An SNP training programme allows teachers to take the equivalent of three days out from the classroom to learn how to “decode racial microaggressions”. The Telegraph has the story.
The Building Racial Literacy programme – delivered by Education Scotland, the quango – trains teachers to “decode race and racial microaggressions”.
This refers to subtle, often unintentional acts that convey a negative attitude toward someone of a different race.
The course also examines “intersectionality”, the ways in which racism interacts with other factors such as class and gender.
It features a specially written poem, ‘Seeds of Antiracist Education’ by Tawona Sithole, which talks about “racial trauma leading to mental unwellness” and an “unfair burden placed on people of colour”.
Teachers who choose to sign up attend seven online webinars and events, spread across five months, adding up to 18.5 hours – more than three full school days.
The programme’s website said more than 400 people had “experienced it”, with a further 340 “being welcomed” in the 2024-25 financial year. As well as teachers, they included nursery staff and those who write exams.
Stephen Kerr, the Scottish Tory MSP, said that meant more than 400 teachers had been pulled out of school, at a cost of more than 7,400 teaching hours, which he argued exacerbated staff shortages. …
Scottish schools have dropped down international league tables under the SNP, with pupils falling behind their English counterparts in literacy, maths and science.
The most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) global study also found that Scotland had the widest attainment gap between the wealthiest and poorest pupils for maths of any of the U.K. home nation.
Worth reading in full.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.