Anti Semitic incident at North London Collegiate

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Jean.Brodie
Posts: 451
Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2012 6:55 pm

Anti Semitic incident at North London Collegiate

Post by Jean.Brodie »

I was shocked to read this today in the Independent newspaper:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 57417.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What is going on?

It would be useful to hear from NLCS parents in particular.
shootmenow
Posts: 356
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:25 pm

Re: Anti Semitic incident at North London Collegiate

Post by shootmenow »

The incident has been reported with a great deal of sensationalism and very little truth. Nobody seems to have heard the 'comment' as reported which is pretty telling at the height of the dining room crush. The school investigated, an apology was made. The parents of the girl seem to have been unhappy with the school's investigation and resolution so went to The Mail. Personal comments removed by Moderator. The teacher is very popular and in no way anti-semitic (according to my Jewish DD and her equally Jewish friends).
So-
1- We don't know what was said but had it been as reported in the press, the teacher would have been sacked.
2- The apology may simply have been because the girl misheard something.
3- NLCS has the most amazingly harmonious atmosphere with staff and girls of all religions and everyone gets along. It is one of the few schools of it's age to never have had a quota of Jewish pupils and no mandatory Christian worship. They are, IMO, over the top in accommodating girls around holidays and adjusting itineraries on school trips for Shabbat and dietary considerations.
4- The parents' claim that this was hushed up clearly have no respect for their DD's or the teacher's privacy. The girls all know who she is and she is not smelling of roses.
Middlesexmum
Posts: 1008
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:54 am

Re: Anti Semitic incident at North London Collegiate

Post by Middlesexmum »

I was also shocked to hear about this. Just because it wasn't overheard doesn't mean it didn't happen. Why on earth would a 17 year old young woman make it up?

Even if the school has this atmosphere of girls of all religions getting along well (which should be typical of many local girls' schools), it doesn't mean that one individual is incapable of making a highly offensive comment.

Could it be possible that NLCS are trying to brush it under the carpet?
shootmenow
Posts: 356
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:25 pm

Re: Anti Semitic incident at North London Collegiate

Post by shootmenow »

Just because it was reported doesn't mean it's accurate. The school wasn't sweeping anything under anything else. They were taking their duty of care and confidentiality to both parties seriously.
If the school (in whom I have well justified faith through long experience) found that the incident (which none of us witnessed and we only have 4-5 variations of begining with The Mail) to be resolvable with an apology, not indicative of any anti-semitic attitudes held by the teacher and clearly anomalous, then the matter should have been closed as agreed by all parties in January. The parents , clearly, didn't feel that accepting the apology precluded them from contacting the press months later. In Jewish laws and ethics, this is not the correct way to behave.
I'm not suggesting that the girl made it up but she might have misheard something. Here's a little story to illustrate -
My DS had a friend who had been bullied quite badly. He has walking just ahead of a group of boys in the school corridors and chatting happily with one of them- a very kind boy who had never given him grief. The boy he was chatting to said something to him and then turned to another boy and jokingly called him a w*nker. DS's friend was around the corner and heard the two separate and unrelated comments strung together, turned around and beat his friend to a pulp.
17 year olds do mishear things- as do we all. Without context, all sorts of things can be misinterpreted. My suggestion, especially to people outside the NLCS community who don't know the well respected and loved teacher and the 17 year old girl and her family, is not to rush to beat anyone to a pulp.
Middlesexmum
Posts: 1008
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:54 am

Re: Anti Semitic incident at North London Collegiate

Post by Middlesexmum »

I suppose none of us will ever know the truth. Although it would be very hard to mis-hear what the teacher is alleged to have said, I won't repeat the words here.

But if she did say it (and of course she is not going to admit it), then an 'apology' is not enough and an insult to the family concerned. I would expect a dismissal however good her previous character record is. That's just my view though.
shootmenow
Posts: 356
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:25 pm

Re: Anti Semitic incident at North London Collegiate

Post by shootmenow »

Fortunately, this is being handled by people who aren't going on hearsay and the court of Mail readers.
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Anti Semitic incident at North London Collegiate

Post by Sally-Anne »

As ever, when the words "Daily Mail" are mentioned, I do feel the need to post this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
southbucks3
Posts: 3579
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: Anti Semitic incident at North London Collegiate

Post by southbucks3 »

Usual daily mail I'll thought out reporting:
The girl, aged 17 at the time, was stopped by a teacher with whom she had had little previous contact and told: “Don’t do that or I’ll have to send you to the back of the queue or to one of your gas chambers,” according to reports in the Mail on Sunday
Clarify please, how a girl "she had little previous contact" knew her religious beliefs or her background?

Also agreed, any parents quick to make an allegation using the daily mail as their voice are a bit foolish if they wish their complaint to be taken seriously, as one of the papers less complimentary given nick names is "the daily fascist"

I hope she went to the back of the queue...I hate queue jumpers!
tiffinboys
Posts: 8022
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 11:00 pm
Location: Surrey

Re: Anti Semitic incident at North London Collegiate

Post by tiffinboys »

Could it be that the girl felt very embarrassed in front of her peers for being sent back to the queue and decided to extract revenge against the particular teacher, using her religious background? Could it be that she exaggerated, not realising it will be blown out by others?

On the other hand, if it is true then such comments against any one, be it Jew or Moslem or Christian or any one else, are not acceptable in today's society.

Also one thing is certain. The girl jumped the queue.
Jean.Brodie
Posts: 451
Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2012 6:55 pm

Re: Anti Semitic incident at North London Collegiate

Post by Jean.Brodie »

The incident did happen as described in the media. Tellingly, the detail has not been denied by the school.

It has also been confirmed by girls who were there.

There has been no public apology by the school for the incident, only a private apology by the teacher to the pupil. The school has not publicly condemned the behaviour of the teacher.

We have now also heard privately from NLCS families we know. Some of their daughters witnessed the incident and confirm that the newspaper reports are accurate. The families are shocked and also embarrassed. They want the Head to make a full statement about the incident itself, rather than about the newspaper coverage.
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