Haircut

 

What is happening in this picture?
Why are they lying on the floor?

James Williams is a barber from Talbot, UK. He has been trying unsuccessfully to cut the hair of Mason, who was diagnosed with Autism a few months ago. Mason gets upset when he has his hair cut and refuses to sit in the chair. This photo shows the first time he has managed to get a proper hair cut, because the James found a way to do it.

- What is Autism? (I asked a child with autism how to describe what autism means. Oliver told me, "autism is your brain wired differently so you see the world in a different way. It' just a different view of the world." Oliver says some things are harder for him but but also he better at some things than other children.)
- Why do you think a hair cut is difficult for Mason?

- James could say to Mason, "If you don't sit in the chair, you don't get a haircut." Why doesn't he say that?

- You could argue Mason can't go through life having his hair cut lying on the floor, is James actually helping Mason by doing this? 

- Sometimes we hear the term 'neurodiverse' - what is neurodiversity?
- Why did James make such an effort to change the way he cuts hair? 
- What does this say about James?
- How do we make sure everyone is welcome in our school? Are we all the same here? How are we different, how do we learn differently?
-Why is this about No Outsiders?

- Which British Value is this about?

No Outsiders: Everyone different. everyone welcome by Andrew Moffat

www.no-ouytsiders.com

Photos

https://www.upworthy.com/this-mom-shoots-portraits-of-girls-in-sparkly-dresses-and-sports-equipment-because-yes-rp4

A photographer in Alabama, USA, has gone viral by taking shots of girls dressed in sparkly dresses and  sports equipment. 

Why do you think she has done this, what is she trying to show people?

The shoot is called, "Because you can do it all."

Heather Mitchell has a daughter, Paislee, and she was waiting for Paislee outside softball practice with other mums. The mums were talking about their daughters and Heather said she hoped Paislee would learn to love the game because she was so athletic. One of the mums responded, "She's not athletic, she's a girly-girl."

What do you think the mum meant by 'girly-girl'? What would a 'boysy-boy' look like (do you ever hear the term boysy boy?)

Heather says she couldn't sleep that night; "All I could think was, 'why does she have to choose?' I played every sport my school offered and wore lipstick to every game."

Heather says the shoot took about three minutes because she knew exactly what she wanted to create. When the photos were posted to social media, she had loads of requests from other parents for her to photograph their daughters. 

Heather wants to show that girls can love pretty things and be good at sport. They don't have to be one thing or the other.

"These photos are a reminder to question our assumptions and not place unnecessary limits on anyone- an empowering message to girls who don't fit neatly in to a socially constructed box."

"I hope that girls see that there is no box. Whatever their dreams are, they can achieve."

- what is this story about?

- what is a gender stereotype?

- is this message only for girls?

- "Because you can do it all" why did Heather choose this title?

- "Question our assumptions" what does this mean?

- what does empowering mean?

- How are these photos aiming to empower girls? Do they empower boys too?

- Do gender stereotypes still affect us in 2024? Can't we just ignore them? Can you think of an example of a time you have felt affected by a gender stereotype?

- what can we learn from this story?

- what do we say at our school about gender and gender stereotypes?

- why is this about no outsiders?

- Which British Value is this about?

No Outsiders: everyone different, everyone welcome by Andrew Moffat

www.no-outsiders.com

Elmo

 

Elmo asked people on X how they were doing and hit a nerve - Upworthy

Last week, Elmo asked adults on X (twitter) how they were doing and tens of thousands of people replied. The simple question has sparked discussions all over the world about mental health and well being.

The tweet read, “Elmo is checking in, how is everybody doing?” and many people replied expressing their worries and their feelings. Some people write that they were ‘kinda sad’.

Elmo replied to the thousands of people; “Wow! Elmo is glad he asked. Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing. Elmo will check in again soon, friends. Elmo loves you! #emotionalwellbeing”

Other characters from Sesame St joined in the conversation, posting messages for people who needed help:

Bert: “I’m here if you ever need a shoulder to lean on. I’ll make us both a warm cup of tea.”

Ernie: “If you need some cheering up, let me know. I love making others smile!”

Cookie Monster: “Me here to talk it out whenever you want. Me will also supply cookies.”

Grover: “I, Grover, am here to be a good listener whenever you need it.”

Oscar the Grouch: “I’m not great at listening to others share their big feelings but my worm Slimy is. You should talk to him if you ever ned a chat.”

US President Jo Biden agreed: “Our friend Elmo is right..”

“I know how hard it is some days to sweep the clouds away and get to sunnier days. We have to be there for each other, offer our help to a neighbour in need and above all else, ask for help when we need it. Even though it’s hard, you’re never alone.”

-        Is this story silly?

-        What does this story show about people around the world?

-        Why don’t many people talk about feeling sad?

-        Can you always tell if someone is sad?

-        Which of the replies from the other Sesame St characters do you think is most effective?

-        What would you say to help someone who needed emotional support?

-        Do you always have to have answers?

-        What does President Joe Biden mean by “sweep the clouds away”?

-        When was the last time you checked in with someone? (what does check in mean?)

What can we learn from this story?

Why is it about No Outsiders? 

No Outsides: everyone different, everyone welcome by Andrew Moffat

www.no-outsiders.com  

Names

 

https://scoop.upworthy.com/mom-stands-up-to-high-school-teacher-who-wouldnt-call-her-daughter-by-her-proper-name-647227-647227?fbclid=IwAR2hFLy6hPrNKSs8FEbsV3ig01Zq3YnqA5oBcKsr5YVrv2yzqUuKQpFZMNo

What do you see in the picture? What do you think this story is about?

Children might think this is about gender and names, pink and blue stereotypes, which might be an interesting route to go down if it is brought up, but that is not what this story is about.

This story is about a 14 year old girl called Alexandra. All through her life, people have tried shortening her name to Alex or Lexi, and she really doesn't like that. She wants to be called by her name, which is Alexandra.

You could argue, why does it matter? Is Alexandra making a fuss over nothing? Isn't this just an example of people being friendly? What do you think?

When starting secondary school, Alexandra was taught Spanish and the teacher told the class that she would be  using the Spanish pronunciation for each of the students' names. So Alexandra would be called Alejandra.

Is this ok? Isn't the teacher just trying to immerse the class in Spanish language? It's only for this lesson. What are the arguments for and against this? 

Alexandra asked to be called by the name she prefered, but the teacher refused. The teacher argued that if the pupils were in a Spanish speaking country, they would be called names using Spanish pronunciation. 

Alexandra argued, if she went to a foreign country her her name was Anthony and people called her Antonio, she would say, "No, it's Anthony" and people would respect that.

Who is right here? Is there a right and wrong? What solution do you suggest?

A debate ensued on social media and someone said, "I live in an area with lots of Mexican immigrants. if someone tells me their name is Pedro or Juan, the last thing I would ever think of doing is calling them Peter or John."

What do you think happened?

In the end, the teacher changed their mind and Alexandra remained as Alexandra during Spanish lessons.

- This story is about one Spanish lesson and a decision about names. But is there a wider discussion here? What is this story actually about?

- Who gets to decide what name you use?

- Are there other examples where different names might be used or preferred?

- If you find a name hard to pronounce, is it ok just to shorten it? What should you do?

- What do we say in our school about names?

- Why is this about No Outsiders?

- Which British Value is this about?

No Outsiders: Everyone different, everyone welcome by Andrew Moffat

www.no-outsiders.com