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Teachers will be trained to challenge ‘whiteness’ in schools


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Teachers will be taught to challenge “whiteness” in lessons, The Telegraph can reveal.

 

Guidance has been created for teacher-training courses, to ensure future educators are “anti-racist” and prepared to implement this in the classroom.

Teachers will be instructed in how to “disrupt the centrality of whiteness” in schools, according to a best-practice document.

 

The term “whiteness” in critical race theory refers to social attitudes considered normal by white people, and guidance suggests that concepts including “meritocracy”, “objectivity” and “individualism” should be questioned.

Documents state that student teachers – if they happen to be white – should also be helped to develop and project a “positive white racial identity”.

Separate guidance has been developed in Scotland and England, and both documents have been endorsed by universities offering teacher training, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Newcastle, along with the National Education Union.

Documents claim that encouraging “anti-racist” teacher training will help to maintain a diverse teaching workforce, and will help to close the attainment gap between white and non-white pupils.

 

The Scottish “anti-racism framework”, drawn up by the Scottish Council of Deans of Education and endorsed by 10 universities, states that changes to the way in which teachers are taught will “disrupt the centrality of whiteness and enable different ways of seeing, thinking and doing”.

This process may involve more references to colonialism and racism in lessons, and instilling an understanding of the “impact of whiteness”.

 

This, it says, will help teachers project a “white racial identity grounded in reality and allyship” in the classroom, free from “false notions of superiority”.

 

Your thoughts? 

 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/teachers-will-be-trained-to-challenge-whiteness-in-schools/ar-AA1poKj6

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I think challenging concepts such as meritocracy, individualism and objectivity should be encouraged.

Good.

Any particular reason why you don't think they should go unchallenged?

Edited by Mister M
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17 minutes ago, Mister M said:

Snipped 

Any particular reason why you don't think they should go unchallenged?

Feel free to quote where I've said that in relation to this thread. 

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You've posted an article and asked people on here for their thoughts. :huh:

If I said that they should go unchallenged, and asked if there was a reason why you thought they should would you be as defensive in your reply?

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2 minutes ago, Mister M said:

Snipped 

If I said that they should go unchallenged, and asked if there was a reason why you thought they should would you be as defensive in your reply?

I'm not being defensive, I'm just asking you to back up what you said. If you're saying your post wasn't accusatory buy merely poorly worded then that's different. 

 

 

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1 minute ago, The_DADDY said:

I'm not being defensive, I'm just asking you to back up what you said. If you're saying your post wasn't accusatory buy merely poorly worded then that's different. 

 

 

One of the propositions behind the article is the idea that enabling anti discriminatory teacher training keep the academic workforce diverse hence helping to close the gap between students from different backgrounds.

Individualism and meritocracy as assumptions used in the context of education should be reflected on as they don't reflect the reality for many pupils from different backgrounds.

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8 minutes ago, Mister M said:

One of the propositions behind the article is the idea that enabling anti discriminatory teacher training keep the academic workforce diverse hence helping to close the gap between students from different backgrounds.

Individualism and meritocracy as assumptions used in the context of education should be reflected on as they don't reflect the reality for many pupils from different backgrounds.


 

There is also guidance for white teachers on projecting a positive white identity. That’s a rather good thing in my view. We should all be proud of who we are.

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1 minute ago, Prettytom said:


 

There is also guidance for white teachers on projecting a positive white identity. That’s a rather good thing in my view. We should all be proud of who we are.

It is - I'm just a bit suspicious of the Telegraph. They have an agenda which nowadays seems to be less about news, and more about winding their readers up.

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