I recently watched a two-part documentary based in a secondary school in London, The School That Tried to End Racism. As a teacher who has spent much of the coronavirus lockdown exploring my own beliefs around antiracist education and global citizenship, I was intrigued. Filmed in 2019, before the Covid-19 outbreak - and before the Black Lives Matter movement took off this year - the basis of the documentary was to encourage a group of both white and non-white students to think deeply about their experiences and understanding of race and ethnicity.

A three-week “experiment” was set up in the school by American Mariama Richards, an ambassador of multicultural education, who described the process as being the study of “affinity groups”. Year 7s (equivalent to S1s) were split into two groups, segregated according to white and non-white ethnicity.

For one session a week, the two groups were encouraged to talk freely about their experiences of race and ethnicity, without the inclusion of peers from the other group. Particularly interesting was the conundrum faced by one student of mixed heritage, who was given the option to join either group. She chose to join the group of non-white peers as she described being made to feel “different” growing up in primary school, despite being of mixed heritage herself.

I was immediately reminded of the well-known but controversial “Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes” experiments conducted by American teacher Jane Elliott in the 1960s with children of primary school age. Would this new study also reveal profound messages around racial stereotypes and bias?

What was most striking in the documentary was the emotional difference between the groups. The group comprising all non-white students came together very enthusiastically, and were keen to share their opinions and experiences almost immediately. There was often an almost carnival atmosphere in their meetings, including singing and dancing - the students clearly enjoying the freedom and comfort they felt in this group.

On the other hand, in the all-white group, the atmosphere was sombre and there seemed little to celebrate. There was an obvious discomfort and lack of ease felt by the participants. It was clear that many in this group were unsure as to how to start a conversation around racial experiences.

So, why these stark differences? I felt that there were two main points of interest here: a sense of belonging among the non-white group, and a lack of awareness around racial prejudice among the all-white group. But what does this mean?

As teachers, many of us will have noticed groups forming in the playground. We will have seen that quite often (but not all the time), ethnic minority children form peer groups with those of a similar ethnicity. This is not about a lack of integration - as some would have you believe - but more a sense of belonging: spending time with others who understand your cultural or religious nuances and share similar language backgrounds and traditions. Having those connections with others helps you to feel secure and safe from prejudice that often results from those that don’t understand your background.

Open conversations

Just a thought: if that’s a level of comfort that pupils seek among their peers, imagine what it feels like to see more ethnic minority teachers in their schools, who can offer them the same reassurance. I moved to a new school in August and am thoroughly enjoying the experience of working in a highly multicultural community. Already, I have included many examples from history and influential people from around the world in our daily lessons and conversations, encouraging my learners to talk freely about their backgrounds.

For example, it is common practice for classes to set a class charter at the start of each year, which encourages discussions around our rights as citizens of the world. Embedding diversity into our curriculum means embedding examples that are less Euro-centric, so I started our lesson on understanding the origins of human rights, which date back to Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire.

Later, I used a video blog from two Palestinian ladies about the life of children in one of Gaza’s refugee camps. I told my class that we’d have to read the subtitles, as the video was in Arabic - and the face of one of my pupils lit up. She was fully bilingual in Arabic and found it a nice surprise to hear her language from home being used in class.

The pupils have asked me about my own background and feel a sense of common identity with me, and I with them. Having a teacher who values your differences and encourages you to be proud of them is an empowering experience. Indeed, one of the most important ways of incorporating antiracist education in our school system is by improving diversity across the teaching profession. The real, lived experiences of staff from different backgrounds will be more valuable than hundreds of hours of professional learning webinars.

In the Channel 4 documentary, it was absolutely not the fault of those young people in the all-white group that they were unsure of how to start or even contribute immediately in discussions around race and ethnicity. Actually, this is down to the lack of a diverse curriculum and environment.

To understand the needs and experiences of minority communities, it is crucial to have those voices included in our day-to-day teaching. Our curricula tend to celebrate the achievements of white people without the mention of the other communities, even within the UK, that their successes depended upon. If you’ve never experienced racism or prejudice, and never heard what it feels like to be persecuted, how can you talk about it?

Change is something that we are often not very fond of within teaching, because it usually comes from bureaucratic positions with little relevance to what’s going on in the classroom. However, the change that I am promoting is a mind shift in educators. That means looking further afield for examples, stories and contributions from around the world, and having the ability to be confident in questioning our past as a colonial empire - and its lasting impact.

To show the challenges faced by ethnic minorities in the UK, one method used in the programme was a race. All the students were asked to line up together at the starting line. Statements were made by the coaches, which would determine who could make progress and who couldn’t. The reality of the hurdles faced by ethnic minority communities was made very clear; the sense of unfairness obvious to all participants.

The white students could see that they were having to put in less effort than their non-white peers to achieve the same goal. (Similarly, many teachers from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds feel that they have to work harder to be noticed as a teacher.) This race was a powerful example of how privilege, particularly white privilege, permeates our society.

As I network more and listen to more views, now as a trade union representative for BAME teachers in Scotland, I wonder how many times I may have unknowingly experienced subconscious racism and microaggressions. It is difficult to see yourself in a situation that others in a similar job never seem to have to face. If you are lucky enough to be interviewed, no one on the panel will have a similar background or will have faced the challenges you have, and you feel immediately disadvantaged. When you don’t get the job, you are often given wishy-washy feedback, like “you should smile more”, instead of constructive feedback that ties into official success criteria. Inane comments like “you should smile more” sound like excuses to turn down someone you were never interested in - sadly, this is the experience of many BAME teachers, who are then put off from applying for promoted posts.

Cultural identities

The students on the Channel 4 programme were also asked to bring in items that represented their cultural identities. I’ll admit that this is something I love to do, whether it is traditional food, outfits, music or religious artefacts that are personal to me. Learners always find these things fascinating.

However, there is a caveat: it is tempting for colleagues to fall into the trap of always calling on the “ethnic” teacher to lead diversity groups or ethnic events. Although this may seem a way of valuing that teacher’s cultural diversity, it is important that they are not seen only in that light. BAME staff need to be treated as valuable educators, as equals, able to contribute to all aspects of school life or improvement, and should be given the opportunity to do so.

The white students in the programme seemed in awe of the exotic, colourful and unique items brought in by their non-white peers to highlight their links to different countries around the world. I felt there was an important message here: multiculturalism should not just be about celebrating “other” cultures in our society, but instead should be about celebrating all cultures, including those that are native to our islands.

Being antiracist should not be about being anti-white. Recognising white privilege should not be about “turning the tables”. Instead, it should be about opening things up - giving everyone a seat at the table.

Two students in the Channel 4 programme really stood out for me. One of the boys from the non-white group went back home to question his mum about stereotypes against black people. His mum was someone who had accepted that the system was against them and that they should comply, as that’s what’s “good” for everyone. Her boy, however, was determined to show her that the system itself was unfair and absolutely not something that minority communities should just accept.

The second was a very sensitive young man from the all-white group. His sense of justice was very strong, and, while he didn’t appreciate being made to feel guilty about his white privilege, he was upset to hear of the prejudice faced by his peers. He wanted to live in a world where such disadvantage does not exist, where we can all value each other for who we are and all that we contribute to society in its many diverse forms.

Now that we’re back in the classroom, I encourage my colleagues to think outside the box and look for diverse examples within our teaching to highlight and promote a better understanding of global citizenship and diversity. I am really encouraged by the enthusiasm I have seen from colleagues who want to learn more about diversifying their curriculum and are willing to reanalyse their practice from a new point of view.

You may never think that you are racist, and you may always insist that you include all of your pupils. Crucially, however, inclusion is not purely about equal opportunity: it is about the inclusion of identity. Do you use resources, stories and examples of people or places that all your learners can identify with? Or are you simply carrying out a tick-box exercise to celebrate a festival or diversity week, which then fails to translate into other parts of the curriculum?

In short, there is something all who work in schools have to do. We must be brave enough to hold a mirror up to ourselves and to our practice - and, if we truly believe in antiracist education, to act on what we see.

Nuzhat Uthmani is a primary teacher and founder of Global Citizenship Education Scotland

This article originally appeared in the 18 September 2020 issue