The principal of a school described as the strictest in Britain has warned that William Shakespeare will disappear from the classrooms as schools in England come under pressure to decolonize and diversify the curriculum.
Catherine Birbalsing, the controversial principal at Michaela Community School in north London, said Shakespeare had already been “lost” in many parts of the United States and warned: “We follow America this way.”
In an interview with the Guardian, Birbalsing said schools are under great pressure to change what they teach, but stressed the importance of keeping “dead white men” in the curriculum.
The GCSE reading lists and A-level English literature and drama have recently been expanded to include more black and ethnic writers than minorities, and activists have called for black history to be fully integrated into the curriculum.
Asked about decolonizing the curriculum, Birbalsing said: “I think the dead white men have something to offer us. Shakespeare has influenced literature for more than 400 years. It is right to study Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s ideas are universal. “
She continued: “I am concerned about the trend in America that is now affecting what is happening here, where we will eventually eliminate cultural icons like Shakespeare.”
At the moment, students in England still have to study Shakespeare. Students taking the AQA GCSE English Literature exam this summer will have studied one of Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Storm, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing and Julius Caesar.
“The point is, there will come a time when I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Birbalsing said. “I think he’s lost in many places in America. And we follow America that way. “
Asked what Shakespeare would replace, she said: “Any number of different black and female authors. Maybe they’ll get me there. The point is that I am a black woman author. I would never suggest reading your books instead of Shakespeare or Dickens or any number of other dead white men. My color and gender don’t have to be that important. “
Birbalsing emphasized that he did not say he did not want black authors in the curriculum, but added: “I do not agree with the idea that you can only identify and evaluate an author who is the color of your skin. You have to be able to really appreciate everyone, and the important thing is how good they are. ”
She said that students who take English at level A in Michaela are studying Andrea Levy’s novel Little Island. “I think it’s great. So I’m not saying he only teaches dead white men. I’m just saying don’t run a campaign to get rid of them. “
Birbalsing has released cameras at his free school for the first time for an ITV documentary titled Britain’s Strictest Headmistress, which aired on Sunday.
She founded the Michaela Community School eight years ago, and it has since become the most talked about educational experiment in England.
But far from being a portrait of a school and its controversial principal, it is an author’s documentary in which she sets out her vision not only of education but also of raising children and creating a better society.
Her manifesto is based on 12 golden rules, which include: do not give children unattended access to the Internet, teach them gratitude, maintain your high standards, keep the line and do not allow them to listen to dirt or break music, because “it will ruin their lives, ”she said.
“White people in the middle class don’t realize this because their children can be submerged and submerged, and that’s not a problem. As long as your black child is in the inner city, it can literally ruin your life. ”
Birbalsing told the Guardian: “That’s not what I’m saying, oh my God, parents do a terrible job. That’s what I’m saying, these things will help us be better at raising children as a society. “
She first became famous at the Tory Conference in 2010, where she spoke about Britain’s “broken” education system, which caused confusion among fellow teachers and cost her her job.
Her school became known for its strict no-apology policy and success – it was rated “excellent” by Ofsted, and in 2019 more than half of all GCSE scores were level 7 or higher. Her many fans include Toby Young, Michael Gove and Peter Hitchens.
She has been appointed the government’s new commissioner for social mobility and is attacking the “awakened culture” by engaging in regular Twitter debates on all sorts of issues, including white privileges, racism, offshoots and original sin. Last month, she was criticized for suggesting that girls do not choose A-level physics because they do not like “hard math”, and the comments she said were taken out of context.
“People are quoting me wrong,” she said. “People are talking nonsense. I spent 20 minutes talking about cultural issues why girls may not choose STEM subjects. She also said: “I don’t think we need to meet quotas. If I don’t respect my girls well enough at 16 to say, “No, you have to do physics, because we have to have 50% of girls do physics,” I just think that’s wrong.
Earlier this week, Birbalsing battled his critics over a quote painted on the school’s interior wall that an eagle-eyed observer noticed was wrongly attributed to Winston Churchill. She can understand why people have accepted the mistake. “But ask for a public apology?” What? For something on the wall at my school? It is absurd.
“Of course, point out a mistake. Laugh if you want. I don’t understand what the big deal is. Yes, we have an incorrectly attributed quote. We will change it. For example, who cares? “
Regarding the privilege of whites, she acknowledged that it existed, but said there were many other types of privileges, such as “good privilege”, “high privilege” and “good family privilege”, and in any case, she said, it was detrimental to black children to continue on racism and white privileges in school.
“It simply came to our notice then. We have to oppose this in some way. I cannot describe to you how exhausting it is to hear as a black child that the world is against you, that everyone is a racist and that you will never succeed. It’s not good for any of us. “
Birbalsing agreed to the documentary because she wants millions of people to see what’s going on in Michaela and parents and teachers to be able to learn from her experience. “I don’t court fame at all,” she says.
“I rather feel that as a society we make bad decisions for ourselves, for our children. And a lot of people can’t talk about it because they’re going to lose their jobs or lose their friends.
“The thing is, I already lost my friends when I gave a speech at a Conservative party conference, so I can talk and I feel obligated to do so.”
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