Don't Panda To Anyone – You're The Bee's Knees
TES|October 11, 2019
With schools in the grip of a funding crisis, teachers need to gain public support in their fight for survival, writes Sarah Cunnane. Would you rather be seen as a panda, helplessly drifting towards extinction? Or a bee – a busy communicator essential for the future of humankind?
Sarah Cunnane
Don't Panda To Anyone – You're The Bee's Knees

If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left.

”That quote is widely attributed to physicist Albert Einstein. But there's no evidence that the Nobel prizewinner ever said it. Or, indeed, that he ever said anything about bees. In fact, it may not be a massive shock to learn that the quote’s provenance probably lies with a different man: one who wrote a book about bees.

But, regardless, it’s a quote that has stuck on the internet and in people’s consciousness. If someone had asked you – prior to your picking up this article – about the prospect of bee extinction, I am willing to bet a not inconsiderable sum that you’d have had a feeling of slight impending doom, even if that exact quote didn’t come to mind. Search Google and you’ll find page upon page lauding bees as hardworking, adaptable and essential to the survival of humankind. If ever you are in need of some PR, you could do worse than find out who’s doing the publicity for bees.

And it is my assertion that teachers need to work to evoke that same sort of feeling – create a buzz, if you will – among parents, government and the population at large. Put simply: all teachers need to be queen bees.

Because, if not, teachers risk becoming pandas instead. I assume that, at this point, people will shrug their shoulders and ask: “What’s wrong with that?” Fear not, gentle reader: I shall tell you exactly what is wrong with that.

This story is from the October 11, 2019 edition of TES.

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This story is from the October 11, 2019 edition of TES.

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