"She's a Cat!" - Serious Matters Overlooked

 

Perhaps unwisely, I was listening to Nick Ferrari on LBC the other morning. He is considerably to the Right of James O'Brien, whose programme follows that of Mr Ferrari. Consequently, the subjects they cover differ radically. James O'Brien, described by James Marriott in yesterday's Times as "the world's angriest centrist dad", covers matters that could broadly be described as Guardian issues - human rights, the follies of the present government - rather like those covered by this blog (in all modesty). Ferrari tends to focus at times on what I would describe as Daily Mail issues - cross channel migrants, the misdeeds of the Left and the madness of political correctness. It is the last of these bete noirs that Ferrari was banging on about the other day.

The issue that concerned Mr Ferrari, as might be expected, was covered in the Daily Mail issue of June 19. As far as can be ascertained, a Year 8 girl pupil in Rye College, East Sussex, was scolded by her teacher for contesting a fellow-pupil for identifying herself as a cat. It seems (I stress "seems") that the teacher branded the girl "despicable". The Mail goes on:

"The teacher at the school - who is now facing a huge backlash - can be heard in a secret recording calling her view that gender is binary 'really despicable' and 'very sad'."

Please note - the conversation, as such, was secretly recorded - but more of that later. Back to the Mail:

"In the three-and-half-minute recording, the angry teacher is heard speaking to two girls and says they would report the children to a senior colleague, and they needed a 'proper educational conversation about equality, diversity and inclusion'."

In a predictably gloating tone, the Mail goes on to tell us that the girl's parent has expressed "fury online" and Rye College is facing a social media onslaught.

When we face a cost of living crisis, inflation and a war in Ukraine, it is amazing that a relatively minor incident in one of thousands of UK schools merits such prominence. It is far less amazing that neither Nick Ferrari or the Mail gave the school much of an opportunity to reply. Instead, conservative pressure groups have joined the cries of outrage. Andrea Williams, of Christian Concern (CC). which has called for an investigation, declared: 

'Teachers who raise Christian and conservative views at school, or who raise real safeguarding concerns about gender transitioning children, are being sacked and banned from the profession indefinitely...
Thousands of children in primary and secondary schools are being forced to absorb extreme LGBT ideology without their parents' knowledge.
Students are having to resort to recording what is being imposed on them in the classroom to protect themselves and expose to their parents and wider world what is happening."

At this point, I must step in. 

Firstly, I seriously question that Christian and conservative teachers are being sacked for their views. I know of no such sackings, and Williams & co offer no evidence ( neither does the Daily Mail ) of these purported events. Having paid a cursory look at the CC website, they offer no such examples, preferring to disseminate anti-abortion propaganda. 

Next, while the Mail, Ferrari and others express such concern for the rights of children to express binary views (which, by the way, I agree with) no such concern has been shown for the "anonymous" teacher involved. The Mail sanctimoniously proclaims:

"MailOnline has chosen not to name the teacher".

Of course not. Why should the Mail  do that, when it can be left to social media? That teacher now will be facing pressure from all quarters. Metaphorically speaking, the hostile media attention has left her with a target painted on her back. There have been calls for her to be sacked, without benefit of a fair investigation. The recording lasted for three and a half minutes, and hardly constitutes evidence for dismissal. If parents have a complaint against a member of school staff, there is a procedure to be followed, and it is for the Head, along with school governors, to take appropriate action to resolve the parental grievance. Whatever mistakes the teacher is alleged to have made, she should not face trial by social media, which would be a kangaroo court of anti-teacher bigots. Er..who was the Conservative ex-PM who objected to what he called a "kangaroo court"? 

What the Mail did not do, has been done by "Schools Week". They comment here:

"In a statement to Schools Week, the trust said it wanted to “clarify that no children at Rye College identifies as a cat or any other animal”. 

Put another way, this charge against the school has no foundation. Officials from the Aquinas Church of England Trust, which runs Rye College, met with Dame Kate Dethridge of the DFE recently. Schools Week continue:

“We have now met with the DfE to share an update on the events which took place before, during and after the recording,” a spokesperson added.
This meeting was a positive step and we will continue working closely with them to ensure any appropriate action is taken."

Such balanced discussion is in welcome contrast to the near-hysteria expressed by the Mail and others.

Unfortunately, there is a an angle to this story that has not been covered, or even noticed.

As a retired teacher, I am extremely concerned at the fact that a recording, made surreptitiously by a pupil, has caused such a massive controversy. An internal school matter, which could have been dealt with discreetly, has been blown out of all proportion by the tabloid press and so-called "interest groups". This has created a precedent for other pupils, faced with similar situations, to do the same thing. And, given the technical expertise of pupils with mobile phones, there will be scope for malicious activities by a minority to make fake recordings of teachers they dislike.

 I wonder what Christian Concern would make of that.