, people in the poorest areas not only have shorter lives, but they spend far less of those years healthy. Currently, the rich-poor gap in the UK’s healthy working life is nineteen years; that is to say, a healthy woman born in Nottingham has a healthy life expectancy of fifty-three compared to seventy-two years in Wokingham. This maps directly on to the educational attainments and life chances; we all know the link between poverty and chances of success. This pattern repeats the world over. Globally, too, there is a clear link between schools in low-income areas and young teachers. These are the very children who most need to have a healthy attitude to ageing – and a responsible relationship with their future selves.

VOICES IN OUR CHAPTER IN DIVERSE EDUCATORS – A MANIFESTO

The contributors to this chapter have seen ageism in myriad forms in schools. Patrick Thompson opens this chapter by outlining the problem of ageism powerfully. Ian Hunter and Jo Brighouse show us the view from their perspectives as CEO of Knowledge Schools Trust MAT and...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• The Prologue
• Chapter 1: Age
• Chapter 2: Disability
• Chapter 3: Gender Reassignment
• Chapter 4: Marriage and Civil Partnership
• Chapter 5: Pregnancy and Maternity
• Chapter 6: Race
• Chapter 7: Religion and Belefs
• Chapter 8: Sex
• Chapter 9: Sexual Orientation
• Chapter 10: Intersectionality
• The Epilogue
• Index