Good Teacher Magazine 2020, Term 4 by Good Teacher Magazine

Term Four 2020

"The best teachers are those who show you where to look,... but don't tell you what to see."

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

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COVID-19 has required ‘crisis leadership’. What does it involve?

Gi�ed Crea�ves of our world… Hang in there!

Emo�onal and Physical safety design for students with disabili�es in ILEs

I Was Right!

Young WelTec carpentry graduate aims to inspire more wahine into the trades

EGroup Show Celebrates the Intricate Art of Miniatures

Girls’ health can suffer in school move – study

Kiwi Kids To “Travel” The Globe To Get Fit And Healthy

Inverness School Leads the way in Interna�onal Classroom Programme

Small Businesses Recognised for the First Time in Canon’s Oceania 2020 Grants

Research emphasises need for COVID-19 vigilance in �ght-knit communi�es

2021 Science Without Borders Challenge

Emily Downe’s Film Be�er Explores a Perfec�onis�c Culture in the Age of Social Media

Extraordinary Pigeons Take Flight in Large-Scale Feathery Murals by Adele Renault

Engaging children and young people with Special Educa�onal Needs and Disability

New strategy to get more kids learning Water Skills for Life

"I'm not addicted!" Kids have a right to play - even digitally

Harvard program gets high marks

New formula for young chemists

More than half of Year 12 students report poor mental wellbeing since lockdown

Quirky Characters, Pastel Vases by Ceramicist Sandra Apperloo

Sergeant Stephanie Repor�ng for Duty…with a Smile

An Intricate Lace Mural Envelops the Facade of a French Fashion Museum

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stanford Rathbun Lecture Transcript 2017

It’s Only Words: how smears and labels can hurt-or not

Front Cover: Back Cover:

‘Spring Tides’ ‘Paltry Portrait’

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Quote: Alexandra K.Trenfor

Good Teacher Magazine would like to acknowledge the unknown designers and cra�speople interna�onally for the some of the images and art in the magazine, every care has been taken to iden�fy and acknowledge writers/ar�sts/photographers... however this is not always successful... most were collated from a wide range of internet sources. Is uploaded to: h�ps://www.goodteacher.co.nz On the first week of each New Zealand school term. The magazine is interna�onally freely available online. NOTE: The opinions expressed in Good Teacher Magazine are not necessarily those of Ed-Media Publica�ons or the editorial team.

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ISSN: 1175-5911

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Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

"Today was a Difficult Day," said Pooh. There was a pause. "Do you want to talk about it?" asked Piglet. "No," said Pooh a�er a bit. "No, I don't think I do." "That's okay," said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend. "What are you doing?" asked Pooh. "Nothing, really," said Piglet. "Only, I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite o�en don't feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either. "But goodness," con�nued Piglet, "Difficult Days are so much easier when you know you've got someone there for you. And I'll always be here for you, Pooh." And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head his Difficult Day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly, swinging his li�le legs...he thought that his best friend had never been more right." A.A. Milne

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

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Dr Jennifer Charteris University of New England

We know 2020 has been incredibly rough for many communi�es in Aotearoa. It has had an enormous impact on Educa�on, with COVID-19 lockdowns affec�ng students, teachers, leaders, and parents. Globally, it has been catastrophic for communi�es. According to the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres: The global pandemic has led to the largest disrup�on of educa�on in history, with schools closed in more than 160 countries in mid-July, affec�ng over 1 billion students. 40 million children worldwide have missed out on educa�on in their cri�cal preschool year. “We are at a defining moment for the world’s children and young people…” (Financial Review, 2020).

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Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

During �mes of crisis, like the COVID-19 lockdowns, people experience cogni�ve overload. The available informa�on can be fragmented or incomplete which causes stress. There may be compe�ng priori�es and of course emo�ons and anxie�es in the community and among leaders, teachers, and students run high. Rego and Garau (2007), who undertook research with leaders who experienced Cyclone Katrina, write: Crisis has mul�ple phases; the leadership response needed will vary accordingly. In the short term, emphasis is on taking ac�on, quick response. Risk taking is essen�al; you might make mistakes, but standing s�ll is not an op�on. A key challenge is sustaining the effort through fa�gue, blame, and lack of a�en�on and resources. In the long term, priori�es are less clear-cut and require people to connect through differences, wade through complexity, and find common ground to con�nue the work that must be done together. (Rego & Garau, 2007, p. 42) Here are some messages summarised from the literature that can help leaders with stepping forward in �mes of crises. Establish a ‘war room’ and be clear on communica�on Decide on who is going to be delegated key responsibili�es and empower these staff to make decisions. Be clear which things need to be escalated and when. Be clear about the lines of communica�on so there is not a lot of minu�ae to deal with. Teachers, students and the community need to be clear about what is happening. Establish a prac�ce of engaging key staff with a pulse check to gauge how things are going. Make decisions quickly When there is a need for fast ac�on, effec�ve leaders process quickly and make decisions with convic�on. There will be a chance to revise, adjust or adapt and regroup down the track. However, ini�ally there is o�en a necessity to act decisively. 6

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

Reframe to focus on what is important. Decide on what needs to drop off the priority list. Ensure that this is communicated to teachers so that they know where to direct their energy to get through the crisis. Seek to align with and enact core values Draw on your school’s shared vision, core values, inclusive culture, and distributed leadership structures. These serve schools well in crises. Leaders ensure that their ac�ons align with their school’s core values and this alignment is visible to the school community who need to see consistency. Know yourself and know your limits Consider where you have experienced crises in the past and the personal a�ributes you have used to get through. Understand what you bring to the table. Recognise when you need to find colleagues to complement your strengths and when you need to reach out for help. Build on exis�ng rela�onship Rela�onships are very important and so is a coherent school culture. As Hood (2020) has found, much of the success of remote learning can be a�ributed to the exis�ng strength of the rela�onships between teachers and students, between the school and parents, and between school leaders and teachers. Look for chances to reset. If there has been past antagonism between staff and school leaders, the COVID experience may be a chance for a reset, as rela�onships are made anew. There is an opportunity for leaders to support teachers through this challenging �me and (re)gain trust. Look for COV-Opportuni�es It is an opportune �me to give some thought to what your expected and unexpected successes have been in regard to working though the challenges presented by this period. Celebrate the whanaungatanga and any quality collabora�ons that have emerged or grown stronger over this period.

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Here are resources for further reading about this fascina�ng topic. Resources: D’Auria, G., & De Smet, A. (2020). Leadership in a crisis: Responding to the coronavirus outbreak and future challenge. Retrieved from h�ps://www.mckinsey.com/ business-func�ons/organiza�on/ourinsights/leadership-in-a-crisisresponding-to-the-coronavirus-outbreakand-future-challenges Financial Review. (2020). 'Genera�onal catastrophe': 1 billion students hit by virus school closures. Retrieved from h�ps://www.afr.com/policy/health-andeduca�on/genera�onal-catastrophe-1billion-students-hit-by-virus-schoolclosures-20200804-p55ii Hood, N. (2020). Learning from Lockdown. Retrieved from h�ps:// theeduca�onhub.org.nz/learning-fromlockdown/ Mutch, C. (2020). How might research on schools’ responses to earlier crises help

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us in the COVID-19 recovery process? Retrieved from h�ps:// www.nzcer.org.nz/system/files/journals/ set/downloads/ Mutch_OnlineFirst2020_0.pdf OECD. (2020). A framework to guide an educa�on response to the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020. Retrieved from h�ps://learningportal.iiep.unesco.org/ en/library/a-framework-to-guide-aneduca�on-response-to-the-covid-19pandemic-of-2020 Rego, L., & Garau, R. (2020). Stepping into the Void. Retrieved from h�ps:// www.ccl.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2015/04/SteppingIntoVoid.pdf Springboardtrust (2020). Leading Through A Crisis: What You Bring As A Leader. Retrieved from h�ps:// www.springboardtrust.org.nz/leadingthrough-a-crisis-what-you-bring-as-aleader, www.springboardtrust.org.nz/ leading-through-a-crisis-what-you-bringas-a-leader

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

Gi�edness is not what you do or how hard you work. It’s who you are. People and events can change your shape but they can’t change what is underneath... •

The way that you think

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Your intrinsic need to use your crea�vity to seek meaning in your life

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Your sensi�vity. (There is a high correla�on between the trait of high sensi�vity and gi�edness. We know that not all gi�ed people are highly sensi�ve, but there is research backing for the asser�on that all highly sensi�ve people are gi�ed).

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Your obsession with your area of passion and the difficulty that you have in having to stop to refocus on something else

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You are not broken. You don’t need fixing. You may wonder at �mes but you are not alone. If this means that many in the popula�on find you odd, then seek the company of those who appreciate you just for the way that you are because we all have our own ways for doing things.

Try this… Write your name in the air with your finger. Now do it again using the other hand. Although you will feel more comfortable and probably more efficient with your dominant hand, you can s�ll do it with the other one, can’t you? We all use our senses to make sense of the world around us but just as people have different abili�es, there are also differing degrees of sensi�vity, and how these are perceived by others can have a huge effect on crea�vity. 8

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

Ideas change over �me. Your life today is as different to the present as these crea�ve occupa�ons of the past are foreign to me. How many do you recognise? Broomdasher A maker of brooms Cratchmaker A maker of hay mangers/ cribs Chinglor A roof �ler who uses wooden shingles Limnor An illuminator of books Malemaker A maker of travelling bags Many of our current occupa�ons will no longer exist 50 years from now. The present is the ideal �me to look for opportuni�es to show your crea�ve abili�es in ways that might not have been invented yet. Advances in crea�vity research are having an increasing impact on theories of gi�edness as researchers reflect on those who possess excep�onal levels of crea�ve ability, but differ from the tradi�onal ideas of talent. What if what you are good at is not valued? Then you won’t believe you are crea�ve. Look for role models. Believe in yourself. Crea�vity is open ended and the more divergent that your thinking is, then the more likely it is that your mo�va�on to create comes from within you. Look at these examples (Real students)… Lydia mixes truth and fic�on and has a vivid imagina�on. She spends a lot of �me watching what is going on around her and is o�en perceived as a daydreamer. She is totally focussed when a task involves crea�ve wri�ng in class. Imagine if some of our most loved authors had been made to believe that their imagina�on and daydreams were of li�le value. We would not know the world of J.K Rowling’s Harry Po�er or the gentle philosophies of A.A.Milne’s Winnie the Pooh. Index

Elaine Le Sueur MNZM

Or the challenge of living with the Applewhites, who dwelt in the mind of Stephanie Tolan. If this is you then keep dreaming! Hang in there! Brandon is excited about learning. His love of learning is more likely to be recognised as gi�ed in school but not his independent and inven�ve thinking or his non conformist a�tude towards set work. He resists teacher selected assignments and just doesn’t bother to complete them. He is self mo�vated but looks for opportuni�es to find out more or starts bossing others around so they get their work done. If this is you, then learn to nego�ate so that the work content is challenging for you. Hang in there! Jack insists on wearing sports shoes for field sports at school. He reacts nega�vely to smells. His parents say that he is a picky eater. He is a talented ar�st and finds it difficult to stop drawing to do something else, because art helps him to examine things and express what he finds impossible to put into words. . He can become completely absorbed in a par�cular piece of art or music. What is perceived is his single mindedness. If this is you, then many of these characteris�cs in later life will be seen as eccentrici�es if your crea�vity is valued. Hang in there!

Cody is a constant talker. He has rapid speech and uses his whole body when he talks. He likes to win at whatever he does and it extremely compe��ve. He is in rep team for school sports and is valued for his physical ability, but he finds it hard to sit s�ll for any periods of classroom inac�vity and finds it hard to se�le down again because he has lots of energy. This is a constant problem for his teachers a�er scheduled breaks. If this is you, then look for ways to help you to harness your energy. Hang in there! And finally, Andrea. She has intense reac�ons to peer group cri�cism and rejec�on. She resists par�cipa�on in any ac�ve team sports. She is very emo�onally a�ached to the environment and struggles with the issues raised by pandemic life during the last six months. She is intensely interested in issues to do with pollu�on and her classmates resist her efforts to talk about it and make changes to reduce their impact. If this is you, then look for new ways to capture a�en�on so that your message is received. Hang in there! My advice, for what it’s worth, is to focus on your strengths rather than your deficiencies. You are the ar�sts, musicians, philosophers and problems solvers of the future. You are unique. Let’s celebrate that!

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Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

This is where schools reflect a flexible, collabora�ve model of interac�on between teachers, between students, and between teachers and students.

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

There is a focus on student agency where students make decisions around the use of space and take a selfmanaged approach to learning. There has been much interest in how ILEs best serve the needs of students with typical development. Less has been said about how these spaces best support the needs of students who have high and very high needs. Index

PokerDragon.DeviantART.com

There has been a significant focus on Innova�ve Learning Environments (ILEs) in Aotearoa New Zealand and in Australia with buildings remodelled and new schools built to align with a 21st century imaginary.

What are the implica�ons of these spaces for inclusive educa�on? We visited 21 primary and secondary schools with new school buildings that are designed as ILE in New Zealand and Australia and spoke to over 40 teachers and leaders. We walked around the schools and talked with leaders, teachers, and students. The issue of safety for students with high and very high needs came up. Both emo�onal and physical safety in ILEs were themes arising. Safety Much of the literature on safety in schools is linked with social and psychological safety, where a link is made with school based violence. For instance, there are concerns around gun violence, drug use, physical threats made to LGBTI students, and other forms of bullying and aggression. With the pandemic, of course physical safety is linked with the COVID -19 and there has been much debate around decisions made to reopen schools (Melnick & Darling-Hammond, 2020). Yet safety is an everyday issue for many students. For students who have high and very high needs (e.g. those with mul�ple and complex disability) our research has signaled that schooling spaces need to be carefully codesigned with teachers and leaders who have exper�se in inclusive educa�on. Here are some things to take into considera�on for addressing the emo�onal and physical safety of students with high and very high needs in ILEs. Furniture and fixtures Flexible furniture can be challenging for visually impaired students who need to remember where objects placed around the room are. High chairs (like bar stools) may be suitable for some students, however, they may Index

Angela Page, Jennifer Charteris, Jo Anderson. be extremely unsafe for students with poor motor skills to balance precariously on. Break out rooms The bright lights and mul�tudes of people in aircra� hangar like spaces can be very disconcer�ng for students who experience sensory overload (e.g. those who are on the au�sm spectrum). Students can retreat to break out rooms however careful considera�on needs to be given to how they are used. Break out rooms are a high demand resource and may not available when a student needs to retreat. With student agency being such an important feature of schools and 21st century learning it raises a ques�on around the agency of students with high needs. Teachers and students we spoke with raised issues around sound, colour, light, movement and distrac�bility. While a bright vibrant colour pale�e is appealing in these open learning spaces for neurotypical teachers and students, there is some evidence to suggest that colour can produces significant psychological and physiological reac�ons in some students with high needs. These students (such as those with ADHD and ASD) may be more sensi�ve to colour in ILEs due to heightened sensory responses and strong visual processing abili�es (Gaines & Curry, 2011). Wellbeing in outdoor learning spaces In some schools we visited where there was a dedicated space for students with high needs where there could be a flow from the classroom to an enclosed supervised playground. The surfaces of playgrounds are important. Concrete can be unforgiving for students who drop to the ground with seizures. One school had to replace concrete with ar�ficial grass for Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

this reason (See Figure 1). Nevertheless, the grass can become very hot with the sun shining on it which can be an issue for students. Figure 1: Playground with ar�ficial grass

Although there may be great places to sling a hammock, we observed that some fenced playgrounds were very small. For some students who may wander away from the school if una�ended, these small playgrounds are the only spaces they are permi�ed to go to outside independently in many schools. We noted some great swinging equipment in these spaces which can support students who need sensory s�mula�on.

Figures 2 and 3: Equipment suspended from beams

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

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Figure 4. Student on small trampoline

Figure 4 shows a small trampoline that was built into a space just outside a classroom. The students were able to use it as required, while s�ll staying in visual contact with the teacher. There is much interest in the use of Universal Design for Learning principles in Australasian schools so that learning spaces are inclusive of everyone's needs. (See h�ps:// www.inclusive.tki.org.nz/guides/universaldesign-for-learning/ ). The use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles can enable school designers, leaders, and teachers to create curriculum and environments that provide flexible op�ons for

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personalising learning and address the diversity of students. Further inves�ga�on into how to ensure ILEs can be op�mal spaces for all students to learn is warranted.

References: Gaines, K. S., & Curry, Z. D. (2011). The Inclusive Classroom: The Effects of Color on Learning and Behavior. Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences Educa�on, 29(1).

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

In the Term 2, 2020 issue of “Good Teacher” I concluded my ar�cle, “The Teaching Singularity”, with the words: “The great ‘lock down educa�onal experiment’ should give up some clues about the likelihood of an all-out AI teaching singularity. Unlikely is my bet.” I was right. Research suggests, as we already suspected, for many students – if not most – actually being in a classroom, with a teacher facilita�ng the learning, proves best for their progress, achievement and wellbeing.

Student achievement during shutdown During the pandemic, online, remote, computer learning failed compared to face to face educa�on with a teacher. Like an old poster I had on my classroom wall said, “Teachers have class.” Just a quick look at the research – mainly American – on projected student achievement during the Covid – 19 school shutdowns, we see highlighted some disturbing trends: in reading, children lose as much as a third of their expected progress from the previous year; maths progress and reten�on impacted significantly; the nega�ve impact on achievement by up to a half in low income zip codes; students are likely to re-enter school with more variability in their academic skills than under normal circumstances; teachers will need to re-plan programmes in order to catch students up, which will impact future progress. A plethora of research iden�fies all the same trends, with only varying degrees of impact in dispute. Non cogni�ve impact The non-cogni�ve effects on students without classrooms and teachers, which may be the worthiest of analysis, are also the ones most difficult to quan�fy. A clue may be offered if we apply previous research on students displaced in the months a�er Hurricane Katrina. Analysis of quan�ta�ve data and qualita�ve informa�on obtained from school personnel, summarize problems and issues that characterized displaced students, families, and schools.

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

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John Hellner The informa�on reveals non-enrolment, or poor a�endance, difficul�es concentra�ng, signs of depression and issues with mental health. Generally, an overall pa�ern of disrup�on to social, emo�onal, psychological and behavioural developments and adjustments emerged. Not directly an academic indicator, but inexorably linked to academic achievement. In all fairness, school shutdowns, may be less responsible for these affec�ve problems then the fact that many students faced greater food insecurity, loss of family income, poten�al loss of family members, fear of catching the virus themselves and the general disrup�on to normal rou�nes and associa�ons. None of which are failings of remote learning as such, nor something directly a�ributable to the role of the teacher in a school se�ng. Ac�on research Doing a li�le “ac�on research” of my own at the local high school, I find similar results with the academic work. Teachers tell me the independent and self-mo�vated did well enough, but the students who normally need constant monitoring in class, pre�y much did what they did in class: turned off their cameras, stayed quiet, didn’t talk to us, doing as li�le as possible. Teachers I spoke to, es�mated the level of student engagement during class “mee�ngs” on line in the range of 10-30 percent. The year 12 students I spoke with said work was easier with a teacher in front of the class. They said, “teachers explain something, write it

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down step by step, and give you instant answers if you don’t understand something.” They also noted, “you have to do the work or the teacher sees you.” One student, who seemed typical to me said, “at first, I made 70% of the scheduled ‘mee�ngs’, but only about 50% later on. Then I skipped more and more mee�ngs as it was like, only 1 or 2 others at the mee�ng. So, I slept in.” She told me, “at home it was too easy not to do work. At home, I want to be on my phone, or sleeping, and I really love to eat, not listening to a boring teacher – even if they are helpful.” I asked why the teacher was boring, the student said, “when someone needed help or asked a ques�on, the teacher would bring the whole mee�ng to a stop and it was boring for the rest of us. I wanted to get off the mee�ng. I didn’t get anything out of it. I went out and got a regular job in the kiwi orchards.” All the students agreed: people fell behind; they se�led into bad rou�nes; everyone lost some learning; they didn’t do all the assigned work on new learning; and, the teacher had to do a lot of ‘catch up’ work when they came back. It looks like the tradi�onal classroom, managed by a teacher, affords the most fer�le ground for the social, emo�onal, psychological, behavioural and educa�onal growth of children. Teachers 1 – machines 0.

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

We will be ready next �me: an improved strategy for remote learning

psychological well-being, to the methodology, delivery, and support networks.

I was right. But, only for now. My victory dance celebra�ng the central role of the teacher, may be short lived. Next �me disaster strikes, we will be ready: approaches to the online and remote experience may improve.

We will be ready next �me: the learners

Just in the Term 2, 2020 pandemic issue of “Good Teacher” alone, a number of worthy possibili�es, implied or suggested, may offer pathways worth exploring: more skilled and experienced teachers opera�ng more sophis�cated online tools, u�lizing even be�er websites and resources; incorpora�ng educa�on related television, mobile phones and social media into the blend; enhanced support and resources for parents overseeing home learning. (See ar�cle by Dr Jennifer Charteris and Dr Angela Page; also check out Liz Willen’s ar�cle; my ar�cle on the “The Teaching Singularity” also iden�fies some work already underway in the use of AI in remote learning.) UNESCO has recommended ten broad and comprehensive strategies for engaging in online learning. They range from the technical, to priori�zed planning, to emo�onal and

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

The next genera�on of learners may be more adaptable to remote learning, the applica�on of ar�ficial intelligence and the manipula�on of technology. They may possess the mindset, the temperament and the skills to be�er navigate the diverse and some�mes confounding environment of the interconnected world. Beyond the scope of this ar�cle or my exper�se, perhaps taken to an extreme, it becomes problema�c to consider the type of human beings such a modified learner might become. Although, Albert Einstein offered an admoni�on to the interplay of new technology and a new style of learner: “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interac�on. The world will have a genera�on of idiots.” Although, I hope I am right about being ready next �me, I am not convinced we will be. Deep down, I s�ll believe, “Teachers have class” – we make it happen. We may partner with AI, but we won’t be replaced, ever.

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WelTec carpentry graduate, Sarah Clark, wants to start a company that champions female tradies. She is currently employed by Tonks, a local construc�on company, as an appren�ce builder. Sarah was introduced to the company while she was comple�ng her Level 3 carpentry programme at WelTec in Lower Hu�, as part of her Māori and Pasifika Trades Training (MPTTS) scholarship. The scholarship supports students from entry into study, right through to employment, and an important part of this journey is to get work experience - which in Sarah’s case led directly to her first appren�ceship.

hiring Sarah. Kyle says, “I reached out to WelTec at the end of 2019 to see if they had any quality candidates coming up, they sent Sarah to us and we haven’t looked back. WelTec does a great job of preparing appren�ces, I never doubted Sarah could do the job, and I think her idea of suppor�ng other women into construc�on is fantas�c.” Although carpentry is a male-dominated industry Kyle doesn’t believe there are any reasons why women shouldn’t be more represented.

Loving her new job, and succeeding at it as a young, pe�te female - has inspired Sarah to want to create an environment that supports and encourages women into the trades. Carpentry is o�en considered a man's job, but Sarah believes that seeing other women succeed in the trades could make it a more accessible career path for young women. “My aunt is an electrician so the idea of being a woman in the trades was not unusual for me when I was growing up. I definitely believe that the more young girls see females in the trades, the more common it will become,” explains Sarah. “Just ge�ng the word out there that I am working in construc�on as a young female, and that the team I work for embraces and encourages me, might help someone to see it as a viable op�on for themselves.” A�er Sarah completed year 13 she knew that she didn’t want to spend more �me ‘si�ng in a classroom’. “I knew that I wanted to be doing something in the outdoors, and I thought the Weltec op�on sounded like a smart next step. Tonks Residen�al Director Kyle Tonks also studied at WelTec so was confident about Index

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

All images ÂŠ Beinart Gallery, 18

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

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Andrew Lasane

In Melbourne, Australia’s Beinart Gallery is gearing up for an exhibi�on of small scale pain�ngs, scratch-built models, and �ny sculptures. Co-curated by ar�st Joshua Smith, the Miniature Art Group Show features impressive works by a group of around 30 ar�sts from around the world. Close-up photos of the architectural models and other miniatures in the show highlight the level of detail that the ar�sts pack into every square inch. Cardboard, plas�c, and paper are painted to resemble weathered wood and metal, while breath mints become the canvas for portraits of The Beatles. Each piece reflects the dozens of hours that went into its me�culous produc�on. “Art in miniature is inherently impressive by virtue of the precision and pa�ence demanded by its very crea�on, but that is not where its magic lies,” reads a statement from the gallery. “The magic is in the invita�on extended to the viewer to reimagine the world on an en�rely different scale. Miniature art delights the eye and teases the brain with possibility.”

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Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

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Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

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Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

The South Australian study of the year 7 to Year 8-9 school transi�ons previously selected from several schools in metropolitan Adelaide found a steep decline in lunch�me,

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

recess and a�er-school physical ac�vity – at a �me when other social ac�vi�es can reduce involvement in regular exercise and organised sports. Funded by the Channel 7 Children’s Research Founda�on, the Flinders University and the University of South Australia study highlights complexi�es for young girls as they transi�on from primary to secondary school.

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Photo Pixabay.

Physical ac�vity might be one of the first things to drop off the radar as adolescent girls move from primary to secondary school, a new study says.

When regular schooling resumes, Flinders University researcher Dr Kate Ridley says schools and families can play a part in suppor�ng this vulnerable group by gaining a be�er understanding of how these sociocultural, curricular and environmental influences impact regular physical ac�vity through this educa�on transi�on.

“Secondary schools should be aware of the physical ac�vity opportuni�es provided for adolescents during break �mes.

“Steep declines in physical ac�vity have been reported among children as they transi�on to adolescence, and females are at par�cular risk,” she says, repor�ng the findings of a South Australian study published in an interna�onal public health journal.

“Break-�me ac�vity preferences of girls should be considered as they o�en differ from boys.

“These changes in ac�vity levels are par�cularly concerning, both for long-term health and wellbeing, but for the effects of a more sedentary lifestyle that can lead to weight gain, sleep problems and poor mental health.” With many social and psychological adjustments occurring during this momentous �me, South Australian researchers say changes in friendship groups and enjoyment levels – a�er the long holiday break and other adjustments between primary and secondary schools – can all contribute to a general decline in teenage girls’ physical ac�vi�es.

“While school breaks are a �me when students should maintain the choice to be ac�ve, structured opportuni�es and encouragement for physically ac�ve op�ons should be available.”

“The social func�on of school break �mes is also worthy of specific considera�on during the transi�on and early years of secondary schooling,” Associate Professor Dollman says. The ar�cle, ‘Changes in Physical Ac�vity Behaviour and Psychosocial Correlates Unique to the Transi�on from Primary to Secondary Schooling in Adolescent Females: A Longitudinal Cohort Study’ by Kate Ridley and James Dollman, UniSA Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutri�on and Ac�vity (ARENA), December 2019 has been published in the Interna�onal Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health DOI: 10.3390/ ijerph16244969 16(24), 4959.

A number of policy and environmental strategies can help enable physical ac�vity to con�nue in this group between the different school se�ngs, the UniSA and Flinders researchers say. “As well as parent and peer support, we iden�fied two key improvements,” says UniSA co-author Associate Professor James Dollman, from the Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutri�on and Ac�vity (ARENA).

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20,000 Kiwi kids are set to embark on a virtual adventure around the globe when the Zespri Young and Healthy Virtual Adventure kicked off in schools in October. Encouraged by a star cast of New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sporďż˝ng elite. ASICS ambassadors Ardie Savea, Ameliaranne Ekenasio, Kane Williamson and Samantha Charlton will guide over 760 classes to travel (virtually) throughout New Zealand and to countries including Peru, Japan and Italy.

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Each student will create their own unique avatar to represent them on the virtual adventure with their classmates, earning points in the real world for simple healthy habits like moving as much as possible, minimising screen �me, drinking plenty of water and ea�ng fruit and vegetables. The points will move their class team around the global course and as they reach each des�na�on, they will see their avatars interac�ng with the ASICS ambassadors. Since Young and Healthy founder Kim Harvey established the programme in New Zealand, the ini�a�ve has encouraged over 60,000 school children and their families to eat be�er, exercise more and to lead more environmentally conscious lives. “Research shows that the founda�ons of good health as adults are formed in the first 10 years of a child’s life so it’s cri�cal we find all the ways we can to engage children to understand and actually no�ce what it feels like when they make healthy choices. “The children themselves have told us that they feel be�er, and are more able to learn every day as a result of taking part in the programme,” says Kim. The scope of the programme extends beyond just the focus of health and wellbeing, with teachers embedding the programme elements in many areas of the curriculum, including maths, literacy, and geography, and they have commented on an increase in concentra�on and team work amongst classmates. The Zespri Young and Healthy Virtual Adventure is a free programme thanks to the support of partners and starts on 20 October, running for five weeks.

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John Ru�er teaching prior to the pandemic.

An ini�a�ve linking Inverness High School (IHS) with a Kenyan school is being highlighted by the UK Government to inspire schools across Scotland to take part in a fully funded Connec�ng Classrooms programme. Celebra�ng World Teachers’ Day on October 5, IHS head teacher John Ru�er tells how it will use free support to develop a Kenyan school link to boost learning on global issues such as climate change Inverness High School is one of the Sco�sh schools already benefi�ng from a share in £37million worth of funding, having formed a partnership with Gilgil Garrison Secondary School, in Kenya.

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Mr Ru�er said: “We are excited to have signed up for Connec�ng Classrooms through Global Learning. “It is a wonderful to be part of something that promises to bring communi�es around the world together, giving young people the opportunity to explore both the similari�es and differences of growing up in different countries. “We’re confident that the programme will prove a valuable tool for bringing learning to life to help shape the next genera�on of global ci�zens, by encouraging pupils to discuss their knowledge and experience of a shared topic, to discover that there is far more that unites us than divides us. “The lives of our pupils and staff will be hugely enriched by being encouraged through CCGL to learn how issues like climate change, gender equality and Sustainable Development Goals can help bring posi�ve changes for everyone in the world.” Index

By Louise Glen

Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Dominic Raab.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has praised the school and urged more Highland schools to sign up to a UK Government funded programme to put pupils to touch with their peers in the developing world. Mr Raab is keen to support more Sco�sh teachers and children aged seven to 14 to learn about the wider world through the Connec�ng Classrooms through Global Learning (CCGL) programme. It puts Sco�sh pupils in touch with children of the same age in 29 developing countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia via video link. Funding grants will also be available so that teachers can visit their partner schools faceto-face, once coronavirus travel restric�ons are eased. The programme, run by the Bri�sh Council and co-funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), has already helped over 2,000 Bri�sh schools. The pupils discuss global issues such as climate change, gender equality and sustainability. Mr Raab said: “As we celebrate World Teacher Day, we want to encourage more Sco�sh schools to get involved so that even more children can enjoy the benefits of this inspira�onal programme.” Darren Coyle, of the Bri�sh Council, said: “We are delighted that Inverness High School is Index

embedding learning for sustainability into their curriculum through par�cipa�on in Connec�ng Classrooms. “It has never been so important for pupils to understand the big issues that shape our world and equip them with the knowledge, skills and a�tudes they need to make a posi�ve contribu�on. “We hope that many more schools will opt to take advantage of the opportuni�es to connect and learn through Connec�ng Classrooms.” Connec�ng Classrooms is a completely free and flexible programme open to all state schools in the UK. Designed by leading educa�on professionals, Connec�ng Classrooms provides a range of free high-quality classroom resources to blend with exis�ng curricula to help schools deliver exci�ng lessons and classroom projects about the United Na�ons Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Par�cipa�ng schools are en�tled free support from local experts across Scotland to develop their projects. Teachers and pupils receive support to enable joint classroom-to-classroom ac�vi�es with schools across the UK and abroad through le�er wri�ng or video link-ups. Funding grants will also be available so that teachers and school leaders can gain from face-to-face visits to their partner school, once coronavirus travel restric�ons are eased. Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

Canon Oceania announced the winners of its 2020 Grants Program, recognising two worthy organisa�ons that will contribute to a be�er future for their local communi�es. This year, Canon revamped its Grants Program with a new small business category and increased cash dona�ons in response to the impact the pandemic has had this year. A�er the public cast more than 5,500 votes for this year’s finalists, Canon is awarding over $30,000 worth of grants to projects, across New Zealand and Australia.

“The enormous number of applica�ons is a humbling reminder of the remarkable work that is happening across our region despite tough personal and economic circumstances. We know ongoing support is crucial, as there are many organisa�ons that will be permanently changed by the events of 2020. We hope this alleviates some of the uncertainty that many smaller organisa�ons are facing and are excited to see how this year’s winners use their Grants to con�nue their admirable work.”

For the first �me, New Zealand winners will receive an equal dona�on of cash and equipment – to support causes trying to rebuild themselves in a weaker economy”.

For the last 14 years, in the spirit of Canon’s guiding philosophy of Kyosei – living and working together for the common good – Canon Oceania has supported over 80 schools, not-for-profits and community groups with more than $400,000.

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New Zealand Winners: Small Business: $10,000 grant ($5,000 worth of Canon products and $5,000 cash) Bay Light – Innova�ve Educa�on Consultants Bay Light is a camp that provides a chance for children to understand their place in the world and grow their self-belief. The Grant will provide two decile 1 schools with the opportunity to a�end the educa�onal camp for free, who normally wouldn’t have the financial means or opportunity to a�end. “We are absolutely thrilled to be the recipients of Canon’s very generous gi�,” said Rebecca

Dow, Specialist Consultant, Bay Light. “We’re passionate about providing opportuni�es for New Zealand young people to experience the stunning Bay of Islands and the rich history that exists there. With Canon’s support we will be able to sponsor two Decile 1 schools and will be able to record and capture their experiences in photo and video form. This will also help us to provide high-quality marke�ng going forward – so that more schools are aware of our mission to provide a camp for students to learn more about what it means to ‘honour the past, understand the present and build the future’. Thank you again Canon for suppor�ng Bay Light.”

Bay Light -Rebecca with campers on Explore ‘Discover the Bay’ Boat Cruise

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Community: $5,000 grant ($2,500 worth of Canon products and $2,500 cash) Broad Bay School Broad Bay School is a primary school on the Otago Peninsula. The Grant will enable students to construct a 3D model of Brady Bay and the harbour that connects with oral histories of its local people through QR codes. Working closely with the Te Rūnaka ō Ōtakou the project will consolidate links between the school and the wider community. “In this �me of unprecedented global connec�vity, it is vital that we also con�nue to foster our local community connec�ons, with our people and the environment,” said Greg MacLeod, Principal, Broad Bay School. “Canon's generous grant will allow Broad Bay School's Dunedin students to record the stories and histories of our people, past, present, and future, and connect these to a three-dimensional sculpture of our local environment, which will be a valuable resource for our community”. The 2020 winners were based on each applicant’s poten�al to posi�vely impact the small business, educa�on and community sectors, as well as the degree to which Canon’s Grant would help bring the project to life.

Across the Tasman, Canon Grants are being awarded in Australia’s small

business, educa�on and community categories. Australia Winners: $5000 grant each ($2,500 worth of Canon products and $2,500 cash)

Broad Bay School - Photo courtesy of the Otago Daily Times

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Small Business: Dogs for Kids with Disabili�es (Victoria)

Educa�on: Telethon Speech and Hearing (Western Australia)

Dogs for Kids with Disabili�es (Dogs for Kids) raises and trains assistance and therapy dogs for children whose everyday ac�vi�es are restricted by emo�onal, physical and intellectual challenges. The Grant will provide equipment to create videos that drive awareness of Dogs for Kids’ work among the wider community.

Telethon Speech and Hearing is an independent school offering quality diagnos�c, therapy and support services for children with hearing loss and speech and language delays. The Grant will provide a camera as part of a ‘mobile pack’ to facilitate these tele-therapy sessions, ensuring children with hearing loss have access to specialised teachers for ongoing learning, regardless of their loca�on

“As we face some of the toughest economic condi�ons to date, educa�ng the community and a�rac�ng new sponsors is vital to our viability,” said Ka�e Hunter, Founder and Program Manager. “Canon’s Grant will not only enable us to capture important footage, it’ll provide much needed funds to promote the videos to targeted audiences across social media. We’re pleased that we can con�nue connec�ng with our community through the love of assistance dogs, during what has been a tough lockdown period.” Index

Sharing his excitement about winning the Educa�on Grant, Telethon Speech and Hearing’s CEO, Mark Fitzpatrick, said; “Our work centres on facilita�ng learning for children with hearing loss and speech delays, but COVID-19 restric�ons mean that many students can no longer par�cipate in face to face and group therapies. The Canon Grant will enable us to support families from regional and remote Western Australia Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

through our tele-therapy program, ensuring distance is not a barrier for these children to access quality supports to aid in their early years of development. We’re thrilled to be able to bring posi�vity to the lives of children and their families in what is an incredibly difficult �me.” Community: Ac�on for Dolphins (Queensland) Ac�on for Dolphins is a not-for-profit organisa�on working to stop cruelty and gain legal protec�on for dolphins. Working in partnership with the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corpora�on, Ac�on for Dolphins is looking to educate the local community and visitors about respec�ng wild dolphins. The Grant will provide equipment to record evidence of animals

trapped in underwater nets, as well as capture interviews with subject ma�er experts, to improve the community’s understanding on how to end ac�vi�es that harm marine life. "We are so grateful to Canon for choosing Ac�on for Dolphins as one of its Grant recipients,” said Jordan Sosnowski, Advocacy Director. “Using Canon’s cameras, we’ll be able to capture first-hand documenta�on to work with the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corpora�on (QYAC) to teach locals and tourists about keeping a safe distance from marine life, and end the illegal handfeeding of dolphins which is currently occurring on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island). This will lead to be�er health and welfare outcomes for marine fauna on the island.”

Fregon Anangu School (South Australia)

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Fregon Anangu School (South Australia)

RUNNER-UP: $1,000 grant Fregon Anangu School (South Australia) Fregon Anangu School is in a remote community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yakunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia. Students are working on a fortnightly community newsle�er called “Fregontu Wangkanyi”, which connects dispersed community members who aren’t strong English readers. Fregon sought the Grant to replace outdated cameras and limited access to technology due to the school’s remote loca�on. Given the project is primarily visual, highquality photos are essen�al in helping the newspaper gain more trac�on in the wider community.

Fregon Anangu School (South Australia)

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Small, close-knit communi�es are at high risk for rapid, intense COVID outbreaks especially if they haven’t yet experienced outbreaks of COVID-19, shows a new study by the University of Oxford and Northeastern University, Boston. The paper, published today in the journal Nature Medicine, shows that whether COVID outbreaks come to a fast, drama�c peak or whether they are long and drawn-out is more closely related to city layout and social structures than city size and density.

Tradi�onal epidemic models are based on asingle popula�on, but in reality, large ci�es are made up of many linked communi�es. This enables an outbreak to travel through city popula�ons community-by-community resul�ng in a prolonged, sustained epidemic. Places with higher popula�on densi�es, single city-centres and business districts, and large numbers of connec�ons between different communi�es are likely to suffer larger epidemics. This could go some way to illustra�ng the mechanism why the outbreaks in large ci�es like NYC, London and Madrid had much higher case numbers compared to more rural areas. And poten�ally explain why university halls of residence have proved to be so vulnerable to rapid outbreaks. Dr Moritz Kraemer, Associate of the Oxford Mar�n Programme on Pandemic Genomics

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and Branco Weiss Fellow at Oxford University’s Department of Zoology, said: 'Public health measures are o�en focused on “fla�ening the curve” but this research shows that what that curve looks like will be very different from city to city, town to town, or even neighbourhood to neighbourhood. Measures should be developed with that perspec�ve in mind, for example thinking about how an interven�on reduces the circle of contacts of an average individual in each loca�on.

Boston, said: ‘This data-led research provides a clear explana�on for some of the key anecdotes of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, a rural wedding in Maine has been linked to 170 cases and seven deaths. This paper’s hypothesis, that a hitherto unaffected area given a single introduc�on of COVID-19 can lead to a rapid peak in cases when individuals had high rates of contact within social units, such as households, care homes and prisons, explains that outbreak pa�ern.

If a disease keeps reseeding itself in communi�es that are not in the midst of an outbreak, it will perpetuate the wider epidemic

‘Smaller, highly connected communi�es that haven’t experienced a COVID-19 case should therefore be more vigilant on adhering to public health measures, not less.’

‘Our research also shows that the tradi�onal wisdom in public health, that once local transmission has started then new importa�ons of a disease from outside are no longer a priority to control, needs to be reassessed. If a disease keeps reseeding itself in communi�es that are not in the midst of an outbreak, it will perpetuate the wider epidemic.’

Smaller, highly connected communi�es that haven’t experienced a COVID-19 case should therefore be more vigilant on adhering to public health measures, not less

The paper includes a map of risk intensity covering 310 ci�es across the world showing those at risk of shorter, more overwhelming peaks, such as Novosibirsk, Russia and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and those likely to have more extended outbreaks, including Madrid, Spain and Colombo, Sri Lanka. This paper’s hypothesis, that a hitherto unaffected area given a single introduc�on of COVID-19 can lead to a rapid peak in cases when individuals had high rates of contact within social units, such as households, care homes and prisons, explains that outbreak pa�ern

The paper, ‘Crowding and the shape of COVID19 epidemics’ used highly spa�ally resolved daily epidemiological data from Chinese ci�es and Italian provinces, climate and popula�on data, and the response to local interven�ons as measured by human mobility data from Baidu Inc and COVID-19 Aggregated Mobility Research Dataset from earlier this year. This was used to iden�fy drivers of transmission and create a model to predict the risk of highpeak outbreaks based on similar data from 310 ci�es around the world. Read the full paper in Nature Medicine: h�ps:/ /www.nature.com/ar�cles/s41591-020-11040.

Professor Samuel Scarpino of the Emergent Epidemics Lab, Northeastern University, Index

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The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Founda�on is now accep�ng entries for the 2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge! This annual art contest inspires students from all over the world to be crea�ve while learning about important ocean science and conserva�on issues. The theme for this year’s compe��on is “The Magic of Mangroves,” and scholarships of up to $500 will be awarded to the winning entries.

This year, the Founda�on is using the Science Without Borders® Challenge to highlight the benefits of mangroves. Mangroves create forests that provide a natural coastal infrastructure that supports a highly produc�ve and biodiverse ecosystem. Mangrove forests are extremely important ecosystems that provide many benefits to people, marine life, and the environment. For this year’s contest, we are asking students to create a piece of artwork that illustrates how mangroves are important. The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Founda�on has put together some educa�onal resources that can help students learn about the theme and gain a be�er understanding of mangrove forests and what makes them so special. To enter the 2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge, follow the Contest Rules, review the Tips for Success, and upload your artwork to our online Submission Form. The Challenge is open to all students who are 11-19 years old and enrolled in primary or secondary school (or the home-school equivalent). Entries must be received by Monday, March 1, to be eligible to win. Since the Founda�on launched the Science Without Borders® Challenge nine years ago, over 2200 students from 73 countries have par�cipated. This year the Founda�on hopes to receive more entries than ever before. Help us get the word out about this compe��on by telling any young ar�sts and teachers you know and encouraging them to apply.

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“I think the danger is when we are lured into a false expecta�on of reality, or a false sense of control, and it leaves us feeling deeply disappointed.” – Emily Downe

The story of Be�er, Emily Downe’s short animated experimental film, is based on the journey of one character through a fantasy jungle.

With social media, society has created a perfec�on bubble that some�mes makes it hard to show what’s really going on inside.

The jungle acts as a portal for idealized worlds to become external.

How might this existence be impac�ng the mental health and well being of younger genera�ons?

The story explores the ways in which modern technologies and social media give us access to an imaginary existence that we are able to control.

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The Global Search for Educa�on is pleased to welcome Emily Downe:

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C.M.Rubin

“Many people have also said that they really feel the anxiety of the character.” – Emily Downe Emily, I saw your film earlier this year at the Annecy Film Fes�val. Take us back to the moment when you found out you were nominated. Thank you! It was so unexpected and out of the blue, I think I got an email in the early days of lockdown so it was a lovely piece of news and encouragement in this weird �me! I had been to Annecy for the first �me last year so I was really looking forward to being able to go again this year and present my film, however it was s�ll so great to be able to par�cipate online. What inspired you to explore the theme of a perfec�onist culture? Was there a specific experience, personal or otherwise, that Index

prompted your research and interest in this story? I would describe myself as an idealist and a perfec�onist; so in some ways the film is biographical. I’d had a few moments that year where my idealised bubble had burst and I found that it was unexpectedly freeing. So that’s what the film is about. It is also observa�onal and research-based as I was seeing and discussing the same things with the people around me. I did a lot of research into perfec�onism at the beginning and I was struck by the amount of ar�cles online I found that said something along the lines of, “Life is about crea�ng yourself; be more interes�ng, be funnier, achieve more, be be�er”. At first Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

“People can see that it is a personal experience, but they can also see themselves in the story too.” – Emily Downe

glance this sounds really great, but the problem is that the goal is infinite, and the result is that people can feel like they are constantly failing. With increasing technology and social media pla�orms, it also means that people begin to curate themselves not create themselves, se�ng up a false expecta�on of reality that can cause an increased amount of anxiety and depression, and sadly some�mes even suicide. Do you think we (as a culture) are be�er or worse off with technology such as social media. What do you see as the main pros and cons? There are definitely so many great things about technology and social media so I think we probably are be�er on the whole, but as with anything, it comes with a brokenness to it – it’s not perfect and the people who use it aren’t, so it is bound to do harm as well. As I tried to express in my film, I think the danger is when we are lured into a false expecta�on 44

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of reality, or a false sense of control, and it leaves us feeling deeply disappointed. Any personal discoveries or interes�ng crea�ve lessons made during the process of producing your animated movie that you had not considered before? I set myself a lot of challenges in the making of this film, I hadn’t really worked with characters or narra�ve before. Nor had I worked on digital anima�on to this level as my previous films had been more experimental. But this film also isn’t a tradi�onal narra�ve, so because of the complex nature of having these two different reali�es in two different styles, and trying to communicate a topic that has lots of layers to it, that was really challenging. I had in my head from the beginning how I wanted it to be but it took a long �me to get there. I definitely learned to believe in my ideas more and to not give up un�l you get there.

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“I think the film speaks not only to people who use social media, but also the general human desire to control and cover over imperfec�on.” – Emily Downe What’s been the audience feedback to your film so far? Which audiences do you think your film speaks to most? Lots of people have commented on the mix of different styles of anima�on, the observa�onal sketch verses fantasized digital anima�on, and especially with the added frames of live ac�on footage, which has that extra effect of jol�ng the viewer in and out of reality. But many people have also said that they really feel the anxiety of the character. People can see that it is a personal experience, but they can also see themselves in the story too. So I think even though the main audience would be the millennial genera�on, I think the film speaks not only to people who use social media, but also the general human desire to control and cover over imperfec�on, which isn’t a new concept. What are some of the other themes and topics that fascinate you most? Any plans to develop stories for audiences on them in the future? Index

I’ve always been really interested in areas of science, philosophy and technology, and how they affect us as humans. I recently completed my MA in Documentary Anima�on from the Royal College of Art – Be�er was my gradua�on film – so I am passionate about using anima�on as a means of communica�ng important topics in alterna�ve ways. My previous film, The Redness of Red, was about ar�ficial intelligence and consciousness, so I would love to do another film following on from that some�me in the future. But actually at the moment I am working on some ideas around sleep and rest – there is this cultural desire to eliminate rest completely, or as much as possible, seeing it as a waste of �me, so I’d love to make this film some�me soon.

C.M. Rubin and Emily Downe Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

Ar�st Adele Renault paints realis�c portraits of the common pigeon, o�en highligh�ng real examples of pigeons whose stories are anything but ordinary.

By focusing on these inspiring stories, Renault highlights the o�en overlooked bird as a magnificent creature rather than an urban nuisance.

This year she painted a mural of “Baby Girl,” a New Jersey pigeon who won a 366 mile race 19 minutes ahead of the other feathered contestants.

Her brightly hued public murals and pain�ngs on canvas bring purples and blues into the bird’s feathers, and accentuate the iridescent tones one might not no�ce at first glance.

A few years ago she dedicated a series of smaller pain�ngs to “Camp,” a pigeon adopted by a Chicago couple a�er finding his egg le� on their kitchen table.

Recently she published a book combining her avian works �tled Feathers and Faces. You can view more of her large-scale pain�ngs on her website and Instagram.

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Kate Sierzputowski

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During the Covid 19 lockdown University of Cambridge Museums wanted to engage remotely and maintain rela�onships with our pre-exis�ng audience of children with special educa�onal needs and disabili�es.

We aimed to create accessible, fun virtual resources for families at home suitable for children with special educa�onal needs and disabili�es and to offer ongoing support to young people with SEN and their parents who might be experiencing isola�on during lockdown.

According to government sta�s�cs in January 2020 12.1% of all school pupils have a special educa�onal need, and we have two main programmes for children with special educa�onal needs and disabili�es. Arts Pioneers, for young people aged 1119, is commissioned by Cambridgeshire County Council. They a�end the Fitzwilliam Museum on a monthly basis, then rotate around the museums for holiday sessions. The UCM also deliver ‘disability friendly openings’ funded by Cambridge City Council, aimed at children with sensory sensi�vi�es and their families.

The structure for the virtual resources was the same for both programmes, but with added personalisa�on for the Arts Pioneers as we know the group members as individuals. Each resource had three sec�ons; look, copy and make. Ar�st educator Kaitlin Ferguson, who usually works with the Arts Pioneers in person, designed art ac�vi�es and created short instruc�on films and templates. There were two ‘levels’ of art ac�vity, based on the child’s concentra�on levels; instant or detailed. Making nature portraits As Arts Pioneers is a reoccurring group, we could post out art materials to everyone at the beginning

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Marie Kennedy of lockdown. We’d send out addi�onal items as required. This meant the ac�vi�es could be more crea�ve as we sent out bespoke materials. For the other SEND resources, we picked materials likely to be found at home. An arts pioneer receiving their box of art supplies

whilst also ensuring our offerings were engaging and as personable as possible.” At a �me where food and art supplies were in short supply across the country, the Disability friendly resources art ac�vi�es were based on what was likely to be in the house which limited how far we could far we could push the crea�vity. We were also aware of not wan�ng to design ac�vi�es that required expensive materials. Making a version of blue twisted form

Kaitlin Ferguson reflects “Before lockdown, our in-person sessions were always designed to be sensi�ve, personable, warm and dynamic. We work to make sure our approach isn’t prescrip�ve but governed by responding to the group’s needs in the moment. As we moved to offering our sessions online through digital resources and videos, the challenge that we were presented with was how to ensure that our offerings kept the same warmth and personal touch as our in person sessions.We quickly trained ourselves in new digital skills such as recording and video edi�ng, sound design, cap�oning and the design of digital resources. This allowed us to make the most out of these new formats, Index

At �mes we struggled to get feedback, so we felt like we were crea�ng ac�vi�es in a ‘bubble’ rather than being led by the young person’s interests and level of support required. It would have been useful to have developed

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an easy way for people to upload any work they created, like an online gallery and a simple way to gather analy�cs, but we had to work quickly and respond to the situa�on very fast. We were about to support one young person to complete a Bronze Arts Award a na�onally recognised qualifica�on, while others completed Bronze units.

Cynatype prin�ng

A parent said, “The range of projects helped to give me more ideas for crea�ve things J and I could do at home and so we were crea�ng things together all the way through lockdown and beyond, we could also incorporate art things we’d done to support things like wri�ng prac�ce. “ Twisted blue form copy

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Two ar�sts; Kaitlin Ferguson and Jason Ions alternated crea�ng monthly ac�vi�es for the arts pioneers inspired by artworks and objects in the museum collec�ons, helping us to maintain our rela�onship with all the par�cipants. For the other SEND resources, Kaitlin Ferguson worked with us to create 7 short films and resources based on objects from the different 6 of the UCM. Young people created art work and shared it with us by email. In one case, art work created by a member of Arts Pioneers was used to offer inspira�on for families engaging with the Fitzwilliam Museum’s Look think Do family resources. Index

Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ) has undertaken a strategic refresh to get greater cut through with its Water Skills for Life aqua�c educa�on programme for children aged five to 13. Water Skills for Life is delivered to children in New Zealand primary schools. It is linked into the na�onal educa�on curriculum and gives children in years 1 – 8 the skills and knowledge they need to assess risk and make smart decisions around water. Drowning is the leading cause of recrea�onal death and the third highest cause of accidental death in New Zealand. In 2019 there were 82 preventable drowning fatali�es. The goal of this new Water Skills for Life strategy is to get more kiwi kids access to opportuni�es to learn these cri�cal water safety competencies. “Aqua�c educa�on is part of the New Zealand Curriculum and WSNZ would like to see Water Skills for Life as an entrenched part of every New Zealand child’s early educa�on. By year six every child should have these founda�onal skills and knowledge so they are able to assess risk and stay safe,” says WSNZ CEO Jonty Mills. A refreshed and stronger rela�onship with Swimming New Zealand (SNZ) is cri�cal to this new strategy. SNZ will lead the professionalisa�on of professional development for school teachers so more students will have the opportunity to learn in a school pool with teacher support. “We agree this is key to the success of this programme and to bringing down our drowning toll,” says SNZ CEO Steve Johns. “We look forward to working together with WSNZ to deliver Water Skills for Life to as many children as possible through a more efficient delivery model.”

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This refreshed model is the most effec�ve way to achieve broad reach so more New Zealanders have a basic level of aqua�c educa�on. “Currently we reach around 200,000 Kiwi kids through our annual funding round – it is our hope that through this refreshed model we will see widespread uptake of Water Skills for Life,” says Jonty Mills. School principals whose students have experienced Water Skills for Life say the real world knowledge and skills taught in the programme are vital to growing up in New Zealand. Jenny Williams is the principal of Totara Park School in Northland and says Water Skills for Life provides children with fun experiences in the water presented at their level so they get a lot out of it. “Our children are surrounded by water and they need to know what to do if something goes wrong.” “Water Skills for Life gives them that in a dynamic and fun way that stays with them.” As a na�on surrounded by water, learning prac�cal water survival skills at an early age is essen�al for lifelong safety. By learning Water Skills for Life, not only will our children learn to keep themselves safe, they will also be taking part in an ac�ve programme that supports their health and wellbeing. “Water Skills for Life is the founda�on on which we can build a New Zealand where everyone has the skills and knowledge to enjoy our beau�ful waterways safely, and so we can work towards a future where no one drowns,” says Jonty Mills.

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

“I’m not addicted! Fortnite is my third favourite game.” Photo: Pixabay

Telling kids they are “game addicts” is poten�ally harmful Children adopt the word "addicted" to describe a game as fun or to say how long they played it. But adults use it as a pathology - and that can harm kids.

Are games really addic�ve? Parents, teachers and the media need to stop pathologising game play as “addic�ve” or a “disorder” as it is poten�ally harmful to a child’s sense of iden�ty and the benefits of play, according to new research. The study, led by Dr Marcus Carter, in the School of Literature, Arts and Media, who has previously researched the appeal of 58

Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

Fortnite, examined how Australian children aged 9-14 years understood claims that Fortnite is “addic�ve” and applied it to their own play. The study found children used the word “addic�ve” to describe a game simply being fun, or used the term to describe their desire to play a game beyond the length or occasion it was allowed. This made some children avoid playing Fortnite, or in some cases, any games at all. The research, published in the journal Media Interna�onal Australia, argues that the risk of pathologising all video games as “addic�ve” is that some children might miss out on the benefits of playing games, and others may start to associate the normal and reasonable desire to play as something forbidden or deviant.

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"Kids need to have fun, whether it’s to de-stress, relax or have posi�ve social experiences with their friends." Photo: Unsplash

What the kids* say “I’m not addicted! It’s my third favourite game,” said Harry, 11, when asked about Fortnite. Liam, 13, said a teacher told his class “we shouldn’t be playing Fortnite…it’s like, bad for our educa�on." Narrah, 11, felt that kids “pooping” or “we�ng” themselves was probably just “one person out of millions of people who play Fortnite.” James, 13, said “a lot of that media stuff is bullcrap….I just can’t believe them."

“The risk of calling all video games addic�ve is that children might miss out on the benefits of playing games. We already know games are good for children’s crea�vity and imagina�on, and are an engaging way to develop their problem-solving skills, spa�al skills, and strategic decision-making abili�es,” Dr Carter says. “Games are also an enormous amount of fun; and kids need to have fun, whether it’s to de-stress, relax, or have posi�ve social experiences with friends, the play of digital games is – in modera�on – as important as non-digital play.”

"The play of digital games is – in modera�on – as important as non-digital play." Photo: Pixabay

*Names have been changed for privacy What the expert says

Advice for parents

Dr Carter, an expert on the science of gaming, says games are “an appealing hobby, enthusias�cally engaged in, but parents shouldn’t misinterpret this desire as problema�c, compulsive or addic�on. We wouldn’t call someone ‘addicted’ to books just because they wanted to read another chapter of Harry Po�er a�er bed�me,” he said.

Dr Carter says concerned parents should try playing digital games with their kids.

Dr Carter says that “the formal designa�on of ‘gaming disorder’ as a disease by organisa�ons like the World Health Organisa�on is not supported by current research and is a highly problema�c move.” Index

“Co-play is a really great media�on strategy for digital games. Parent perspec�ves and behaviour while playing influences how children understand their media experience and react to things like loss, challenges, and how children develop important sportsmanship and teamwork skills. It’s also an opportunity for parents to let their kids be the expert and ask them how to play!” Declara�on: The authors received no financial Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

"We found that a lot of our parents were talking at their kids, and not necessarily with their kids. Mind Ma�ers gives parents different tools in which to have conversa�ons with their kids," said Fletcher Maynard Academy principal Robin Harris. Six years later, Mind Ma�ers con�nues to make a difference Families of young students are gaining the tools necessary to help them understand how their child’s brain is developing, a skill that can o�en help them give their children a leg up when it comes to learning. For the past six years, Harvard has offered the Mind Ma�ers: Families Make a Difference program to schools in Cambridge and Boston. The ini�a�ve draws from cu�ng-edge research to give families prac�cal skills and understanding related to early childhood development. With a par�cular focus on children aged 3 to 9, the program provides resources to support kids emo�onally, socially, and academically. “Our goal is to give parents and caregivers the tools they need to enable their child to be prepared for school,” said Joan Matsalia, the associate director of Harvard’s Public School Partnerships. “Social and emo�onal skills are every bit as important as academic skills, and ensuring that parents are prepared, engaged, and suppor�ve from the start is cri�cal to a child’s future success.” So far, parents, teachers and administrators are liking what they see. In a recent survey of parents who have completed the program, more than 98 percent reported being pleased with the content, materials, take-home ac�vi�es, and overall group discussions.

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In addi�on, a�er par�cipa�ng in the program, parents reported a significant increase in their knowledge of ways in which to support their child; an increase in using posi�ve strategies to se�le differences with their children; and a significant increase in no�cing their child’s learning capabili�es as well as their socialemo�onal development. The Fletcher Maynard Academy (FMA) in Cambridge has been offering Mind Ma�ers to its families since the 2016–17 school year. The following Q&A with Robin Harris, principal of the Fletcher Maynard Academy, was originally published on May 8.

Q&A with Robin Harris GAZETTE: How important is family engagement to the success of students? HARRIS: I’m a true believer in family engagement. It’s incredibly important. First and foremost, it’s about the rela�onships that all of us have with the students we see every day. But it’s also about building and forging rela�onships with families and parents and guardians and grandparents and the extended families of our students. Because learning is a real partnership. We want to get to know the kids. What makes them �ck? What gets them excited? What are the parents’ goals for their kids? Our teachers can see the difference that rela�onships make in the long run. But it’s also important to understand that family engagement can come in many different shapes. It’s how you define engagement. And it looks different to different people. But ul�mately we’re all a�er the same goal: the success of our students. GAZETTE: How does Mind Ma�ers fit into this model? HARRIS: I wish every single parent had Mind Ma�ers. With Mind Ma�ers we’re able to give parents really specific tools that they’re then able to u�lize with their kids. We’re able to Index

GAZETTE: What has been some of the feedback that you’ve heard from par�cipants? HARRIS: Families who’ve par�cipated have learned a lot. And an added benefit is that this knowledge — these prac�ces — really crosses socioeconomic lines. There is something in it for everybody, regardless of background. We have parents who have graduate degrees, and we have parents who don’t have high school diplomas — but who are both learning together about how best to help their children — because ul�mately we all want our children to be happy and successful. It’s rewarding to see how many different families are taking advantage of the learning. One of the other residual effects of the workshops is that they create bonds and rela�onships among the parents.

Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer

equip them with some of the knowledge and some of the research that’s out there about different things — such as brain development. As parents, some�mes you’re just flying by the seat of your pants. But now you’ve got an opportunity to really learn about some of the research, the why and the how behind some of the advice we hear so o�en. You’re learning the science — the proven research. You no longer have to simply just shoot from the hip. You’re learning best prac�ces. Mind Ma�ers is equipping our families with knowledge that they probably wouldn’t have go�en on their own, and it’s knowledge that can make a real difference in the lives of the students.

Robin Harris schools in the Cambridge Public Schools district? HARRIS: We found that a lot of our parents were talking at their kids, and not necessarily with their kids. Mind Ma�ers gives parents different tools in which to have conversa�ons with their kids. And it makes a difference because now interac�ons can become more than just direc�ves. Now they’re having actual conversa�ons with their child, engaging kids in some discourse. And that’s just a real mind shi� for some folks. It helps parents realize that making �me to be present and interact with their children is very, very important. A�er FMA first started par�cipa�ng in the Mind Ma�ers program, we thought, “Oh my gosh, wouldn’t it be awesome if every parent had this opportunity? Why stop with us? Every school should do this. This is good, rich informa�on.” So we started talking to our colleagues at their respec�ve schools, and it just star�ng growing from there. Mind Ma�ers is available in elementary schools in Cambridge, as well as in schools in Boston’s Allston-Brighton neighborhood.

Brigid O'Rourke Harvard Correspondent

GAZETTE: What made you want to help bring Harvard’s Mind Ma�ers program to other Index

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.In one of the first of its kind, first-year Modern Chemistry has been ‘turned on its head’ at Flinders University in a pioneering new program which removes lectures, tutorials and even the final exam. All interac�ons with students happen in the lab, where first years decide and design their own lab projects to cover theore�cal and prac�cal requirements and discuss outcomes with academic staff.

A new report, covering student feedback from the subject between 2016-18, has shown a high level of engagement and students feeling be�er prepared for subsequent studies. While not graded, the students are assessed in individual discussions with academics or demonstrators. Students can ‘only’ get a nongraded pass and most students actually pass. “We talk with the students about what they need to know,” says Associate Professor Ingo Köper. “By talking with students, we actually get a much be�er feeling what the students know and can push them further, and also make sure we are at the right level.”

First-year chemistry students Jessica Mulligan, le�, and Emily Bibbo with Associate Professor Ingo Köper in the Flinders University labratory

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Associate Professor Ingo Köper says the ini�a�ve was taken when students were not a�ending lectures, and generally preferring a more flexible Brodie Parro�, le�, was one of the first students to enrol in approach to their the Modern Chem lab pilot and has now progressed to PhD learning, pairing with studies with Associate Professor Köper, right. more freedom to design their own learning pathways. While some students might need more guidance than others to experiment and “A lot of textbook knowledge is available explore, the paper say the ‘brave experiment’ online now and students are willing to manage has shown that “careful design can frame an their own �me, organisa�on, planning and experience that is fun and enjoyable for self-learning more now than ever,” he says. students and that also supports students to “There have been different approaches on learn across cogni�ve, psycho-motor and how to make ‘dry’ scien�fic concepts more affec�ve outcomes”. interes�ng and to enhance student “The topic is designed to increase not only engagement, ranging from problem-based student’s knowledge, but also their lab skills learning approaches, case studies and ‘flipped and interest in chemistry overall,” Associate classroom’ models. Professor Köper concludes. “The new structure on a fairly classic first year Read the paper: chemistry course allows students to gain knowledge and understanding purely through Turning chemistry educa�on on its head: their own range of challenges – and it seems Design, experience and evalua�on of a to work, par�cularly for their future ter�ary learning-centred ‘Modern Chemistry’ learning in higher years,” Associate Professor subject (2020) by I Koeper, J Shapter, V North Köper says. and D Houston has been published in the Journal of University Teaching & Learning Brodie Parro�, pictured, was one of the first Prac�ce (volume 17 / issue 3 / 13). students to enrol in the Modern Chem lab pilot, has now progressed to PhD studies with Associate Professor Köper, while assis�ng with demonstra�ng the topic to Flinders first-year students this semester.

The study received support from Australian Government Department of Educa�on and Training in the form of an Office of Learning and Teaching Na�onal Senior Fellowship.

“It’s really fun to demonstrate and always interes�ng to listen to students explaining new concepts and being able to share my love of chemistry with them,” he says. Brodie’s PhD in nanotechnology is inves�ga�ng the membrane disrup�on mechanisms of novel polymeric an�microbials on tethered bilayer lipid membranes. Index

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A school-based survey of students in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire examined over 200 key factors in the lives and expecta�ons of young people, aged 8-18 years, helping to shed light on mental health during lockdown. The Oxford University-led study included 19,000 students from 237 schools across Berkshire East, Berkshire West, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, South Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire. Students in Years 4 to 13 (aged 8-18 years) completed the OxWell School Survey 2020, either while at school or at home. The survey assessed mental wellbeing, anxiety, indicators of vulnerability, sleep pa�erns, online safety, and protec�ve factors, such as exercise, social interac�on, and a�tudes to accessing mental health support.

The analysis of results from the survey findings is on-going, however early reports suggest that older students were more likely to perceive their mental wellbeing as being lower during lockdown compared with before lockdown, with those in Years 10, 12, and 13 repor�ng the worst outcomes. When asked about their general happiness (mental wellbeing) – whether it was be�er or worse during lockdown – Year 12 students reported: 54 per cent felt their wellbeing was worse 24 per cent felt their wellbeing was be�er 22 per cent felt their wellbeing was unchanged Associate Professor Mina Fazel, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, said, 'We are very curious about those young people who say they are happier since lockdown – is this because they are bullied at school, or feel anxious away from their homes and were no longer exposed to these stressors? Or is it because they can study and concentrate be�er away from the hustle and bustle of the classroom? A lot more than academic learning takes place at school and unpicking the different and complex components that can help a young person thrive is our priority through this important research, so as to help inform schools and young people’s services.' The study leads priori�sed ge�ng summaries of the results of the survey to the schools and

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local authori�es that were involved in recrui�ng students to complete the survey, as well as an overall summary report from all data collected in the en�re survey. Two school leavers were employed to lead on ge�ng the informa�on sent out to students who took part in the study, the resources developed include a poster to be put up in schools, to help raise awareness of mental health, a short video for students to watch (primary and secondary versions available), and an email for schools to send out to students. Students and Youth Advisors, Cameron and Kirsten Bell, (Year 13 school leavers), said, 'It’s very important that students understand the

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problems with mental health and how lockdown has had an impact. They need to understand it so that they can be sympathe�c to those who have it and for those who have it to have an understanding that they are not alone. This informa�on can be used for schools so they can prepare be�er and improve the mental health of their students in case we have to go through another lockdown.' Dr Karen Mansfield, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, said, 'We are now pulling out the most relevant results to make them available for schools and policy makers to use in suppor�ng students and managing the

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current situa�on with COVID-19 and its impact. Part of our on-going work is to try and find the reasons behind these figures, to iden�fy which students are more likely to have lower wellbeing since lockdown and which factors are associated with these outcomes.

schools, as well as to guide scien�fic research and inform policy.'

'We are grateful to the local authori�es across the region who wanted to join us and conduct this important survey, a reflec�on of their concern for the wellbeing of the people in their cons�tuencies’.'

Jane�e Fullwood, Head of Children, Young People and Families at NHS East Berkshire CCG, said, 'NHS East Berkshire CCG has benefi�ed from the results of the OxWell School Survey locally and would like to con�nue with it in future. Hearing the needs of young people has enabled us to put youth voice at the heart of our local strategic planning and partnership working.'

Donna Husband, Head of Public Health Programmes - Health Improvement, at Oxfordshire County Council, said, 'This survey is an important collabora�on between researchers, schools, public health and educa�on teams, and providers of mental health services. The results can be used to promote mental wellbeing and help tailor mental health support within and between

Gareth Williams, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Community Engagement at Buckinghamshire Council, said, 'It is really important for us to understand the way children have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and this survey plays a key part in helping us to do that. The findings will be invaluable as we con�nue our work to support the mental health and wellbeing of

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children across Buckinghamshire and to make sure their needs are being met by our health and care services. I am very pleased the council was able to work with our schools and other colleagues to be involved in this research.' Dr Jane O’Grady, Director of Public Health Buckinghamshire Council, said, 'Buckinghamshire Council, working in partnership with our local schools, was delighted to have taken part in this survey. Understanding the COVID experience from the perspec�ve of children and young people is a cri�cal part of our local Health and Wellbeing COVID Recovery Plan. The data will inform both our ongoing support and future developments for children and young people’s mental health and emo�onal wellbeing needs in our plan.' Funding received from the Westminster Founda�on to the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, has meant that a school survey, which was set up in 2019 and completed by over 4,000 Oxfordshire students, could be adapted and used for this specific study during the COVID-19 lockdown. The University of Oxford Oxford University has been placed number 1 in the Times Higher Educa�on World University Rankings for the fi�h year running, and at the heart of this success is our ground-breaking research and innova�on. Oxford is worldfamous for research excellence and home to

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some of the most talented people from across the globe. Our work helps the lives of millions, solving real-world problems through a huge network of partnerships and collabora�ons. The breadth and interdisciplinary nature of our research sparks imagina�ve and inven�ve insights and solu�ons. The University Department of Psychiatry’s mission is to conduct world-class research, teach psychiatry to medical students, develop future researchers in a graduate programme, teach doctors in training, promote excellence in clinical prac�ce, and develop and provide innova�ve clinical services. It supports research in four key areas: neurobiology, psychological treatments, developmental psychiatry and social psychiatry. The Department is commi�ed to the transla�on of scien�fic discovery into benefits for pa�ents. www.psych.ox.ac.uk Funding for the University of Oxford’s coronavirus research is crucial to the development of a vaccine and the subsequent delivery of effec�ve drugs to combat this new virus. Unprecedented speed, scope and ambi�on is required. Please make a gi�. Any gi� made will help contribute to the fight against coronavirus.

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Quirky Characters Anthropomorphize Ceramicist Sandra Apperloo Sandra Apperloo infuses her love for pastels and �ny freckles into a playful crew of characters. Shaped to hold a single flower stem, the anthropomorphized vases display a range of emo�ons and together, form a series humorously named Weirdo Bud Vases. Their lengthy bodies are covered in polka dots, floral mo�fs, and stripes, and while some stand straight up, others twist around a similarly dressed figure. “I hope my works make people laugh and daydream. I hope they distract from daily businesses, leave warm feelings, and �ckle imagina�ons,” she writes.

the pa�erns. It helps me to stay open-minded and try out new things, which I feel is really important in my work,” she says. To snag one of her pieces, which includes a forthcoming series of holiday ornaments, follow Apperloo on Instagram, where she o�en shares announcements about shop updates.

Based in the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands, Apperloo works under the moniker The Po�ery Parade and creates planters, mugs, bowls, and other vessels through a mix of hand-building and wheel-based techniques. She doesn’t plan each piece in advance, instead favoring a method that involves “finding what feels good at that moment. This is the case for every part of the process: shaping, sculp�ng, choosing the colors, and pain�ng

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e Paï¿½erned, Pastel Vases by Grace Ebert

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I’d like to please share my most recent existential (possibly PMS-related) crisis with you. Recently, I had a thought I’m willing to bet most mothers have had: all I do is nag. If it weren’t for us, who would say: • finish your homework • make good choices • eat your vegetables • use the hamper for the love of all • the skid-marked undies • put on a coat • say please and thank-you • stop biting your nails DO YOU WANT THE CORONAVIRUS?! • let the dog out • we’re gonna need a courtesy flush • turn off your iPad • brush your teeth…for real I mean, the list goes on, but who has the time?! 74

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The point is this: it’s my job to churn out responsible citizens who don’t live in my basement until they’re thirty. To do this, I must remind and guide and teach, and the vessel through which it’s all delivered is the occasional gentle nudge. Which is to say I nag all day, errrry day. It is an unfortunate necessity of the job that will hopefully reap lasting benefits, but here’s the thing: I don’t enjoy it. To be honest, I annoy myself. There are days *I* can’t even stand to hear my own voice, so I can only imagine what my kids think! Having acknowledged that, I know on an intellectual level THE NAGGING MUST GO ON. Some of what I say is actually sinking in, and I see a difference! I bear witness to my kids’ growth and progress and oh! does my heart soar! Then my 10-year-old puts putty in his hair and I realize we’ve got more work to do… I’m more than a decade into this motherhood gig, and I get so bogged down with the “business” of parenting that I Index

Stephanie Jankowski

forget there’s supposed to be joy in it, too. So much so that I’ve recently started wondering what my face looks like during it all. Yes, I’m serious. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel so much pressure to keep track of and complete and remember all the things. And that’s just for my family of five, not to mention extended familial obligations and professional responsibilities! It’s partly my Type A personality, I’m sure, but I take that pressure

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seriously, and I feel it literally. The chiropractor is my crack. Anyway, Monday – Friday it’s go-time. My game face is on and we are pounding pavement, people! Then when 5pm on Friday rolls around, everything starts to slow down. I exhale. My family feels the shift. We all feel… The weekends are such stark contrasts to the rest of the week that it makes me wonder what exactly my kids will remember about their school days. They’ll likely recall drill sergeant mom, rushing and

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frustrating them because that’s how we do around here with such a packed schedule. I doubt they’ll conjure images of the fresh fruit with every breakfast or clean sheets on their beds. It’s not because they’re ungrateful, it’s because that stuff isn’t important to them; it’s important to me for them. And so I’ve surmised: The nagging is necessary. Following a schedule is necessary. Meeting their basic needs is necessary. To fit in anything else seems impossible, but I’ve been on a mission to capture more of those Friday feels in our daily lives. I can’t add more hours to

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the day; I’m not cancelling school or practice (though I believe in the power of an occasional mental health day). I’ve considered but since rejected the idea of moving us to a yurt in Utah. Then it hit me: there is something I can do and it requires zero extra time. Actually, I’m embarrassed by its simplicity and the fact I haven’t been doing it this whole time. What I can do is…wait for it…smile. Not the kind of smile that masks pain or appeases others. A smile that is a shoulder shrug, a “no biggie,” a “this is not the worst thing in the world.” As a teacher, I understand how a simple smile or laugh can transform the atmosphere of an entire room. I use humor to de-escalate tense situations all the time. But as a parent? I struggle with this. Emotions and motherhood are synonymous. Emotions and logic are enemies. And now we know why parenting is so hard. I sometimes forget my Index

kids are kids who have been on their best behavior, brains at max capacity, all day in school. And truthfully? It’s difficult to muster up a smile during my 100th demonstration of This is the Proper Amount of Toilet Paper to Effectively Handle a #2 Whilst Not Clogging the Toilet. I have to actively search for the joy among the chaos and try like hell to have some perspective when my 5-yearold leaves her milk on the table (again) and the dog jumps up and spills it (again). Because what I don’t want is my kids to associate this face with Mommy: But ya know what? Life is too short to cry over spilled milk. Heh. Maybe old age has turned me into a walking, talking cliche, or maybe I just finally get it. It doesn’t matter. Whatever it is has done a good job of nudging me into appreciating the present. It has been nagging me, reminding me to be mindful of what a gift today really is. I don’t say that because it’s all the millennial rage to be mindful and present and protest dairy. I say it because it’s only a matter of time until today is replaced with tomorrow and when that happens, kids and Index

problems are bigger. I know this because my 8-year-old was a bundled baby burrito at my breast just a second ago and then this morning she told me a boy in her class like likes her. There’s a level of peacefulness in acceptance. I can’t control the amount of time we have together or what my kids’ life experiences will be, but I can control how I manage it all. I think that’s why it’s important to be softer, with myself and with them. We’ll still follow our schedules and there’ll still be tears at homework time, but hopefully we’ll also find pockets of levity and come to appreciate the beauty hidden in the daily grind. That’s the goal, anyway. Okay, crisis communicated and exhale completed. Carry on.

Hey there, I’m Steph! English teacher by trade, smack-talker by nature, and mother of three who lives by the mantra: Life is too short, laugh! I hope you’ll s�ck around and check out my stuff. And by stuff I mean my wri�ng.

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An Intricate Lace Mural Envelo Fashion Museum

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ops the Facade of a French Grace Ebert

On France’s northern shores lies the port city of Calais, a municipality that once was a des�na�on for lace manufacturers. To escape economic and social difficul�es, English tex�le ar�sts and

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engineers immigrated in the late 19th Century, o�en establishing clandes�ne opera�ons that defied patent laws by bringing specialty machines and prac�ces to the region. Soon a�er, Calais became an industrial hub for lace manufacturing, employing around 40,000 residents.

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A new mural by Warsaw-based ar�st Nespoon celebrates that rich history through an oversized tex�le that envelops the facade of a factory. The public artwork features delicate mesh and floral elements that cover the side of the Cité de la Dentelle et de la Mode, the city’s fashion and lace museum. Nespoon chose this par�cular mo�f, which dates back to 1894, from the ins�tu�on’s archive before spray pain�ng its intricate details onto the building.

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Editors Note: Now seems like the best �me to acknowledge the legacy le� behind by the inimitable Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Women’s rights have advanced immeasurably through her pragma�c and insigh�ul use of the posi�ons she has held throughout her illustrious career. The following conversa�on has been taken from the original transcript. Any edi�ng is only minor. Speaker 2: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Stanford University provost, Persis Drell. Persis Drell: Good evening. Good evening. It is my very great pleasure to welcome you to Memorial Church for this year’s Rathbun Lecture on a Meaningful Life. Tonight, we are deeply honored to have as our speaker, associate jus�ce of the Supreme Court of the United States, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This event, as you may know, has a rich history at Stanford. It originated in a lecture that Henry Rathbun, a Stanford law professor in the 1930s through the 1950s, decided to give about the meaning of life on the last day of his business law class one spring. The lecture was such a success that it turned into an annual tradi�on at Stanford for many years un�l Professor Rathbun re�red. It was revived in 2008, supported by a generous gi� to the Office of Religious Life by the Founda�on for Global Community, which established the Henry and Emilia Rathbun Fund for Exploring What Leads to a Meaningful Life. Each year, a Rathbun visi�ng fellow is selected to come to Stanford to deliver this lecture and to spend �me with our faculty, students, and staff. In a busy world and in a �me of great change in our country, this lecture provides us a welcome moment for self-reflec�on and moral inquiry. 82

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We are so fortunate this year to have Ruth Bader Ginsburg as our Rathbun visi�ng fellow. Now, many of you know her by another moniker, as the Notorious RBG. That name got its start several years ago in a Tumblr blog put together by an admiring law student, and it just took off from there. Today, Jus�ce Ginsburg finds herself not only a member of our na�on’s highest court, but a cultural phenomenon as well. Born in Brooklyn, Jus�ce Ginsburg received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and her law degree from Columbia Law School. She was a professor of law at Rutgers University from 1963 to 1972, and at Columbia Law School from 1972 to 1980. In 1971, she co-founded the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liber�es Union. And she served as the ACLU’s general counsel from 1973 to 1980. She was appointed to the United States Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980. President Clinton then nominated her as an associate jus�ce of the Supreme Court, and she took her seat on the court in 1993. These biographical facts come nowhere close to adequately describing the person who is with us tonight. There really aren’t sufficient words to describe the impact she has had on the law and on the advancement of women’s rights in America. Trailblazing, pioneering, daring. They’re all true, but they s�ll don’t capture it. Jus�ce Ginsburg went to law school in an era, the 1950s, when very few women did. She faced enormous challenges as a woman and as a mother in pursuing her career in that era. She then turned her career to the cause of ba�ling discrimina�on on behalf of women and families everywhere. At Columbia Law School, she became the school’s first tenured female professor. At the women’s Rights Project, she argued six cases before the Supreme Court. She played an absolutely Index

central role in establishing contemporary law on equal protec�on as it relates to equality between the sexes. Many, in fact, have called her the Thurgood Marshall of women’s rights. She was the second woman to join the United States Supreme Court, serving at the �me with Jus�ce Sandra Day O’Connor, who has also been a Rathbun visi�ng fellow with us here at Stanford. Jus�ce Ginsburg will be in conversa�on tonight with Dean Jane Shaw, dean for religious life and professor of religious studies here at Stanford. Professor Shaw previously taught history and theology at Oxford for 16 years. And just before coming to Stanford, she was the dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. We look forward to an insigh�ul and engaging conversa�on. And now if you will please join me in welcoming to Stanford, Jus�ce Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: I thought it might be an appropriate beginning for me to tell you a li�le bit about my life, and Index

what I’m going to say to you comes from a book called My Own Words. It’s the preface, all in my own words. Did you always want to be a judge? Or more exorbitantly, a Supreme Court jus�ce? Schoolchildren who visit me at the court, as they do at least weekly, ask that ques�on more than any other. It is a sign of huge progress made. To today’s youth, judgeship as an aspira�on for a girl, is not at all outlandish. Contrast the ancient days in 1956 when I entered law school. Women were then less than 3% of the lawyers in the United States. And only one woman had ever served on a federal appellate court. She was Florence Allen, appointed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1934. By the �me I got to law school, she was re�red and then there were none. Today, about half the na�on’s law students and more than one-third of our federal judges are women, including three of the nine seated on the US Supreme Court bench. Women hold Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

more than 30% of US law school deanships and serve as general counsel to 24% of Fortune 500 companies. In my long life, I have seen great changes. How fortunate I was to be alive and a lawyer when for the first �me in US history, it became possible to urge successfully before legislatures and courts the equal ci�zenship stature of men and women. Now, there is a page out of place, so bear with me a moment. It should be not too far from here. Well, if it’s skipped, we’ll go on to the next one, where I speak about teachers who influenced or encouraged me in my growing up years. At Cornell University, European literature professor Vladimir Nabokov. He changed the way I read and the way I write. Words could paint pictures, I learned from him. Choosing the right word in the right word order, he illustrated, could make an enormous difference in conveying an image or an idea. From cons�tu�onal law professor Robert E. Cushman and American ideals professor Milton Konvitz, I learned of our na�on’s enduring values and how our Congress was straying from them in the Red Scare years of the 1950s. But also how lawyers could remind lawmakers that our Cons�tu�on shields the right to think, speak, and write without fear of reprisal from government authori�es. At Harvard Law School, Professor Benjamin Kaplan was my first and favorite teacher. He used the Socra�c method in his civil procedure class. Always to s�mulate, never to wound, Kaplan was the model I tried to follow in my own law teaching years from 1963 un�l 1980. At Columbia Law School, professor of cons�tu�onal law and federal courts Gerald Gunther, who later served on the Stanford Law faculty for many years. He was determined to place me in a federal court clerkship despite what was then viewed as a grave impediment. On gradua�on, I was the mother of a fouryear-old child. A�er heroic efforts, Gunther succeeded in that mission. In later years, li�ga�ng cases in or headed to the Supreme 84

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Court, I turned to Gunther for aid in dealing with s�cky legal issues, both substan�ve and procedural. He never failed to help me find the right path. Another o�en asked ques�on when I speak in public, “Do you have some good advice you might share with us?” Yes, I do. It comes from my savvy mother-in-law, advice she gave me on my wedding day. In every good marriage, she counseled, it helps some�mes to be a li�le deaf. I have followed that advice assiduously and not only at home through 56 years of a marital partnership nonpareil, I have employed it as well in every workplace, including the Supreme Court of the United States. When a thoughtless or unkind word is spoken, best tune out. Reac�ng in anger or annoyance will not advance one’s ability to persuade. Advice from my father-in-law has also served me well. He gave it during my gap years, 1954 to 1956, when my husband, Marty, was fulfilling his obliga�on to the Army as an ar�llery officer at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. By the end of 1954, my pregnancy was confirmed. We looked forward to becoming three in July 1955, but I worried about star�ng law school the next year with an infant to care for. Father’s advice, “Ruth, if you don’t want to start law school, you have a good reason to resist the undertaking. No one will think less of you if you make that choice. But if you really want to study law, you will stop worrying and you will find a way to manage child and school.” And so Marty and I did, by engaging a nanny on school days from 8:00 to 4:00. Many �mes a�er, when the road was rocky, I thought back to father’s wisdom, spent no �me fre�ng, and found a way to do what I thought was important to get done. Work-life balance was a term not yet coined in the years my children were young, but it is aptly descrip�ve of the �me distribu�on I experienced. My success in law school, I have no doubt, was due in large measure to baby Jane, my daughter. I a�ended classes and studied diligently un�l 4:00 in the a�ernoon. The next hours were Jane’s �me spent at the Index

park, playing silly games or singing funny songs, reading picture books and A.A. Milne poems, bathing and feeding her. A�er Jane’s bed�me, I returned to the law books with renewed will. Each part of my life provided respite from the other and gave me a sense of propor�on that classmates trained only on the law lacked.

over the meaning of a statute or a cons�tu�onal prescrip�on, the ques�ons we take up are rarely easy. They seldom have indubitably right answers. Yet by reasoning together at our conferences and with more depth and precision through circula�on of and responses to dra� opinions, we ul�mately agree far more o�en than we divide sharply.

I have had more than a li�le bit of luck in life, but nothing equals in magnitude my marriage to Mar�n D. Ginsburg. I do not have words adequate to describe my super smart, exuberant, ever-loving spouse. Early on in our marriage, it became clear to him that cooking was not my strong suit. To the everlas�ng apprecia�on of our food- loving children, we became four in 1965 when son James was born. Marty made the kitchen his domain and became chef supreme in our home, on loan to friends, even at the court. Marty coached me through the birth of our son. He was the first reader and cri�c of ar�cles, speeches, and briefs I dra�ed. And he was at my side constantly, in and out of the hospital, during two long bouts with cancer. And I betray no secret in repor�ng that without him, I would not have gained a seat on the US Supreme Court.

Last term, 2015 to 2016 term, for example, we were unanimous at least on the bo�om-line judgment in 25 of the 67 cases decided a�er full briefing and argument. In contrast, we divided five to three, or four to three. Jus�ce Scalia’s death reduced the number of jus�ces to eight. We divided sharply only eight �mes.

Then associate White House counsel Ron Klain said of my 1993 nomina�on, “I would say definitely for the record, though Ruth Ginsburg should have been picked for the Supreme Court anyway, she would not have been picked if her husband had not done everything he did to make it happen.” That everything included gaining the unqualified support of my home state senator, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and enlis�ng the aid of many members of the legal academy and the prac�cing bar familiar with work I had done. I have several �mes said that the office I hold, now nearing 24 years, is the best and most consuming job a lawyer anywhere could have. The Court’s main job is to repair fractures in federal law, to step in when other courts have disagreed on what the relevant federal law requires. Because the Court grants review dominantly when other jurists have divided Index

When a jus�ce is of the firm view that the majority got it wrong, she is free to say so and dissent. I take advantage of that preroga�ve when I think it’s important, as do my colleagues. Despite our strong disagreements on cardinal issues, think, for example, of control of poli�cal campaign spending, access to the ballot, affirma�ve ac�on, access to abor�on, same sex marriage, we genuinely respect each other and even enjoy each other’s company. Collegiality is key to the success of our mission. We cannot do the job the Cons�tu�on assigns to us if we didn’t, to use one of Jus�ce Scalia’s favorite expressions, get over it. All of us revere the Cons�tu�on and the Court. We aim to ensure that when we leave the Court, the third branch of government will be in as good shape as it was when we joined it. Earlier, I spoke of great changes I have seen in women’s occupa�ons. Yet one must acknowledge the s�ll bleak part of the picture. Most people in poverty in the United States and the world over are women and children. Women’s earnings, here and abroad, trail the earnings of men with comparable educa�on and experience. Our workplaces do not adequately accommodate the demands of childbearing and child rearing. And we have yet to devise effec�ve ways to ward off sexual harassment at work and domes�c violence in our homes. Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

But I am op�mis�c that the movement toward enlis�ng the talents of all who compose “we the people” will con�nue. As expressed by my brave colleague, the first woman to serve on the US Supreme Court, Jus�ce Sandra Day O’Connor, “For both men and women, the first step in ge�ng power is to become visible to others, and then to put on an impressive show. As women achieve power, the barriers will fall. As society sees what women can do, as women see what women can do, there will be more women out there doing things, and we’ll all be be�er off for it.” To that expecta�on, I can only say, ” Amen.” Persis Drell: Jus�ce Ginsburg, it’s a huge pleasure and honor to have you with us. Thank you so much for accep�ng our invita�on to be the Visi�ng Rathbun Fellow. As you know, the Rathbun program is designed to foster thinking about what it means to lead a meaningful life. You’ve said some things about that already, but could you encapsulate what it means to lead a meaningful life for you? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: To put it simply, it means doing something outside yourself. I tell the law students I address now and then, “If you’re going to be a lawyer and just prac�ce your profession, well you have a skill, so you’re very much like a plumber, but if you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself, something to repair tears in your community, something to make life a li�le be�er for people less fortunate than you.” That’s what I think a meaningful life is, one lives not just for oneself, but for one’s community. Persis Drell: That’s wonderful. Thank you. And do you think that’s the same as a purposeful life? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Yes. I think the purpose is what you aim for. Persis Drell: Great. How has family played a part in your own life and your own meaning in your life?

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg: It plays a very large part. It’s one of the things that drew Jus�ce Scalia and me together because we both care a lot about families. I saw a big change in life in the United States, between the birth of my daughter in 1955 and my son in 1965. When my daughter Jane started school, I was one of a very few working moms. 10 years later, there had been an enormous change. It wasn’t at all unusual to have twoearner families by the middle ’60s. And that made me realize that it would be possible for the first �me in history to move the law in the direc�on of what I call equal ci�zenship stature for men and women. Persis Drell: So talk a li�le bit about that. Talk about your own experience and how that led you to that work. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: In the days when I went to law school, my entering class at Harvard was over 500 students and only nine were women. There was no an�-discrimina�on law, so employers were totally upfront in saying, “We don’t want any lady lawyers here, or, “We once hired a woman. She was dreadful.” And how many men have you hired that didn’t live up to your expecta�ons for them? At any rate, that’s things we didn’t complain about. So for example, Harvard Law School, there were nine women, there were two teaching buildings at that �me. Only one of them had a women’s bathroom. So you can imagine if you’re in classes, one thing, much worse, you’re taking a three or four-hour exam and had to make a mad dash to the other building. But the thing of it was, we never complained. That’s just the way things were. But by the late ’60s, the feminist movement had revived in the United States in part as a result of the Civil Rights Movement, but also as part of a worldwide movement. The UN had declared Interna�onal Women’s Year. Things were changing all over. Index

And so it became possible to break down what is referred to as the separate spheres mentality. That is, the woman’s place was with the family taking care of the home, and the man’s place was outside. He was the representa�ve of the family outside the home. And many of our laws were designed to fit that model of the stay-at-home woman and they work-a-day, man. So in the decade of the ’70s, almost all the laws of that kind were gone.

Well, how many men do think would sign up if they had the choice?

Persis Drell: Would you like to took about one to two of the cases that you think were most important in that?

The Supreme Court treated that case as part of the backing away from a�emp�ng to put down economic and social legisla�on. And that’s how the case was taught when I went to law school. It was a retreat from the days of the nine old men who gave President Franklin Delano Roosevelt such your hard �me he thought about packing the Court.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Well maybe I can speak about two cases, and the first one was the turning point case. If I go back, up un�l 1971, the Supreme Court never saw a gender-base classifica�on that it didn’t think was okay. So if we take the years of the liberal Warren court, and there’s a case called Hoyt against Florida. Gwendolyn Hoyt was what we would today call an abused, ba�ered woman. Her abusive and philandering husband one day had humiliated her to the breaking point. She spied her young son’s baseball bat in the corner of the room, li�ed it up, and with all her might hit him over the head. He fell on a stone floor, end of their alterca�on, beginning of the murder prosecu�on. Well, in those days in Hillsborough County, they didn’t put women on juries. Gwendolyn Hoyt thought there was something wrong about that. Not that a jury including women would have acqui�ed her, but she thought they might be�er understand her state of mind, her rage at that moment, and maybe they would convict her of the lesser crime of manslaughter instead of murder. She was convicted of murder. And when the case came to the Supreme Court, challenging the absence of women on the jury rolls, the court’s a�tude was, Gwendolyn Hoyt, women have the best of both worlds. We don’t call them for jury duty, but if they come into the clerk’s office and sign up, we’ll put them there. Index

So the Supreme Court didn’t get it. And the case before that, Goesaert against Cleary, was a case of a woman who owned a tavern and her daughter was her bartender. The state of Michigan, perhaps with the encouragement of the bartenders league, passed a law that said a woman couldn’t tend bar unless she was the wife or daughter of the bar owner.

So that’s what the precedent was, and well, I described it as anything goes. Then Sally Reed came along. Sally had a young son. She and her husband separated and later divorced. When the boy was what the law calls, of tender years, Sally was given custody. When the boy reached his teens, the father came to the family court and said, “Now this boy needs to be prepared for a man’s world, so I should be the custodian.” Sally was distressed and sadly, she turned out to be right. The boy became sorely depressed, and one day took out one of his father’s many guns and commi�ed suicide. So Sally wanted to be appointed administrator of his estate, not for any monetary reasons. There was barely anything there, but for sen�mental reasons. Her ex-husband applied a couple of weeks later. The probate court judge told Sally, Sally was from Boise, Idaho, the law of estate of Idaho, which Idaho had copied from California, but California had already changed its law, it read, “As between persons equally en�tled to administer a decedent’s estate, males must be preferred to females.” Well, there was an obvious reason for that, because in the days before married women’s property acts were passed, a woman couldn’t contract in her own name. She will be sued on Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

her own property. So if you had a choice between the man, the able man, and the disabled woman, naturally, it made sense to choose the man. Sally Reed thought that was wrong. She was an everyday woman who made her living by caring for elderly or infirm people in her house. She thought it was wrong and that we had a legal system that could set it right. So on her own dime, she took that case to three levels of the court in Idaho, and it became the turning point in the Supreme Court. And a�er that, there were a succession of cases, some brought by women, some by men. So if I can tell you my second case, which is a rival for my favorite, is Stephen Weisenfeld, whose wife was a math teacher in high school. She had a healthy pregnancy. The doctor came out to tell Steven Weisenfeld that he had delivered a healthy baby boy, but that his wife had died of an embolism. Stephen was distressed. He vowed that he would not work full �me un�l his child was in school full �me. And he figured out that between part-�me earnings and social security benefits, he could just about make it. He went the social security office for what he thought were child and care benefits. And he was told, ” We’re sorry, Mr. Weisenfeld. These are mothers’ benefits.” That case came to the Supreme Court. There was a unanimous judgment, but the court divided three ways on the reason. That the majority thought, of course, this is discrimina�on against the woman as wage earner. She pays the same social security taxes as a male wager earner, but they don’t net for her family the same protec�on. A few thought it was discrimina�on against the male as parent, because he would have no choice but to work full �me. He would not have the choice of taking care of his child personally. And then one, a man who later became my chief, he was then Jus�ce Rehnquist, he said, “This is totally arbitrary from the point of view of the baby. Why should the baby have the care of a sole surviving parent if the parent is female, but not if the parent was male?” 88

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That case was a perfect illustra�on of what was wrong with the separate spheres mentality. The woman working outside the home did not get equal pay. The man didn’t have the choice to be a caring parent, and the baby would not have the benefit of the love and care of his father. All of these cases, none of them were test cases in the sense that the American Civil Liber�es Union, with whom I was affiliated, went out to find plain�ffs. They were just everyday people who thought something wrong had been done, and who believed that we had a legal system that would respond to that wrong. Persis Drell: So what do you think has to be done now s�ll? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Well, I described the ’70s. In those years, both legislatures and courts rid the statute books of almost all of the overt gender-based classifica�ons. What was le� when the overt sex lines were eliminated was unconscious bias, people who didn’t think of themselves as prejudice in any way. And my classic example for that is the symphony orchestra. Growing up, I never saw a woman in a symphony orchestra. Someone came up with the bright idea, let’s drop a curtain between the people who are audi�oning and the judges. It worked like magic. Almost overnight, women were making their way into symphony orchestras. Now, I wish we could duplicate the drop curtain in every area, but it isn’t that easy. The other illustra�on that I give is a Title VII case from the ’70s against AT&T for not promo�ng women to jobs in middle management. So the women who applied did well on all the standard measures and they made it to the last step, which was called the total person test. That was an interviewer interviewing the candidate for promo�on. Women dropped out dispropor�onately. They flunked the total person test. Why? Because the interviewer, who is almost always a white male, was discomforted with someone Index

unfamiliar, a member of a minority race, a woman, didn’t really feel at ease, but confronted with someone who looked just like him, that fell in his comfort zone. How you get past that kind of unconscious bias, it remains even today a difficulty. Persis Drell: So let me change subjects, and because you just men�oned symphonies, you love opera, famously love opera. I think you’re very keen on the visual arts. I know you have some favorite ar�sts. You talked a bit earlier about how Nabokov was very influen�al on your reading and wri�ng. So can you talk a bit about the place of the arts and humani�es in a meaningful life? Why are they important to you? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: They are essen�al. Yes, opera is my passion, and can I tell them about an opera that was wri�en by a law student a couple of years ago? It’s called Scalia Ginsburg. This is a very talented musician who had been a music major at Harvard and had an MA from Yale, and then decided that in his field it would be helpful to know a li�le bit about the law. So he enrolled in law school and he’s taking cons�tu�onal law, and reading these dual opinions, Ginsburg Scalia, Ginsburg for the majority, and Scalia in dissent, and Scalia in the majority, Ginsburg in dissent. And he decides this could make a very funny comic opera. So it opens with a rage aria, a very Handelian rage Aria Scalia sings. That jus�ces are blind. How can they possibly spout this? The cons�tu�on says absolutely nothing about this. And then I sing in return that he is searching for bright line solu�ons to problems that don’t have easy answers. But the great thing about our cons�tu�on is that like our society, it can evolve. The plot is roughly based on The Magic Flute. Jus�ce Scalia, he’s locked in a dark room where he’s being punished for excessive dissen�ng. I enter through a glass ceiling to help him get out. And, the figure that locks him up is the commendatory, a li�le Index

resemblance to Don Giovanni’s commendatory, but anyway, commendatory saying, “Why would you want to help him? He’s your enemy.” I said, “No, he’s my dear friend.” And then we sing a duet that goes, “We are different. We are one, that is different in our approach to reading legal text, but one in our reverence to the cons�tu�on and the ins�tu�on that we serve.” SoPersis Drell: So I want to come to … Oh, sorry. Carry on. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: So yes, opera is my passion, but I also love theater. The District of Columbia is blessed with a number of fine museums, the most recent, the African American Museum. In the years I was on the D.C. Circuit, 13 years, the Na�onal Gallery was right across the street. So I could pick my room, instead of lunch, and feel that I was in my own palace. There were the crowds there as there are at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Persis Drell: So in England, there’s a BBC radio program called Desert Island Discs, in which you get to choose eight pieces of music to take to a desert island. We don’t have �me for eight today, but perhaps you could choose one that you couldn’t live without if you were on a desert island. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Well, I have to pick two. Persis Drell: You’ll have the pick two. Okay, two is fine. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Those are recordings of Mozart, the Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni. Persis Drell: Great, good choice. You talked about the opera about you and Jus�ce Scalia, and that’s part of the importance you give to collegiality. And you talk a lot about the ways in which you and your colleagues on the court are very collegial to each other. You shake hands in the morning, you eat meals together. How do you Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

think we can expand that kind of collegiality to a broader civil and public discourse? How can we disagree well? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Well, when I was growing up, the first branch was very different than it is today. And that persisted, I think, back to 1993 when President Clinton nominated me with the good job, I now hold. I had been general counsel to American Civil Liber�es Union for several years. The vote was 96 to three in my favor. Ninety-six to three in my favor. My biggest supporter on the Judiciary Commi�ee was not the Dem Chair, Senator Biden, although he was certainly in my favor, but it was Orrin Hatch. I think today he wouldn’t touch me with a 10 foot pole. We are s�ll friends, but if it came to a vote on me, I don’t think he would be the supporter that he was in 1993. And it was similar with Stephen Breyer, when he was nominated the next year. It was well into the nine�es, the vote in his favor. It hasn’t been that way for the four most recent members of the court and it’s been on both sides of the aisle. I wish there was a way I could wave a magic wand and put it back when people were respec�ul of each other and the Congress was working for the good of the country and not just along party lines. Someday, there’ll be great people, great elected representa�ves who will say, “Enough of this nonsense. Let’s be the kind of legislature the United States should have.” I hope that day will come while I’m s�ll alive. Persis Drell: We’re going to open up to student ques�ons in a moment, but I want to point out the fantas�c tote bag you have, which says, “I dissent.” Ruth Bader Ginsburg: And it’s got me on the other side. This is the name of a book by Debbie Levy, who is a lawyer, but decided, all things considered, she’d rather write children’s books and she’s been very successful. And the publisher liked her books so much that they made these tote bags. 90

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Persis Drell: I personally love it that Jus�ce Ginsburg is carrying the tote bag. Also because of the Brooklyn notorious RBG, you are known to every genera�on, including quite small children, and you are not just a public figure, you are an amazing public figure to every genera�on. How is that? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: You know what was copied for the notorious RBG? It’s a notorious B.I.G., The famous rapper and when I was told that this was the Tumbler that these two law students had created, I said, “Well, perfectly understandable. We have one thing in common.” “You have something in common with notorious B.I.G.?” “Of course. We were both born and bred in Brooklyn, New York.” Star�ng that Tumbler, I think is a good example of how young people should react to things they don’t like. So this was a second year student at NYU Law School. And when the Supreme Court decided the Shelby County case, this was a case that declared the key part of the Vo�ng Rights Act of 1965 uncons�tu�onal, she was angry. And then she decided, I heard it’s a useless emo�on. It doesn’t advance your cause. So then she decided she would start this Tumbler and it began with my descending opinion in the Shelby County case and then it took off into the wild blue yonder from there. Persis Drell: So you are a role model for many. That’s an understatement. You are a role model for many, many, many people. Who have your role models been? Because you lost the page where you talk about them, so I’m giving you the chance to talk about it now. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Growing up, there weren’t too many because women were hardly there. So I had one real and one fic��ous role model. The real one was Amelia Earhart. The fic��ous one was Nancy Drew. But later in life, I had the good fortune to meet the first woman ever to serve on a U.S. District Court. She was Burnita Shelton Ma�hews. By the �me I got to the D.C. Circuit, she was in her nine�es and I would lunch with Index

her whenever I could to hear her stories. She had been counseled to the Na�onal Women’s Party, she was going to law school at night, she par�cipated in the suffragist parades, and she picketed the White House, but she would never say a word. She would hold up her sign, votes for women, and not speak if she was hassled by the police, because she didn’t want to risk her chances for admission to the bar. Well, it happened that when Chief Jus�ce Ta� decided the Supreme Court should not be housed inside the Capitol, as it was un�l 1935, but should have its own building. The site on which the Supreme Court now stands was occupied, a good part of it, by the headquarters of the Na�onal Women’s Party. So the government condemned the property and argued this is just a ramshackled old building. It’s not worth anything. Burnita Shelton Ma�hews, whose specialty was eminent domain, she called as a witness, a member of the Older Inhabitants of D.C. who tes�fied that not only was that site the temporary Capitol, when the Capital burned in the war of 1812, it was also a prison for notorious Confederate spies. The government was s�ll have none of it. She produced a photograph of a most notorious Confederate spy, happened to be a woman, inside that building. The government caved and Burnita Shelton Ma�hews won for the Na�onal Women’s Party, the largest condemna�on awarded that the U.S. Government, up un�l that �me, had ever paid. She was a woman from Mississippi, so she spoke with a so�, southern accent. She wore a lace collar and cuffs, but she was a woman of real steel. You think what it was like for me? It was a piece of cake in comparison to what it was like for those women. Persis Drell: And mentors? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Mentors. Well, no women were teaching in law schools when I went to law school. No women were teaching in the Arts College at Cornell, but I did men�on my dear teacher at Harvard. The first class I ever took was Civil Index

Procedure and I was cap�vated by the way the class was conducted. There was a woman I met much later. She was a Stanford graduate. Her name was Shirley Mount Hufstedler. She was a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the second in history. I’d men�oned Florence Allen in 1934, but Shirley was the second. She was appointed by President Johnson and then President Carter made her the first ever Secretary of the Department of Educa�on. So she started and she launched that department and did an excellent job, and it was more than rumored that if Carter had a vacancy on the Supreme Court, Shirley Hufstedler would fill it. She was such a great lady. When it turned out that Carter would not have a Supreme Court seat to fill, he did have a recep�on in her honor and he invited all the women he had appointed over 25 to District Courts, 11 to Courts of Appeals. And he said at that recep�on that he hoped he would be remembered in history for changing the complexion of the federal judiciary. He did and no president ever went back to the way it once was. So Shirley, when I got to know her, was what you would call her a role model or a mentor. Persis Drell: And you’ve been very good at saying how important that is to do that for other women throughout your career. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Yes. Persis Drell: Yes. Thank you for that. I think there are lots of students who would like to ask ques�ons, so I’m going to just invite students to come and do that, to come to the central microphone, but I need to just remind you of a few ground rules. Please state your name and what class you’re in, are you a freshman, are you a sophomore, are you a graduate student? Please ask only one ques�on. Express the ques�on as briefly as you can. And however passionate you are, please resist the urge to make a statement as well, that way more of your classmates can ask more ques�ons. May I Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

also say that we, we are all delighted that Jus�ce Ginsburg is here and so we’ll take that as a given, so you don’t need to preface every ques�on with how delighted you are. I think she knows. That way too, we can have more ques�ons. So thank you for that. Jus�ce Ginsburg has also asked me to remind you that she cannot answer ques�ons on certain topics as follows. She cannot answer any ques�on about any issue pending before the Court or likely to come before the Court, which would include the legality of recent execu�ve orders. She’s just not allowed to talk about it, okay? Nor can she make any comment on the current nominee to the Supreme Court. So if you could observe those rules, that will be great because then she won’t have to say no to you. Thank you. So first ques�ons, are they ready? Just have to put your hand up and come to the center. I think someone’s going to help, but in the mean�me, I think someone’s going to also help fix Jus�ce Ginsburg’s microphone a li�le bit. I have many ques�ons, so if students don’t have any ques�ons, I can just keep going. Alice: Hi, my name is Alice. I’m a graduate student here, not in the law school. I wanted to ask you, what would you recommend right now for the young people that we are around here to get involved in those issues that are floa�ng right now, or in more general, the issues for women rights that are around, I guess? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: We have a diversity of public interest groups in the United States, if I would take my own example. So I was a flaming feminist, and the ques�on was, how could I make the difference? I decided that I would affiliate with the American Civil Liber�es Union because it was then the principle civil liber�es defender in the United States. It had, up �ll then, concerned itself with First Amendment ques�ons, free speech, press, freedom of religion, but I thought it was appropriate for it to get into the business of equality, both racial and gender. So it’s hard to do anything alone, but if you get together with like-minded 92

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people, join organiza�ons. If your passion is environment, then there are any number of organiza�ons that you can affiliate with. Jorge Cueto: Hello, my name is Jorge Cueto and I’m a master student in computer science. My ques�on is 100 years from now when people are talking about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, what do you want them to remember? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: That I was a judge who worked as hard as she could to the best of her ability to do the job right. Sasha Landauer: Hi, my name is Sasha Landauer and I’m a freshmen. I was wondering, you spoke about the importance of deafness, both in your marriage and on the court, selec�vely, so how would you balance that with hearing and speaking out against things that seem wrong to you? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: How did I balance… Persis Drell: She’s asking… You gave the advice that I think your mother-in-law had given you on your wedding night, which is choose to be deaf some�mes. How do you balance that with when you need to speak out? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Oh, being deaf is what other people say, not to what I say. The one thing you don’t do is react in anger or annoyance. A sense of humor helps enormously. So if, for example, I was arguing a case before a three-judge Federal Court in Trenton, New Jersey. It was a gender discrimina�on case. And one of the judges asked me a ques�on. He said, “Well, I thought women had an equal chance today. Why, even in the military they do.” So I answered, “Your Honor, the Air Force s�ll doesn’t give flight training to women.” He responded, “Oh my dear. Don’t tell me that.” Women have in the air forever. I know from experience with my own wife and daughter. So what is one dude? You don’t say you sexist pig. You say, “Yes, Your Honor.” And I know many men who don’t have Index

their feet planted firmly on the ground and then you race ahead with your argument. Sasha Landauer: Hi, I’m Jordan. I’m a freshman. I was wondering how you define your rela�onship with other female jus�ces on the court and how female friendships have propped you out throughout your life? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Sandra Day O’Connor was the closest. I did have a big sister, but she died when I was very young. So Sandra was as close to being a big sister to me as one could wish for. When I was a new jus�ce, she didn’t try to douse me with lots of informa�on. She just told me what I needed to know to get by those first few weeks. And she was important to me. In 1999, I had colorectal cancer. Sandra had had breast cancer and was on the bench nine days a�er her massive surgery. She advised me first, she said, “You’re going to get so much mail, so many well wishes. Don’t try to answer any of it. Just concentrate on ge�ng well.” I felt that I had to show up on the first Monday in October. I had two weeks between my surgery and when court began. And then Sandra said, “So you’re having chemotherapy. Be sure to schedule it for Friday so you can get over it during the weekend.” She also had an excellent rapport with a chief. In fact, it was rumored, not only were they both at Stanford Law School at the same �me, but that he had once dated her. And now my female colleagues, they just, granted have them there. If you came to an argument these days, you would see that Jus�ce Sotomayor and Jus�ce Kagan are not shrinking violets. They’re very ac�ve in the colloquy that goes on at oral argument. During the years, Jus�ce Scalia and Sotomayor overlapped. They were in compe��on for the jus�ce who asked the most ques�ons at oral argument. Scalia generally edged her out just by a bit, but nowadays, she wins hands down. Priya: Hello, my name is Priya and I’m a freshmen. I was wondering if any of the ways in which you approached adversity in your professional Index

career helped you in comba�ng any challenges you faced as a mother and in your courageous ba�le with cancer? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: It’s never to have a defea�st a�tude. I told the story earlier this a�ernoon about my model, when I had pancrea�c cancer, was the great mental mezzo-soprano, Marilyn Horne, when she was diagnosed with that o�en deadly disease. And she was diagnosed with that o�en deadly disease. She said, “I will live.” Not that I hope to live. So that was my a�tude too. I was going to beat this. One of the things I did and a�er the colorectal cancer bout, I did a few public interest announcements because I always tried to encourage women to get colonoscopies women think of breast cancer, and they think of ovarian cancer, but they don’t realize what a killer of women colorectal cancer can be. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: So the a�tude is I’m going to surmount this, whatever it is. The same thing when my husband had cancer at a very young age. We never thought about the possibility of giving up. We just took each day at a �me. Then did the best we could. Aliyah: My name is Aliyah. I’m a junior. I was raised on a small tribal community in New Mexico named Santa Domingo Pueblo. And when I was in high school Jus�ce Sotomayor visited and this affected me greatly seeing a woman of color speaking to my community. My ques�on is what communi�es do you aim to speak to? And what types of people do you aim to inspire? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: What kinds of people do I speak to? I speak to students from second grade to the postgraduate level. We are o�en visited by school groups. I must visit about half a dozen law schools every year. Just before I came to Stanford I was at the Virginia Military Ins�tute that has done a great job of integra�ng women and Washington and Lee it’s neighbor school. Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

Molly: Hi, I’m Molly [Plasket 01:08:38]. I’m a sophomore here. And my ques�on for you is I find myself in arguments a lot. And I’m curious to know how you see best to construct a sound argument that is purposeful in persuading people from the other side to kind of get on board with you. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: We are trying to persuade each other all the �me. It begins when we are considering what requests for review to grant. Then at oral argument very o�en ques�ons are asked, not so much to elicit a response from the lawyer, but to influence a colleague’s thinking. And then we have our conference, which doesn’t run on very long where we each go around the table and say how we think the case should come out. And then it con�nues. And some�mes if you can’t be persuasive orally, you’re wri�ng may be persuasive. I was once assigned a dissent by my senior colleague, John Paul Stevens. It was a dissent for two. And in the fullness of �me, that decision came down six to three. The two had swelled to six. So every �me I’m in descent, I’m hoping that there will be a repeat. It hasn’t yet happened, but hope springs eternal. Persis Drell: My name is Julia. I’m a graduate student. Has there ever been a �me since you’ve been on Supreme Court where you took a side that was opposite your personal morals because you thought the cons�tu�on was on the other side? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: If I were queen there would be no death penalty. But I take part. I don’t do it what jus�ce Marshall and Brennan said the death penalty under any and all circumstances is a viola�on of the eighth amendment ban on cruel or unusual punishment. Instead I take part in those arguments and do the best I can to move the law in the direc�on in which it seems to be going. I think I men�oned it earlier that last year across the country, there were only 20 execu�ons compared with 98, 10 years ago. 94

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And there were only 5 States in the United States that held execu�ons. Even within those 5 States only par�cular coun�es. Chintan: Hello, my name is Chintan. I’m a junior from Nigeria and I’m studying Chemical Engineering. And my ques�on is, what role do you see the court playing? Like you men�oned, you want to see a reversal of the rising polariza�on we have in society now. Do you think the Supreme Court should play a more vocal role in speaking to the public and reaching out rather than this more recessed role they’ve tradi�onally held in society? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: In the Supreme Court, unlike the poli�cal branches of government is a totally reac�ve ins�tu�on. As one fine court of appeals judge said, “The federal judges don’t make the conflagra�ons. They do what they can to put them out.” So we don’t have an agenda. This year we’re going to take care of say same sex marriage or voter IDs. We respond to pe��ons. They come up in cases that begin at least two levels before. So the first thing I will read to inform myself is what other judges have said about the case, what the trial court judge said, the court of appeals. So we don’t have any agenda of our own. You take cases when, as I said in my opening remarks, when other courts divide on what the law of the United States is. That’s what we see as our principle mission. To keep the law of the United States more or less uniform. Priya: Hi, my name is Biola McCauley, and I’m a first year law school student. This is kind of a cons�tu�onal law ques�on. But I was wondering, do you to any extent believe that the presence of law enforcement officials at a peaceful protest or rally impinges on people’s first amendment rights? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Do I think the presence of law enforcement officers at protests. If they’re well trained, if they know that people have the right to speak their minds, they’re there to make sure that Index

there is no violence. So I think properly trained police are tremendously important. I think in the recent protest in Washington, DC, we saw that working very well. Police respec�ul of the people who had come to protest.

It can be done. And I think the law firms will be much healthier places and do as well financially if they accommodate their employees and make it possible to have a balanced life.

Jonathan: Hi I’m Jonathan. I’m a freshman. You and Jus�ce Scalia we’re obviously very good friends, almost family. So what would you say were the biggest lessons that you guys taught each other?

Jessie: My name is Jesse Dolman and I’m a junior here. I was wondering as it applies to both individual lives and the processes of jus�ce, do you believe in fate or do you believe that we are the masters of our own fate?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: We both thought it was important not only to get to the right result, but to write in such a way that at least other judges and lawyers and hopefully more than that would understand. We some�mes, as I would some�mes cri�cize an opinion of his in dra� and say, “This is so over the top. You’re not going to be as persuasive.” I couldn’t always persuade him to tone it down. And he would correct my gramma�cal errors.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Both.

Bri�any: Hello. My name is Bri�any S�nson. You’ve obviously been a part of and witness to many advancements for women. What do you think is the biggest threat facing women and gender equity today? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: I men�oned the problem of unconscious bias. It’s not so easy to overcome. Work life balance is another. We don’t have in the world of employment nearly the flexibility that we should have. I had envisioned that in the days in this electronic age, when, for example, you have the en�re law library at your finger�ps, that it would be much easier for employers to accommodate. But it will take women and men who care about this to make the change in the law firm mentality. I know that it’s possible because I was married to a man who was a partner in a very large law firm. Everyone in the tax department, which he headed, everyone was gone by 7:00 because that was the �me to go home for dinner. In other departments, the culture was that you have dinner at the firm. You come back and work. Index

Jessie: Is there like a percentage there, or … Ruth Bader Ginsburg: I worked hard to do the best I can, but a li�le bit of luck, a li�le bit of divine grace can certainly help. Tru: My name is Tru Haping I’m a PhD student in Chinese literature. So in the Silicon Valley, people are very op�mis�c about the poten�als of ar�ficial intelligence. Some speculate that with increasing automa�on, there will be less and less jobs and they suggest the idea of universal basic income. As a jus�ce what do you think of that idea? Thank you. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Yeah, I think it is a grave concern. I think we have to do much be�er job than we do now to educate students in to what they can do with their lives and to have the skills to be part of this electronic age. Speaker 4: We have �me for one more ques�on. Gentleman: What an honor. Jus�ce Ginsburg. Jus�ce Ginsburg, I’m Gentleman Park, a sophomore studying computer science. Today you remarked that a great thing about the cons�tu�on is that it can evolve with a society. At the same �me, I think there are core values of this na�on that must be remembered and protected, especially if these days. So my ques�on is which beliefs and values of this Good Teacher Magazine Term Four 2020

society do you believe must be changed? Which ones must remain? And how do you dis�nguish one from the other? Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Well, some things that I would like to change. One is the electoral college, but that would … But that would require a cons�tu�onal amendment. Which amending our cons�tu�on is powerfully hard to do is I know from the struggle for the equal rights amendment, which fell three states shy. What do I think is enduring? Congress shall pass no law respec�ng freedom of speech of the press. That right to speak your mind and not worry about big brother government coming down on you and telling you the right way to think, speak and write. That’s tremendously important. I got to see how important it was when I was going to college in the heyday of Senator McCarthy and our country was straying from its most basic values. But they were people, many of them lawyers who helped bring us back to the way it should be. Equality, nor shall any state denied to any person, the equal protec�on of the laws. An idea that was included in the cons�tu�on in 1868 with the 14th amendment is not in the

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original cons�tu�on. I think most of you know why, although our Declara�on of Independence says all men are created equal. They couldn’t put an equality in the original Cons�tu�on or in the Bill Of Rights because of the stain of slavery. So now I think the no�on, I explain it in terms of the opening words of the Cons�tu�on, “We the people of the United States in order to form a more perfect Union.” So we start with We The People in 1787. A rather small class. They are white. They are male and they own property. Look at We The People today. All the people who were excluded, from people held in human bondage, na�ve Americans were not part of We The People. Women were not part of the poli�cal cons�tuency un�l 1920 when the 19th amendment finally was adopted. So the idea that We The People is a term that covers everyone who dwells in this fair land. That’s a major theme of our Cons�tu�on today. Speaker 4: It’s also a very good note on which to end. Thank you very much. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.

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When I was in primary school the playground was a cesspit of bullying. Cro-magnons such as Jim Bungapie, Wallis MacGruntie and Melvin Snotsmith* would regularly do their best to make life a misery for anyone who was different. As I was big for my age, these tormentors would only rarely attempt a physical confrontation but they had no problem with name-calling. For a sensitive soul, my mother’s repetition of the ‘sticks and stones…’ mantra was not helpful. Just ask the woke left, words are definitely weapons. A ‘rose by any other name may smell as sweet’ but if it were called a haemorrhoidia, how many would be sent on Valentine’s Day? So, for anyone who knew that The William Tell Overture was more than The Lone Ranger’s theme tune, life was a minefield of sneers and insults. Today’s verbal bullies include the mainstream media who engage in identity politics to label and vilify anyone who falls outside their limited spheres of acceptability. We have ‘far right’, ‘white supremacist’ flung with adolescent vituperation and, of course, ‘racist’ is the term du 98

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jour for those bereft of intellectual grunt. The latter should describe something far too serious for it to be diluted as it has been in recent times. Someone who disagrees with a person of a different pigmentation is not a racist per se, guys. You won’t sell more papers by insulting those whose intellectual capabilities and interests are a bit above the latest reality TV chef show. Some clever cynic coined the title ‘Black Lives Matter’. Great name for a group. No decent soul would disagree with the sentiment but, as one perceptive writer said, ‘black lives matter but Black Lives Matter’ is a different thing altogether.’ This group seems intent on mayhem and anarchy and ignores the reality of life for many African Americans. Sadly, unthinking celebrities, sportspeople and ignorant, or cynical politicians are taking the knee for the lie. Recently, a ‘journalist’ castigated people for calling the PM, ‘Cindy’. She said that Ms Ardern did not like it. Fair enough if that were true, but there is evidence that the nickname has also been used Index

by family members. Anyway, the writer then jumped the shark by accusing the Cindy-slingers of misogyny, that they wouldn’t dare do it to a male. Ye gods and little fishes! Kiwis use the diminutive regularly. Many an All Black has had their name modified in that way. Richie, Beaudy, Sammy, Nuggy and Goldie come to mind. Then there are politicians, including Labour hero Mickey Savage. Did Maggie Thatcher need a minder?

wait to one side. Then I heard one call out: ‘Hey, here comes Piggy!’ His voice had broken and it seemed to be magnified by the stone walls. I glowered at the boy, then turned around to see the Prime Minister descending the stone steps towards us. I implored Scotty to beam me up expedite full warp factor please Scotty. ‘Who said that?’

Nicknames can be cruel but often they indicate a fondness and give their users a sense of familiarity with the recipient. I wish journalists would not take vicarious umbrage. Perhaps politicians can deal with namecalling. Once, in the 70s, I organised a class visit to Parliament. The students were a group of Year 8s, from a neighbourhood which could be described as robust, most of whom needed quite a firm hand. The plan was to wait in the foyer to be met by the local Labour MP who would show us around. He wasn’t there when we arrived, so I made the students Index

Mr Muldoon stopped and stared at the group. Scotty remained inactive. The P.M. looked at me. ‘Where are you from?’ I informed him and said we were waiting for the afore-mentioned opposition MP. ‘Late as usual,’ said the P.M. and smiled.

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