Month: February 2016

Minutes – 25 February 2016

Apologies: Conwright

  • Subversive communication.
  • Governors.

Action Points from Last Week:

  • Senior Leadership Solidarity – Obai
  • Assemblies – Ms Wilberforce. Miss Critchley. Ms Lucking, Dominic and Michael
  • School Uniform – Talk about again
  • Lambeth Services – Kate

Equalities Goals

Governor Chris Hall has asked to visit us to help devise a revised second objective for the school. We agreed to have him visit us on the 10th of March.

Subversive messaging

  • Chris and Mel presented their ideas for the creation of a ‘subversive campaign’ of visual messaging within the school to help pursue a constructive effort that could come from the detailed discussions we’ve been having.

 

Minutes 11/02/2016

Apologies

Mr Waugh – At UCL giving a lecture

Barnaby- at Art coursework session

Ms Warsame- sick

Ms Lucking – another appointment`

(some apologies missing from minutes so I apologise)

Chair and Minutes – Ms Critchley

Agenda 

  • Report from Obai on JLT
  • Positive image for women
  • LGBTQ workshops on offer to us

JLT

Obai- snapchat problem videoing people to pass on to other people. Meeting with SLT about lunch cards being on show at all times to ID people and allow JLT members to write SIMS  comments.

Jamal- phone removal was well deserved. Boys were stupid and they lost a privilege.

Women and positive images

Jamal- needed clarification of last weeks agenda. Agreed the problem is how women are being treated differently. Positive imagery not enough. Sanctions required.

Miss Murphy- questions girls dress code and whether or not one exists. States she feels there needs to be one as boys see it as unfair which might promote resentment.

Henry- we never speak about the objectification of women. Informal assembly suggested about repercussions of engaging in sexually objectifying conversations. Male led preferably as boys will respond better to this. Objectification should be addressed. And harassment is to be defined.

Obai- positive image- imagine she is your mum. integrating the women into the community more.

Christian- proposing a change in uniform policy for girls. Thinks it’s right to enforce the one that exists in planners.

Jamal- worried we are enforcing the idea that they should dress better to receive respect. Male teachers can encourage it. Named male teachers who he states have encouraged it.

Henry- the male role models should stand up for women. agreed with Ms C’s link to He for She campaign.

Jack- larger than anything we have taken on before. Struggle to see moral side of things. Cultural shift required. Points out that women are not treated so well but are in society, a majority not a minority

Henry- not everyone is female. Everyone has a race or sexuality. It’s making things harder.

Dominic- Sexism is seen to be funny. “I banged your girl”

Ms Critchley- would like to invite boys to take part in an assembly on not seeing women as possessions rather contributors to society! generally thinks it might help if women were in front of kids at assemblies more.

Jamal- harassment of other girls. Heard some boys who talked about our Y10 BFI project say “What does she expect? She’s come into a boys school.” When girls claimed to have been harassed.

Jack- Points out that sexism affects all of us. Try to get a better connection will the school community by pointing out how they are at a disadvantage if the inequality persists.

Freddie- maybe we could do an assembly on objectification of men

Christian- if we flipped it- imagine it. If the boys were being treated badly.

Jack- too hard to make there be less of a difference between men and women with so many men in the school. Attack gender stereotypes.

Ms Schuil- thinks of American dress codes. Poor excuse to make girls dress better.

Jack- zero interaction with women is a problem

Freddy- “what have we gained with gender stereotypes?”

Henry- don’t be a girl. Bothers us.

LGBTQ Workshops on offer from Lambeth

Michael- doesn’t see many boys taking it on. (the offer of the support group for LGBTQ young people)

Henry- wants to see what they are proposing in more detail and would want them to work in collaboration with the group. Concerned that students often see external workshops as free day and hence don’t engage.

Jack- Would like to see where they are coming from and be allowed to read the email about the project’s goals. Concerned their message might marginalise people more.

Pips went!

 

Next week’s agenda

Deciding our role in how to promote positive image for women (had to cut conversation short)

 

 

Minutes: 4 February 2016

Apologies: Emily (late), Obai, Michael, Mr North, Jack.

Chair: Ms Critchley

Topic: The Objectification of Women.

Henry: the misogyny in the school affects the way young men relate to women outside the school.

Barnaby: Definitely notices the difference in the way the female students are treated: everyone focuses attention on them, noises and jeering

Mr Leonard: Some students think their attitudes are warranted due to the fact they believe the women are inviting it through how they’re addressed

Henry: It comes across in the language as well – “My ting” – the idea of women being the possession of women.

Alistair: Fundamentally being a single sex school is a problem, the lack of contact with girls and women affects the boys experience – this isn’t an excuse though. One approach would be to turn it into a mixed school.

Ms Critchley: Argues that it’s not so important what happens in other schools. Curious about how women are treated differently in the school.

Barnaby: The teachers don’t seem to be as subject to the sexist behaviour as the support teachers and 6th form women.

Henry: Poor behaviour seems to happen more in classes taught by women.

Dewi: There’s a general lack of respect for female teachers in school – a marked difference between this and how men are treated. Mentioned that in Science, the atmosphere is different between the way male and female students are regarded.

Mr Leonard: Referred to a supply teacher as “I’d do her”.

Ms Lucking: talked about the Year 7 students and how they seem to regress when they arrive in the school. Some students wondered if this was a consequence of coming from a single sex environment.

Alistair: One of the first notable things about the school that there were no female students and that this inferred that there was a barrier between boys and girls.

Ms Lucking: Went to a girls’ school, and recalled the sense of difference she felt between girls and boys. She felt she was taught that women could be very empowered.

Ms Critchley: When she went powerboat driving and was teased that she crashed the

Mr Howeld: One of the biggest problems is that these issues are not properly addressed – the problem is leaving this alone.

Alistair: When the main exposure to women is through the media, this can have a problematic effect on people’s perceptions.

Ms Bennett: Teachers can override these preconceptions through taking a strong clear stance

Mr Howeld: The students are not framed as ‘gentlemen’ in the school – this is something that’s not encouraged.

Ms Lucking: Remember not to be overwhelmed by the negativity.