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Katharine Birbalsingh: Teach Kids What To Think, Or Woke TikTok Will Instead — Transcript

by Dad Saves America · 3,197 words · 434 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:01we do need to teach children what to
0:03think of course we need to teach
0:04children what to think otherwise they
0:06will all kill each other right and what
0:09I mean by that is we are there is such a
0:13thing as I mean look I'm going to get
0:14into trouble of saying this original sin
0:16people don't like me saying original sin
0:18I once got into a huge load of trouble
0:20on Twitter where I happened to be
0:22visiting Paris I was walking down the
0:24Shan I saw a tweet somebody said
0:26something about kids being naughty I
0:28retweeted it and said yeah like sin who
0:31told me to do that next thing you know I
0:33was having to go on TV to defend myself
0:35I was being attack you're talking to an
0:37increasingly Orthodox Catholic so you
0:40have nothing to wor you are in a safe
0:42space for Talk of the fallenness of man
0:45okay the imperfect ability of this world
0:48both of which are facts have eyes as
0:51well so you don't need to have a
0:52religious tradition to look at the world
0:54and see our Brokenness and our
0:56fallenness and the imperfect ability of
0:58man and what happens when you decide let
1:01me try to perfect man and you just get
1:03maoism you just get the Killing Fields
1:05of of Cambodia it's just every time
1:08exactly exactly I am not a Christian but
1:11the point is that anybody you see two
1:14todders sitting next to each other they
1:16will you give them one toy they will hit
1:18each other they don't say oh darling how
1:21about we share you have it for five
1:23minutes and then I'll take it for 5
1:25minutes no toddler has ever said that in
1:27any country in any language you have
1:29have to teach the toddler what to think
1:32you have to teach him hitting is wrong
1:36sharing is right and if you don't teach
1:38them what to think they will kill each
1:40other that is what will happen you have
1:43to teach children what not how and when
1:46you teach them the what you teach them
1:49lots of content you teach them some
1:50history and some geography and some
1:51science and some French and some Spanish
1:53and so on and once you've taught them
1:55all this stuff and they have loads of
1:58knowledge they can then think
2:01independently about it because you
2:04cannot be creative about something or
2:06with something unless you know lots
2:08about it which is why I've turned
2:10education on its head which is why I'm
2:11controversial which is why I get I've
2:13had over 7,000 visitors come and visit
2:15my school because I know education so I
2:18am thinking independently about it I'm
2:19being creative with it I I'm out of the
2:21box the only way that you can be out of
2:23the box on anything is if you know lots
2:26about it so this idea that we need to be
2:29teaching kids how to think it's just
2:31silly you need to teach them what to
2:33think you need to give them loads and
2:34loads of knowledge and then it's not
2:36like they don't do anything with the
2:38knowledge so if you come to our school
2:40you will see children learning at speed
2:43I mean the pace is incredible they learn
2:45so much and then if you were to sit with
2:47them at lunch and have chats with them
2:49about history or geography or science
2:52and so on they will impress you to no
2:54ends you won't believe everything that
2:56they that they know and think and so on
3:00and then they'll be able to give you
3:01differing opinions at the table about
3:04what they think about 1066 or whatever
3:06it is you know whatever historical
3:08battle you want to discuss they will
3:10have different opinions about it because
3:11they know it inside out and that's
3:14because their teacher knew more than
3:16they do the teacher gave them the
3:18knowledge allowed them to do some
3:20exercises which meant that they would
3:22remember the knowledge and then once
3:25you've got that knowledge in their
3:27long-term memories they can use that
3:29knowledge and develop it to come up with
3:32their own ideas about that knowledge
3:34that is what creativity is and
3:38sadly uh Elon and everybody um doesn't
3:44understand uh how to get creativity he
3:49himself did not become creative because
3:52he's obviously very creative and
3:53independently minded he's become that
3:55way by finding out lots of stuff by
3:57becoming knowledgeable he doesn't get
3:59that and this is what people do all the
4:01time they retrieve they they they have a
4:05traditional education somebody gives
4:06them lots of knowledge or they find the
4:08knowledge themselves by reading loads
4:10they become creative and then they say
4:12to their own children or to the children
4:15often poor children in the inner city no
4:18no no no no I'm going to do something
4:19brilliant for you let's do something
4:21creative with you we're going to have
4:23lessons in your school where everybody
4:25puts a Post-It note on each other's head
4:27and then you wander around the classroom
4:30trying to identify who has a Post-It
4:32note that's just like yours okay you can
4:34do that and it's fun and I've seen
4:37similar sorts of exercises happen a
4:39million times in a million different
4:40classrooms Across the Western world but
4:43I can tell you at the end of the lesson
4:44while everybody's had a good time few
4:46children have learned very much few
4:48children remember very much what they
4:50remember is wasn't that fun with the
4:52Post-it note but do they know much about
4:55the history that you were meant to be
4:56learning that lesson no and so are they
4:58ever going to be true creative later in
5:01life about the history that they were
5:02learning no cuz they don't know any and
5:05then because they haven't been told what
5:08to think right and they don't know
5:10anything they are ripe for Tik Tok
5:13because they don't know any history yeah
5:16the only history that they're then going
5:17to learn is what they're taught on Tik
5:19Tok so Tik Tok you can't put a video for
5:22more than 30 seconds on there otherwise
5:24you lose people's attention so via 25
5:27second 28 second videos pushing a
5:31particular woke agenda children are
5:34going to learn their history so they are
5:36then being taught what to think by Tik
5:39Tock instead of being taught what to
5:41think by their teachers who should be
5:43now this is the problem and Elon is
5:45right to pick up on this the teacher
5:47should be sensibly minded small C
5:50conservative slightly fdy duddy people
5:52who in 1955 there were loads of them
5:56nowadays all of our teachers are very
5:58woke and believe that um the way
6:01children should be taught is to
6:02radicalize them and make them into
6:05adults who are going to reject the The
6:09Establishment we believe as teachers
6:11that our job is to get children to be
6:15radicals and overthrow that
6:18establishment that's so evil um whereas
6:21I actually think our job is to teach
6:22them algebra and to teach them some
6:24history and some geography and some
6:26science and some French um and
6:30if you teach them all of that stuff they
6:32then have an armor that they can go out
6:36into the world in and be able to
6:38interpret the world and understand
6:41what's happening and be creative and
6:43think for themselves but if you haven't
6:45really taught them very much then the
6:48only thing they can learn is off Tik Tok
6:50and they are easily manipulated they are
6:54vulnerable any extremist group out there
6:57any anybody who wants to teach them
6:59whatever they want they'll just learn it
7:01then because they haven't got any Co I
7:04always call them coat pegs in your head
7:06the knowledge begets knowledge you have
7:10you you have some coat pegs and then you
7:12learn some more knowledge and it sits on
7:14those coat pegs and then you learn more
7:15knowledge again and more on those coat
7:17and the more more and more coat pegs are
7:19being developed and you're just
7:20Gathering more and more and more
7:21knowledge and you're becoming more
7:24interesting that's the goal is to be an
7:26interesting person that is is is simply
7:29not happening and that's because the
7:33progressive um the selling point the
7:37progressive schools what they say go on
7:40any website you'll see we want your
7:43child to be creative to be unique to
7:47discover who he really is that's what
7:50they're going to say right this is
7:52ridiculous everybody needs to learn some
7:54algebra this business of I'm going to
7:56discover who you really are no you need
7:58to learn some algebra you need to learn
7:59some trigonometry you need to learn some
8:01history you need to learn how to write
8:03an essay once you've T been taught all
8:05of that then you go to university and
8:07discover who you are but at 15 you need
8:10to learn some algebra
8:13um it's when I say things like that that
8:15people get very upset well I mean it all
8:18sounds profoundly sensible and obvious
8:20and maybe it's because I'm I am um
8:23increasingly a premodern person um I let
8:28get you have a bunch of um actions that
8:34what is the what is the formula of
8:35Aristotle that action begets habit
8:38begets character begets who you are as a
8:41person yeah that seems like the
8:43architecture of your school in a lot of
8:45ways is that a fair is that a fair way
8:46to put it yes so habit building so James
8:51clear's book on habits Atomic habits and
8:54various other habit building books we've
8:56got tons of them in the library I'm
8:58constantly doing assemblies on this sort
8:59of thing uh we recognize that success
9:04comes through habit building uh Joo
9:08willink again is another big hero of
9:11mine because I try and get on my
9:12treadmill at 5:15 in the morning and I
9:15think of Joo and his tweets where he
9:17tweets his watch and it says 403 and he
9:20says let's go and I get on my treadmill
9:22at 5:15 and I think Joo was on his
9:25treadmill at 4:03 I'm late I've got to
9:28keep going now and I do assemblies on
9:33this I do assemblies going and I say be
9:36like Joo uh do the things that James
9:40Clear says habits you know Joo all of
9:43them uh David Goggins all those guys
9:46they talk about get started just do
9:48something and keep going with it right
9:51because if you go to the if you get on
9:53the treadmill every morning it then just
9:55becomes who you are and we have a
9:57pyramid and at the top of the pyramid it
9:59says it's who you are and I don't have
10:03my pyramid to show you um it says it's
10:06who you are and at the bottom of the
10:09pyramid you do the right thing because
10:11you want to avoid demerits and you want
10:12to avoid detentions now that's where the
10:15kids start they start at the bottom oh
10:17I'm going to get into trouble I don't
10:18want to get a detention I better do my
10:20homework oh I'm going to get into
10:21trouble I need to be on time oh I need
10:22to be polite I need to do whatever
10:24because otherwise I get into trouble and
10:26then they move up the pyramid next step
10:29is you want to get a merit step after
10:31that I want to impress my teachers so if
10:33you know you're in the middle of the
10:34pyramid it's better you're doing the
10:36right thing not just cuz you want to
10:38avoid A detention you actually want the
10:40respect of your teachers that's better
10:42then the next step after that you want a
10:44great future so then you're connecting
10:47that's the development bit so you know
10:49the the bit where you were saying about
10:51coddling the American mind what you and
10:52Jonathan height want you want kids to go
10:57okay this is my future I could have a
11:00bad future and be somebody who's always
11:02late and never does my homework etc etc
11:04or I could have a good future because I
11:06develop certain habits and become that
11:07kind of person I am owning my own
11:10development so when you're at the bottom
11:12you're not owning your own development
11:13because you're just doing it because you
11:14might get into trouble o I don't want to
11:15detention when you're in the middle
11:17you're doing it because you want to
11:18impress somebody okay that's better but
11:20when you're on that fourth rung you
11:23understand wait a minute what I'm doing
11:24now is going to enable me to be to have
11:27a certain kind of future I'm going to be
11:28a certain kind of person who people will
11:30respect and admire and I want that for
11:32myself and I am going to take control of
11:34my own life so that's where you are in
11:36the fourth rung and that's what you want
11:38you get there through habit formation
11:40right when you get to the top it's just
11:43who you are so my thing is our kids
11:46we'll either have them for five years
11:48the end of GCSE or a level that takes us
11:50seven years when they go off to
11:53University and my thing is lots of them
11:56will start at the bottom of the pyramid
11:58I need to by the time they leave leave
11:59us they need to be at the top I want
12:01them to leave us as the kinds of people
12:04who naturally without thought can sit on
12:07a chair can look you in the eye can
12:10shake your hand will always remember to
12:12bring a pen would always go to an
12:14interview and walk in and make a good
12:16impression shake your hand look at you
12:17in the eye they're not going to forget
12:19their pen they'll have done the
12:20preparation for the interview beforehand
12:23because they've been doing their
12:23homework for seven years without fail
12:26and they're going to turn up and they're
12:28going to impress just like they
12:29impressed their teachers on that third
12:31rung and they're going to do that
12:33because they understand that this is
12:34good for their future but it's now who
12:37they are they're at the top and that's
12:40just the person who they are and because
12:42it's who they are and they can sit up
12:44straight and they can shake the hand
12:46they can look you in the eye and they
12:48can speak articulately when they're
12:50doing all of that in the interview
12:52they're working memory is freed up to be
12:55able to think about the content that
12:57they have to provide to the interviewer
12:59to say I'm the person the right person
13:01for this job if on the other hand you're
13:04a typical inner city kid who hasn't been
13:06taught any of those habits he's going
13:08into that interview thinking remember to
13:10peel my trousers up remember that I have
13:12to sit down oh I have to shake the hand
13:14oh I didn't look him in the eye oh did I
13:16even know that I was meant to look him
13:17in the eye oh gosh uh oh God I didn't
13:19bring a pen and I didn't prepare for the
13:21interview either and I don't actually
13:22know what I'm doing and my working
13:23memory is completely overloaded because
13:26there's nothing in my long-term memory
13:27because I was never taught what I was
13:29only ever taught how or I was actually
13:31just messing around and pushing people
13:32in the corridor and bullying other kids
13:34and so on and so I'm now turning up to
13:36this interview and I've got nothing
13:38whereas if the school on the other hand
13:41is teaching them what to think is
13:43building those habits in them over and
13:44over and over again until you get to the
13:46top you are creating human beings adults
13:50who are then able to do it on their own
13:53and that is what you and Jonathan height
13:55want you want the kids who are able to
13:59be creative to be independently minded
14:02to to to to to own their own development
14:04and so on you only get there by teaching
14:07them what to think and by instilling
14:09those good habits over years through
14:11correction over correction you were late
14:13again today you were late against today
14:15detention detention right Merit over
14:17here Merit over there that was brilliant
14:19work wow five days straight you've been
14:21on time well done constant correction
14:25you're doing that praise and Punishment
14:27at the beginning I didn't say actually
14:29so punishment is a dirty word these days
14:31when I first started my career
14:32punishment was fine then they said oh no
14:35no children shouldn't be punished that's
14:36a terrible thing we need to turn to
14:39sanctions and so then we moved to
14:41sanctions you couldn't ever say
14:43punishments you had to use sanctions
14:45then they said oh my goodness sanctions
14:46yes what is this the UN it was crazy so
14:49they told us it was all sanctions your
14:50sanction was a detention but you never
14:52talk about detention you talked about a
14:53sanction then they said no no no no no
14:56we have to move now to what was it um
14:59correction so then you started talking
15:01about corrections then we moved to back
15:04to prison okay well and then we went to
15:06consequences okay like we've moved from
15:08punishment sanction correction
15:11consequence NE we've now got to a point
15:14where even consequence they say you know
15:17what detentions are just terrible what
15:19about their mental health what about
15:22their anxiety this is what they say and
15:25I say if you don't give children praise
15:27and punishment that's when you get
15:29anxiety okay if a child leaves School
15:31functionally illiterate and functionally
15:33enumerate that's when they're anxious
15:34for the rest of their lives so the thing
15:38is is that we've all lost our minds and
15:41um we have no idea how to hold standards
15:43High anymore for children and the
15:46children are then going to University
15:48and then Jordan Peterson comes along and
15:50Jordan Peterson says oh my goodness look
15:51at what's going on in universi oh my
15:53goodness look at what's coming out and
15:54he's absolutely right but where he's
15:56wrong is that he doesn't understand that
15:59this already happened at
16:00school and the reason why all of these
16:03guys are wrong is that none of them care
16:06about what's happening in schools and I
16:08feel like I'm the only person running
16:10around like a you know um a Salesman
16:13with my little suitcase going around
16:15trying to say to people with my flag
16:17listen to me listen to me you don't
16:19understand it's all about what's
16:21happening in schools but nobody's
16:23listening if you like this clip we've
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