I’ve been struggling recently. I’m not sure whether the school holidays have been a blessing or a curse as I function better when I’m busy and have no time to myself (ah the life of a teacher). This week, I have napped a lot, read, had many daytime baths, watched some of my favourite movies and spent a lot of time hanging out with my dog. Nothing was working. Today, i brushed my hair and put mascara on for the first time in about a month and helped facilitate a workshop for girls aged 11-16 on feminism and activism. I taught the girls about young activists such as @malala who started speaking out at the age of 11 and @amikageorge who started the #freeperiods campaign at 17. I also taught them about the incredible @ginamartinuk who, through sheer hard work and perseverance, changed the law. We talked political representation, toxic masculinity, gender binaries, internalised misogyny, periods, the gender pay gap and consent. The girls left this afternoon with an understanding of the importance of advocacy in feminism, an activist toolkit that they will implement in the coming months with help from me and another adult and even more anger at the injustices they regularly face as teenage girls. Maybe I did need some time to indulge in some ‘self care’ this week or maybe I just needed reminding about what’s important. 📷: @spoonie_village #learntorestnottoquit #teenagegirlswillsavetheworld #activism #feministactivism #pregnantandexhausted #teacherlife #feministblogger #feminist #feminism #feministteacher #teachlikeagirl #feminismintheclassroom #empoweredwomenempowergirls
I am beyond angry. Angry that there is even a discussion about whether it is appropriate for children to be learning about anything other than cis heteronormative identities. I can’t even put it into coherent words right now but I will never stop pushing and fighting for diverse and inclusive education for ALL children. Our children deserve to see themselves as valuable and their feelings and identities as valid and all children deserve to grow up understanding the world around them if they are to develop empathy and respect for everyone. Just yesterday, a child asked me if a gay man could marry a woman. I simply told him about bisexuality. He shrugged and said, ah right. When his friend then asked if that meant he was transgender, before I could answer, this ten year old boy clearly explained what transgender meant. His mate’s response? Another, ah right. And then they carried on talking about pranks they wanted to play. This is what ‘let kids be kids’ means. These boys may or may not grow up and identify as heterosexual cisgender men but they will have the empathy and respect which will enable them to treat the lgbt+ community that they will most definitely encounter throughout their lives as their rightful equals. #nooutsiders #lgbteducation #ageappropriate #inclusiveeducation #letkidsbekids #diversityintheclassroom #teacher #teachersofinstagram #feministblogger #feminist #feminism #feministteacher #teachlikeagirl #feminismintheclassroom
I went into work this morning ready to answer questions about Christchurch but none of the children asked. Maybe they hadn’t seen the news this morning or maybe they are so used to the world expressing its hatred for them that they have become numb to the pain? If you work with Muslim children, listen to them, help them see that their feelings are valid and make sure they know that they are so very, very loved.
•
We continued our Women’s History Month celebrations at Mighty Girl club today by making posters about incredible women in history and contemporaneity. Using what books have actually been left on my class bookshelf, they’ve started to learn more about Frida Kahlo, Hedy Lamarr, Oprah Winfrey, Zaha Hadid, Harriet Tubman and Fatima Al Fihri (and many more) Two of the girls brought me their IWD homework to show me and it inspired me so much. I’ve been feeling tired and lacking in motivation and fight recently but these girls always help change that. In between planning our own Mighty Girl film, I asked the girls what they thought about Nasrin Sotoudeh. They spoke clearly and eloquently about their hijabs and choice for every woman and were horrified that this choice (among others) are being taken away from women elsewhere in the world. These girls are the future of feminism. Feminism that is owned and led by black girls, brown girls, queer girls, trans girls, disabled girls. #womenshistorymonth #nasrinsotoudeh #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #mightygirlclub #mightygirl #rebelgirls #feministblogger #feminist #feminism #feministteacher #teachlikeagirl #feminismintheclassroom #empoweredwomenempowergirls
