When the lockdowns happened, I was incredulous at people's acceptance of losing their hard won freedoms. As an ex teacher, I worried dreadfully for children for whom school was their only safe place. I thought of the parents cooped up in tiny flats and expected to educate their children and work from home. I wrote to news stations and my MP on many occasions. No one seemed bothered. Close friends said 'Oh children always bounce back.' No, there are many children still missing from school and, I suspect, many that have been permanently affected by the way they were abandoned by a society that purports to care. As for the 'vaccines', I'd never want children to be used as a shield for me. Imo, they didn't need them. So, thank you for all that you've said. I'm sorry that you've been through such a dreadful time. You should have been able to speak without fear. I hope that you can find some peace from knowing that you did the right thing.
I'm so sorry you had to go through all this. However, everything you did was RIGHT. I am ashamed of my fellow humans - what has happened to people ? You sir, can hold your head up high and know that there are many of us out here, that totally agree with you and stand beside you. 🙏
Having lived through this garbage with four children I am of the firm belief that the greatest safeguarding threat to them is the government and its cronies.
I never agreed with any of it & still don’t. After the first couple of months I realised that the whole thing was BS! I also was annoyed at the time that children were loosing in their education which will never be recovered & the social distancing & mask wearing, which I will call Child Abuse that was being perpetrated against. Holden. Parents who had their 18 month old child wearing a mask. Children not allowed to play with friends or visit relatives. Children who have learning difficulties loosing months of education who won’t ever catch up. University students treated like Lepers locked in their rooms not able to eat together. The list goes on. I still find it offensive when people are still wearing masks. Do they realise that they’re damaging their health & shortening their lives. I’ve also been smacked on the wrist for speaking out against all the clap trap but I won’t stop telling the truth THAT THIS WAS & IS ONE BIG CON & LIE!!!
I agree with everything that the good headteacher has written about. You are not alone and I wish others would also come out, support and speak their truth to back their colleagues up!!! Speak the truth otherwise the pent up frustration will turn inward! Working collectively is far better. With a union to back them up, teachers went on strike (no objection) this headteacher had no backup only his morals!! If we want freedom of speech to continue then we MUST come together and support each other!
A great article, highlighting the fact that somewhere in 2020 those of us expressing concerns about the wellbeing of children came to be seen as the crazy ones.
The calamitous impact on children and schools is clear to everyone working in the system…but some must just think that the restrictions were all necessary / worthwhile, rather than seeing them for the grave error they were. This generation now look about them and know, or will come to know, that they were actively harmed because of threats to their lives about a killer virus that never really materialised.
If I was them, I’d be pretty cross. And I can tell you, many of them are absolutely furious.
Thank you for sharing your experiences and I am sorry that you have had.to suffer in this way. I have struggled to understand why so many teachers seemed to support the government Covid policies and indeed demand even stricter controls. In a recent conversation with my brother, a recently retired teacher, I was astonished to hear him assert that lockdown and masks had saved tens of thousands of lives. When I mentioned the damage to children he said that they would get over it and at least they still had their parents and grandparents who would otherwise have died. How do you combat such views which I can only attribute to brainwashing by the media and government.
Polls suggest the public would support lockdown again if we faced another pandemic so I fear for the future of our children.
An inspiring account of courage, integrity and intelligence, so lacking now in our increasingly dysfunctional society; congratulations.
As a lone dissident, albeit one who hasn't suffered as much as the writer, I share the frustration, the alienation and the growing despair: recently my MP sent a decidedly prickly reply to my latest email commending MP Andrew Bridgen's courage in speaking out about vaccine damage to a largely empty H o C.
I related the egregious sacrifice of the young and the dire consequences for their development and prospects, from infancy to young adulthood.
Now we have a similar entrenchment of decidedly questionable, ill conceived and frankly contradictory policies to contend with: the looming prospect of HMG's signing of the WHO treaty, Net Zero, 'demand management', de facto open borders and the march of trans ideology through our institutions.
Thank goodness for Substack, where the growing sense of alienation and anger can be alleviated somewhat by reading the well informed and stimulating articles and comments.
Humour as well, now rapidly disappearing as the woke censors increase their control of minds, thoughts, speech, debate and satire.
Though my experience is not as unpleasant as the author's, I look back on my own as foretaste of the mess we are in today.
Two decades ago I left a career in science/technology/maths/computers and tried to retrain as a school-teacher. I made two attempts, both of which were unsuccessful. The lack of success was, in my opinion, related to the culture of blind acceptance of "procedures" as being sacrosanct and unchallengeable, and to the similar acceptance of the creeping cult which embraces and worships NetZero, Critical Race Theory, and the infallibility of the United Nations (especially the World Health Organisation).
In my first attempt, during a three-year programme beginning with passive "classroom observation" and background reading, I was abruptly dismissed, on the day of enrolment for the second year, for vaguely-stated reasons and was referred to my local authority legal services department. It turned out that some sort of "deep background check" had disclosed that a delusional fantasist, well-known to the police for her false allegations of rape, had made an allegation against me and the police had been quick to investigate and dismiss the allegation without my being aware of it. However, "following established procedures", the allegations had reached a pen-pusher in the local authority who passed the allegation to my teacher-training course provider. Fortunately (in a sense) the local authority also "followed procedures" and took the allegation to the judicial system, which similarly exposed ab dismissed the allegations, though this took around three years and another year to get me re-instated.
In my second attempt, I actually managed to resume the course as a Science teacher and taught under supervision. I was astonished to find out the extent to which the National Curriculum had been infiltrated by politicians and activists, and used as mandatory instruction rather than guidance. I was required to teach "Global Warming" (the name given at that time to the more recent re-brand of "Climate Change") as "Settled Science" rather than as a political movement. Student teachers in other subjects, especially History, had even greater exposure to the enforcement of the political agenda, for example, by being required to teach, as unchallengeable axioms, "Civil Rights Movements" (nowadays re-branded as "Critical Race Theory" and merged with the LBGT+ agenda). "Child Protection Procedures" and the NSPCC were sacred cows, never to be questioned. Overall, taken across all subjects, we were required to believe that mankind was a cancer on the surface of the planet, and that capitalism and international corporations were the ultimate Evil, which could be eradicated only by complying with national governments and the edicts from the United Nations Central Politburo. Anyone who, in the most harmless or humorous way, held up a mirror to this agenda was at the least treated with derision and found their studies were being disrupted. I even fantasized that the people now controlling my life were 1960s hippies: after all, where are they now?
I mis-judged the situation, and tried to introduce humour into what I thought was a relatively unimportant bar-room philosophical debate in the academic seminars. This mis-fired. I have always liked Bronowski's suggestion regarding the teaching of Science: “it is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.” I found myself in the position of not only being told to teach children the exact opposite in science but also also being disciplined for questioning what I was being taught myself! I was still thinking I was having a good-humoured though perhaps more important dispute with my tutors when I was suddenly hauled up in front of a disciplinary panel. Ostensibly this was on a trivial bureaucratic matter but I found myself ambushed with the accusations from four years previously, suddenly coming back to life, despite their having been dismissed by the police and the courts. Realising that I was now facing an attack by zombie procedure-followers using the allegations as a distraction or weapon rather than addressing my objections, and not being prepared to risk expensive civil action and a Pyrrhic victory (having at most a decade of teaching ahead) I walked out of the hearing and the course and have never set foot in a teaching establishment since.
I suspect the situation is even worse now than when I went through it, with even more emphasis on complying with orders from the Cabinet Office for teachers to comply with whatever the Current Thing is, be it NetZero, ProTrans, Critical Race Theory, Lockdowns, Covid Vaccinations and Emily Osterism [i.e. premature forgiveness].
Contrary to some of my like-thinking friends, I don't see current pandemic politics as being controlled by a few global psychopaths or even a small elite hell-bent on acquiring fortune and power. I see it more as large number of middle-management brainwashed sheep understandably but unfortunately scared to speak out against the shepherd and his dog for fear of being the first to be sent to the slaughterhouse. Fortunately, in my experience, Truth eventually does emerge once Lies have had their party, so I am optimistic that we are in sight of Peak Crazy (Zero Emissions, Zero Covid, Zero Population Growth, Zero Hate...) and can, albeit slowly, return to some degree of group sanity.
I believe he first steps in recovery will be the exposure of the folly of Lockdown and Vaccination, followed quickly by a pragmatic rejection of Net Zero.
When the lockdowns happened, I was incredulous at people's acceptance of losing their hard won freedoms. As an ex teacher, I worried dreadfully for children for whom school was their only safe place. I thought of the parents cooped up in tiny flats and expected to educate their children and work from home. I wrote to news stations and my MP on many occasions. No one seemed bothered. Close friends said 'Oh children always bounce back.' No, there are many children still missing from school and, I suspect, many that have been permanently affected by the way they were abandoned by a society that purports to care. As for the 'vaccines', I'd never want children to be used as a shield for me. Imo, they didn't need them. So, thank you for all that you've said. I'm sorry that you've been through such a dreadful time. You should have been able to speak without fear. I hope that you can find some peace from knowing that you did the right thing.
Thanks so much for this. Still cant quite get over the intolerance and venom unleashed in the pandemic.
I'm so sorry you had to go through all this. However, everything you did was RIGHT. I am ashamed of my fellow humans - what has happened to people ? You sir, can hold your head up high and know that there are many of us out here, that totally agree with you and stand beside you. 🙏
Sincere thanks for speaking out & for being a role model.
Having lived through this garbage with four children I am of the firm belief that the greatest safeguarding threat to them is the government and its cronies.
A man with integrity and courage. I applaud him.
This is a good man with principles !
I never agreed with any of it & still don’t. After the first couple of months I realised that the whole thing was BS! I also was annoyed at the time that children were loosing in their education which will never be recovered & the social distancing & mask wearing, which I will call Child Abuse that was being perpetrated against. Holden. Parents who had their 18 month old child wearing a mask. Children not allowed to play with friends or visit relatives. Children who have learning difficulties loosing months of education who won’t ever catch up. University students treated like Lepers locked in their rooms not able to eat together. The list goes on. I still find it offensive when people are still wearing masks. Do they realise that they’re damaging their health & shortening their lives. I’ve also been smacked on the wrist for speaking out against all the clap trap but I won’t stop telling the truth THAT THIS WAS & IS ONE BIG CON & LIE!!!
You have my respect for your courage making the stand and expressing it so well.
Thank you for helping clarify my own thoughts
I agree with everything that the good headteacher has written about. You are not alone and I wish others would also come out, support and speak their truth to back their colleagues up!!! Speak the truth otherwise the pent up frustration will turn inward! Working collectively is far better. With a union to back them up, teachers went on strike (no objection) this headteacher had no backup only his morals!! If we want freedom of speech to continue then we MUST come together and support each other!
A great article, highlighting the fact that somewhere in 2020 those of us expressing concerns about the wellbeing of children came to be seen as the crazy ones.
The calamitous impact on children and schools is clear to everyone working in the system…but some must just think that the restrictions were all necessary / worthwhile, rather than seeing them for the grave error they were. This generation now look about them and know, or will come to know, that they were actively harmed because of threats to their lives about a killer virus that never really materialised.
If I was them, I’d be pretty cross. And I can tell you, many of them are absolutely furious.
An excellent article which should and must be widely circulated.
Thank you for sharing your experiences and I am sorry that you have had.to suffer in this way. I have struggled to understand why so many teachers seemed to support the government Covid policies and indeed demand even stricter controls. In a recent conversation with my brother, a recently retired teacher, I was astonished to hear him assert that lockdown and masks had saved tens of thousands of lives. When I mentioned the damage to children he said that they would get over it and at least they still had their parents and grandparents who would otherwise have died. How do you combat such views which I can only attribute to brainwashing by the media and government.
Polls suggest the public would support lockdown again if we faced another pandemic so I fear for the future of our children.
Thank you for publishing this beautiful and heartfelt letter.
This shows there is hope for humanity.
Gerard
An inspiring account of courage, integrity and intelligence, so lacking now in our increasingly dysfunctional society; congratulations.
As a lone dissident, albeit one who hasn't suffered as much as the writer, I share the frustration, the alienation and the growing despair: recently my MP sent a decidedly prickly reply to my latest email commending MP Andrew Bridgen's courage in speaking out about vaccine damage to a largely empty H o C.
I related the egregious sacrifice of the young and the dire consequences for their development and prospects, from infancy to young adulthood.
Now we have a similar entrenchment of decidedly questionable, ill conceived and frankly contradictory policies to contend with: the looming prospect of HMG's signing of the WHO treaty, Net Zero, 'demand management', de facto open borders and the march of trans ideology through our institutions.
Thank goodness for Substack, where the growing sense of alienation and anger can be alleviated somewhat by reading the well informed and stimulating articles and comments.
Humour as well, now rapidly disappearing as the woke censors increase their control of minds, thoughts, speech, debate and satire.
Though my experience is not as unpleasant as the author's, I look back on my own as foretaste of the mess we are in today.
Two decades ago I left a career in science/technology/maths/computers and tried to retrain as a school-teacher. I made two attempts, both of which were unsuccessful. The lack of success was, in my opinion, related to the culture of blind acceptance of "procedures" as being sacrosanct and unchallengeable, and to the similar acceptance of the creeping cult which embraces and worships NetZero, Critical Race Theory, and the infallibility of the United Nations (especially the World Health Organisation).
In my first attempt, during a three-year programme beginning with passive "classroom observation" and background reading, I was abruptly dismissed, on the day of enrolment for the second year, for vaguely-stated reasons and was referred to my local authority legal services department. It turned out that some sort of "deep background check" had disclosed that a delusional fantasist, well-known to the police for her false allegations of rape, had made an allegation against me and the police had been quick to investigate and dismiss the allegation without my being aware of it. However, "following established procedures", the allegations had reached a pen-pusher in the local authority who passed the allegation to my teacher-training course provider. Fortunately (in a sense) the local authority also "followed procedures" and took the allegation to the judicial system, which similarly exposed ab dismissed the allegations, though this took around three years and another year to get me re-instated.
In my second attempt, I actually managed to resume the course as a Science teacher and taught under supervision. I was astonished to find out the extent to which the National Curriculum had been infiltrated by politicians and activists, and used as mandatory instruction rather than guidance. I was required to teach "Global Warming" (the name given at that time to the more recent re-brand of "Climate Change") as "Settled Science" rather than as a political movement. Student teachers in other subjects, especially History, had even greater exposure to the enforcement of the political agenda, for example, by being required to teach, as unchallengeable axioms, "Civil Rights Movements" (nowadays re-branded as "Critical Race Theory" and merged with the LBGT+ agenda). "Child Protection Procedures" and the NSPCC were sacred cows, never to be questioned. Overall, taken across all subjects, we were required to believe that mankind was a cancer on the surface of the planet, and that capitalism and international corporations were the ultimate Evil, which could be eradicated only by complying with national governments and the edicts from the United Nations Central Politburo. Anyone who, in the most harmless or humorous way, held up a mirror to this agenda was at the least treated with derision and found their studies were being disrupted. I even fantasized that the people now controlling my life were 1960s hippies: after all, where are they now?
I mis-judged the situation, and tried to introduce humour into what I thought was a relatively unimportant bar-room philosophical debate in the academic seminars. This mis-fired. I have always liked Bronowski's suggestion regarding the teaching of Science: “it is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.” I found myself in the position of not only being told to teach children the exact opposite in science but also also being disciplined for questioning what I was being taught myself! I was still thinking I was having a good-humoured though perhaps more important dispute with my tutors when I was suddenly hauled up in front of a disciplinary panel. Ostensibly this was on a trivial bureaucratic matter but I found myself ambushed with the accusations from four years previously, suddenly coming back to life, despite their having been dismissed by the police and the courts. Realising that I was now facing an attack by zombie procedure-followers using the allegations as a distraction or weapon rather than addressing my objections, and not being prepared to risk expensive civil action and a Pyrrhic victory (having at most a decade of teaching ahead) I walked out of the hearing and the course and have never set foot in a teaching establishment since.
I suspect the situation is even worse now than when I went through it, with even more emphasis on complying with orders from the Cabinet Office for teachers to comply with whatever the Current Thing is, be it NetZero, ProTrans, Critical Race Theory, Lockdowns, Covid Vaccinations and Emily Osterism [i.e. premature forgiveness].
Contrary to some of my like-thinking friends, I don't see current pandemic politics as being controlled by a few global psychopaths or even a small elite hell-bent on acquiring fortune and power. I see it more as large number of middle-management brainwashed sheep understandably but unfortunately scared to speak out against the shepherd and his dog for fear of being the first to be sent to the slaughterhouse. Fortunately, in my experience, Truth eventually does emerge once Lies have had their party, so I am optimistic that we are in sight of Peak Crazy (Zero Emissions, Zero Covid, Zero Population Growth, Zero Hate...) and can, albeit slowly, return to some degree of group sanity.
I believe he first steps in recovery will be the exposure of the folly of Lockdown and Vaccination, followed quickly by a pragmatic rejection of Net Zero.