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Rich pedagogical gifts
“Class distinctions do not die; they merely learn new ways of expressing themselves” (Hoggart, 1989, cited in Crew, 2021).
I would like to dedicate this blog to all of the women whose resolve and dedication to education inspire me every day. I would also like to thank everybody around me who is supportive of innovation and giving people like me opportunities.

I have also been unashamedly open with much (if not most!) of my lived experience and believe it makes me a better teacher. I have lived experience of most of the things I teach about and that is powerful. I speak from and not to.
I also realise this is risky and exposes me to further and intensified stigma and undermining. It can also be threatening to others. You can study for extra degrees, publish extra journal articles, apply for more grants but it is hard to get insider knowledge.
I am driven by my personal values and my faith. My work has to align with this. I am extremely privileged that I have a job where this is the case.
Dr Crew interrogates the micro-aggression, hostility and bullying that working-class academics endure. Crew also talks about the benefits of being a working-class academic in terms of our innovative, passionate commitment to teaching. We see education as a way to another world.
“Permanent contracts are like gold dust in academia so I still punch myself now that I am fortunate enough to teach and research subjects that fascinate me, although feeling ‘lucky’ is typical of an academic like ‘me'” (Mahoney and Zmroczek, 1997; Crew, 2021, p.1).
I do feel lucky and grateful to be here. That is not a popular declaration but I love what I do and it works well with my health and other commitments. I also understand this this is directly related to my background. I don’t expect anything.



I am so privileged that I get to teach about my passions and develop innovative trauma-informed pedagogy. My “dark funds of knowledge” (Zipin, 2009) mean that I can re-contextualise my experiences and facilitate students to engage with their own experiences in a way that values them.
“I am not separate from the field of criminology. I am a part of the topics that I teach and my emotions are a valuable asset in the teaching of criminology and the (re)conceptualising of women’s voices in the field. This positionality can be hard to wrestle with and I have often felt like an outsider” (Ahearne, 2021).
“The academy must place more value on lived experience and on narratives that disrupt the status quo and challenge the discipline…I recommend that criminology allows more people to speak for themselves, and to be able to do so in noisy, fractured, provocative ways. By placing value on new ways of storytelling, we place value on women’s writing and those who come from non-traditional academic backgrounds” (Ahearne, 2021).
I am always delighted when people reach out to say they are using my work with their students, it means more to me than any esteemed accolade. I want to be part of on-the-ground change in how we ‘do’ criminology and sociology. That means nothing to me if it’s locked behind paywalls. I am dedicated to teaching and scholarship.
I am always keen to connect with anyone regarding innovative pedagogy and different ways of knowing.
Gemma x
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