Yet again my school has managed to allocate an entire day to imparting information that could have been fit into an hour. Today was Sixth Form induction. Rather than being given our timetables or signing up for extracurricular activities we were subjected to a 'carousel' of sessions. Only a secondary school management team could make a fairground ride sound so ominous. As it turned out, 'carousel' was shorthand for a series of lessons during which we learned little more than the importance of organisation and the dangers of becoming overly reliant on Google.
As tedious as this was, the true horrors began when we were sent to the hall for 'ice-breaking activities', despite the fact that most of us already know each other and those of us that don't are old enough to independently engineer our own conversations.
What our heads of year lacked in good sense, they in no way made up for with originality. After hours of having the importance of time management drummed into us, we spent the afternoon building bridges out of cardboard boxes and wrapping eggs in newspaper and duct tape so that they could be dropped without breaking, using any resources the different departments could provide. One girl suggested going to the food-tech classroom and hard boiling it. The whole thing somewhat undermined the promise that we were going to be treated like adults so long as we behaved like adults. Several participants broke their side of the bargain as soon as they were handed raw eggs. By the time the teachers announced that they were ready to test our constructions, the session had descended into anarchy.
If I learned anything from today, which is questionable, it is that a morning spent telling students that they are expected to be mature and responsible should probably not be followed by an afternoon of building cardboard suits for eggs.
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
Friday, 6 February 2015
"Boys will be boys"
Sexism is a problem that seems to go un-dealt with in schools. It's inevitable - with so many hormonal teens in one place, obnoxious, crude behaviour may be unavoidable. But it's the acceptance of this, the way in which the behaviour is dealt with that is an issue. It's the 'boys will be boys' attitude that allows objectification of women to go unchecked and leads teenaged girls to believe that they have to accept such behaviour as 'just one of those things'.
The real problem is that sexist comments and low level harassment are dealt with as though they're no worse than the usual immature or disruptive behaviour. It has to be made clear to pupils from a young age that harassment, however trivial it may seem, is a serious offense and will be punished accordingly, and it's vital that this is enforced.
I see it everywhere. Last term, two female musicians came in to give us an assembly and they were subjected to wolf-whistling and inappropriate comments, and the offenders were simply reprimanded for 'being disruptive'. For the rest of the day, boys argued about which was 'hotter'. I hear terms like 'feminazi' thrown around the moment sexism is challenged and those who are openly feminist are mocked, or told that they 'go on about women's rights too much'. When I was in year seven, older boys would shout horrible things at me as I walked past. I hear boys criticizing girls' bodies, calling them 'whales' or 'twigs', going so far as to discuss female teachers' figures. It's sickening, and yet it's still not being addressed by staff.
If sexism is not treated as the serious offense that it is then the thirteen year olds who call my sister 'sexy' and then make crude comments to her about their penises will become the sixteen year olds who joke about spiking girls' drinks and the men who harass women on the streets. Perhaps it's obvious to most, but school has a duty to expressly teach us what consensual sex is and why any form of sexism is unacceptable. In PHSCE the girls were told to watch their drinks, or not drink at all in case someone tried to slip them date rape drugs, but at no point was is stated that date rape drugs are wrong.
Maybe taking the time to teach about the importance of consent, what constitutes rape and why objectification is wrong wouldn't push the school any higher in the league tables or earn any favours with OFSTED, but education should reach further than exams and target grades. It plays a huge part in shaping the next generation and our schools have a duty to stamp out sexism, because the wolf-whistlers and 'hormonal' teens of today will be the rapist and harassers of tomorrow.
The real problem is that sexist comments and low level harassment are dealt with as though they're no worse than the usual immature or disruptive behaviour. It has to be made clear to pupils from a young age that harassment, however trivial it may seem, is a serious offense and will be punished accordingly, and it's vital that this is enforced.
I see it everywhere. Last term, two female musicians came in to give us an assembly and they were subjected to wolf-whistling and inappropriate comments, and the offenders were simply reprimanded for 'being disruptive'. For the rest of the day, boys argued about which was 'hotter'. I hear terms like 'feminazi' thrown around the moment sexism is challenged and those who are openly feminist are mocked, or told that they 'go on about women's rights too much'. When I was in year seven, older boys would shout horrible things at me as I walked past. I hear boys criticizing girls' bodies, calling them 'whales' or 'twigs', going so far as to discuss female teachers' figures. It's sickening, and yet it's still not being addressed by staff.
If sexism is not treated as the serious offense that it is then the thirteen year olds who call my sister 'sexy' and then make crude comments to her about their penises will become the sixteen year olds who joke about spiking girls' drinks and the men who harass women on the streets. Perhaps it's obvious to most, but school has a duty to expressly teach us what consensual sex is and why any form of sexism is unacceptable. In PHSCE the girls were told to watch their drinks, or not drink at all in case someone tried to slip them date rape drugs, but at no point was is stated that date rape drugs are wrong.
Maybe taking the time to teach about the importance of consent, what constitutes rape and why objectification is wrong wouldn't push the school any higher in the league tables or earn any favours with OFSTED, but education should reach further than exams and target grades. It plays a huge part in shaping the next generation and our schools have a duty to stamp out sexism, because the wolf-whistlers and 'hormonal' teens of today will be the rapist and harassers of tomorrow.
Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Eagles fly, Chickens fry
This morning the whole of year eleven was treated to an hour long motivational talk designed to help us fulfil our true potential. Thanks to our speaker's inspirational speech encouraging us to spend more time and effort working I missed an hour's worth of coursework and am now a lesson behind, but at least 'my mind is focused and my heart is ready' (a phrase we were made to repeat over and over like some sort of education pantomime).
During the session, our speaker imparted unto us such pearls of wisdom as 'goldfish only grow as big as their environment.' and 'what you believe about yourself is the truth' (in which case I would like to enquire as to where my Hogwarts letter is) and my personal favourite, 'eagles fly, chickens fry.'
Apparently the reason chickens cannot fly is not that their wings are vestigial, but that they're lazy and have no motivation, whereas eagles are the bird world's equivalent of conscientious students, flying the highest of all the wingéd beasts. The speaker's evidence for the beneficial nature of motivation was 'I bet you've never had an eagle burger'. No, Mr. Speaker, I have not. Possibly because eagles are endangered.
I would also point out, if we are using birds to analogise success, that chickens are incredibly productive, often laying one egg a day, whereas eagles typically lay between one and three a year. Eagles are also predators who end the lives of other animals, which would surely place them in the category of people the speaker described as 'drainers' (friends who destroy your dreams and carry a 'dark cloud of negativity' over their heads) as opposed to chargers (those who encourage you to do well).
This wasn't the only bird-based analogy either. We were also shown a picture of a sparrow jumping from a ledge to illustrate risk taking. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think jumping from a height is much of a risk if you're a bird. The explanation went something like this:
Speaker: The other birds are watchers and observers. They're happy where they are and they're waiting for this little guy to take the risk before they follow on, but that bird has said 'I want it' and he's gone for it. He'll probably be like 'oh, man, what have I done?' but then he'll realise that he can fly and he'll spread his wings and soar! Just like you'll be scared at first but when you accept these challenges you'll find your potential and fly high.
Perhaps I'm overestimating sparrows' intelligence, but as far as I know birds don't tend to forget that they have the power of flight, and if they did, I'm not sure they'd be throwing themselves off buildings. I mean, if they didn't realise they could fly, how on earth did they get up onto the ledge in the first place?
The rest of the session was mostly more pantomimical chanting of 'I am successful', 'my mind is focused and my heart is ready' and 'I fly high' (with reference to the eagle), not to mention a group rendition of 'The lion sleeps tonight' and an anecdote warning us of the dangers of trying to be cool. The speaker was pretty keen on us all holding hands and singing Kumbaya at the end, but our head of year called the session to a close before things could get any more out of hand.
It was probably the most appalling waste of lesson time since the business and enterprise day, and no one is particularly amused by the amount of coursework we'll have to catch up on. Of course, now we know the key to success, making up the extra time should be no trouble, because we all have the eagle within us. And also the ambitious goldfish. I think.
Edit: I have recently researched chicken wings and found that they are not vestigial, but that they are often clipped. Apparently chickens in the wild can fly, though not very far, and roost in trees to avoid predators.
During the session, our speaker imparted unto us such pearls of wisdom as 'goldfish only grow as big as their environment.' and 'what you believe about yourself is the truth' (in which case I would like to enquire as to where my Hogwarts letter is) and my personal favourite, 'eagles fly, chickens fry.'
Apparently the reason chickens cannot fly is not that their wings are vestigial, but that they're lazy and have no motivation, whereas eagles are the bird world's equivalent of conscientious students, flying the highest of all the wingéd beasts. The speaker's evidence for the beneficial nature of motivation was 'I bet you've never had an eagle burger'. No, Mr. Speaker, I have not. Possibly because eagles are endangered.
I would also point out, if we are using birds to analogise success, that chickens are incredibly productive, often laying one egg a day, whereas eagles typically lay between one and three a year. Eagles are also predators who end the lives of other animals, which would surely place them in the category of people the speaker described as 'drainers' (friends who destroy your dreams and carry a 'dark cloud of negativity' over their heads) as opposed to chargers (those who encourage you to do well).
This wasn't the only bird-based analogy either. We were also shown a picture of a sparrow jumping from a ledge to illustrate risk taking. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think jumping from a height is much of a risk if you're a bird. The explanation went something like this:
Speaker: The other birds are watchers and observers. They're happy where they are and they're waiting for this little guy to take the risk before they follow on, but that bird has said 'I want it' and he's gone for it. He'll probably be like 'oh, man, what have I done?' but then he'll realise that he can fly and he'll spread his wings and soar! Just like you'll be scared at first but when you accept these challenges you'll find your potential and fly high.
Perhaps I'm overestimating sparrows' intelligence, but as far as I know birds don't tend to forget that they have the power of flight, and if they did, I'm not sure they'd be throwing themselves off buildings. I mean, if they didn't realise they could fly, how on earth did they get up onto the ledge in the first place?
The rest of the session was mostly more pantomimical chanting of 'I am successful', 'my mind is focused and my heart is ready' and 'I fly high' (with reference to the eagle), not to mention a group rendition of 'The lion sleeps tonight' and an anecdote warning us of the dangers of trying to be cool. The speaker was pretty keen on us all holding hands and singing Kumbaya at the end, but our head of year called the session to a close before things could get any more out of hand.
It was probably the most appalling waste of lesson time since the business and enterprise day, and no one is particularly amused by the amount of coursework we'll have to catch up on. Of course, now we know the key to success, making up the extra time should be no trouble, because we all have the eagle within us. And also the ambitious goldfish. I think.
Edit: I have recently researched chicken wings and found that they are not vestigial, but that they are often clipped. Apparently chickens in the wild can fly, though not very far, and roost in trees to avoid predators.
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