I Heard What You Said: A Black Teacher, A White System
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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.
An Amazon Best Non-Fiction Book of The Year
‘Essential reading‘ – The Guardian
‘Sharp and witty with moments of startling candour‘ – The i
‘Revealing and beautifully written‘ – David Harewood
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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
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Additional information
| Publisher | Main Market edition (25 May 2023), Picador |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 384 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1529063752 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1529063752 |
| Reading age | 18 years and up |
| Dimensions | 13 x 2.7 x 19.6 cm |
by Anonymous
this book is awesome – it is educational, funny and eye-opening
by Maria
I couldn’t put this book down. The author’s writing style is humorous at perfect times and is easy to read. I recommend this book for every parent, anyone who works in the education system, and anyone who can make positive changes.
by Elaine
There’s nothing to add to what other reviews have already stated, this is an excellent book and I read it all in one night. For many reasons the education system in England has done plenty of damage to significant numbers of children and it needs more teachers like this one to start untangling its acid lined webs
by Tiny Travels
This book isn’t just essential reading for teachers, people working with children or parents of children in the school system, it’s essential for anyone who’s been raised in Britain and gone through the education system. This book was an incredible balance of a powerful, hard-hitting, vital message but with so much humour and wit so you didn’t want to put it down. I couldn’t recommend Jeffrey Boakye’s work enough.
by superjohnmcginlay
This book is essential reading for anyone working in education. It explores racism with clarity and it offers some excellent thinking points on a range of issues.
The book has an engaging, conversational style and it makes things tick along at a lovely pace. That’s not to say there aren’t moments that hit hard and leave you frustrated by such embedded inequality.
Essential for anyone looking to become more inclusive.
by Akaraogun 1
A lot to gain
by Ricardo
As a white middle-class British male, with children in the education system in England, I found this book to be an eye-opening and enlightening read. The book is written in a conversational way from lived experience that brings you on a journey of the authors life and work, and how the smallest throw away comments (to the deliberate ones) have an impact on people of black and ethnic minorities, and communities every day, and throughout their lives. It brings the reader alive to the way the whole education system is built through a white focal lens, and how this is accepted as the norm and anything else is not. The author constructively and non-confrontational gives clear guidance for change, so that we can understand difference and culture as part of a healthy society, and ensure we are all ally’s for change. A fantastic read.
by Veteran Hipster
This is an important and timely book. Boakye shares experiences and insights that are vital to how we, as a society, view ourselves today as we enter a new era of monarchy with Queen Elizabeth’s recent passing and her son Charles III becoming king. Juxtapose this with the harsh light of day with the killing of yet another young black man, Chris Kaba, in south London a few days before by police, to understand that seismic change has to be made – starting with our collective education towards a more inclusive society.