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princesscatherinemiddleton · 5 years

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My FIFTEEN SIXTEEN Forces for Change @duchessofostergotlands

I found this incredibly hard. Initially, I tried to keep it to “British” citizens and then I realised that would exclude Malala and she was the very first person on my list so I gave up on that. There were also two people who NEARLY made the list and they were on and off it more than I could count: JK Rowling and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. JK Rowling is a force for change and changed reading and literacy irrevocably. If she hadn’t defended Depp and if she hadn’t made that Twitter account, she probably would be on this list because I think the impact she has had on children reading is so understated. Phoebe Waller-Bridge was my number 17. She is changing the TV landscape and, quite rightly, is the driving force behind 20 of the Emmy nominations this year (Fleabag and Killing Eve). If she was 10% less posh, I think she would have made it.

1. The Silence Breakers: They were TIME 100 Person of the Year in 2017 and it was well-deserved. The Silence Breakers broke the wall of silence around the abuse suffered at the hands of people in power. It changed how people viewed Hollywood and opened the door for lawsuits and criminal charges to be brought against some of the world’s most powerful men.

2. Helen Taylor Thompson: A Special Operations Executive from the age of 19 in World War Two, HTT saved Mildray Hospital from closure in 1952 and turned it into the world’s first AIDs hospice. She also co-founded the Community Action Network.

3. Andria Zafirakou: Andria won the 2018 Global Teachers Prize, the first British person to do so. She is an Arts and Textiles teacher and Deputy Head of her school. She organises extra lessons in her own time (evenings and weekends) when children could come in and work if they were unable to at home. She runs classes on well-being and yoga for the children and ensures she teaches about art from the cultures of her pupils.

4. Together for Yes: The Together for Yes campaign successfully campaigned for abortion to be legalised in the Republic of Ireland. Ireland had some of the worst abortion laws in the world and women who came to England to have life-saving surgery while pregnant would be arrested on their return. Now, those women can legally have abortions outside of life-saving reasons.

5. Katie Piper: Katie survived an acid attack organised by her ex-boyfriend. She founded the Katie Piper Foundation, which raises awareness of the victims of burns and other disfigurement injuries, as well as campaigns for the treatment Katie received to be widely available in the UK. She has also created a lucrative TV career for herself, helping people accept their scars.

6. Doreen Lawrence: Doreen is the mother of Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered in 1993. She regularly campaigns for justice for the victims of racist attacks, as well as for reforms of the police and prison services. She founded the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust and was one of the seven specially chosen flagbearers at the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony. She is a member of the House of Lords and her designated peerage is Clarendon, Jamaica.

7. Susan Solomon: Solomon is a scientist who was the first person to recognise the hole in the Ozone layer and what caused it, something she did in the 80s. Solomon is one of the leading scientific voices in the battle against climate change and regularly contributes to the climate change Assessment Reports.

8. Nimco Ali: Ali is a Somali-born activist, who campaigns against FGM. She co-founded Daughters of Eve (with Leyla Hussein) after undergoing FGM as a child. Ali wrote a book, allowing women to share “shameful” and “secret” stories, and was a contributing author in Feminists Don’t Wear Pink. I don’t necessarily agree with her politically but that’s neither here nor there.

9. Munroe Bergdorf: Bergdorf is a trans model and the founder of night club, Pussy Palace. She is vocal about the issues faced by trans women of colour and campaigns for trans rights. She has suffered a lot of public backlash and has regularly been stripped from roles and jobs, not all of which have been fair. She opened the doors for British trans models.

10. Amika George: Amika George is a tiny baby an 18 year old, who campaigns against period poverty. She contributed to Feminists Don’t Wear Pink and is the reason secondary schools in England receive funding to provide sanitary products free-of-charge. She is currently campaigning for this to also occur in primary schools.

11. Priyanka Joshi: Joshi is one of the most innovative and important women in the British field of science and she is still under 30. Joshi has made some of the most vital breakthroughs in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It is extremely likely she will go on to make some of the biggest scientific discoveries in the field in the future.

12. Malala Yousafzai: She needs no introduction. Malala is far braver than I could ever be. Ignoring the whole shot in the head by the Taliban thing, Malala has done so much. She has opened a school in Lebanon for Syrian refugees and campaigns against injustices across the world. She changed the world as a child and is improving it as an adult.

13. Jameela Jamil: I didn’t think I’d have any crossover with Meg’s choices so Jameela surprised me by her inclusion here. As an eating disorder sufferer, a celebrity who continuously speaks out about the dangers of laxatives and air brushing and about the truth of celebrity images is important to me. Also, I Weigh might not have much of an impact on me, but I know the impact it’s had on others.

14. Majorie Wallace: Majorie Wallace is the reason there are mental health support forums. The Support Forum was the first of its kind and was created as part of SANE, the charity founded by Wallace. She initially focused on schizophrenia, before expanding the focus to reducing the impact of mental illnesses, improving treatment and care by increasing knowledge, and influencing policy and public attitudes of all mental illnesses.

15. Rigoberta Menchú: Menchú is an indigenous Guatemalan who began campaigning against human rights violations while still a teenager. She was exiled from the country in 1981 but she still continued to organise resistance within the country. She has a Nobel Peace Prize and still campaigns today.

AND 16. HRH The Duchess of Cambridge: My wildcard choice. A few years ago I didn’t really know about childhood mental health and I had never even heard of postnatal or perinatal mental health. It’s now at the forefront of my work and my career. Her impact in this area - particularly in bringing awareness to these areas to the public - is immense and, significantly, the impact it has had on my life cannot be understated.

#mine #fccchallenge #forces for change challenge #helen taylor thompson #andria zafirakou #katie piper #doreen lawrence #susan solomon #nimco ali #munroe bergdorf #amika george #priyanka joshi #malala yousafzai #Jameela Jamil #majorie wallace #rigoberta menchu #kate

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adrianodiprato · 4 years

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+ "The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.” ~ Antonio Gramsci | Italian Author Selections from the Prison Notebooks

Game Changers | Series Three Reflection

During this global pandemic l have been personally inspired and encouraged by the actions of many individual educators and learning communities to rethink what education can be and should be in the future. In our Continuous Learning Toolkit – Volume III | Wellness By Design® we highlighted that across all continuous learning models during COVID-19 those schools which have continued to thrive have operated effectively and compassionately at personal, relational and community levels. They have responded to adversity by promoting qualities of creativity, curiosity and challenge, complemented by a significant focus on the social and emotional resilience of all - students, staff, and families. People have really mattered, and systems needed to have been reshaped to meet the needs of people; we can’t tell you the number of times we have heard educators tell us that “wellness comes first”.

Why shouldn’t that be the norm always? The pursuit of excellence, especially academic attainment really matters to us at a School for tomorrow. and we can’t help but wonder why we would ever have thought that wellness was something that was a binary opposite to high standards, or something of secondary importance, or an add-on, or somebody else’s business in education. An excellent person understands that their wellness is the foundation on which their good character, competency, achievements and contributions are built. So, shouldn’t “being well” be part of our better normal?

All over the world, there's growing consensus that our education systems are broken. In Series Three of the Game Changers podcast we encountered educators and social entrepreneurs that shared big ideas on how learning communities might amplify the central position of The Whole of Learning: Wellness by Design®, as we support each young person to move from resilience to the power of resourcefulness of self-efficacy, personal aspiration, adaptive expertise, voice, agency and advocacy.

The true mark of a leader is the willingness to stick with a bold course of action. Much like the Gramsci quote, each of our Series Three Game Changers recognised that the delivering models of schooling, that we have become accustomed too, are no longer relevant for a Whole of Learning ecosystem. That true courageous leaders lead through crisis, by addressing the real challenges and findings of today, with a lens on tomorrow, and often of the “morbid symptoms” that are brought into sharp focus as a result of such things like a global pandemic. Our Series Three Game Changers wake up brave and unafraid for the challenge ahead, with the deep understanding that it’s time to choose to allow our students to go on a personal journey of discovery that will give them the character, competency and wellness to be a generation of happier, healthier and more confident young people, who can truly thrive in the new tomorrow of their world.

Episode One | Vishal Talreja

We started Series Three with Dream A Dream co-founder Vishal Talreja.

Key learnings – Dream a Dream is a not-for-profit organisation in Delhi, India positively impacting on the lives of young people from vulnerable backgrounds to overcome adversity and flourish in a fast-changing world. One key aspect of our conversation with Vishal was an insight into the development and implementation of a Happiness Curriculum. This Happiness Curriculum aims to equip students with the necessary skills so young people can better deal with anxiety and stress while thinking critically. Placing wellness at the centre of all learning interactions at Dream a Dream.

Episode Two | Leslie Medema

Key learnings – I love this quote from Leslie, “Learning doesn’t only take place in a school or classroom. We are here to teach you the skills of learning. You can take that from here and learn anywhere, anytime from anything. Life is learning. That is the concept we want our children to learn: Learning is wall-less.” The keyword with all of this for education therefore is relevance. For education to remain relevant in today’s world the future of education and schooling must evolve. The content and style of teaching hasn’t changed much over the last few decades. However, it must to ensure education remains relevant. Leslie eloquently highlighted that a new renaissance in education means that we re-structure our relationship to learning and life, our relationship to the planet and our relationship to the world of work. We need a different educational model that has a value shift to a new learning ecosystem that allows us to meet the basic needs of every human on the planet, in order to thrive in an era of constant uncertainty.

Episode Three | Nathan Chisholm

Key learnings – Andria Zafirakou, the 2018 winner of the Global Teacher Prize, spoke about the future of education at Davos in January 2019 around the key to unlocking children’s futures, stating “We need children to be the problem-solving generation, and unless we teach them problem-solving skills, which come from the creative subjects, it won’t happen.” I believe that these human skills that Zafirakou refers to are central to an educational renaissance and learning vision that Nathan Chisholm and his team at Prahran High School are framing through the deep interrogation of their values - challenge, creativity, curiosity and character, fostering a learning community that allows each young person to thrive in a new world environment.

Episode Four | Tracey Breese

Key learnings – In 2019 the World Economic Forum held their annual meeting of global political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland. Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, China’s e-commerce giant stated this at Davos, “If we do not change the way we teach, 30 years from now, we’re going to be in trouble”. That the knowledge-based approach of “200 years ago”, would “fail our kids”, who would never be able to compete with machines. Children should be taught “soft skills” like independent thinking, values and teamwork, he said. And Tracey gets it. She knows that the jobs of the future are one’s machines can’t do and continues to focus on cultivating the whole person as part of the whole of learning framework at Kurri Kurri High School. While adhering to all the regulatory compliance, Tracey continually finds opportunities to enable, equip and engage all learners.

Episode Five | David Ferguson

Key learnings – Tuakana-Teina is a Māori concept referring to the relationship between an older sibling (Tuakana) and a younger sibling (Teina) and is specific to a teaching and learning context. David Ferguson, although not Māori, embodies this concept as the Principal of an all boy’s school in New Zealand. Assuming the role of the older sibling, he deeply understands the profoundness of the character apprenticeship between the teacher and student and the growth gains from a positive social exchange between the two. It is a shared learning and development partnership between someone with experience and someone who wants to learn, resulting in mutual reflection, learning and growing of both Tuakana and Teina. David gets this responsibility in supporting boys to become young men, the multiple masculinities of all young men.

Episode Six | Debbie Dunwoody

Key learnings – When I think of Debbie Dunwoody, I think of permission. She is one of those rare leaders that fully understands the power of permission. The word permission has agency and movement and is central to Debbie’s leadership style, one that is open to the inherent possibility of all members of her community at Camberwell Girls Grammar School. We need more leaders in education like Debbie, who park their ego at the door. She listens and more often than not, responds with yes, especially empowering her staff to trial ideas and take risks, leveraging design thinking has an important framework to find positive solutions to wicked challenges. I want to work for and with Debbie.

Episode Seven | Jonathan McIntosh

Key learnings – In the World Economic Forum’s 2020 publication, Schools of the Future: Defining New Models of Education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution they state, “Many studies have shown that New York City’s public-school system is among the most racially and economically segregated in the United States[1]. Prospect School’s “diverse by design” model aims to address this challenge by creating truly diverse and integrated learning environments where students can gain a deep understanding of the ways in which alternative perspectives drive innovation and creativity.” Diversity, inclusion and representation matters. Jonathan and the work of Prospect Schools in New York understand this. This conversation with Jonathan amplifies why people need people, and that every young person is home to a unique life. How poignant is this during the current climate of Black Lives Matter.

Episode Eight | Yasodai Selvakumaren

Key learnings – “We are seeing a growing consensus around the shared conviction that character, competency and wellness is the whole work of a school. This work needs to empower the emerging voice and agency of students on their pathway to adulthood as they wrestle with what they think about their mark (their inner sense of fulfilment) and their measure (their sense of validation according to what others expect of them), and cultivate and put into practice values, beliefs, and actions.” Dr Phil S A Cummins. So, we are starting to talk about voice in schools. But do we do it? “Something I really strive for with my students is for them to understand they have a place in the world and to help them find their voice.” This quote by Yasodai sums up this amazing life force and human being. How can you not love her infectious energy. Her passion for young people is awe-inspiring. And her empowerment of their voice is central to the strength of her pedagogical approach. Brilliant!

Special Series | Dean Delia & Scott Miller

Key learnings – A friend to us at Game Changers, the amazing Jan Owen AM stated this back in 2018, when she was the CEO of the Foundation of Young Australians (FYA), “Over the past decade, there has been growing consensus that Australia’s education and training systems must evolve to ensure they are responsive and relevant to the changing world of work and needs of the future workforce”. And “Our goal should not be to ensure that young people are simply finishing school but to make certain that every student has built a ‘portfolio’ of skills and capabilities with which to thrive in the new economy. “ Dean Delia and Scott Millar get this. And they are working hard to equip young people with this necessary enterprise thinking and skills to move from resilience and surviving, to the profoundness of resourcefulness and thriving. Two remarkable young men who continue to find opportunities to help others, particularly our young people, to shine in this new world environment.

A clear feature of all conversations we shared throughout Series Three has been an explicit focus on wellness. While some have viewed the use of technology as a distraction, the application of technology during COVID-19 has been an opportunity to prioritise wellness into all aspects of planning and scheduling. This new or better normal of schooling is based on a shared understanding of the significance of the interdependence of learning and wellness as we support each young person to flourish in this new world environment. It requires us to map the connectedness of a whole education for character, competency and wellness. It brings into sharp focus self-direction, self-determination and self-regulation as critical dimensions in fostering the development of resourceful and independent learners equipped with the adaptive expertise and self-efficacy to thrive in their world.

Thank you to Vishal, Leslie, Nathan, Tracey, David, Debbie, Jonathan, Yasodai, Dean and Scott for sharing your story and passion. And thank for reminding us all that each person in our learning communities is home to a life. It is as simple and complex as that. Born from the construct of love – of self, for place and the other.

Listen to our Series Three: Epilogue via streaming platforms - SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Play.

[1] Source: Kuscera, J. and G. Orfield, “New York State’s Extreme Segregation”, The Civil Rights Project, 2014, https://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k- 12-education/integration-and-diversity/ ny-norflet-report-placeholder/Kucsera-New- York-Extreme-Segregation-2014.pdf.

#permissionistriumph #game changers #Wellness By Design

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duchessofostergotlands · 5 years

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The Duchess of Cambridge’s Mental Health Work → 5th February 2019

In early 2019, The Duchess of Cambridge attended two engagements to mark her patronage Place2Be’s annual Children’s Mental Health Week. After visiting Lavender Primary School earlier in the day, Kate headed over to Alperton Community School to learn more about their highly respected approach to mental health provision. The Duchess heard from staff and pupils, starting with a roundtable with teachers on school readiness and staff welfare. During the discussion Kate brought up the impact of mental health on the wider family and the intergenerational cycle of mental ill health, topics she has emphasised many times over the years: “You can’t just look at the well-being of children without looking at the whole context. So many times, parents haven’t had a good experience at school themselves.” She then joined award winning teacher Andria Zafirakou and her students for an art class. History of Art graduate Kate has long stressed her belief that art can be an important tool for wellbeing, seen through her adoption of The Art Room as a patronage over 7 years prior. The young people shared their experiences in the classroom and talked about the positive impact of creativity on their wellbeing. The day ended with a visit to the Random Acts of Kindness Club, an extra-curricular group dedicated to improving the well-being of the school community. Encouraging school based mental health projects has been a cornerstone of the Duchess’s work, particularly since she launched the Mentally Healthy Schools website in 2018, and this visit gave her the opportunity to see examples of best practice in action.

#my upload #kate middleton #british royal family #2019 #katemh

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laurasroyalblog · 5 years

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The Duchess of Cambridge will undertake two school visits on Tuesday 5th February to find out more about the support offered to students, teachers and parents to help with mental wellbeing. Her Royal Highness will first visit Lavender Primary School in support of @Place2Be’s #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek 2019. The theme of this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week is ‘Healthy: Inside and Out’, focusing on the connection between physical and mental health. The Duchess will then visit Alperton Community School to meet the UK’s first winner of the Varkey Foundation Global @TeacherPrize, Andria Zafirakou, and find out more about the programmes the school runs to support both students and teachers with their mental wellbeing.

Kensington Palace on Twitter

#royal #royals #british royal family #kate middleton #duchess of cambridge

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itshardtoactnormal-blog · 5 years

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Math Teacher Who Donates Most of His Earnings Brought to Tears After Winning $1M Global Teacher Award

A math and science teacher from rural Kenya, best known for donating 80 percent of his monthly salary to help the poor, just earned himself the title of best teacher in the world.

Peter Tabichi, who teaches at school with just one desktop computer and other resources that are severely lacking, was awarded $1 million as part of the Varkey Foundation’s Global Teacher Prize on Sunday. The award, presented by Australian actor Hugh Jackman during a ceremony in Dubai, recognizes Tabachi’s “exceptional” impact on his students at Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School in Kenya’s remote Pwani Village.

“His dedication, hard work and passionate belief in his student’s talent has led his poorly-resourced school in remote rural Kenya to emerge victorious after taking on the country’s best schools in national science competitions,” the foundation wrote.

The 36-year-old, who is also a Franciscan friar, beat out nine other applicants and 10,000 other candidates from 176 countries for the top spot, BBC News reported. 2018’s winner was Andria Zafirakou, an art teacher from north London.

“Every day in Africa we turn a new page and a new chapter,” Tabichi said. “This prize does not recognize me but recognizes this great continent’s young people. I’m only here because of what my students have achieved. This prize gives them a chance. It tells the world that they can do anything.”

For Tabichi’s students, life has has been far from easy. The semi-arid area of Kenya’s Rift Valley experiences drought and famine quite frequently, and many go hungry. Ninety-five percent of his pupils come from poor families, and almost a third are orphans or only have one parent. Issues of drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, young marriage and dropping out of school are also common, according to the Varkey Foundation.

The schooling situation isn’t much better, as classrooms with poor internet and a student-teacher ratio of 58:1 makes learning an uphill battle. The school’s lack of resources forces Tabachi to get much of his online educational content from internet cafes, which he uses offline during class.

The math teacher said part of the challenge has also been getting the local community to see the value of getting a good education, particularly families with daughters who would rather see their children married early than in a classroom. Over the years, he’s made a concerted effort to visit families whose kids are at risk of quitting school and encourages them to keep learning, instead.

“As a teacher working on the front line, I’ve seen the promise of its young people — their curiosity, talent, their intelligence, their belief,” Tabachi said. “Africa’s young people will no longer be held back by low expectations. Africa will produce scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs whose names will be one day famous in every corner of the world. And girls will be a huge part of this story.”

According to his profile, Tabachi’s efforts have doubled enrollment at Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School in just the last three years. Achievement among girls has also seen a boost, with young women now leading the boys in all test sets in the last year alone.

What’s more, Tabachi has led the school’s Science Club to compete in both national and international competitions. The Mathematical Science team recently qualified to compete in the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair in Arizona later this year. His students also won an award from The Royal Society of Chemistry after using plant life to generate electricity.

“I feel great. I can’t believe it,” Tabachi said during his acceptance speech. “I feel so happy to be among the best teachers in the world, being the best in the world.”

The teacher said he plans to use the $1 million prize to help improve the school and feed the poor.

Black brother is an example to us. So inspiring.

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superunfriendlyreminder · 5 years

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Kenyan science teacher Peter Tabichi wins $1m global award

A science teacher from rural Kenya who donates most of his salary to help poorer students has been crowned the world’s best teacher and awarded a $1m prize, beating 10,000 nominations from 179 countries.

Peter Tabichi, 36, a maths and physics teacher at Keriko secondary school in Pwani Village, in a remote part of Kenya’s Rift Valley, has won the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2019.

Tabichi, a member of the Franciscan religious order, received his prize at a ceremony in Dubai hosted by actor Hugh Jackman.

Tabichi gives away 80% of his income to help the poorest students at the poorly-equipped and overcrowded school who could not otherwise not afford uniforms and books.

More than 90% of his pupils are from poor families and almost a third are orphans or have only one parent. Drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, dropping out early from school, young marriages and suicide are common. Students have to walk 7km along roads that can become impassable in the rainy season to reach the school and the area can be affected by drought and famine.

Award-winning teacher among staff needing charity to scrape by

Despite only having one computer, a poor internet connection and a student-teacher ratio of 58:1, Tabichi started a “talent nurturing club” and expanded the school’s science club, helping pupils design research projects of such quality that many now qualify for national competitions.

His students have taken part in international science competitions and won an award from the Royal Society of Chemistry after harnessing local plant life to generate electricity.

Tabichi and four colleagues also give struggling pupils one-to-one tuition in maths and science, visiting students’ homes and meeting their families to identify the challenges they face.

Enrolment at the school has doubled to 400 over three years and girls’ achievement in particular has been boosted.

Accepting the prize, Tabichi said: “I am only here because of what my students have achieved. This prize gives them a chance. It tells the world that they can do anything.”

The Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, said in a video message: “Peter, your story is the story of Africa, a young continent bursting with talent.”

Now in its fifth year, the prize was set up to highlight the vital role teachers play in society.

Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation, said she hoped Tabichi’s story would encourage others to enter the profession and “shine a spotlight on the truly inspiring work teachers do to make tomorrow brighter than today”.

Tabichi said Africa’s young people would no longer be held back by low expectations. “Africa will produce scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs whose names will be one day famous in every corner of the world. And girls will be a huge part of this story,” he said.

“I believe science and technology can play a leading role in unlocking Africa’s potential. It’s morning in Africa. The skies are clear. This is Africa’s time.”

Last year’s prize went to an arts teacher from north London, Andria Zafirakou. An assistant headteacher from Birmingham, Andrew Moffat, who made headlines because of a row with parents over LGBT lessons, was among this year’s top 10 finalists.

#black people #black tumblr

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