A leading London school principal has introduced a ban on students using the titles ‘sir’ or ‘miss’ to address teachers, calling it ‘cultural misogyny’.

James Handscombe, chief executive of Harris Westminster Sixth Form and Harris Clapham Sixth Form, shared an assembly on his Twitter account that he had given to students, asking them to use their full names when speaking to teachers.

The assembly, titled ‘no more sir, no more miss’, has been viewed more than 120,000 times.

In 2021, the director made headlines for calling Taylor Swift a philosopher, and clearly steadfast in his belief, five references to the American pop star’s songs appear in the assembly this week.

In it, Mr Handscombe tells students: ‘We are changing the way students refer to staff at Harris Westminster.

‘It will no longer be acceptable to call us ‘sir’ or ‘miss’. We would prefer that you call us by our first names.

Harris Westminster Sixth Form and Harris Clapham Sixth Form chief executive James Handscombe has asked pupils not to use ‘Mr’ or ‘Miss’ when addressing teaching staff, saying the terms are outdated and sexist.

He explained that the decision showed “our continued commitment to a better and more equitable world”, saying that while the term “sir” was associated with powerful men, “miss” was “how do you refer to a little girl or an Edwardian shop”. . assistant’.

Many schools have abandoned traditional addresses in recent years, favoring terms such as miss, ma’am, or ma’am instead of miss.

Handscombe’s post was widely praised by teachers, with many women working in education saying they had long hated being called ‘Miss’, especially by their colleagues.

One wrote: ‘I absolutely hate it when another teacher calls me miss. I’m 55 years old and I really didn’t know why I was getting goosebumps. Cultural Misogyny – Thanks James, that was pretty brilliant.

Harris Westminster Sixth Form, where students are encouraged to call teachers by their full name

Another said: ‘This is sorely needed. I hope it works. I once had a high-ranking officer call me ‘Miss’ instead of my first name and it always irritated him.’

Mr Handscombe said of the decision: “It’s one of those things that is obviously wrong but no one is to blame (especially the students, who I think use the two terms as equal forms of respect) and hard to change.” We’ll see how it goes.

However, one teacher said that what they call her in the classroom is the least of her worries, writing: ‘Ffs the way she behaves right now I don’t give a damn what they call me I just want the p* ** *** work. I have been ‘Miss’ for 35 years, and will be until I retire.’

She discusses the words of wisdom found in Taylor Swift’s lyrics in her new book, A School Built On Ethos, revealing that she believes her songs teach her students valuable life lessons. (Pictured: Harris Westminster School)

Mr. Handscombe shoehorned in five references to Taylor Swift in his last assembly: In 2021, he told students that she was one of the world’s great philosophers.

Lyrics like ‘Men get to be fearless leaders and alpha guys’ from Swift’s 2019 hit The Man, and ‘If it’s the latter, please stop. Alone, I mean, this is exhausting, you know’ from We Are Never Getting Back Together appears.

In 2021, Handscombe, who was introduced to Swift’s music through her teenage daughters, told students that she believed Swift deserved to take her place in the canon of great philosophers, alongside Shakespeare, Yeats, Donne, and Samuel Beckett.

He discussed the words of wisdom found in his lyrics in his book, A School Built On Ethos, revealing that he believes his songs teach his students valuable life lessons.

Their country song Mean is a ‘forceful’ call to stand up to bullies, Welcome to New York is a wonderful lesson in ‘shaping your own future’ and Shake It Off teaches listeners to ‘do their own thing’.

He said at the time, “It’s always a laugh when the director knows something about pop culture, and it’s so much fun to quote a pop lyric completely straight under the guise of philosophy and watch the shoves move across the room, ‘wait’.” “Did he just say?”, “I think I recognize this.”‘

The teacher, who has degrees from Oxford and Harvard in mathematics, said: “Her composition is to tell her own stories and which are gloriously the stories of a young woman negotiating the 21st century, she is a great example for our young people.”

Harris Westminster opened in 2014 with the help of neighboring Westminster School and the Harris Federation, a non-profit charity.

It prioritizes disadvantaged teenagers from across London and last year 44 of its students received offers from Oxbridge.

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Source: tit.edu.vn