7 minute read
A class act
When the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was toppled in Bristol last year, history teachers Jane Bolam and Kate Smee (both pictured) decided to write a new textbook on the city’s part in the transatlantic slave trade. Emily Jenkins finds out what makes them a class act.
“WHAT teachers are lacking when it comes to teaching about race, are materials that have really considered questions about where racism comes from, the representation of Black people within those books, and the language we want to use around race,” says Kate Smee from Fairfield High School in Bristol.
“When the statue came down, I went into activist mode and asked myself what I could do as a teacher. I wanted to make an impact,” explains Jane, who teaches history at Downend School. Jane, who already had an established network of history colleagues across Bristol, organised an online meeting to discuss how educators might start conversations within their classrooms.
It led to a year-long project to create better materials to help support teaching about transatlantic slavery for year 8 students.
Overlooked as not on any exam spec
“The percentage of Black teachers in schools in Bristol is incredibly low. We’re not where we hope to be. Transatlantic slavery is one of these subjects where, because it’s not on any exam specification, there are these huge areas educators know nothing about. We thought it was a really important subject that people need to understand in depth to teach it sensitively and respectfully,” Jane explains.
Initially, the eight teachers involved planned to create a document to share among colleagues. However, when they contacted the M Shed museum in Bristol to ask for access to its online resources, the museum offered to publish it as a book.
Each person was assigned chapters to research and write, and each was sent to Black children and history teachers, African and African-Caribbean community organisations, historians and leading academics who provided in-depth criticism, advice and expertise.
“Sometimes the feedback was uncomfortable,” Kate confesses. “For example, during an early draft, teachers came back to us and said they felt like the enslaved people in the book were a bit faceless. So we then made a big effort to get named individuals in wherever we could.”
Bristol history teachers Jane Bolam (far left) and Kate Smee, who wrote Bristol and Transatlantic Slavery. Schools can get copies of the book at a reduced price by emailing museumbookings@ bristol.gov.uk
Emphasis on resistance
Language was a constant consideration, with the authors deciding to only use the term “enslaved Africans” rather than “slaves”.
“Our emphasis was on resistance. A lot of textbooks focus on enslaved Africans as victims without agency. But we wanted our language to reflect the fact that they were human beings. And for the book to focus on how they reacted to the cruelty they faced,” says Jane, passionately.
“The other thing that is really different about the book is that it explicitly teaches about the construction of racialisation,” Kate explains. She says they worked to include comprehensive materials explaining how racialisation has been used throughout history to dehumanise groups and individuals.
“I think it’s a topic most teachers are nervous of addressing, but if you teach it as a deliberately constructed idea for economic gain, it makes it much easier to deconstruct.”
It is clear Kate and Jane are extremely proud of the book and say working on it has profoundly influenced the way they teach.
“I’m from Bristol, I was taught in Bristol and I’ve been a teacher in this city for 30 years, and I believe this really moves things forward. I know that I talk a lot more about the sensitivities of language with my students,” reflects Jane.
Sensitivities of language
Kate observes that she is now far more understanding of how the topic can be emotionally overwhelming for some students in her class.
“When you teach a subject like the Holocaust, you’re super-attuned to the fact that some students will find it difficult, but I’ve never been as mindful in classes about transatlantic enslavement. So now, at the start of the lesson I say: ‘Can we be really mindful that this is a sensitive topic, and we need to take care of our language.’ I never did that in the past.”
Kate also shares her hope that the book will have a positive impact on the young people in her classroom. “I hope Black students in the community where I teach feel proud of their heritage, and the white students feel respectful of that heritage.”
Jane agrees: “I’m hoping this will enable young people and teachers to have really intelligent, informed, respectful conversations that help move society on.”
n To read a review of the book, see page 39
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NEU appeal: ‘desperate’ Afghan winter looms
AS Afghan children face an unforgiving winter, the NEU has stepped up its support of Save the Children’s humanitarian work.
Following the launch of an appeal at a webinar in November, the union has been encouraging members and districts to donate and organise fundraising events in their workplace.
NEU joint general secretary Mary Bousted commented: “The testimonies shared at the launch, including from Save the Children and an Afghan teachers’ union representative, painted a desperate picture.
“That is why I was encouraged to be joined by so many members who have resolved to raise this appeal in their districts, schools and communities.”
The situation is desperate. Millions of girls are still out of school. Ten million children require humanitarian assistance and winter is going to bring deeper challenges. “We’re looking at 23 million people marching towards starvation,” warned the director of the World Food Programme in November. “The next six months are going to be catastrophic. It is going to be hell on Earth,” he added.
Some 5.5 million people are displaced in Afghanistan and most of them are women. Healthcare is in a critical state and the economy is in meltdown. There is an urgent need to agree an international mechanism for allowing aid to flow to the country so that critical services can be provided: some 75 per cent of Afghanistan’s public expenditure in recent years was funded by foreign aid. Hospitals and schools need vital funds and doctors and teachers need paying, otherwise healthcare and education will continue to suffer severely.
Afghan girls playing a game PHOTO by Shkiba MIS officer
Hungry, out of school, no medical care
Afghanistan is one of the world’s most dangerous places to be a child. Many are hungry, out of school and have no access to medical care. Freezing winter nights, where temperatures can reach minus 27oC, brings another threat to children’s lives.
NEU international committee chair Gawain Little said: “The situation is harrowing. Millions of girls remain out of school and millions are starving. International solidarity is vital and will be the difference between life and death. I am confident our members and their districts will step up and support the union’s fundraising drive.
“We’re supporting Save the Children’s Emergency Fund to help children in Afghanistan stay safe, healthy and learning.”
n To donate visit justgiving.com/campaign/
neu-afghanistan
Teachers arrested protesting military coup in Sudan
NEARLY a hundred teachers have been arrested in Sudan as civilians mobilised to protest the military coup that began in October.
The coup, which saw the arrest of the prime minister and dissolution of the transitional government, has been met by protests throughout the country.
Sudan’s teachers’ unions, which have reported on the arrest of their members, indicated that teachers were also met with tear gas and violence – one head teacher had her leg broken.
Demonstrators are demanding the military government stand aside and allow a peaceful transition to civilian control. More than 100 government officials and political leaders, alongside scores of protesters, have also been arrested.
As Educate went to press, ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok had been reinstated, signing a new power-sharing agreement with the military. However, mass protests continue across the country.
Global powers, including the UK, have welcomed the reinstatement of Hamdok, but questions remain over the military’s commitment to the deal. Experts suggest the new agreement significantly weakens the standing of the civilian cabinet. Others, including the Umma party (Sudan’s biggest), rejected the deal before it had even been signed.
NEU joint general secretaries Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney have written to Sudan’s ambassador in the UK, expressing deep concern for the safety and democratic freedoms of Sudan’s citizens and calling on the authorities to restore peace and democracy.
The coup disrupted plans for a transition to democracy that were negotiated between military and civilian leaders after its authoritarian president Omar al-Bashir was toppled in 2019. Civilian and military leaders are supposed to be leading the country together in a power-sharing deal which launched the transitional Sovereign Council. This was supposed to be in place for another year before elections and a transition to civilian rule were set to take place.
The coup arrived on top of a deep economic crisis, which is causing shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Serious concern exists for the people of Sudan: solidarity marches have taken place around the world, including across the UK, and the African Union, the UN and other international powers condemned the coup.
