8th March 2024
HEADLINES
By James Saunders
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
Today is International Women’s day and my Twitter (or X) stream has been filled with inspirational stories of talented women from across the globe. As a young boy I can only remember a few inspirational male role models. Ok, there was my father. And screen icons Rambo and The Terminator. However, it was female musicians that had the greatest influence on me and helped me develop my love for music: Tracy Chapman; Nina Simone; Lauren Hill; Annie Lennox; Nenah Cherry and Kate Bush to name a few. These women managed to express themselves and the art form without the misogyny and violence that plagues so much of today’s male dominated world of rap. Does this make me a feminist? Surely the very nature of our jobs as teachers must make us all feminists. You should surely never favour one learner over another. You should treat them all equally. And that is what being a feminist is. For me it is simply about equality. All our learners deserve an equal opportunity to receive the same high quality teaching and support that enables them to achieve great outcomes and a happy life. International Women’s day reminds us that equality still needs to be on our radar and as a society we must still strive to achieve parity for all every single day. The campaign theme for International Women’s Day 2024 is Inspire Inclusion. When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we forge a better world. And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment. Collectively, it is essential that we forge a more inclusive world for women. The campaign theme emphasises the importance of diversity and empowerment in all aspects of society. The theme underscores the crucial role of inclusion in achieving gender equality. It calls for
action to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where all women are valued and respected. Inspire Inclusion encourages everyone to recognise the unique perspectives and contributions of women from all walks of life, including those from marginalised communities. There is an excellent series of children’s books (little dreams, big people) that highlight the great accomplishments of women. Figures such as Rosa Parks, Emmeline Pankhurst, Ada Lovelace, Frida Kahlo, Maria Montessori and Ella Fitzgerald are all represented. Days like International Women’s Day help us to spotlight the great accomplishments of role models such as these and open up an equality of aspiration for all our learners. Which neatly segues me into World Book Day. WORLD BOOK DAY “Words can be like x-rays if you use them properly they’ll go through anything.” - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World It was so great to see everyone embrace World Book Day yesterday. Those that came to school as a character from their favourite book really looked the part. We also extended this to staff and I am pleased that so many embraced too; we had a smorgasbord of books and characters represented. The aim of the day is to raise the profile of books and reading. The evidence is quite clear on this - regular reading makes a difference to academic performance. GUIDED CHOICES Our C8 learners have begun to work through the guided choices process. This is where they choose the subjects they would like to take at GCSE. We should never underestimate how daunting it can appear to be for our C8s and their parents. It is easy to think that, for our learners, the rest of their lives