It is undeniably a time for change. The coronavirus pandemic has - rather than being the “great leveller” it was first hailed to be - highlighted racial inequality in our society.
The death of George Floyd and the subsequent riots and marches worldwide have underlined the extent of racial oppression and disparity that prevails in the developed world.
So, what can we, as educators, do from our classrooms?
For one, we can no longer sit back in the UK thinking that we are doing enough to combat discrimination. It is our moral duty to continually fight against pervasive, implicit discrimination, regardless of our own backgrounds.
We must make sure that, whatever hateful views and fake news our students may be confronted with outside the walls of school, we give them the tools to talk about and challenge discrimination. That is why I am calling on myself, and you, to redouble and recentre these efforts. Here’s how.
1. Sign, share and speak out
The GCSE English Literature text list reads like a cemetery for old white men.
Signing petitions - such as this one started by Molly Crossley, to bring two challenging and engaging texts explicitly about race into the English curriculum - is a start. (And sign these history petitions too, on teaching Black British history and British colonialism.)
Further this work by writing to your local MP and education secretary Gavin Williamson about the need for change in our curriculum. Share on your social media and speak out against a whitewashed curriculum.
2. Interrogate your sources
Be conscious of the writers you share with your students. Do any of them have problematic pasts, or does their writing extend harmful stereotypes? How can you invite discussion about this with students, without falling back to the lazy response of “It was like that in the olden days”?
How, for example, can you use the depiction of Bertha Mason in GCSE text Jane Eyre to engage students in thinking about colonialism, not just for AO3, but as a springboard for discussions of racism’s intersection with fear, gender and imperialism?
3. Talk explicitly about diversity
Look at writers’ disparate backgrounds with students to explore individual experience in a way that isn’t just ticking the “context” box of the mark scheme.
How might their experience mirror or differ from your own? What cultures have formed their writing? What power dynamics were at play?
Chances to talk about Windrush, the British Raj and 20th-century immigration mean chances to talk about nuanced experiences and foster a spirit of compassion, empathy and justice in the next generation.
4. Put in the work to unearth buried voices
We need to bring diverse voices to the fore and redress the balance. If we only ever feed our students one type of voice, then of course some will come to believe those are the only legitimate voices.
We must model diversity of reading not just to ensure all students, regardless of gender or race, are encouraged to speak up and write, but also to show that it is essential in our modern world to listen to and engage with people of all backgrounds to become a rounded global citizen.
I’m currently writing a Year 9 non-fiction unit to prepare students for GCSE English language and attempting to look for other voices than those of white male writers, which are not always easy to source due to historic bias - especially finding diverse writers to fulfil the 19th-century/early 20th-century requirement. But we must do the work. We must show our students that those voices have always been there, they have just been covered up for a long, long time.
5. Educate yourself
Read widely, find and engage with diverse voices outside your normal sphere, and thus model curiosity over prejudice.
It is our moral obligation to educate against hate.
