What is racism? What's the best way to stop it and what can people do to
stop it at school level? 'I wrote the book because of demand from people
of colour (Africans, Asians, Latin Americans and Pacific Islanders).
They were concerned about the way their school experiences in Britain
had affected their life chances. And they didn't want another generation
to go through this.' 'Cup o' tea?' 'Yes, please. I don't see colour.'
'But that implies you do see colour if you see it as important to make
that statement. But it denies people of colour's daily experiences of
racism. And when we look at social institutions - education, for
example. When pupils take SATS at age 11, many teachers will mark black
Caribbeans, black Africans, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis down. Black
Caribbean and mixed white/ Caribbean pupils are two and a half times
more likely to be permanently excluded from school than white British
pupils. So, some people do see colour, and social institutions contain
structural racism that works for white people and against people of
colour. It's this structural racism that people need to get rid of
first. I encourage everyone to start on a journey in their thinking and
actions to take on an antiracist identity. This is a step towards
working with people of all backgrounds to get rid of structural racism,
so people of colour can achieve equality and liberation.' 'So what's
happening in schools?' 'First, black Caribbean and mixed white/
Caribbean pupils are substantially underachieving versus white British
pupils at GCSE level, with little prospect of this changing. I suggest
it's not the pupils that need to change but the teachers. The first part
of this is to give teachers training on dealing with racism and
understanding pupils' cultures through teaching their history. I share
some resources. The second part is to incorporate pupils' cultures into
the teaching. I give an example of how pupils are helping teachers to
understand their cultures. Through teachers becoming immersed in pupils'
culture and pupils showing how they teach lessons in Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in several countries.
Further, school can become the beginning of a school-to-prison pipeline.
In the context of persistent disruptive behaviour being the most common
cause for exclusion, I outline how teachers can come to understand
pupils of colour's different cultural capital from that of white,
middle-class pupils. Finally, I look at two aspects of the curriculum.
Re-enacting racism's history can cause trauma to people of colour. I
suggest developing pupils' critical skills to engage with difficult
histories. Further, very few pupils are learning about British black
history.I suggest ways and resources to correct this.'
