PREMIUM: Trust teachers, unless they are telling you how great they are. Part 1

Scepticism is often necessary when school leaders tell you a story in which they are the hero.

Pinocchio teaching a class

I’ve written many times about school shaming. This is the process by which the media (and social media) attack a school, usually based on flimsy accusations or an extremely biased account of events.¹

There is another side to this. False or unconfirmed information about schools isn’t only used to drag schools down. Sometimes it’s used to glorify a school leader who may not deserve it. In this post, and its sequel, I will look at some good news stories we have been told about schools. Some of the stories were based on false information. Others celebrated a plan that was unlikely to work and then failed. All are worth a second look. They should remind us to be sceptical about stories we hear about schools, even when they are positive.