Some time went by, however, before I had a look at what she was writing I was taken by surprise when I did. By this stage, I had noticed that every email, from her personal email account, came with a signature at the end, which was a link to her blog Katherine had mentioned she blogged anonymously (as "Miss Snuffleupagus") – I recall her referring to it in passing as some form of literary endeavour or creative outlet. She emailed me and set up a meeting at City Hall a week and a half later, where we agreed that I would carry out a "talk and encounter session" for the children she was teaching during their visit to the British Museum in July. She came across as very open, direct and engaging, and I recognised in her a fellow dissident with experience of establishment. Katharine approached me afterwards, mentioning that she was a school teacher and asking if I would be willing to mentor and talk to her class. I was co-chair of the cultural strategy group at City Hall, and spoke from the floor that day. We were there for the launch of a report called Boxed In: How cultural diversity policies constrict black artists. I first met Katharine at Camden Arts Centre in early June 2007. There has been much debate about how accurately Birbalsingh's accounts portray the sector – some have suggested the book is more fiction than fictionalised. The event incorporated a panel discussion – "What should be taught in our schools" – with Katharine, Toby Young and a few others at the Rich Mix Centre in the East End. The book purports to be a factually-based depiction of life in a state school according to the publisher, Penguin, it is the "diary of an inner-city school teacher". The book launch was for "To Miss With Love", a redacted version of an anonymised blog of her teaching experiences.
#COMPREHENSIVE META ANALYSIS SERIAL NUMBER FREE#
She took the Tory party conference by storm and is now a poster-girl for their free school policy, one of which she is planning to set up herself. With her youth, good looks, mixed race background and seemingly unimpeachable credentials in state education, she seems to be almost tailor-made for a role in the spotlight. She supports tough discipline and strict boundaries. She is the deputy head-turned-education guru who violently polarises opinion along party political lines – Labour loathe her, Conservatives adore her. Katharine is a teacher much in the news of late. I like and admire much about Katharine, but have found myself increasingly perplexed by her shifts of public persona over the years, which seem to bear little relation to my knowledge and experience of her as she "really" is, or was.
In the end I couldn't bring myself to go. L ast Thursday I was due to attend the book launch of my friend Katharine Birbalsingh.
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