Diversity, Equity and Inclusion day    Four of the most important days in our teacher training year have to be our “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” days. I promise, Adam has not paid me to write this… Amongst the entire 21/22 cohort of Inspiring Leaders, I had the absolute pleasure of listening to several amazing speakers, talking all things diversity. Welcoming us to NTU for the day, was our own Adam Brett who introduced us to a quick video on diversity (#InclusionStartsWithI). If you want to watch it again and review those statistics, I definitely recommend doing so… with a pack of tissues.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g88Ju6nkcg   Kicking off the day, we had the amazing Claire Birkenshaw, a Childhood and Education lecturer at Leeds Beckett University.    Claire explained so succinctly what DEI is, why it is important and most of all, what our role as educators is, when it comes to DEI.    I cried and I was left speechless, i...

The title of ‘Being a Woman in Education’ probably does not scream out to any male readers – well, I know for a fact that it does not scream out to any male readers because there was not a single male in the room for this workshop! Allies are an essential force when it comes to any issue about power imbalances, so I had certainly hoped that there would be at least a couple of male attendees. Azuraye Williams, who ran the workshop, emphasised the importance of being educated on the challenges of being a woman in the workplace, which is why it would have been useful for male trainees to attend. Small, seemingly insignificant things, such as choice of language, can be weaponised against women in the workplace. Azuraye questioned what the difference is between being aggressive and assertive. The answer? Your gender or your race. As a trainee English teacher, I am always aware of language connotations in novels, plays, and poetry. After reflection, I am maybe not as conscious when it comes ...