Primary teacher fired for calling her diverse class 'chattering monkeys' - we live in frightening times - Kelvin MacKenzie
Complaints were made against Charlotte Moore, a Year 6 teacher at Trinity St Mary's
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I thought I might do a little research into the truly shocking case of Charlotte Moore, the CoE primary school teacher sacked over allegations of racism after she referred to a group of pupils in her class as ‘’chattering monkeys’’.
The nub of the complaint was that Mrs Moore, a Year 6 teacher at St Mary’s in Woodham Ferrers, near Chelmsford, Essex in Essex, made the remark to a class that was racially diverse.
First of all, l I do not believe that the expression is racist in anyway.
The term chattering monkey has emerged from the practice of Zen Buddhism and refers to the silent monologue from the brain which sends mostly negative, judgment on an individual’s every action, thought, and perceived misstep.
In my case it seems to happen at 4am.
So, there is absolutely no link to racism. Then I thought it would be worthwhile to look at the racial divide of Woodham Ferrers. It is 95.4% white, 1.6% Asian, 1.6% mixed and a very, very small percentage of black. Doesn’t seem much of a divide to me.
I don’t know the make-up of St. Mary’s as they don’t put it on their website, however, the ‘’communities’’ clearly didn’t like the expression chattering monkeys. Having heard about it (who from isn’t clear) parents complained to the school saying her language represented a ‘’very racist comment’’ in light of the class being ‘’racially diverse.’’
Things got so bad that at one stage the police investigated Mrs Moore for a hate crime. The inquiry was dropped, but how worrying that must have been for her. That didn’t stop the school leaders from sacking her for gross misconduct after determining that the ‘’monkeys’’ comment was serious because it was perceived as racist by parents and pupils.
This is what Ms Moore actually said to her class: ‘’You are like a bunch of chattering monkeys. Quieten down and get on with your work.’’ Seems reasonable to me.
Anyway, the employment tribunal in East London upheld her sacking, saying on top of the monkeys comment, Mrs Moore was too strict with the class and in interviews some children felt scared of her.
I imagine the parents are delighted at the sacking of Mrs Moore. I would like to see those parents defending their position in the media. They can help to get her fired but don’t fancy scrutiny themselves. That is wrong.
To my mind she has lost her career – she been at the school a couple of years- due to a wholly innocent phrase and the fact she was considered strict by her class. In this world of rowdy classes, being strict should surely put her in line for promotion. The whole thing stinks.
I suspect a number of other teachers – the Batley teacher lost his job, his home, his career and his name when Muslim parents complained - will be wondering if they will be next in the firing line. Worrying times.