education part 2: black teachers, white curriculums and systemic racism in schools with Jeffrey Boakye

04/25/23 • 27 min

Mangrove is an exploration of the experiences & issues facing the black community. In this series, Jord Hailwood uncovers the experience of black men & boys in the UK today.

...

After talking to the team at Just For Kids Law last episode, I was really keen to hear the perspectives of a black teacher. I wanted to know why schools were struggling to see more black teachers, his experience as a teacher and in teacher training, his perspective on the experience of black boys in the classroom, and what needs to change within the education system.

To get to the bottom of this I’m talking to Jeffrey Boakye who has spent 15 years teaching English to secondary school students.

Jeffrey is an author, broadcaster, educator and writer with an interest in issues surrounding education, race, masculinity and popular culture. Ahead of this interview, I read his recently published the book I Heard What You Said, which gives an unforgettable insight into racism in modern education.

So in this next interview I’m keen to understand Jeffrey’s experience as a teacher and his perspective on what needs to be changed to address the pressing issues at hand.

For more information about Jeffrey, visit:https://www.jeffreyboakye.com/

Credits

Brought to you by Lives of Colour

Hosted by Jord Hailwoord

Produced by Tyra at Foss Creative Studio

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mangrove is an exploration of the experiences & issues facing the black community. In this series, Jord Hailwood uncovers the experience of black men & boys in the UK today.

...

To get to the bottom of this I’m talking to Jeffrey Boakye who has spent 15 years teaching English to secondary school students.

So in this next interview I’m keen to understand Jeffrey’s experience as a teacher and his perspective on what needs to be changed to address the pressing issues at hand.

For more information about Jeffrey, visit:https://www.jeffreyboakye.com/

Credits

Brought to you by Lives of Colour

Hosted by Jord Hailwoord

Produced by Tyra at Foss Creative Studio

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

education part 1: school exclusions, adultification and advocating for children with Just For Kids Law

Mangrove is an exploration of the experiences & issues facing the black community. In this series, Jord Hailwood uncovers the experience of black men & boys in the UK today.

...

In this episode, I’m interested in exploring the UK's education system and the influence it has on the opportunities, outcomes and experiences of black boys. After doing some research on this, I found some concerning statistics showing a large disparity between exclusion rates among black pupils and their white peers - particularly when looking at black boys. And when looking at black Caribbean students in English schools, we see exclusion rates up to six times higher than those of their white peers in some local authorities.

To get to the bottom of this I’m talking to education solicitors Florence Cole, and Sabrina Simpson, and Policy Officer Ayomide Sotubo. All who work for Just For Kids Law.

Just for Kids Law is a UK charity that works with and for children and young people to hold those with power to account and fight for wider reform by providing legal representation and advice, direct advocacy and support, and campaigning to ensure children and young people in the UK have their legal rights and entitlements respected and promoted, and their voices heard and valued.

So we talk about the concerning statistics, what ought to be done to solve these problems, and the work Just For Kids Law is doing to support young black children going through the exclusion process.

For more information about Just For Kids Law, visit: https://www.justforkidslaw.org/

Credits

Brought to you by Lives of Colour

Hosted by Jord Hailwoord

Produced by Tyra at Foss Creative Studio

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

careers part 1: recruitment, the workplace and occupational segregation with Action for Race Equality

Mangrove is an exploration of the experiences & issues facing the black community. In this series, Jord Hailwood uncovers the experience of black men & boys in the UK today.

...

In this episode, I'm interested in exploring what happens to black men after they leave the education system. Our careers play a significant part of our lives, so with employment outcomes looking poor for black men but particularly young black men, I want to uncover the problem at hand and what can be done.

To explore these issues, I’m talking to Action for Race Equality’s Chief Executive, Jeremy Crook OBE and Moving on Up’s Project Support Officer, Victoria Atanda.

Action for Race Equality is a charity on a mission to end racial inequality. Working on issues such as education, employment and criminal justice, Action for Race Equality champions fairness, challenges discrimination and pioneers innovative solutions to empower Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage people. Their Moving on Up initiative works with young black men in London to help them gain meaningful employment, as well as partner organisations and business to help improve the employment landscape for black men.

So we talk about the concerning statistics, what ought to be done to solve these problems, and the work the Moving On Up initiative is doing to support young black men seeking employment.

For more information about Action for Race Equality, visit: https://www.actionforraceequality.org.uk/

NB: Before the interview we play audio from a Moving on Up campaign video - to watch the video visit here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLW74O_aP90&t=56s

Credits

Brought to you by Lives of Colour

Hosted by Jord Hailwoord

Produced by Tyra at Foss Creative Studio

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.