There was once a teacher who was passionate about challenging our perspective of British and world history. A teacher whose mission was to decolonise the curriculum. Then one day, a small education company, dedicated to supporting schools and teachers with their awesome (if we do say so ourselves) planning and resources, started chatting to the passionate teacher. They agreed to tackle this mission together to bring about change and to make sure children are able to see themselves in history.
That teacher is Jen Foster, otherwise known as Good Morning Ms Foster on Instagram, and that company? You guessed it, us! PlanBee!
Our partnership with Jen started as a simple discussion about working together, and turned into a shared passion to dive deeper into the ‘hidden curriculum’. In particular, those significant people and events in history that have had an impact on how we live today.
We already have some great History units on ancient civilizations such as Maya and The Kingdom of Benin, but we wanted to look at a period where we could make clear comparisons to British history. When we realised that the Zulu kingdom was founded around the same time as Victorian Britain, we could instantly see the potential to make direct comparisons, challenge perceptions and make space for important discussions about colonialism.
Our aim is to bring you along on this journey, by regularly coming to you live via Instagram, discussing our findings and thoughts and creating a unit of work that takes history teaching—and children's learning—one step further.
Jen, otherwise known as Good Morning Ms Foster, is an educator, trainer, specialist and all round teacher cheerleader!
Jen has 'many fingers in many pies' as she puts it: mentoring NQTs, creating resources and now partnering with PlanBee to decolonise the curriculum.
To decolonise the curriculum means to rethink and reframe the way we teach and learn world history, by picking apart the bias and looking through a different lens… one that isn’t British- or Europe-centered.
Jen Foster explains “There is currently no sense of belonging or identity for a child who is not White British within the history curriculum”
We want to see our curriculum represent the diverse society we live in today, giving children the whole picture and not just one perspective. By giving children the opportunity to reflect on history as it happened, we allow them to learn from the mistakes of the past and give them ownership over a better and more inclusive future.
We will be working away behind the scenes to put together planning for The Zulu Kingdom. We want to take you on this journey with us! We will be going LIVE after each planning session, keeping you up to date and opening up the conversation to you!
Make sure to follow us on social media and sign up to our mailing list for updates, exclusive offers and invites to join us live on our instagram.
Follow Jen Foster!
https://www.goodmorningmsfoster.com/
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