Mike Fairclough used to be a headmaster in the UK. Now he writes books. He spent 30 years in education, starting as a teacher in 1995 and becoming a headmaster in 2004. He ran a school with 365 students, ages seven to eleven, until 2022. His approach was character education, focusing on building strengths instead of fixing weaknesses. He drew from positive psychology. His school had a farm—water buffalo, sheep, chickens—and he taught kids to shoot .410 shotguns(!), use air rifles, light fires, and cook outdoors. The weather didn’t stop them. He says this built resilience that carried over to academics. Shy kids who struggled with writing gained confidence after facing the elements.
He has four children: 28 and 20-year-old sons and eight-year-old twin daughters. His wife comes from a Punjabi Sikh background rooted in empowerment and resistance.
They raise their daughters to be as tough, fit, and sharp as their sons, preparing them all for adulthood. Fairclough believes anxiety is a tool, not a flaw, and the way to handle it is to step out of your comfort zone daily. He thinks schools focus too much on weaknesses, which he sees as a mistake.
COVID changed everything. Fairclough opposed vaccines for kids, arguing they offered no benefit, only risks. Out of 43,500 UK headmasters, he was perhaps the only one to speak out (also Hugh McCarthy). Once celebrated, he became an outcast. He lost his job and ended up delivering vegetables to schools he once guided. Money ran low. His wife told him to toughen up. He did and even enjoyed the manual labor.
Later, his writing career took off, earning him more than teaching ever did. He claims their efforts paid off—89.5% of five-to-eleven-year-olds in the UK avoided the vaccine.
He sees bigger problems. Free speech is fading in the UK, he says. Thirty people are arrested daily for social media posts deemed hurtful. Journalist Alison Pearson faced a police probe over a vague tweet—dropped only after Elon Musk called it totalitarian. Businesswoman Bernie Spofforth was jailed for three days over Southport massacre comments. Another woman posted about the same killings, deleted it after cooling off, and still got nearly three years. He calls it two-tier justice: pro-Hamas ralliers shout “kill the Jews” with no consequences, but ancestral English face harsher penalties. It’s divisive, he says. His British Asian in-laws, socially conservative Trump supporters, hate it too.
He blames the government. The Counter Disinformation Unit monitored him. MI5, MI6, the 77th Brigade, and the RAF tracked citizens, not terrorists. A Psychological Nudge Unit shaped public opinion. Tories kicked it off; Labour made it worse. Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s ex-advisor, says unseen figures run the show. Fairclough agrees, pointing to Liz Truss’s claim that Britain’s deep state predates America’s. He suspects the U.S. has the same issue—COVID shots still linger on the childhood vaccine schedule, a clue to hidden power.
I see parallels. The government’s like a beach—it looks safe, but sharks and undertows lurk. COVID proved it. Reagan’s line, “I’m from the government; I’m here to help,” feels truer now. Schools here are bloated too—more non-teachers than teachers, unlike my simpler school days. My kids made anti-Bush posters in art class; that’s not art, it’s agenda. I agree with Fairclough on vaccines—there is no solid evidence they helped kids, just control. I think the deep state protects its perks. Musk and Trump push back, risking plenty. That Tiananmen tank man’s standstill spooks tyrants. Bravery’s the fix.
Fairclough’s lived it. Lost it all, rebuilt. He ties it to the hero’s journey—Joseph Campbell’s work. His first wife’s death broke him but taught him life, love, and fearlessness. The COVID fight did, too. Pain shapes you, he says. Stand up, he urges. You’ll get hit, but waiting’s worse—they’ll come for you eventually. The scars make you better.
Find him on X, @MikeFairclough. He’s still at it.
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