I Heard What You Said
A Black Teacher, A White System
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Pan Macmillan
Published:25th May '23
£10.99
Available for immediate dispatch.
A powerful call to action over an education system that is default white, from a black man who has spent decades being failed by it as both a student and a teacher.
Thought-provoking, witty and completely unafraid to call out some of the most pressing issues of our times, this sharp analysis of racism in education is also a vision for how to do better by all our students.
Shortlisted for the Bread & Roses Award
An Amazon Best Non-Fiction Book of The Year
‘Essential reading‘ – TheGuardian
‘Sharp and witty with moments of startling candour‘ – The i
‘Revealing and beautifully written‘ – David Harewood
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A thought-provoking and fearless exploration of how we can dismantle racism in the classroom and do better by all our students.
???????Before Jeffrey Boakye was a black teacher, he was a black student. Which means he has spent a lifetime navigating places of learning that are white by default. Since training to teach, he has often been the only black teacher at school. At times seen as a role model, at others a source of curiosity, Boakye’s is a journey of exploration – from the outside looking in.
In the groundbreaking I Heard What You Said, he recounts how it feels to be on the margins of the British education system. As a black, male teacher – an English teacher who has had to teach problematic texts – his very existence is a provocation to the status quo, giving him a unique perspective on the UK’s classrooms.
Told through a series of eye-opening encounters based on the often challenging and sometimes outrageous things people have said to him or about him – from ‘Can you rap?‘ and ‘Have you been in prison?‘ to ‘Stephen who?‘ – Boakye reflects with passion and wit on what he has found out about the presumptions, silences and distortions that underpin the experience of black students and teachers.
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‘Hugely important‘ – Baroness Lawrence
‘Deeply compelling, intellectually rigorous and essential‘ – Nels Abbey
‘Makes a powerful case‘ – Rt Hon Lady Hale
Essential reading . . . perhaps most of all for those Black children who may be currently going through school not realising why they are made to feel small, out of step and unworthy. For them in particular, it could be a ray of hope. * The Guardian *
I Heard What You Saidmakes a powerful case: until we have rid our educational system of its dominant whiteness we cannot hope to give all our children the educational experience they need and deserve. -- Rt Hon Lady Hale
Revealing and beautifully written. -- David Harewood
Written with passion, fury, knowledge and, in spite of the painful subject, wit. Do you want to break down entrenched structural racism in schools? Then read this. -- Patrice Lawrence MBE, prize-winning author of Orangeboy
Sharp and witty with moments of startling candour. * The i *
Deeply compelling, intellectually rigorous and essential . . . The more people read this book, the better our education system will be understood. -- Nels Abbey, author of Think Like a White Man
A riveting account . . . Rich with entertaining anecdotes. * The Bookseller *
Personal and political, profound and playful, Boakye's sharp analysis of the classroom and the staffroom is essential reading. -- Darren Chetty, co-author of How to Disagree
The book I’ve been waiting for and the book every teacher should read. Brave, brutally honest, funny and necessary. -- Ben Lindsay, author of We Need To Talk About Race
I couldn't put it down . . . a must read. -- Laura Henry-Allain MBE
An incredibly powerful, gripping book . . .It's simultaneously energising, uplifting and optimistic and eye-opening and challenging. -- Tom Sherrington (@teacherhead)
I found myself being educated, delighted, saddened, informed, surprised, shocked, touched and enlightened in turn . . . A must-read book. -- Sue Cowley, author, presenter, teacher
A signature blend of endearing wit and engaging prose. -- K. DeMi Ryans
Timely and thought provoking. -- Leninna Ofori (@healingoverhandbags)
An impassioned, articulate, and irresistible call to arms. * SchoolsWeek *
ISBN: 9781529063752
Dimensions: 196mm x 130mm x 27mm
Weight: 272g
384 pages