Page 10 - Anti-Racism Pocketbook for Schools and Academies
P. 10
The impact on racism on children/parents/carers and
ethnically diverse staff
Firstly, many ethnic minority teachers have openly discussed
how systemic racism, overt, and subtle racism affect the
educational system within the UK. Looking at the statistic
shown above, we can see that there is an issue with offering
ethnic minority people jobs and retaining them within the
industry.
Describing his experience as a black male teacher, Adrian
Rollins gives various examples to some of the racial prejudice
that ethnic teachers face. Beginning with a student calling
him racial slurs and him being victimised after this student
received a light consequence for his actions, Rollins described
a very micro-aggressive work environment that would ‘nit-
pick’ his every move until he left.
Outside of these micro-aggressive workplaces, it can be
difficult for many ethnic teachers to find support due to the
lack of other minorities working within the same
environment as them. Feeling unsafe, undervalued, and
completely victimised within his work, Rollins left his
position.
Secondly, this lack of representation of ethnic minorities
within the UK educational system that was discussed above,
leads into the impact of racism on children within the school
system.
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