Curios of the week #75

Clippings, endnotes and other ephemera

Image via AI

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This was a good week in the realm of Year 6 science. On Wednesday, we conducted a practical with the aim of sketching the cells in moss leaves. The students did really well, but the highlight was a worm that appeared on one group’s slide. Everyone took turns to view the worm under the microscope. The lesson wasn’t about worms, but you take your chances when they arise.

We have had some great weather and at my place, we had an exeat weekend, a long weekend when our boarders go home. It did make the four day week pretty busy but there’s nothing quite like an extra day off.

This week’s Curios include experts, a tweet / post on X, a club you can join if you really want to and much more.

Grim development of the week

There have been riots in the UK, triggered by the tragic killing of three young girls in Southport. Acting on false rumours about the identity of the perpetrator, the far right have taken the opportunity to foment widespread anti-immigration rioting and looting.

I am not in favour of riots, whoever it is who is rioting. Yet, it is even worse when prompted by the obvious racism and xenophobia of the far right. Riots are criminal, violent and usually damage shops and businesses in areas that are already disadvantaged. I hope the UK government throws the book at the rioters for whom I have no sympathy.

Some right-wing figures on social media have sought to draw a connection between the riots and the amount of immigration to Britain in recent years. This is a tricky area because nobody condones rioting and discussing possible ‘causes’ sounds like shifting the blame. However, if a large number of people are unhappy about immigration, a small fringe of these people could be drawn to the far right as a result. That doesn’t make this fringe correct or excuse their behaviour, but it does place it in a political context.

I would add another possible factor, the rise of identity politics and one of its academic wings, critical race theory, that sounds obscure but has influenced programs in schools. Writing in 2021, I noted:

“Proponents of [critical race theory] argue that while non-white people are constantly aware of their perceived race - they are ‘racialized’ - white people are not and tend to think of themselves just as people…

However, we don’t know the long term effects of making white people more conscious of their race. I’m not convinced this is an advance and it could lead to the unintended consequence of a surge of interest in neo-nazi ideology.”

Younger readers may not realise that we haven’t always focused so much on people’s perceived race. ‘White dudes for Harris,’ would have seemed absurd 20 years ago and to many in Generation X, it seems absurd now, even if they are not going to ride out there with that opinion any time soon.

Identity is dangerous magic and we should be careful how we play with it, especially in schools.

Conference invitation of the week

I intend to do a little more speaking in 2025. If you are interested, then you know where to find me.

In the meantime, if you would like to see me speak, or a galaxy of stars including Peps McCrea, your next chance is at researchED Newcastle (Australia) on Saturday 24 August. If you want more information or to buy tickets, click this link.

Club of the week

It is not every day you are invited to join a club. And this club is a bit special. It is for, “committed critically reflective teachers, who are eager to experience what kind of transformational impact individual and collective critical thinking can have on their practice.”