Schools’ Positive Role in Promoting Racial Equality促进种族平等，学校积极作为

莱拉·莫兰

From curricula to leadership， we need to transform the experience of education.從课程安排到管理层面，我们需要变革教育体验。

The Black Lives Matter campaign has thrown a long-overdue， and much needed， spotlight on the racial inequalities in our school system.

As a former teacher， I firmly believe in the transformative power of education. At its best， it enhances the lives of individuals and improves our wider society. So， the changes I want to see to our curriculum are not just important because they will broaden students understanding of history or help them appreciate more varied literature， although these benefits are， in themselves， incredibly important. I also believe that starting in our schools is crucial if we are going to unpick the systemic racism and other inequalities which are still all too pervasive in our country.

Research published by the Guardian earlier this summer showed that only 11 per cent of GCSE students were studying a module which referred to black peoples contribution to Britain， and fewer than one in ten were learning about the empire. The English curriculum offered by exam board AQA includes only five texts by Black， Asian and other Ethnic Minority authors， out of a total of 54， despite calls to increase diversity in recent years.

The Impact of Omission campaign， which has done research into the impact of leaving out elements of our nations history from what young people are taught at school， has published powerful testimonies. It quotes one survey respondent who said： “I hated history in school…[which] entirely skirt[ed] around everything which would have been important for me to know in my adult life… I deeply resent the quality of my history education.”

This is a young person who has been unforgivably let down by our education system and there will be millions of others who have felt the same. I cannot imagine how the government can fail to recognise how urgent and how vital this change is. It is incredibly disappointing that the schools minister has turned down calls for a review. I for one will not stop fighting for this change， and I know that determined activists who are driving the campaign will not give up this fight either.

Making these reforms to the curriculum and exams could be relatively straight forward， if only the government would agree. What would come next， in terms of embedding changes into the ethos and day-to-day running of schools， is perhaps the bigger challenge.

The Diversity Reform Initiative， an organisation that campaigns on racial inequality， miseducation and disadvantages within the education system， makes a number of practical recommendations for what should be done， alongside changes to the curriculum.

Among the important steps it has called for is “more racially inclusive teacher training which will allow for teachers to be better educated and sensitive to racial differences between students and trained on how to manage these differences.”

Teacher training is currently insufficiently diverse and does not prepare teachers for subjects that are at present unfamiliar. Making initial teacher training more racially inclusive by helping teachers to be sensitive to cultural differences， to avoid instigating microaggressions and to be confident to call out racism， is an important first step.

The Diversity Reform Initiative also recommends making “sociology， pol-itics and psychology accessible from a younger age to educate children on the society， communities， and institutional oppression.” Giving children the skills and resilience to identify， confront and overcome prejudice， discrimination and institutional racism is such an important role that schools can play. We need to weave positive messages of equality， inclusivity， and empowerment into everything we teach young people.

We must also do much more to increase the diversity of the teaching workforce， particularly in senior leadership roles. Currently more than nine in ten school headteachers are white and this needs to change.

By discussing a wider range of historical perspectives， we can give the next generation more chance of understanding the issues around racial inequality which still impact us today. As another participant in the Impact of Omission research noted： “Its vital to further educate children in primary and secondary school about the impacts of what black people face due to our barbaric ancestors. How its now deeply embedded in our society to view black people differently and how to this day is having fatal repercussions.”

With greater knowledge we can begin to understand areas of our recent history too. Both our failings as a society， such as the disgraceful treatment of the Windrush generation1， but also the overwhelmingly positive contribution black people and people of all ethnicities have made to our society in all aspects of life.

None of what I have described here is a new problem， and I am far from the first person to call for these changes. But I sincerely hope that the powerful protests and the phenomenal surge of activism in recent months will be the real wake-up call our society so desperately needs. Sadly， our education system—from Whitehall down to individual schools—is no exception. Tough questions need to be asked and real action needs to be taken.

But， if done right， our schools can be a driving force for genuine， positive change for generations to come.

“黑人的命也是命”运动已使人们开始关注我们学校体系中存在的种族不平等问题，这种关注是迫切所需，早该到来。

曾经身为教师的我，坚信教育有能力带来变革。若充分发挥其作用，它能够改变个人生活，并带来更广泛的社会进步。我期待的课程改革之所以重要，不仅是因为它们将拓展学生对历史的理解，或帮助他们学会欣赏更多元的文学作品，尽管这些方面本身也极为重要。我还相信，如果要消除我们国家仍然普遍存在的系统性种族主义及其他不平等现象，从学校开始至关重要。

《卫报》今年夏天早些时候发表的一项研究显示，只有11%的英国初中畢业生学到过关于黑人对英国的贡献的知识模块，而只有不到十分之一的学生学到过有关大英帝国的历史。尽管近年来人们呼吁增加多样性，但是在英国资格评估与认证联合会提供的共由54篇课文构成的英语课程中，只有5篇的作者为黑人、亚裔和其他少数民族。

在年轻人的在校教育中，忽略了我们国家某些方面的历史，对于由此造成的影响，“不作为的影响”运动进行了研究，并发表了有力的证据。它引述了一位受访者的话：“我讨厌学校的历史课……（它）完全绕开了对我成年后的生活起重要作用的一切内容……我对自己所受历史教育的质量深感不满。”

我们的教育体系不可饶恕地辜负了这个年轻人，还有数以百万计的人也会有同样的感受。我无法想象，政府怎么会认识不到这一改革的紧迫性和重要性？令人极度失望的是，教育部长拒绝了对现有课程进行审查的呼吁。拿我来说，我不会停止为这一改革而斗争，我知道，那些下定决心推动这场运动的积极分子们也不会放弃斗争。

只要政府同意，对课程和考试进行上述改革就会相对简单。接下来要做的，是将变革融入学校的风气和日常运营中，这或许是更大的挑战。

“多元化改革倡议”是一个针对教育体系内种族不平等、不当教育和不利因素开展活动的组织。除了改革课程外，该组织还就需要采取的其他措施提出一些切实可行的建议。

它呼吁采取的重要步骤包括“更具种族包容性的教师培训，这将使教师受到更好的教育，使他们对学生之间的种族差异感觉灵敏，教会他们如何管理这些差异。”

教师培训目前不够多元化，没有让教师做好准备来应对当前还不熟悉的主题。通过帮助教师对文化差异保持敏感、避免引起微歧视，并自信地指出种族主义的问题，让初期教师培训更具种族包容性是重要的第一步，具体方式可以包括帮助教师保持对文化差异的敏感、避免挑起微攻击，以及理直气壮地呼吁人们警惕种族主义问题。。

“多元化改革倡议”还建议“让儿童从小有机会接受社会学、政治学和心理学教育，了解社会、社区和体制性压迫”。给予儿童一定的技能和适应能力，让他们在面对偏见、歧视和体制性种族主义时能加以识别、对抗及克服，学校在这方面能发挥重要作用。我们需要将有关平等、包容和赋权的正面信息，融入我们教给年轻人的每一件事中。

我们必须采取更多行动来促进教师队伍的多元化，特别是高级领导岗位的多元化。目前，超过百分之九十的校长是白人，这需要改变。

通过讨论更广泛的历史观点，我们可以让下一代有更多的机会了解与种族不平等相关的问题，这些问题至今仍然影响着我们。正如另一位参与“不作为的影响”研究的人所指出的：“要进一步让中小学的孩子们了解，由于我们祖先的野蛮行为，黑人所面临的种种影响，这一点至关重要。要让他们了解，对黑人的歧视现在是如何深深地植根于我们的社会并且时至今日仍在产生致命恶果的。”

有了更多的知识，我们就可以开始了解我们近代史的某些方面。既有我们作为一个社会的缺陷，例如“疾风一代”遭遇的耻辱待遇，也有黑人和其他各族人民在生活的各个方面对我们社会做出的大量积极贡献。

我在这里描述的问题都不是刚刚出现的，我也绝非第一个呼吁进行改革的人。但我真诚地希望，近几个月来有力的抗议活动和惊人的激进主义浪潮，将真正敲响我们社会迫切需要的警钟。可悲的是，我们的整个教育体系——上至白厅下至各个学校——都需要改革。我们需要对此提出尖锐的问题并采取真正的行动。

但是，如果措施得当，我们的学校可以成为推动未来几代人真正积极变革的力量。