PhD Stu Aesthetic & Embodied Ed #Arts #Democracy Critical, creative, equitable pedagogies BA Art MA SJ & ED joaestheticjustice@bsky.social #AestheticJustice
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
Just watch. Watch the laughing, the cheering, the sheer delight on these faces.
This is not the reaction of ordinary people believing they've had a motion passed to lower your energy bills.
This is the reaction of corruption. Of greed. Of climate vandalism in the name of privatised profits for their Big Oil donors.
THIS is about power. About cash flows into politics. And it's about the greed of Big Oil, and the desire of politicians to covet their political careers over all else, even when that means destroying the planet we all depend on to survive.
There's nothing pragmatic about this, and the reaction shows it.
If it were a balance between weighing up climate action and an immediate need to lower bills, this would have been a solemn occasion.
But this isn't. It's a room of corrupt politicans laughing like hyenas because they've passed a motion that serves them and their donors, and no one else.
@andyburnham @KemiBadenoch @ZackPolanski @jeremycorbyn
#Jackdaw #ClimateCrisis
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
Very important background and reading on the new antisemitism review focused on schools
In a short while, Secretary of State for Education, @LucyMPowell will present the Sir David Bell review into antisemitism in schools and colleges.
This review is billed as the 'Independent review into antisemitism in schools and colleges'.
I've spoken to a number of individuals and organisations that submitted evidence to the Bell Review when the call for views from people with relevant lived experience, knowledge or expertise of antisemitism in schools and colleges went out earlier this year.
A number of them have gotten back to me to relay their horror and dismay that the review seems overly focussed on issues such as the presence of Palestine solidarity badges and other imagery in schools rather than the multitude of clear examples where Jewish students have been targeted with antisemitic abuse, discrimination and hatred.
It appears that the review is coming down hard on expressions of Palestine solidarity while being rather light on pupils who do Hitler salutes or make jokes about Jews and money.
Having done a little research I do also have some serious concerns as to the impartiality of this review and also the recommendation that schools adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism despite it not being possible to make this compulsory, nor is it legally actionable.
If we care about tackling antisemitism in society, ensuring we get to it where it manifests in our schools and among young people, then we need to put a stop to the weaponisation of antisemitism and its use for political football where Israel-Palestine is concerned.
This review is fundamentally biased, ideological, and linked to efforts to tie Jewish identity with support for Israel while suppressing pro-Palestine expression as 'antisemitic' and intimidating for Jews.
The reality of course is that young Jews in the UK are way more intimidated and frightened by their classmates doing Hitler salutes, making jokes about the Holocaust, doing gas sounds towards them because they're Jewish, being physically assaulted for being Jewish, being bullied and isolated for being Jewish, being sexually assaulted (reports of kids demanding to see the circumcised penis of a Jewish school child in year 8), and all the other antisemitic shit that is happening in our schools.
I'm also reminded of what we learned from the documentary film @IsraelismFilm about the efforts to indoctrinate young Jews into seeing Israel as integral to their identity as Jews, that when Israel is criticised they are being personally attacked as Jews, and that they can only see themselves as Jewish if they support and love Israel.
Anyway, below are some very serious issues relating to Sir David Bell, his lack of impartiality, and the failure to declare vested interests of himself and a number of those on the reference group:
- David Bell's role as a permanent secretary at the department of education was not disclosed as a conflict of interest.
- David Bell is named on the national council of the 'National Study Group', an educational charity, that in its mission statement says that its goal is to "initiate or expand active links and research collaboration between academics, specialists and centres-of-excellence in the UK and their counterparts in Israel." The ASG is "primarily a UK-Israel operation" and rather worryingly the "only issue on which ASG has firm policy is opposition to BDS. The Charity is totally committed to the universality of knowledge and rejects any disruption to cross-national co-operation."
- The ASG, of which Sir David Bell is named as a member of national council, provides educational talks about Israel to schools.
- Executive director of the ASG, John D.A. Levy, is on the advisory board of Academic Friends of Israel and a separate charity, the friends of Israel educational foundation.
- The Friends of Israel Educational Foundation carries out hundreds of school talks in the UK.
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
In a short while, Secretary of State for Education, @LucyMPowell will present the Sir David Bell review into antisemitism in schools and colleges.
This review is billed as the 'Independent review into antisemitism in schools and colleges'.
I've spoken to a number of individuals and organisations that submitted evidence to the Bell Review when the call for views from people with relevant lived experience, knowledge or expertise of antisemitism in schools and colleges went out earlier this year.
A number of them have gotten back to me to relay their horror and dismay that the review seems overly focussed on issues such as the presence of Palestine solidarity badges and other imagery in schools rather than the multitude of clear examples where Jewish students have been targeted with antisemitic abuse, discrimination and hatred.
It appears that the review is coming down hard on expressions of Palestine solidarity while being rather light on pupils who do Hitler salutes or make jokes about Jews and money.
Having done a little research I do also have some serious concerns as to the impartiality of this review and also the recommendation that schools adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism despite it not being possible to make this compulsory, nor is it legally actionable.
If we care about tackling antisemitism in society, ensuring we get to it where it manifests in our schools and among young people, then we need to put a stop to the weaponisation of antisemitism and its use for political football where Israel-Palestine is concerned.
This review is fundamentally biased, ideological, and linked to efforts to tie Jewish identity with support for Israel while suppressing pro-Palestine expression as 'antisemitic' and intimidating for Jews.
The reality of course is that young Jews in the UK are way more intimidated and frightened by their classmates doing Hitler salutes, making jokes about the Holocaust, doing gas sounds towards them because they're Jewish, being physically assaulted for being Jewish, being bullied and isolated for being Jewish, being sexually assaulted (reports of kids demanding to see the circumcised penis of a Jewish school child in year 8), and all the other antisemitic shit that is happening in our schools.
I'm also reminded of what we learned from the documentary film @IsraelismFilm about the efforts to indoctrinate young Jews into seeing Israel as integral to their identity as Jews, that when Israel is criticised they are being personally attacked as Jews, and that they can only see themselves as Jewish if they support and love Israel.
Anyway, below are some very serious issues relating to Sir David Bell, his lack of impartiality, and the failure to declare vested interests of himself and a number of those on the reference group:
- David Bell's role as a permanent secretary at the department of education was not disclosed as a conflict of interest.
- David Bell is named on the national council of the 'National Study Group', an educational charity, that in its mission statement says that its goal is to "initiate or expand active links and research collaboration between academics, specialists and centres-of-excellence in the UK and their counterparts in Israel." The ASG is "primarily a UK-Israel operation" and rather worryingly the "only issue on which ASG has firm policy is opposition to BDS. The Charity is totally committed to the universality of knowledge and rejects any disruption to cross-national co-operation."
- The ASG, of which Sir David Bell is named as a member of national council, provides educational talks about Israel to schools.
- Executive director of the ASG, John D.A. Levy, is on the advisory board of Academic Friends of Israel and a separate charity, the friends of Israel educational foundation.
- The Friends of Israel Educational Foundation carries out hundreds of school talks in the UK.
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
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- Karen Newman is a member of Sir David Bell's reference group for the so-called independent review. Newman is a vice-president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, an organisation that carries out Israel advocacy at multiple levels and is constitutionally obligated to take action to advance Israel's 'security, welfare, and standing'.
- Karen Newman has previously given evidence to committees of Parliament where she has suggested the mere sight of a Palestinian flag or badge is a threat to Jews.
- Another member of the reference group is Anna Joseph, deputy head teacher at JFS, a Jewish secondary school in London, a school that literally states in its vision and values: "To be proud and knowledgeable about Jewish culture, history, identity, and community, with a love of the State of Israel and learning Hebrew as part of Jewish heritage."
- JFS London runs residential programs for students in Israel aimed at fostering and promoting the ideals of Zionist modern orthodoxy and also runs a program called JLife, which included a component called the 'ABC's of Israel advocacy' for students heading to university. There was also found to have been a year 13 discussion at one point that emphasised comparison between boycott of Israeli goods with the Nazi boycott of Jewish shops.
- Another member of the reference group for this review is Rabbi David Meyer OBE, who has in a recent trip to Israel met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, wanted for war crimes.
- Rabbi David Meyer is director of Partnerships for Jewish Schools (PaJeS), an organisation that develops educational programs for Jewish Schools. This organisation, in its 2024 J Tracks presentation, set out a number of its objectives which included encouraging Jewish students to become "positive advocates for Israel in the world" and that they should be "emotionally connected to Israel" and that there is a fundamental connection between Israel [the state] and Jewish identity.
- PaJes produced a 'war in Israel' set of resources for schools containing a link to a document created by i-gnite, a UK educational and Zionist initiative, entitled 'Talking points: suggested responses to frequently asked questions about Israel'.
- Another resource that PaJes links to a video from Unpacked, whos parent organisation, OpenDor Media, explicitly states that its mission is to increase Jewish diaspora support for Israel and Zionism. In the video linked to by PaJes the question asked is 'Has Israel committee war crimes?'. See the video for yourself here: youtu.be/WQ1yIvcg13Q?is=CfHA…
- PaJes is also partnered with United, an initiative led by Israel's Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combatting antisemitism. The Israeli government describes United as aimed at identifying and strengthening students commitment to the state of Israel.
- Dr Helen Miller, another member of Bell's reference group, has worked previously at UJIA (United Jewish Israel Appeal), an organisation with a stated mission of inspiring young Jews to forge their own personal relationship with Israel.
- Presently, there are only 3 people on the reference group for this so-called independent review that appear to not have any links with Israel advocacy.
Considering all of the above it is my view that Sir David Bell has multiple conflicts of interest as do multiple people on his reference advisory group. None of this has been formally declared in the report or at any point by the department of education.
Bell should have recused himself from carrying out this review.
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
🚨 PLEASE SHARE!
I've written to both my children's schools following the Government's antisemitism review.
I WILL NOT accept genocide being presented as a two-sided political debate, or Palestinian history and suffering being erased from their education.
I've drafted a template which I'm sharing for other parents to use or adapt.
Political impartiality must NEVER become historical dishonesty.
Please use them. Challenge your schools. Demand answers.
#GazaGenocide
docs.google.com/document/d/1…
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
36,000 out of 9,000,000 school children are Jewish
1,800,000 are SEN
3,500,000 are BAME
550,000 are Muslim
Where are the special protections against racism, ablism & islamophobia?
“If education isn’t the answer, what is?”
Antisemitism has no place in our schools and colleges.
Sir David Bell’s report sets out what needs to change, informed by the experiences of Jewish communities and those working in education.
Read more here ➡️ gov.uk/government/news/gener…
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
It's basically a huge reminder to black people, Asians, Arabs and Gypsy Roma that their concerns/wellbeing don't matter to the state. Basically telling them that the racism they're subjected to isn't important enough to address.
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
i’ve never seen the british state move like this for anything else. not third of its own children in poverty. not the housing crisis. not the cost of living crisis. nothing.
BREAKING: A landmark government report is set to reveal the vast scale of antisemitism in English schools and colleges, Sky News can exclusively reveal.
The report, written by former schools inspector Sir David Bell, will on Wednesday set out 27 recommendations to create change.
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
Why haven't you introduced similar measures for other forms of racism? 95% of black kids suffer racism in schools, so why are you treating antisemitism as a more serious form of racism?
Why do these measures--from proscribing Palestine Action to banning kids from social media to sacking BBC stars for lack of neutrality--always favour Israel?
This strongly looks like it's nothing to do with antisemitism and everything to do with killing solidarity with Palestine--and frankly it's disgusting.
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
The most racist thing you can do in the UK is oppose genocide
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
The latest report from Institute for Jewish Policy Research does not back up the government findings.
It states 76% of parents said their children did not encounter antisemitism. The second graph breaks down the percentage between in school and traveling to school.
Teachers to be banned from wearing Palestine badges as review finds 3 in 5 Jewish pupils have faced antisemitism at school trib.al/00Lztkq
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
Astonishingly bad ...
Those who WRITE plays/films do not use scripts
Those who WRITE music do not use scripts
Much of teaching is creating the contexts of learning, not performing them
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
It's now absolutely clear why @andyburnham took his opportunity to aggressively go after @ZackPolanski over @TheGreenParty's Zionism motion.
Today, we're expecting measures that could effectively rewrite how our children are taught in our schools. Measures aimed at sanitising a genocide, silencing criticism of Israel, and teaching our children that some atrocities are acceptable to condemn, while others must be treated with political caution.
Now add to that, the prospect of further drilling in the North Sea.
At a time when the climate crisis is accelerating, when we should be urgently moving away from fossil fuels and investing in a sustainable future, this government appears determined to take us backwards.
More extraction. More emissions. More protection for industries that have profited enormously from the destruction of our planet.
And who will live with the consequences? Our children.
This could be a really, really dark day in British history.
A day when our government effectively says:
Fuck your children. We don't care about their future. We'll sacrifice their planet, and we'll use their education as a political weapon to defend our own complicity in war crimes as we see fit.
To every MP, especially those sitting on the Labour benches, I want to ask something.
What the hell did you enter politics for?
Was it to serve the public? To defend human rights? To build a better future for the next generation?
Or was it to protect your political career, toe the party line and look the other way when your own government does the very things you once claimed to oppose?
Look at what's happened to the Republican Party in America. Politicians who once claimed to stand for democracy, decency and the rule of law have repeatedly abandoned those principles rather than stand up to their own leadership.
Don't let that happen here.
@RichardBurgon, @johnmcdonnellMP, @CliveLewisMP, @ApsanaBegumMP, @BellRibeiroAddy, @IanByrneMP, @NadiaWhittomeMP, @RachaelMaskell, @DawnButlerBrent, @KimJohnsonMP, and every other Labour MP who still believes in the principles that brought them into politics: this is the moment to stand up and be counted.
@jeremycorbyn @zarahsultana
🚨 THIS SHOULD ALARM EVERY PARENT IN ENGLAND.
Tomorrow, the Government is expected to receive 27 recommendations on tackling antisemitism in schools and colleges.
Among the reported proposals:
• Schools to reconsider political symbols, including Palestinian watermelon badges.
• New guidance on teaching the Israel–Palestine conflict, emphasising political impartiality.
• Greater scrutiny of how teachers discuss geopolitical issues.
• Encouraging schools to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism, including its controversial examples relating to Israel.
Let me be absolutely clear...
Antisemitism must be challenged wherever it exists. Jewish children deserve to feel safe in every school.
But this is not about antisemitism.
IT IS ABOUT BRAINWASHING OUR CHILDREN TO COVER UP OUR GOVERNMENT'S COMPLICITY IN WAR CRIMES.
What the hell are we doing when expressing solidarity with Palestinians becomes something schools are encouraged to challenge?
When teachers are expected to demonstrate political impartiality, who decides what constitutes impartiality?
And since when should the documented genocide and displacement of Palestinians be treated as simply another political opinion?
Human rights ARE NOT a partisan position.
International law IS NOT a matter of political preference.
The slaughtering of civilians IS NOT something we should teach children to be indifferent about.
Education is being hijacked for political conditioning rather than encouraging children to think critically.
If we reach a point where children are discouraged from showing solidarity with victims of oppression, where teachers fear telling the truth about atrocities, and where political impartiality becomes a euphemism for silence, then we have crossed a truly terrifying, line.
Education should teach children to recognise injustice, question authority and stand up for humanity, not to condition them to look the other way when those in power are responsible.
And if our Government is more concerned about children wearing Palestinian badges than the suffering those badges represent, then we need to ask ourselves a very serious question:
Are we educating the next generation to prevent the atrocities of history from happening again, or teaching them how to accept them when they do?
#GazaGenocide
@andyburnham @jeremycorbyn @ZackPolanski @KemiBadenoch @owenjonesjourno @Heccles94 @zarahsultana
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RT @PaperWhispers: 95%* of Black children in the UK have heard or directly experienced racist abuse at school.
It is interesting that ther…
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
Goodness me, the tweet below: you really couldn't make this up. I say that having fact-checked the research reports Ofsted put out during AS's time there. (Research appeared not just to have been cherry-picked, but to have misrepresented sources, eg: schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-mat…)
England is forgetting that education policy should be based on evidence and informed by experience - my first Substack piece
amvspielman.substack.com/p/g…
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
beyond the obvious pedagogical flaws with teaching scripts, remember that they are generally produced by transnational corporations who generate serious economic profit for themselves by (wrongly) convincing teachers that scripts make teaching more equitable and efficient.
Actors use scripts. Musicians use sheet music. Surgeons follow established procedures.
Why are scripts for teachers treated as an affront to professionalism?
@ehanford explains why Direct Instruction uses them.
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“If we reach a point where children are discouraged from showing solidarity with victims of oppression, where teachers fear telling the truth about atrocities, and where political impartiality becomes a euphemism for silence, then we have crossed a truly terrifying, line”.
🚨 THIS SHOULD ALARM EVERY PARENT IN ENGLAND.
Tomorrow, the Government is expected to receive 27 recommendations on tackling antisemitism in schools and colleges.
Among the reported proposals:
• Schools to reconsider political symbols, including Palestinian watermelon badges.
• New guidance on teaching the Israel–Palestine conflict, emphasising political impartiality.
• Greater scrutiny of how teachers discuss geopolitical issues.
• Encouraging schools to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism, including its controversial examples relating to Israel.
Let me be absolutely clear...
Antisemitism must be challenged wherever it exists. Jewish children deserve to feel safe in every school.
But this is not about antisemitism.
IT IS ABOUT BRAINWASHING OUR CHILDREN TO COVER UP OUR GOVERNMENT'S COMPLICITY IN WAR CRIMES.
What the hell are we doing when expressing solidarity with Palestinians becomes something schools are encouraged to challenge?
When teachers are expected to demonstrate political impartiality, who decides what constitutes impartiality?
And since when should the documented genocide and displacement of Palestinians be treated as simply another political opinion?
Human rights ARE NOT a partisan position.
International law IS NOT a matter of political preference.
The slaughtering of civilians IS NOT something we should teach children to be indifferent about.
Education is being hijacked for political conditioning rather than encouraging children to think critically.
If we reach a point where children are discouraged from showing solidarity with victims of oppression, where teachers fear telling the truth about atrocities, and where political impartiality becomes a euphemism for silence, then we have crossed a truly terrifying, line.
Education should teach children to recognise injustice, question authority and stand up for humanity, not to condition them to look the other way when those in power are responsible.
And if our Government is more concerned about children wearing Palestinian badges than the suffering those badges represent, then we need to ask ourselves a very serious question:
Are we educating the next generation to prevent the atrocities of history from happening again, or teaching them how to accept them when they do?
#GazaGenocide
@andyburnham @jeremycorbyn @ZackPolanski @KemiBadenoch @owenjonesjourno @Heccles94 @zarahsultana
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
🚨 THIS SHOULD ALARM EVERY PARENT IN ENGLAND.
Tomorrow, the Government is expected to receive 27 recommendations on tackling antisemitism in schools and colleges.
Among the reported proposals:
• Schools to reconsider political symbols, including Palestinian watermelon badges.
• New guidance on teaching the Israel–Palestine conflict, emphasising political impartiality.
• Greater scrutiny of how teachers discuss geopolitical issues.
• Encouraging schools to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism, including its controversial examples relating to Israel.
Let me be absolutely clear...
Antisemitism must be challenged wherever it exists. Jewish children deserve to feel safe in every school.
But this is not about antisemitism.
IT IS ABOUT BRAINWASHING OUR CHILDREN TO COVER UP OUR GOVERNMENT'S COMPLICITY IN WAR CRIMES.
What the hell are we doing when expressing solidarity with Palestinians becomes something schools are encouraged to challenge?
When teachers are expected to demonstrate political impartiality, who decides what constitutes impartiality?
And since when should the documented genocide and displacement of Palestinians be treated as simply another political opinion?
Human rights ARE NOT a partisan position.
International law IS NOT a matter of political preference.
The slaughtering of civilians IS NOT something we should teach children to be indifferent about.
Education is being hijacked for political conditioning rather than encouraging children to think critically.
If we reach a point where children are discouraged from showing solidarity with victims of oppression, where teachers fear telling the truth about atrocities, and where political impartiality becomes a euphemism for silence, then we have crossed a truly terrifying, line.
Education should teach children to recognise injustice, question authority and stand up for humanity, not to condition them to look the other way when those in power are responsible.
And if our Government is more concerned about children wearing Palestinian badges than the suffering those badges represent, then we need to ask ourselves a very serious question:
Are we educating the next generation to prevent the atrocities of history from happening again, or teaching them how to accept them when they do?
#GazaGenocide
@andyburnham @jeremycorbyn @ZackPolanski @KemiBadenoch @owenjonesjourno @Heccles94 @zarahsultana
BREAKING: A landmark government report is set to reveal the vast scale of antisemitism in English schools and colleges, Sky News can exclusively reveal.
The report, written by former schools inspector Sir David Bell, will on Wednesday set out 27 recommendations to create change.
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
🚨 BREAKING: Almost 9 MILLION people across the UK are at risk of needing a food bank in the next year.
One in five people have run out of food in past year and been unable to afford to buy more.
This cannot continue. The government must act ahead of the Budget to make essentials like food and bills affordable.
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jo cb #Antiracist #Equity retweeted
Update: two banks have refused my applications to open an account.
So far I have been debanked by @LloydsBank, suspended by @Revolut (awaiting appeal outcome) and banned from @PayPal.
This is the price of opposing 'israel' in occupied Britain.
@LloydsBank refused to give me a reason for closing my accounts. The advisor could only submit a 'complaint' to request one.
It can take 8 weeks.
Meanwhile, I cannot pay my bills or access my money. I must wait for a cheque and find another bank.
This is political persecution.
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