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Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
@DrRLofthouse
Recently retired from a professorial role in education. Now a Humanist funeral celebrant. ‘Coaching with Purpose’ book in the wings awaiting publication.
Yorkshire
humanists.uk/celebrants/rac…
Joined January 2010
5,504
Following
28K
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  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    Nov 8, 2018
    Can I just drop this bombshell while English edutweeters sleep. I’ve visited secondary schools in Canada this week with no uniforms, no silent corridors, teachers in relaxed clothes, where there is much talk to relationships & pedagogy & where teachers say school is their family.
  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    Dec 19, 2020
    Please remember that some of the people who actually wanted to keep you and your family safe were headteachers. They tried and were blocked from taking considerate action on your behalf. They were blocked by legal threats from this government.
  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    Jun 30, 2021
    Just a shout out to teachers and leaders on Twitter who haven’t written a book and don’t intend to.
  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    Jul 4, 2024
    Imagine where we would be in schools if Gove and his acolytes had never happened. We were building curriculum & pedagogy based on thinking skills, oracy, innovation & creativity. We had teachers funded to do masters & action research. We had extended schools. So many wasted years
    61K
  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    Mar 18, 2023
    Walk out of Ofsted. Please, school leaders. Just don’t contribute. Don’t inspect.
    175K
  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    Dec 30, 2020
    I don’t think I’ve ever felt such hatred for the government as I do today.
  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    Sep 17, 2022
    Schools should be for children. Not for adult egos.
  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    Aug 13, 2020
    If you care about education in England today and you’re not deeply upset about the inequalities in the A level grades you’re either protecting friends in high places, scared to raise your voice or you’ve forgotten that education isn’t just about supporting the already privileged.
  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    Mar 27, 2021
    My sister sent me this. ‘A priest, a pastor and a rabbit walked in to a blood donation clinic. The nursed asked the rabbit: "What is your blood type?" "I am probably a type O" said the rabbit.’
  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    Feb 15, 2021
    Vaccinating school staff would not significantly reduce community spread if schools go back but would mean staff are less likely to fall ill. This helps maintain teaching & learning (in person & remote) which would help reduce future ‘lost learning’ the DfE is so worried about.
  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    Jul 4, 2024
    Perhaps you need to have worked in education since (or before) the early 90s to get it? The relative optimism, investment & forward thinking of the Labour education years contrasted with the before & after of the Tory years. If you didn’t it’s hard to feel it. Change is embodied.
    27K
  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    May 12, 2022
    If children and staff have to be resilient and tough to succeed at school and if it’s something they come to endure then I think we’ve got schools wrong. Schools should be places in which all can flourish and are communities which are compelling to belong to.
  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    Mar 18, 2019
    Some in education seem to be determined that schooling needs to happen in social isolation. No group work. No talking in corridors. Eyes only on teacher. Immediately remove a child who distracts another. I disagree. Learning should develop social skills & understanding of others.
  • user avatar
    Rachel Mears (Lofthouse)
    @DrRLofthouse
    Mar 21, 2020
    Can I just double check. Schools with kids in next week. You are doing everything you can to maintain 2m social distancing now that you’ve got fewer kids in the same space aren’t you? I know it seems difficult & alien but it’s essential. Teachers’ & school leaders’ lives matter.