Schools in England are shutting down legitimate debate on the Israel-Gaza conflict because teachers feel unprepared and are concerned about political impartiality, the government’s report on social cohesion says. Published by an independent advisor.
Dame Sarah Khan said schools risked “stoking further anger, hatred and polarization” if they continued to close debate halls.
He said the conflict had sparked massive demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters in London and elsewhere, and that there was a noticeable increase in schools where pupils wanted to talk about events in Gaza. He said it is having an impact.
Days after the publication of his review on threats to social cohesion, Mr Khan reiterated his claim that teachers avoid tackling controversial issues for fear of becoming targets of intimidation and harassment. Ta.
He also said teachers felt there was too little guidance on how to teach controversial issues in personal, social, health and economics (PSHE) lessons and that they needed help from the Department for Education (DfE) when issues arose. He said he was concerned about the lack of support.
Her review focuses on the case of a religious studies teacher at Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire, who was forced into hiding after being accused of blasphemy, and is an example of how teachers feel threatened. It recommends the establishment of a Solidarity and Conflict Unit to provide support. The force will also provide training resources to support schools on controversial topics.
The war in Gaza caused many incidents in schools. In one case, Berkeley Primary School in Leyton, east London, sought help from the Metropolitan Police to investigate threats against the school and abuse of staff after the school decided to ban political symbols, including the Palestinian flag.
Many teachers are reluctant to speak out, but one secondary school teacher, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Guardian that her school was holding weekly meetings on the issue and providing a safe space for discussion. He told the Guardian it was one of the few schools that had agreed. conflict.
“We’re lucky. Administrators in general are scared and teachers are scared to discuss it. The biggest problem is that there is such silence in the majority of schools. ” they said.
Another teacher at an inner-city school, who also requested anonymity, said it was a “big failure” on the part of the school. “We were told from the beginning that this was a political issue and couldn’t be discussed. Even if we didn’t talk about it, that doesn’t mean the kids aren’t interested. They’re not interested in what’s going on. They’re moving online where they can’t control what they see.”
National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede agreed that his members were nervous about discussing such a difficult topic in class.
“This is a very sensitive issue. We have been clear as a union that we absolutely condemn the attack and hostage-taking by Hamas, but what has followed is a true humanitarian disaster. And young people want to talk about it.
“School is a great place for young people to talk about difficult topics, but I think there is tension in this profession.”
The NEU has been criticized for expressing support for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which will be debated at its annual conference, over a motion branding the Israeli government “racist” and “guilty of apartheid”.
The motion, which will be debated by delegates at a meeting in Bournemouth next week, calls on the executive to “publish and distribute educational resources that members can use to improve their understanding of Palestine and Israel”. I’m looking for it.
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It also said the Israeli government was the main driver of the conflict and called on the UK government to stop “acting as a promoter of Israel’s policy of apartheid”, while the amendments would give the right to protest and debate the issue. All attempts to suppress it must be prohibited. I objected.
Khan said: “There is no question that the conflict has had a direct impact on schools.While there is a desire among some students to talk about what is happening in Israel and Palestine, many of teachers are aware that they are expected to uphold their legal obligations to be impartial, but feel unprepared to discuss disputes.
“A lack of resources to foster such discussions in educational settings, especially when there is so much propaganda and disinformation online, is necessary, but some schools are not responding to anger and hatred. “We are shutting down any legitimate dialogue that could have the potential effect of further fueling polarization.” ”
A Newham City Council spokesperson said: “Our approach as a council is to provide a listening platform for school leaders to discuss the significant impact they have had on children, families and teams. Colleagues from our team continue to meet regularly with colleagues across the council and community partners to assess the impact this is having on our communities, including our schools.”
Glen Bezalel, deputy headteacher at London City Schools, has written a book called Controversy in the Classroom to help schools deal with complex educational issues in the age of fake news and alternative facts. He said: In an environment where censorship and cancel culture are a particular concern, if I were to have a discussion in class, you never know if I’d be excited about X that night.
“My sense is that most teachers would say, ‘We have a curriculum to teach, and exams are coming up.’ Let’s just leave it at that. It’s not worth the trouble.” There are good reasons why it should be the right place to teach things. If we don’t do it in school, where else will students get their information? God help us on social media. please.”
Bezalel also said this is an important part of helping students develop independent critical thinking and learn the importance of kindness and respect in discussions of controversial issues. “The classroom is a great place to model this.”
A government spokesperson said: “It is vitally important that we teach children about different points of view, but we are clear that this must be done in line with our guidelines on fairness.” We understand that addressing these issues can be difficult. That’s why we offer a wide range of advice and resources to teachers through the Educate Against Hate website. This includes not only providing quality-assured learning materials for use in the classroom, but also practical advice on promoting unity and challenging extremist views. ”
