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There is a valid and urgent discussion to be had about ending school exclusions while also tackling sexual violence in schools. These are not contradictory positions. But bad faith political attacks on @NExclusions is not that discussion | THREAD https://twitter.com/NewSocialistUK/status/1321103910678003713?s=19
Consider the timing of these attacks. The Conservative UK Government, following in the footsteps of Trump, recently expressed their opposition to #CriticalRaceTheory https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/23/uk-critical-race-theory-trump-conservatives-structural-inequality?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Right on queue, this led to the usual commentators (by 'usual' I mean edutweeters/bloggers who have the ear of Conservative ministers and spend a lot of time criticising antiracism) adding their diatribe-masquerading-as-analysis to the debate. Fuel + fire https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/blogs/carnegie-education/2020/10/critical-race-theory/
Another issue of timing is that @CARE2Liberate (allied with @NExclusions) is currently mounting legal action against @educationgovuk in response to recent DfE guidance that arguably seeks to censor educational discussion https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/liberate-our-classrooms/
It is difficult to believe, given this context, that the timing of recent attacks on @NExclusions is entirely a coincidence, or that all of these attacks are solely motivated by concerns for victims and survivors of sexual violence
It is duplicitous (possibly defamatory) to publicly state that those who support the abolition of school exclusions are apologists for sexual violence or that teachers who hold this position shouldn't be allowed to work in schools.
During these powerful times when we are confronted by the realities of systemic racism, we might need to consider that people saying such things, even those we previously looked up to, are falling in our estimation of what can be considered as reasonable debate.
Those who are interested in making a difference in the spaces of school exclusions and tackling sexual violence in schools might want to consider the situation in Scotland, where things are far from perfect but certainly less politically fractious.
Permanent official school exclusions in Scotland are extremely rare, due to dedicated concerted efforts made during the last decade in particular. In 2015/2016 there were 5 such exclusions. Last year, there were 3. There is an important BUT to add here.
Numbers rarely tell the full story. There is an ongoing discussion about the meaning and practices of exclusion/inclusion, whether reducing official exclusions leads to an increase in unofficial practices that are still exclusionary in effect, etc. https://www.tes.com/magazine/article/do-scotlands-exclusion-figures-tell-us-full-story
There is a National Sexual Violence Prevention Programme for education developed by @rapecrisisscot. It advocates participation, prevention, equality, safety, respect, cultural change and the negotiation of consent. This is notably similar to what @NExclusions is saying
These are difficult, messy and complex issues that require thoughtful & culturally responsible discussions, focused on the interests and rights of all young people including victims and survivors of sexual violence. Politically motivated opportunism has no place here | END
Link to @rapecrisisscot programme is here, meant to include it above https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/national-sv-prevention-programme/
