Birbalsingh implied a school without rules would resemble Lord of the Rings
(Picture: New Line Cinema)A conservative headteacher has been roasted on Twitter after confusing Lord of the Flies with Lord of the Rings.
Posting on Twitter, Katharine Birbalsingh waxed lyrical about the importance of school rules in providing order, and implied that if they were absent, schools would descend into a “Lord of the Rings” like scenario.
Why are school rules good?
— Katharine Birbalsingh (@Miss_Snuffy) July 3, 2021
Because as society has laws, schools need order.
Otherwise bullying/harassment. Lord of the Rings.
Parents want lovely schools but you won’t get them without rules or intense selection.
And yes, your kid needs to follow the rules too 1/6 THREAD👇🏼
Lord of the Rings is fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien about a quest to destroy a powerful ring that is sought by evil villains to exercise power over a fantasy land. In it, there are elves, talking trees, all sorts of other monsters and huge wars.
So, that a school without rules would cause students to turn into adventure seeking hobbits seems a bit bizarre, and it seems more likely that Birbalsingh was cack-handedly referencing Lord of the Flies, a William Golding novel in which a group of young boys become stranded on an island an try to govern themselves - with disastrous consequences.
People found her mix-up hilarious:
This Tory free school 'head mistress' doesn't know the difference between Lord of the Rings and Lord of the Flies. Let alone grasp what Lord of the Flies is actually about.
— Will Black (@WillBlackWriter) July 3, 2021
I'd encourage her to read my book Veneer of Civilisation, where I discuss it in an accessible way https://t.co/gzuir2oz1j pic.twitter.com/5ROsvuGqqw
Where to begin..?
— Andrew Fisher (@FisherAndrew79) July 3, 2021
1) You mean 'Lord of the Flies' - unless you think children turn into hobbits without rules?
2) Lord of the Flies is a fiction book - kids co-operate and help each other
3) What if your child doesn't get selected by selective schools?
4) All schools have rules https://t.co/lcImHtBUn6
This real life Lord of the Flies tale about a group of Tongan boys is amazing https://t.co/a9VMypHQpY
— Otto English (@Otto_English) July 3, 2021
Headteacher Katherine Birbalsingh, frequently criticised for her viciously draconian approach to school rules and her hard-line right wing ideologies, showing off her academic credentials by getting "Lord of the Flies" mixed up with "Lord of the Rings". pic.twitter.com/e6o24WqGzQ
— Bad Writing Takes 🖊️🏳️🌈 (@BadWritingTakes) July 3, 2021
I... I think you must be thinking Lord Of The Flies?
— Anna Orridge🌱🌍🖋 (@orridge_anna) July 3, 2021
Unless you really think, without rules, your students might march out of the gates and embark on a multi-species quest to destroy an ancient vessel of dark, cosmic power.
Which sounds kinda cool, actually. pic.twitter.com/CnpiQxGjSa
If I were writing an authoritarian screed about the importance of school standards, I would simply not confuse Lord of the Flies with Lord of the Rings https://t.co/HGXH2W2PPl
— Steve Peers (@StevePeers) July 3, 2021
Birbalsingh, who has been dubbed ‘Britain’s strictest teacher’ by the Times, has raised eyebrows in the past due to her somewhat Victorian views on education. She has banned the use of mobile phones in her school and - in an interview with the i newspaper - she said the dangers of mobile phones for children were comparable to cigarettes and alcohol.
She has also criticised ‘woke culture’, and has claimed that black students use race to get out of disputes with teachers and in a recent appearance on Good Morning Britain, criticised teaching children about white privilege.
She said: “Talking about white privilege over time actually undermines black children because it tells them that the establishment is against them.
“We need to move away from these things as they are unhelpful and we’re talking about what matters which is, how do we make it so that all our schools are excellent and that all children whatever colour they are in the classroom can succeed.”
We shouldn’t mock her for not knowing about classic novels though. It’s not as if she’s a teacher or anything...
