EDUCATION

BURNING WORK, JUNE 22, 2020

Chaired by Sara Burke

Sir Geoffrey Palmer OBE

Award-winning chemist, Professor Emeritus in School of Life Sciences at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

Sir Geoffrey began his presentation on the UK's approach to the education of Black students with his recollection of being considered, along with other Black students, as "educationally subnormal." Black parents were considered by the educational establishment to have "unrealistic expectations" if they wanted their children to become doctors or other such professionals, because those children spoke patois and therefore could not understand complex concepts. Sir Geoffrey wrote a number of articles in the Times Educational Supplement in the 1960s challenging this narrative as slavery-derived, in light of research carried out by Hans Eysenck that argued that Black people were genetically inferior to whites in terms of IQ. Sir Geoffrey believes that these "slavery-derived" attitudes still linger in education today, and that context frames our interactions with the system as a community.

How do we then address this? Sir Geoffrey made the following points:

Although ingrained prejudices are difficult to challenge, we need to interrogate the reasons for any underachievement by Black pupils at school. We need to speak with those in positions of power in order to really effect change ‐ another feature of navigating the system, as alluded to above, is ensuring that we do not fall into the trap of only communicating with those without institutional influence as the system often leads us to do.

• Decolonising the curriculum: slavery must be taught (it should not be optional) and taught properly. For example, William Wilberforce's role in abolishing the slave trade is well known. However, Henry Dundas's role in delaying that process is practically unheard of despite there being a large statue of him in Edinburgh (the plaque for which Sir Geoffrey has successfully lobbied to have amended). White teachers also need to be taught about history properly, so we do not pass down racism to another generation.

• Statutory funding for working Black parents: the community would benefit from funding for community-based initiatives and structures that address immediate needs for Black children and support Black parents in providing for their children so they can focus on their education.

Louis Brown

2nd year Mathematics student at Oxford University and tutor at the Louise DaCocodia Education Trust Supplementary School.

Similarly to Sir Geoffrey, Louis frames his presentation around the stereotype of Black people being of lower IQ by narrating the story of the Larry P case from San Francisco, where IQ tests were carried out on children who were subsequently placed in classes for the "educable mentally retarded" if they failed to achieve the required score. Unsurprisingly, there was an overrepresentation of Black children in these classes, not least because the questions were racially and culturally biased; for example, one of the questions cited by Louis was "What would you do if you found someone's wallet [in a shop]?" ‐ a moral question in a test that ought to be measuring intelligence and capacity to learn. With this framing in mind, Louis went on to address how Black children can succeed in an education system that contains these biases.

• Encourage independent learning where possible: unfortunately Black students cannot rely completely on the education system in its current form, so we need to learn and share tools to broaden the terms of reference. Teaching students how to work independently to supplement their own learning will give them a 'head start'. This will in turn enable them to improve marks, consequently enabling them to be placed in higher sets. This will also encourage and build self-belief that is necessary to prompt Black students to apply to top universities and pursue opportunities as they are presented to them.

• Use of Saturday Schools: Louis volunteers with the Louise DaCocodia Supplementary School, where he assists Black children with Maths and English. The school not only fills in the gaps in children's education, but also incorporates Black studies into their teaching. For example, the English department at the school created a writing programme based on Black figures such as space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock. These schools are invaluable to the community and ought to be invested in; they help Black students who have fallen through the cracks in mainstream education and they push those who are succeeding to further excel. Additionally, the cultural and pastoral importance of African and Caribbean teachers teaching African and Caribbean children must also be noted.

Concluding Thoughts:

As Sir Geoffrey so aptly opined, a child's education and outcomes should not be down to luck. We need to address educational inequality both at a national level and, in the meantime, as a community, by working for sustainable change and improvements as suggested above.