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Leading girls’ schools sends pupils on negotiating courses to get pay rises
A group of leading girls’ schools is sending pupils on a negotiating skills course so they can learn how to ask for a pay rise.
The Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) will enrol sixth form students on an “Asking Difficult Questions” course this autumn, aimed at helping them get ahead in the workplace.
Cheryl Giovannoni, who heads up the group of 24 independent girls’ schools, said that women are often timid about their achievements and lack the confidence to put themselves forward for pay rises and promotions.
“All too often when it comes to the world of work, women can develop what’s sometimes known as ‘tiara syndrome’,” she told The Telegraph.
“They wait for recognition, whereas men tend to be better at putting themselves forward to get what they feel they deserve.
“We want to help to build girls’ confidence and understand that ‘it’s OK to ask’. We need to rid ourselves of this idea that women talking about themselves of being a bad thing.”
The negotiation courses will initially be for sixth form students, but there are plans to make them available to girls of all ages as part of PSHE lessons.
Emojis help children understand Shakespeare, teachers say
Growing numbers of teachers are using emojis to help children engage with Shakespeare's work.
The expressive icons can help pupils connect with the subject they are learning some teachers say the emoji language has something to bring to the 21 century classroom.
"I've just taught A Midsummer Night's Dream and, when we've read a bit of the scene, they summarise it in two main emojis and then have to explain it," Charlotte Hodgson, an English teacher at Avonbourne College in Bournemouth told the TES, which originally reported the story.
She added that everyone in her department uses emojis and that they have helped her students engage with Shakespeare.
"The emojis are not used by themselves - there is always some kind of verbal or written explanation that then allows you to check the pupils' literacy, writing skills or speech skills," she said. "The emojis just give them a starting point that they understand."