A few weeks ago a school leader told me about an incident where several students from their school were stopped and searched. It wasn’t just a gentle stop and search, the students, who were 16 and 17 years of age, were forced to the ground and handcuffed. For obvious reasons I can’t go into anyContinue reading “Students need to understand stop and search laws”
Category Archives: understanding black students
Let’s not cram black history into one month of the year
It’s hard to believe the month of October is almost here, which means Christmas is just around the corner. Apologies if that’s woken some of you out of a sweet reverie, but we can’t hide from the truth. October doesn’t just herald the countdown to Christmas, in the UK October has also been classified aContinue reading “Let’s not cram black history into one month of the year”
Black boys and banter: Don’t get it twisted!
I asked a group of my daughter’s friends (all in their mid twenties) to tell me what they wish their white teachers knew about them as a black student. The responses were interesting. A couple of responses I’ve written about in previous posts, but there were two in particular that caught my attention: “All myContinue reading “Black boys and banter: Don’t get it twisted!”
Why you don’t ask to touch a black person’s afro
Let me start by saying that this is not a lesson on the history of afro hair. For that I would recommend you start your learning journey by visiting the Mamasia website. This post is about the importance of recognising social boundaries, individuality, and exercising general respect and common sense. At the start of eachContinue reading “Why you don’t ask to touch a black person’s afro”
When students kiss their teeth, it’s not the same as swearing
All schools have behaviour policies, some of which are more detailed than others. These policies cover everything from personal responsibility and uniform to the expectations of how students should wear their hair. Anyone who has been following the news of late will know how much of a contentious issue the latter has been when itContinue reading “When students kiss their teeth, it’s not the same as swearing”