Emma Pruen

Systemic and Family Constellations Facilitator & Coach. Shamanic Practitioner. Former Green Party Families and Children spokesperson. Mother. Trans Ally.

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

@ChronopostSAV S'il vous plaît, répondez à mes messages privés. Vous retenez mon colis à Bordeaux depuis 12 jours et j'ai besoin de savoir comment résoudre ce problème.

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

@ChronopostSAV Je vous ai envoyé un message au sujet d'un colis bloqué à Bordeaux qui nécessite certains documents. Vous m'avez demandé de vous envoyer un DM. Je l'ai fait à trois reprises, mais je n'ai pas reçu de réponse. Pourriez-vous répondre à mon message SVP?

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

@ChronopostSAV Mon colis est bloqué à Bordeaux depuis vendredi, mais personne ne m'a contacté pour me demander les documents manquants. Que puis-je faire ?

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

@Muqadaam Hi

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

@RevRichardColes @editorArmourae You can’t get a decent Comté in England because they don’t think we’d pay for it - but a 40 month aged one with a crysatalline texture like Parmesan is pretty close to heaven

[Chrissie @endeducbullying]

This Headteacher called my ocd ‘mind vomit’ 🤮, said he secretly follows me online, called me a ridiculous woman and threatened to get me out on capability (despite four consecutive good appraisals) Over 70 plus staff have left in the past year. Two failed Ofsted. He has cost tax payers a small fortune in NDAs of female staff. He has never offered me a formal apology. I was offered 30 grand to keep quiet by the Trust 🤐 I am happy for him to take me to court if any of my statements are not true. Call out #bullying for what it is. Protect women in #education

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

https://t.co/UbvBabA15u

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

If political success starts with the wardrobe then my clients @TheGreenParty are well set up to win their seats. Delighted that @carla_denyer and @AdrianRamsay get the FT seal of approval https://t.co/D86giuPDi7

[Naomi Fisher @naomicfisher]

Be Ordinary! (with @_MissingTheMark)

I visited a college a few weeks ago. Their buildings were covered with inspiring messages. Be Exceptional was painted on the wall as we entered the science block. The teenager I was with was amused. “That’s not possible”, he said. “Everyone can’t be exceptional, by definition”. We soon realised that it wasn’t just in science we were being told to be exceptional. It was everywhere. Music, drama, English – students have to be exceptional in whatever they do, it seems.

And it made me think about the pressure we put on our young people and what a strange message that is. For it is reality that most of us will not be exceptional. We will not live exceptional lives, we will not achieve exceptional things. That isn’t a defeatist message, it’s just fact. Exceptional means better than everyone else. It is intrinsically competitive.

If we all did exceptional things, then those things would no longer be exceptional. They would just be ordinary. And yet that isn’t something we acknowledge to our young people. We tell them to strive to do better than everyone else, and that it isn’t good enough to be average. We instil competition in them right from the start with Star of the Week certificates and prizes in assembly. We tell them they must be the best, or try harder.

Then we are surprised when many of them say that they aren’t good enough, or start to feel despondent about their prospects. We wring our hands about their low self esteem, or the way that they compare themselves to others. We lament about their lack of motivation when they realise that they will never be the best, that their exam results will not be exceptional, even though they might be good enough to get by. We see them labelling themselves as failures.

How different would it be if we told our children the truth? If we said, there are many different ways to be, and exceptionality isn’t for everyone? We might tell them that finding the things that you enjoy might be more important in the long term than excelling. We could explain that art (or writing, music or drama) might be an important part of their life, even if they never get external validation for it or don’t pass the exam.

Striving for exceptionality looks inspirational on the wall of the building. Yet the result of our relentless focus on achievement is that many young people give up before they’ve even had the chance to try things out. They realise that if exceptionality is the aim, they’ve already failed. They limit their opportunities and therefore their learning.

What we say to our young people has an impact. Even things which seem positive need to be questioned. For most of us will never be exceptional, and we need to make our peace with that.

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

@ECWilsonWriter 50-60

[Adam McGibbon 🌍 @AdamMcGibbon]

SURPRISE! Yesterday, an unsuspecting @CarolineLucas left Parliament to encounter a crowd of many of the people who have worked for her down the years! 🧵

[Adam McGibbon 🌍 @AdamMcGibbon]

As Caroline steps down at the end of this Parliamentary term, we got together to celebrate her achievements, but also each other. Lots of laughs and memories shared.

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

@dancingshoes06 You are both always welcome at our table for dinner.

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

The (almost) end of an era celebrating 14 years of the absolute powerhouse @CarolineLucas with friends from the 2010 team through to those still fighting the good fight today #greenteam
#istandwithcaroline #greenparty

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

@Vampfree1110228 Does this breach the 2010 Equality Act in failing to provide equal access to public services for all?

[Naomi Fisher @naomicfisher]

Every time I post about things like being sent home for the wrong shoes, and behaviour apps where parents are alerted to their kids going to the toilet, and teenagers being sent to isolation for the wrong hair cut, people tell me that this is only the minority of schools and I’m making a lot of fuss about nothing. Or that I’m making it all up and should just keep quiet.

The reason I keep posting is because these things matter. When I talk to very unhappy teenagers, these types of things are the things they talk about. They talk about the shame of being pulled out of line for the wrong shoes, or the worry about accumulating behaviour points. Or the fact that a day in isolation makes them feel terrible, and then they have to go back again and do it again the next day.

They say it feels like no one likes them. They get into downward spirals, their behaviour gets worse, the sanctions multiply, and they start to despair. Their parents despair too, because they want their children to be happy and learning at school but the system feels punitive.

We’re accepting an increasing level of control in our schools in the name of excellence and discipline and I see the damage it does to young people. That’s because that’s my job. I see the side effects of the system, those which aren’t necessarily visible at first glance. What works to control behaviour (and improve exam results) can also hurt in other ways. No one is measuring those ways.

If we aren’t looking, we won’t ever see.
I see it (and hear about it), and that’s why I don’t keep quiet.

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

Heal your Family System & Heal your Life
https://t.co/ksEJal2gGx

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

@jonsopel Refused entry 😂

[Ellie Hall @ellievhall]

Hey @cwithers94, just FYI, your wife and kids are looking for you.

[Emma Pruen @GreenEmma]

Listening to "Transformational Journeys: Love, Acceptance, and Personal Growth in Relationships" at https://t.co/4W09o5KPOg