Teach Primary Issue 18.6

The author is a teacher in England. VO I C E S My experience as a Bangladeshi teacher in rural Norfolk has been far from smooth sailing Existing as a person of colour in majority-white settings W hen I took on my first teaching role in Norfolk, I’d already spent six years as a teacher in two large multicultural primary schools in London. Armed with all the experience I had gained as both a teacher and middle manager, I was convinced I could handle any challenge thrown at me. I soon realised how naive I had been. I’d applied to schools in Norwich, feeling confident that I would be appointed in a city school, and was surprised to secure a position in a one-form entry village school. The headteacher had made a bold decision to appoint me, as the school population was all white. She was someone whom I consider outward-looking, and who wanted what she called ‘fresh thinking’ in her school. Despite this, she was very aware of how parents might react, and invited them to a ‘meet the teacher’ event. It was clear to me, as the only teacher who was asked to do this before the new academic year, that being an experienced teacher wasn’t going to be enough. Over time, I’ve come to understand the huge worries headteachers in small rural settings face each year as birth rates fluctuate. Keeping parents ‘on side’, to avoid falling pupil numbers, is important. This tension once led a senior leader to instruct me to not ‘play the race card’; they promptly halted a conversation about negative comments being made about me by a small group of parents, in case they removed their children from the school. Adults, rather than children, tend to be the group most set in their ways when faced with someone who doesn't fit the norm of what a ‘Norfolk teacher’ is expected to look like. Unfortunately, this also applies to those working in the education system. These are the people supposedly leading the way with inclusion and equal opportunities; the very ideas that ensure every child has fair and equitable access to education. In the 18 years I have been teaching in Norfolk, not once has a visiting professional approached me as the class teacher to speak to me about children they were supporting. It’s a teaching assistant, a volunteer or even a fresh-faced student teacher who is the first person the speech and language therapist, educational psychologist, PGCE student mentor or any other visitor to my classroom seeks out. It’s clear that there is still a presumption in Norfolk that the lead professional in the room could not be the non-white person. One of the main reasons behind this could be the lack of diversity in the teaching workforce in Norfolk. This is part of a wider issue. A recent study from the University of Warwick (2023) reported that 55 per cent of schools have no ethnic minority teacher. Despite many negative and often uncomfortable interactions I've had with adults over the years, there have been many positive experiences and, unsurprisingly, nearly all have been while teaching. Children are open and inquisitive, and do not hesitate to ask where you are from and which languages you speak. I quickly learned to share my background with every class I teach. I’ve often been delighted with their interest when they independently find Bangladesh in an atlas during a reading session, or arrive at school to tell me they have found out the name of its capital city. They’ve also enjoyed listening to old Bangladeshi proverbs, told in Bangla. I like to think I have introduced a different perspective, exposing children to a level of cultural diversity and also increasing their understanding of wider societal problems. For example, I have talked about the problem of flooding caused by deforestation where I lived in Bangladesh, and the disparity between girls’ and boys’ schooling back home. I have even applied mehndi decorations for Eid celebrations. Wherever we teach, developing our pupils’ understanding and awareness of different cultures, languages and races is important. Increasing their ability to empathise with those who may have different backgrounds or experiences from themselves will help challenge biases and stereotypes. One of the ways we can address this is by aiming to have a teaching profession that is representative of wider society in all schools... even in rural Norfolk. TP “I soon realised how naive I had been” www.teachwire.net | 19