Comments on: Dorothy Bishop, Artist & Teacher https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/03/08/dorothy-bishop-artist-teacher/ In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London Wed, 08 Mar 2023 12:51:20 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Rupert Neil Bumfrey https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/03/08/dorothy-bishop-artist-teacher/#comment-1503610 Wed, 08 Mar 2023 12:51:20 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=195053#comment-1503610 Sadly the closed minds continue to this day.

Meanwhile, the unsung heroine remains with us, labouring away uncomplainingly, not looking to change the world, merely contributing to the society around her.

Thank you Dorothy, and you #TGA for bringing her forward.

]]> By: Richard Smith https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/03/08/dorothy-bishop-artist-teacher/#comment-1503604 Wed, 08 Mar 2023 11:46:00 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=195053#comment-1503604 I enjoyed reading about Dorothy. I think her kindness shines through her words. Bless her.

]]> By: achim https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/03/08/dorothy-bishop-artist-teacher/#comment-1503597 Wed, 08 Mar 2023 09:32:59 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=195053#comment-1503597 Great! I would have loved to have a teacher like Dorothy Bishop back then — open, tolerant, full of wit and with a sense for the arts!

Love & Peace
ACHIM

]]> By: Marcia Howard https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/03/08/dorothy-bishop-artist-teacher/#comment-1503595 Wed, 08 Mar 2023 08:51:53 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=195053#comment-1503595 I love the painting above which shows real talent. How short sighted, and ignorant, that the L.C.C did not appreciate her skills. Sounds like her pupils in class did though, even if the boys took a while to show it.

]]> By: Christine Swan https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/03/08/dorothy-bishop-artist-teacher/#comment-1503591 Wed, 08 Mar 2023 07:52:51 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=195053#comment-1503591 I identify very strongly with this post! Thank you Dorothy and thank you GA. I trained as a teacher at the University of London’s prestigious Institute of Education. After qualifying from those lofty towers, I worked in Dagenham. Wondering why I was doing it was a thought that crossed my mind daily! The children were tough in every sense of the word. I was teaching Biology and Chemistry so learned to make lessons as interesting for them as I could, but it was a challenge. Some of the children came from very poor families and neglect and hunger something we dealt with very often. Balancing chemical equations wasn’t very high in their priorities or interests.
We organised trips for the children to various places including the West End. It is these I remember the best. I have always loved the theatre but to take a group of children was a real experience. We clubbed in to buy tickets for any children who wouldn’t be able to afford it. We never made a big thing of it, if they wanted to go, we were happy to pay for them. To see their faces come alive with the magic of the theatre was so wonderful and made me stop questioning why I was teaching. This is why I was doing it. There were always ice creams during the interval, a programme for whoever wanted one. It was an expensive night for us but we never thought about that. We always travelled by coach I remember. The children enjoyed the trips so much. Noisy on the way there, quiet coming back. As soon as one was over, we would start planning the next. Sadly now, to organise a trip is more complex with risk assessments and detailed costing plans. Teachers are forbidden to buy tickets or ice cream for specific pupils as this is viewed as favouritism and therefore suspicious.
The final member of my peer group of newbie teachers retired a couple of years ago, just before the pandemic having taught in the same school for over 30 years. It’s only when you stop and look back, you realise how many years have passed.

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