Yesterday, I delivered a session to a group of BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) leaders at Aureus school, we were warned that a dance school is also at the venue and apologies were made about the noise. Through the session, I was particularly amazed at the content of the experience of the delegates and their personal drive to make change for the pupils they serve.
During the session, a tiny, young face appears, not two feet tall, in the glass panel next to the door. As everyone one is a teacher, we all stop, wave and welcomed our young visitor into the room. Yes, I was also thinking about safeguarding, then I spotted an adult standing behind her.
During the session, a tiny, young face appears, not two feet tall, in the glass panel next to the door. As everyone one is a teacher, we all stop, wave and welcomed our young visitor into the room. Click To TweetHannah Wilson (Executive Headteacher) goes to the door and greets our visitor. Angel who is the sweetest year 2 pupil and also happens to be BAME (or part Global Majority), looks absolutely perplexed. We all introduce ourselves as teachers and tell her that one day we may end up teaching her, yet look of pure confusion doesn’t budge.
Has this child ever seen a BAME teacher? When asked if she had she promptly said no, she didn’t shake her head and the expression on her face is unchanged, she is shocked, and this broke my heart.
It took me back to another scenario, at a similar session but this time there were 50 BAME leaders in a room, in a venue near London. Where a group of boys congregated at the door and were continually ushered on. As teenage boy do they asked “what was going on?” when told followed the same look of confusion rode across etched across their faces, “but they are… They are …” the conversation trails off” until a teacher ushering says… black?
I have to say, to the absolute credit, Jon Chalenor (CEO of GLF Trust) he opened the blinds to the room and celebrated the event with the pupils.
These pupils had never seen such a concentration of BAME leaders in a room, and to these pupils (also BAME), the scene challenged their internal workings. How do you aspire to something that you cannot see?
‘How did we become so god damn invisible? Because If you don’t see yourself represented outside of yourself you just feeling F***ing invisible’
John Leguizamo (Latin History for Mor*ns)
In conclusion, if pupils don’t see people in power that look like them? Along with a curriculum which mainly ignores the achievements of members of the global majority. They not only feel invisible they end up feeling inferior, and even more dangerous their white counterparts superior.
Change comes through actions. If you are a part of a marginalised group know that celebrating your successes has a wider impact, you owe it to those boys and you owe it to Angel.
Really like this blog post! I currently teach in a school with a predominantly middle class white intake and whilst the students are lovely on the whole I’m really yearning to teach in a more diverse school with more BAME students and staff. It’s a large part of the reason I wanted to become a teacher in the first place!
Representation matters for students and through my own experience (only black teacher in the school) I can also say it matters for staff too.