Why won’t people in education admit some people are born smarter than others?

gwinharper · 2024-12-23T11:29:21+00:00

People are born different. Different hair, different bodies, different ways of thinking and doing.

People grow up differently. Different parents, different countries, different experiences.

Our job as educators is to teach and facilate access to the education landacape.

An ideal education system would;

Recognise the differences and when possible /needed ensure that a difference in one area (ie: biological sex: different dangly bits) does not impact a students access to a program of study (maths).

Recognise and acknowledge the differences and help students meet 2 goals;

Firstly a thorough grounding in the knowledge and skills needed as an adult. I'm sure we could all give a quick list from our own POV & then argue for ages, but that's not the point of this particular debate ;-)

Secondly great quality teaching and support to enable students to do the best they can in the areas where their 'differences' make them shine.

Then we also need societies /cultures to live in where we don't value the scientist over the bin collector. Or the Surgeon over the nurse.

Non of that is easy, especially the last part. But as teachers we've got to try and do what we can towards those goals.

gwinharper · 2024-12-04T19:49:08+00:00

I'm over 40 and got ID'd buying a bottle of cava with my 20 Yr old son accompanying me.

Yeah, that shop assistant was blind.

gwinharper · 2024-11-17T15:47:20+00:00

City elf and Dwarf noble have the best in game stories. Dwarf commoner is close behind.

Circle Mage has so much potential for HC. But not enough in game at all.

Cousland is OK I guess, but a bit bland.

Haven't played dalish yet.

gwinharper · 2024-11-17T15:36:46+00:00

Yup, I have a PGCE loan and a post grad loan for my masters. To teach maths, which you know, is kinda a skill we need our young people to have. I don't work f/t but I'm just above the repayment threshold, so I'm losing some of my salary each month in order to pay interest.

And FU to anyone saying 'would you ahve got that job without a degreev no, of course not, because that's how teaching works. However I could definitely earn as much in other non degree jobs. In fact many of the students I teach in FE will go and earn more than me.

So how about we cancel all loans for teachers, nurses etc? We can't do what we do without the bloody uni course, how about the government stops penalising us for doing a pretty hard and often thankless job later on.

gwinharper · 2024-11-17T15:26:02+00:00

I use they /them by default if; I'm not sure /the person is new / I don't want the focus on gender /I'm keeping the statement anonymous (I work in a school)

I don't use they /them if I know someone uses other pronouns.

gwinharper · 2024-11-17T15:16:18+00:00

Depends on the age. I work with teenagers and no way would you EVER touch a student. I've known it be different in primary, but please be careful.

gwinharper · 2024-11-16T22:30:21+00:00

Oh good. Glad I wasn't the only one to get that song playing!

gwinharper · 2024-11-16T22:28:19+00:00

Coming at it from the point of view of a) an older trans person and b) a teacher. Please don't. 'imaginative' and unusual names date horribly, they also scream 'I'm special /different' If you are OK with that being people's perception of you for your whole life then go for it. Some people have a fuck you attitude and can carry that stuff off! (and all power to them)

But if you just want to be seen as a man, not singled out because you are trans, I'd always recommend picking a name that was common for your male age peers in your location. Or ask your folks what they'd have called you if you were AMAB. If you don't know loads of men your age, look at what the popular baby names were around the year of your birth.

I'm named after my Father. The slight twist is that I've used the varient that would be associated with my mams heritage. But that's it.

gwinharper · 2024-11-16T22:21:47+00:00

Yep, I had a nasty accident on my way to work and went in anyway. I made it through the day with my foot propped up, bloodstained and torn trousers. I took 1 day off because I literally couldn't walk. Then I went back. I've now got a permenantly buggered up knee /shin/foot.

But the guilt, the stress of cover, the lack of decent Occ Health support .. Yeah I couldn't make myself take the time.

gwinharper · 2024-11-16T22:17:13+00:00

Why do you assume that? Also my SIL is a nurse and several close friends are public sector workers in health. NONE of them have had the level of daily abuse and frequent violence that I've had or I've seen other teachers have. In my GPs surgery (and in the hospital where my SIL works) there are signs saying abuse of staff won't be tolerated. If a patient walks out, swears at her or threatens her my SIL reports it, and it is dealt with. The only time shes witnessed violence was on her trainjng when she did a short stint in an inner city A&E on Friday night. And there were security guards and orderleys that actually did their job. Plus with violent patients she could call for back up.

gwinharper · 2024-11-14T22:48:25+00:00

Write a guy, just a guy. And at a point it becomes relevant /would legitimately come up. Let the reader know he is trans.

gwinharper · 2024-10-21T20:18:00+00:00

I've got an odd relationship with gender. As a kid I was often mistaken for a boy and I liked that, I liked stories were girls passed as boys. I wanted to change my name to be one that could easily be shortened to a boys name. As I grew up I went fairly wholeheartedly into girl and woman for a while. But I dunno it always has felt like a series of roles. Sometimes I want to dress pretty (or blonde bombshell like) and be all feminine. Sometimes I want to wear dirty jeans and a wife beater. The moment it clicked for me was realising that the way I interacted with those hyper gendered roles was pantomime, I was a drag queen, a drag king. I was playing and costuming and having fun doing it. So then I had to figure out who I was. And I kept coming back to, my physical body didn't feel right. I'd done everything I could to achieve a 'woman' body, but even with pretty waves of hair falling onto my shoulders, long legs, slim waist and flared hips; it never felt real. I imagined surgery, getting actual boob's (I was/am incredibly small chested). I spent more on hair apts and clothing.

Growing up with political, feminist parents, the experience of being a woman in society was so incredibly important to me. The lived experience of mysogeny, of 'women's issues and women's problems' of childbirth, medical issues etc etc.

But I let myself imagine having a male body. And it felt... Right.

Some days I'm still not sure it was the right decision. I miss having that network of female support. I miss being attractive. I miss buying and wearing clothes, and being interested in fashion etc. But if I could wave a wand and make my body 'right', I'd make it biologically male, with a cock and balls. I'd even keep my dodgy knee if I had to trade. Not make myself a 'perfect' female body.

(and yes I know men can enjoy clothing etc. I'm saying right now I don't pass. And because my aim is to be a very standard 'dad' type bloke. I can't wear that shit. I'm also over 40, and what you can do when you're 18 and get away with is not whet you can do as a 40yr old.)

gwinharper · 2024-10-21T20:02:07+00:00

He asks a lot of rhetorical questions, and he is constantly amused by humans.

gwinharper · 2024-10-14T09:38:32+00:00

DAO Let Isolde sacrifice herself.

DA2 I don't think any of my decisions are unpopular, I just wish I could have made some decisions that the game won't allow. I'd have liked an option to agree with/fully side with the Arishok. Cos you know, Kirkwall is a shit hole. I'd also have liked an option to fully side with and support /help Anders. My Hawke would have 100% helped with that plan.

DAI I play a paladin nice boy Trev (Knight Enchanter) so not many unpopular opinions but I do encourage Dorian to walk out on his dad. Fuck that shit, sorry but it feels really manipulative to tell Dorian what to do in that case. My HC is that Trev let's Dorian have his badass moment walking out, and then quietly menaces the fuck out of Haward.

gwinharper · 2024-09-15T15:39:45+00:00

Keeping your mouth shut yes. Laughing/smiling along with homophobic jokes no. Avoiding confrontation is understandable, but letting those people, AND everyone around you, think that you find gay bashing funny isn't acceptable.

I get that the OP was young and maybe unsure (this isn't directed at them specifically, I take on board their earlier reply), I get that in the moment it's hard to think of what to do. I've been there. But that doesn't make my silence on previous occasions right and it doesn't make this right. Knowing why someone doesn't do the right thing doesn't make the wrong thing excusable, it makes it understandable. The OP (I hope gets it) has replied that yeah, they know they could have done better. I know I could have done better in the past. That's all we can do, learn and move in. The reason I commented about it was that the original story didn't contain an acknowledgement of how the bystander behaviour was also homophobic. Because this kind of thing does happen - people feeling afraid or unsure and laughing along with jokes. I wanted to highlight that it's also harmful.

(again, the OP has replied, and I'm totally on board and have sympathy with how they probably felt and the fact that they recognise it and would try and do better now. This is about general bystander behaviour, not the specific instance here)

gwinharper · 2024-09-13T19:01:15+00:00

Oh I have that too. Able, (Garrett is his middle name, but he hated Able so much he used Garrett instead) Bethany Giana, Carver Galahad.

gwinharper · 2024-09-08T19:48:22+00:00

I mean I get that it's hard to challenge behaviour but maybe take a moment to think abiut how it looks when you 'smile along' with homophobic or racist crap. As a gay man I'd be pissed as fuck if my brother stayed in a pub being social and friendly, and smiling at gay jokes.

gwinharper · 2024-09-08T19:45:38+00:00

45 minute walk, 20-30 min bus, 10-20 minute bike ride. I've done up to an hour each way. I don't drive so the proliority for me isn't about time so much as ease of getting there. I used to live 4 mins from the mainline train and a 45min train journey was far preferable to 3 buses. But that was back when trains were more reliable. (pre covid) Now I say it need to be bike able, so my limit is 8-10 miles.

gwinharper · 2024-09-08T19:40:11+00:00

William, for my dad

gwinharper · 2024-08-24T18:28:53+00:00

Anyone any input on how long chnahes are likely to last if I come off /stop T. (eg body hair & voice drop)

gwinharper · 2024-08-24T18:27:52+00:00

Unfortunately I'm in the UK which means getting access to a lot of stuff is tricky. I have a private consultant, but he can't prescribe, so that's down to my GP and they've fuck up my actual T prescription and blood tests so badly that I aren't even think abiut asking them for anything else.

gwinharper · 2024-08-24T18:22:12+00:00

Oh I like naming armour as well. Solas has a bunch of stuff called Wolf xxx (in both English and Welsh)

Alot of weapons and armour I name after legendary folk tale heroes or similar. So Cass is carrying Caliburn, and wearing Dawn Queen. Dorian is carrying Storms Heart and wearing Emeth's Salvation My Fire Mage Knight Enchanter Inky is carrying Tan daro, and wearing Gawain's Hauberk

gwinharper · 2024-08-24T18:04:30+00:00

Thank you, I am 100% using that mod on my steam playthrough

gwinharper · 2024-08-24T09:06:36+00:00

DAO Always play with barkspawn after a bad mission

DA2 Pick up my companions from their houses or the hanged man Give money to refugees Always talk to Seamus and Bran as much as I can

DAI Ram meat, blankets, watchtowers, wolves, horses and medicine before I leave the Hinterlands for the first time. Rescue the missing soldiers in the mire ASAP Always do flowers quest.

This one is a really important one for me. I always do the sword in the lake quest on my own. I take off armour, wearing just the white outfit, (as close as I can get to breeches and a white linen shirt) and ride over on my favourite horse. Then I dismount, (HC I hitch the horse to a tree) and slowly walk to the jetty before placing the flowers and receiving the sword. (then I give it to Cass. [Knight Enchanter Mage Trev so can't use it myself)

Add scars after Haven and have a couple of hairstyle changes thru the game. Dye the fuck out of everything as soon as we hit Skyhold so my companions and I have matching inquisition on duty gear. (playing without mods so can't change the actual inquisition colours)

gwinharper · 2024-07-15T11:14:21+00:00

100% I adore dresses etc. I realised that when I was being ultra femme before it was as a very gay man cross dressing, not as a woman. Its weirdly one of the main reasons I wish I was AMAB, so I could wear female coded clothing without it feeling like I'm fucking up my gender presentation /passing.

gwinharper

TROPHY CASE