MANY thanks to Michele Kirsch for exposing the hypocrisy, evasion and inconsistencies in both the Education Commission’s report on, and Diane Abbott’s attitude to, this problem (The Times, September 10). As a white, middle-class, woman teacher, I feel I’ve been blamed for long enough. I’ve taught in various parts of Africa, where being any or all of the above was considered irrelevant by all-black, all-male secondary school pupils who were just keen to succeed.
Georgia Lewis (quoted in the piece) is right: there are many black cultures. I now believe that certain subcultures among these are almost entirely to blame. If it’s racism, how come my present school is around 65 per cent Asian and its GCSE and A-level pass rates are among the highest in the country? Could positive cultural attitudes have something to do with that?
Kate Nivison,
Woodford Green, Essex
Three decades later . . .
HAVING been in the teaching profession for more than 20 years, I am constantly amazed at the number of times this surfaces in the news. This is not a new phenomenon; we have known about the underachievement of black boys (among other working-class children) since the mid-1970s — just refer to the Swann report. Isn’t it time we stopped wasting valuable time and money on what we already know?
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Black boys underperform at school because of institutional racism, low expectations of teachers (both black and white), low-income, single-parent families, inappropriate curriculum and so on. What we need now is a government committed to providing the best possible education for all our children, not just the privileged few who can afford to send their offspring to private education. I am willing to bet that all black boys would do well given the right schools with properly equipped classrooms.
Dr Kishor Patel,
kishor@plainspeaklondon.co.uk
Gender, not colour
AS IS always true of anything to do with Diane Abbott, Michele Kirsch’s piece only made sense when it stopped quoting her. The most important educational issue facing the nation today is the failure of boys to progress academically. It is not about the failure of white boys, it is not about the failure of black boys, it is just about the failure of boys.
As I recall, when girls fell behind boys, the system was changed. Should we consider changing it back now?
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Tony Doolin,
Stroud, Gloucestershire
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THERE should be more male teachers in school. Fathers should play a more active role in the upbringing of their sons and show more interest day to day and not leave it all to the mothers.
There should be more discipline at home. There are too many single-parent families with missing fathers. Break the street thinking that it is not manly to study and that it is only something that girls do.
Parents should be encouraged to attend open days and show interest in what is happening at school.
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Many black men have successful careers and they should be invited to schools to give talks to young black boys so that they can have positive role models. I have two children (now adults in their thirties), both of whom were educated in the UK. My daughter is a social worker and my son is an IT project manager. Black children can achieve, but both parents must play an active role.
Loleta Cox,
Reading
She should know
BLACK boys do not fail at good independent schools — just ask Diane Abbott.
Richard Jan,
jan.seas@virgin.net