Social mobility tsar defends claim that children are born with ‘original sin’
‘Keep your opinions at home!’ Lorraine viewers slam ‘patronising’ social mobility tsar who defended claim that children are born with ‘original sin’
Katharine Birbalsingh, from London, said children are born with ‘original sin’Government adviser was appointed chairwoman of social mobility commission Responded to a comment on Twitter which read ‘we are all born bad’Defended comments on Lorraine, saying adults need to help children behave She was slated by viewers for appearance, with many calling her ‘patronising’
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
(function (src, d, tag){
var s = d.createElement(tag), prev = d.getElementsByTagName(tag)[0];
s.src = src;
prev.parentNode.insertBefore(s, prev);
}(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/1.17.0/async_bundle–.js”, document, “script”));
<!–
DM.loadCSS(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/gunther-2159/video_bundle–.css”);
<!–
The country’s so-called strictest headteacher has defended her claims that children are ‘born with original sin’ during an appearance on Lorraine today.
Newly appointed Government adviser Katharine Birbalsingh, from London, now the chairwoman of the social mobility commission, was slammed for ‘whipping up division’ in a Twitter spat last week.
Appearing on the morning programme today, the former headteacher at St Michael and All Angels Academy in Camberwell, south London, said all children need to be ‘taught right from wrong’.
However she was slammed by viewers, who criticised her for her ‘patronising’ tone, with one commenting: ‘Teachers own ethics and values shouldn’t affect schooling!
‘Keep your opinions at home and stick to the curriculum.’
Newly appointed Government adviser Katharine Birbalsingh, now the chairwoman of the social mobility commission, has defended her claims that children are ‘born with original sin’ during an appearance on Lorraine today
During her appearance on the programme, Katharine argued children were born with original sin, and compared it to choosing to eat a plate of cookies instead of broccoli.
She said: ‘It’s much more difficult to do the right thing. Getting on my treadmill is hard, sitting down and watching television is easy.
‘It’s not so much we’re bad or good, it’s that man is flawed, meaning we’re not perfect.
‘All original sin does is – I’m not Christian, I didn’t think I was being provocative at all – I thought I was a making a cultural point to say, “Hey we aren’t perfect”.’
Viewers slated the teacher during her appearance on the programme, with many calling her ‘very patronising’
She continued: ‘Our role as adults is to get involved and to help children figure out how to behave well.
‘All adults – teachers and parents, everyone in the child’s environment needs to help him tell the different between right and wrong and help him choose what is right.
‘Original sin isn’t saying we’re all damned. It’s just saying we’re all trying to eat broccoli and not cookies.’
And Katherine defended her reputation as ‘Britain’s strictest headteacher’, adding: ‘It’s really important to use balance with children but they need to know that they’re making a choice, when they are naughty, there is some kind of consequence.
Katherine also defended her reputation as ‘Britain’s strictest headteacher’ and said children ‘need to know’ when they are being naughty ‘there is some kind of consquence’
‘At school that might be a detention and at home that might mean you’re taking away their video games. You want to be consistent in your approach.
‘You want to narrate to the child, so you’re explaining the difference between right and wrong, so they are more and more often choosing what’s right not what’s wrong.’
‘Teachers and parents need to work together in unison. What we want is for children to be happy and successful. In order for them to do that, they need to be loved.
‘And I promise, children feel loved when they know we keep our expectations really, really high.’
The debate had been raging after Katharine responded to a comment from a social media user which read ‘we are all born bad’.
The teacher, 48, wrote: ‘Exactly. Original sin. Children need to be taught right from wrong and then habituated into choosing good over evil.
‘That requires love and constant correction from all the adults in their lives over years. Moral formation is a good thing.’
The debate had been raging after Katharine responded to a comment from a social media user which read ‘we are all born bad’
Her comments were blasted as ‘unhelpful’ by Saeed Atcha, who served as commissioner for young people for three years before his term ended yesterday. He said he hoped it was not ‘a sign of things to come’.
He told the Times: ‘When I read the comments, I just thought that the role of the chair of the commission is not to be making unhelpful comments like that and whipping up division.
‘Social mobility is serious business and very complex and requires people coming together. It’s a tone that the commission has used throughout our three years.’
Jessica Oghenegweke, another departing commissioner, said she disagreed with Birbalsingh. She said she had always viewed children ‘in the best light’ and any negativity came from an absence of support.
Sammy Wright, commissioner for schools and vice-principal at Southmoor Academy in Sunderland, said she supported Birbalsingh’s point but didn’t think it was very well phrased.
She said Twitter spats were not helpful for social mobility.
Boris Johnson visits Michaela Community School in Wembley, London in 2015, as children take part in a history lesson
Birbalsingh will ‘level up opportunity and give everyone the chance to succeed’ in her new role, according to Liz Truss, the women and equalities minister.
The former headteacher spoke about state education at the Conservative Party conference in 2010. She later resigned from St Michael and All Angels Academy in Camberwell, south London, to set up the Michaela Community School, in Wembley, northwest London.
She believes education should be centred on the teacher and the ‘adult is the authority in the classroom’.
At her school teachers do not accept excuses, children must walk in single file and silence and lateness is punished by detention.
Following the resignation of the previous commission chairwoman Dame Martina Milburn in May 2020, it has been jointly led by Sandra Wallace and Steven Cooper.
