requires improvement

If you're already wondering what this episode is about: CAGs are centre-assessed-grades and TAGs are teacher-assessed grades, both of which constitute all the free labour teachers have just had to complete in order to rescue some qualification outcomes for the student cohort class of covid-19 (2021 edition). It's not been a great time in education but it was great to get the the RI crew back in a room to discuss Israel-Palestine, Student led democracy and protest, political education strategies and a whole bunch of stuff which has been on our minds as educators and union organisers of late. Hosted by Tom, Co-hosted by Lauren, Nik, Charlie and Lee.

References/Links:

1. 1199’s advice to (rookie) Organisers https://organiseforchange.nz/2019/02/14/1199s-advice-to-rookie-organisers/

2. Capital by Karl Marx

3. David Harvey Lectures on Capital https://www.youtube.com/user/readingcapital

4. Why men hate women by Laura Bates

5. Natives by Akala

6. Akala Oxford Student Union Address and Q&A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUtAxUQjwB4&t=401s

7. Women, Race and Class by Angela Davis

8. Chapo Trap House Episode “So You Want to Start A Union” https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house/288-so-you-want-to-start-a-union-feat-brace-belden-21019

We are thrilled to welcome lecturer, podcaster and thinker Jeremy Gilbert onto our show in order to talk about why exactly it is the government seems to hate educators. In a wide ranging discussion we seek to place UK education in its wider political context and history, what factors explain the atavism of the right against a truly equitable state education provision and what the possible strategies are available for challenging neoliberal hegemony in the present moment and in the future. We hope you enjoy the thought-provoking discussion and big thanks to Jeremy for offering us his insights. Hosted by Nik, and co-hosts Charlie and Lee.

Links to Jeremy Gilbert's various output and projects:

https://www.jeremygilbert.org/home

https://twitter.com/jemgilbert/

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/author/jeremy-gilbert/

It's been a while since we've been able to report in, and this has resulted in a bumper April episode where hosts Charlie, Nik, Anu, Lauren and Lee all take a look back over lockdown #3, going on to discuss the "big bang" re-opening of schools, behaviour hubs, student radicalisation, Kill the Bill protests, and ending with a focus on recent events at Pimlico Academy.

Articles:

Behaviour Hubs - https://schoolsweek.co.uk/revealed-first-22-lead-schools-for-dfes-10m-behaviour-hubs-project/

Bristol "leaders" condemn violence - https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2021-03-25/bristol-leaders-condemn-sundays-violence

Article on Student Walkout at Pimlico Academy - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/31/pimlico-academy-pupils-stage-protest-over-discriminatory-policies

The Battle for Pimlico Academy, and its Kent connections

https://www.kentadvice.co.uk/peters-blog/item/1386-pimlico-academy-and-its-kent-connections.html

In this episode of Requires Improvement, Co-hosts Tom and Lauren interview Andy Byrne, one of the committee members of Hammers United, a football fan club for West Ham. Andy speaks about the similar challenges fans face to educators and trade unionists when confronted with market forces, structural change and the need for ordinary people to have control over their cultural lives as well as in the workplace. Connections are drawn between how organisers in different sectors can learn from each other about effective approaches to building inclusive supermajorities and having an impact on real life events.

Check out Hammers United's website here: http://hammersunited.com/

You can also find them on twitter here: https://mobile.twitter.com/hammersunited2?lang=en

After the chaos of another week being educators and union organizers on "Rainy Plague Island" in January 2021, the Requires Improvement team come together to reflect on school closures, remote learning, the failures of certain apparent allies in various political parties and unions to stand alongside us, and finally Gavin Williamson and OFSTED's flooded inbox. Hosted by Lauren, she is joined by co-hosts Nik, Charlie, Tom and Lee. Our brains are already melted, but let's reflect together in solidarity always!

As we draw 2020 to a close, Requires Improvement co-hosts Tom and Lee interview Muhammed Tamimi from the Hebron International Resource Network, as we discuss what conditions are like in the Occupied Territory of the West Bank, in particular HIRN's activities around school building and providing material support to the Palestinian people. We discuss what people in the UK can do to practically show their solidarity, and reflect on the wider meaning of the Palestinian struggle and whether lessons can be drawn for the international left today.

Please follow this link if you wish to make a donation to the Hebron International Resource Network, via the Amos Trust Charity. https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/7827#!/DonationDetails#%2FDonationDetails

Hebron International Resource Network Website: https://hebronresources.wordpress.com/about/

Amos Trust: https://www.amostrust.org/

Books Referenced:

Romeo and Juliet in Palestine: Teaching Under Occupation by Tom Sperlinger

https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/zer0-books/our-books/romeo-juliet-palestine

Potential History Unlearning Imperialism by Ariella Aïsha Azoulay

https://www.versobooks.com/books/3079-potential-history

In this episode of Requires Improvement hosts Charlie and Anu are joined by Lana Crosbie, who is a National Education Union rep and branch officer, and a member of No More Exclusions who are a campaigning network of educators and activists pushing for urgent reform to the UK education system. NME work with schools, students and communities in order challenge and address issues around systemic and structural racism, with a view to abolishing practices which exclude children from education - practices which demonstrably fail to address the underlying social problems that too often have disastrous consequences for the life chances of young people. Lana discusses the ideology and role of No More Exclusions, alongside highlighting their links to other organizations such as the Coalition of Anti-Racist Educators, Black Educators Alliance and Pupil Voice.

Links:

No More Exclusions: https://nomoreexclusions.com/

CARE: https://nomoreexclusions.com/care/

CARE Twitter: https://twitter.com/CARE2Liberate

Crowdfunding for CARE legal challenge to the government: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/liberate-our-classrooms/

Black Educators' Alliance: https://blackeducatorsalliance.org/

Pupil Power: https://thepupilpowercampa.wixsite.com/pupilpower

Pupil Power Twitter: https://twitter.com/thepupilpower?lang=en

In this November episode of Requires Improvement we offer some personal insights into what conditions are like in schools right now and how this is affecting staff, students and the wider community.

We discuss Lee's story about catching COVID and ending up in hospital, whether schools can continue to be fully open, the apparently still-happening exams system in England, the NEU's current response, comparisons between primary and secondary schools, in addition to some other errata of the current historical moment. This episode is hosted by Lee, who is joined by Tom, Nik, Lauren and Charlie. Prepare yourselves for a real rager folks.

Articles mentioned:

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/nov/10/wes-streeting-labour-from-free-school-meals-to-shadow-schools-minister

In this October edition of RI, co-hosts Charlie, Lauren and Lee take a broad situation report of the current state of the education system during the pandemic - what it's been like in the classroom, the problems that need urgently fixing. We are then joined for a guest interview with @tetrapod from twitter who joins us for a discussion about the latest DfE guidance in relation to the broader PSHE curriculum, which has a distinctly ideological flavour to it requiring considered analysis!

Links:

Donate to the CARE crowdfund for justice against the DfE guidance: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/liberate-our-classrooms/

Read the Black Educator's Alliance statement on this topic: https://blackeducatorsalliance.org/2020/09/28/statement-on-department-for-education-guidance-on-pshe/

Check out CARE = Coalition of Anti-Racist Educators @CARE2Liberate

Check out Tetrapod's twitter here: https://twitter.com/pancake_puns

Here are some additional articles mentioned by Tetrapod:

"Why I'm taking legal action against the government's new school guidelines" https://www.runnymedetrust.org/blog/why-were-taking-legal-action-against-the-governments-new-school-guidelines

"I didn’t become a teacher to ban independent thought. Anti-racist education should not be up for debate" https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/education-dfe-schools-victim-narratives-capitalism-blm-racism-b737415.html

On this special livestream episode which is available on Youtube for a limited time at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eVWedrC5gI&t=3256s Requires Improvement were honoured contributors to The World Transformed Online 2020 #twt20 for a classic round of consideration about what is happening and in need of reform in the current education system, with viewer contributions submitting questions and co-hosts Nik, Lauren, Anu, Charlie and Lee.

In this episode we discuss school re-openings and whether schools are currently safe, the exam system during the pandemic, conditions in prison education, financial constraints of the education system exacerbating dangers of the pandemic and the current situation for supply teachers and their potential to help. We fielded some great questions from viewers, which were:

1) What would be your top tips for new teachers starting training this month?

2) Can you really reform a system that was created for the reproduction of capitalist relations though>

3) How can parents and schools work better together to tackle the special educational needs crisis?

4) What do you think we should be doing collectively to make sure there is more diversity in the curriculum?

Huge thanks to The World Transformed for hosting us, please check out the prodigious output of political education content, all of which can be found at https://theworldtransformed.org/