Layers of Blackness: Colourism in the African Diaspora by Deborah Gabriel My rating: 5 of 5 stars To trace the history of anti-blackness, Gabriel looks at some Biblical roots, the so-called curse of Ham. Chattel slavery in Africa predated the arrival of Europeans, with Arabs keeping African slaves (meanwhile Europeans such as the Greeks had… Continue reading in the shade
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte My rating: 5 of 5 stars When I started secondary school I was mildly apprehensive about ‘physics’, an unfamiliar word that elicited an actual shudder from my mother. Fortunately, my elderly teacher had an infectious affection for his subject. I remember that he noticed me… Continue reading SHOW ME THE DATA
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire My rating: 4 of 5 stars Perhaps I have been reading in the wrong order. I’m very familiar with the idea of dialogic pedagogy, mainly from my PGCE and reading Radical Education and the Common School, which is about liberatory education for children and young people as well… Continue reading Unlearning diagonal violence & other thoughts
Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations by Bell Hooks My rating: 5 of 5 stars In her introduction, hooks writes about finding herself at home in Cultural Studies ‘where interdisciplinary work [as opposed to the conventional specialised & periodised pedagogy she’d felt so limited by] was encouraged and affirmed’. When white male academics in the US discovered… Continue reading Living the message
My dad pointed out that my previous post is esoteric, so I’m trying to write a more accessible one, rather than just thinking out loud. Folks, I am a science teacher. One of the things I always try to do with my students is teach them not to trust science uncritically. Science has a sociology,… Continue reading In search of the body
You Wouldn’t Understand…: White Teachers in Multi-Ethnic Classrooms by Sarah Pearce My rating: 5 of 5 stars In response to this article I commented: I can highly recommend this book which I read during my PGCE. It’s written by a White woman teaching in a multiracial school (White readers will find the dismantling of her… Continue reading Race-conscious primary teaching
I regularly call my Mum when anxiety threatens to overwhelm me. “I’ve got a new student. I’m scared. They’re supposedly working at a high level. What if I can’t help them?” “Relax darling, you’ll be fine.” she soothes, leaving me a little calmer but unconvinced . After the session I send a text “That was… Continue reading Imposter syndrome: my experience
