“Education”
is last of these amazing films … which are receiving acclaim from all quarters over
here …
 |
From a YouTube link on
'How to Draw a Rocket Ship' |
We see a
very bright boy interested in the stars and planets, while wanting to be an
astronaut, who was good at maths, able to communicate, excellent at art with an
imagination that was broad – only to be undone as a child by an education
system that was populated with racist teachers with exceedingly narrow and
unhelpful minds.
The child,
Kingsley, portrayed by an outstanding young actor ‘Kenyah Sandy’, is followed
through this nightmare … his problem is he cannot read … he’s dyslexic and
terrified of disclosing this problem – suffering at school, concealing it at
home.
 |
Star Cluster Pismis 24
with nebula |
The school
shuns him – offering no choices or help – he is to go to a ‘special school’ …
where all the kids who cannot help themselves go … those who are definitely
backward, those who will struggle, and those whom the ‘system’ is not prepared
to recognise.
The teachers
… if they can be called that … just take the mickey out of the system … for
example one of their teachers incessantly plays ‘House of the Rising Sun’ badly
on his guitar … to a class that cannot do anything about it – authority disinterestedly
suppresses.
 |
| Debuts 25 July 1964 |
It is
painful to watch … but McQueen brings each scene to life by taking it back to
the 1970s … all details exactly as they would have been.
It is, as it
happens, autobiographical … and we see that early part of McQueen's/Kingsley's life unfold –
he’s a kid, he doesn’t know what to do … his elder sister is supportive, their
mother is working three jobs, their father a carpenter/tradesman … their own aspirations – suppressed by the British system.
 |
Steve McQueen c/o Washington Post -
see article below |
Fortunately
the women in the West Indian community realise something needs to be done … one
goes undercover to the appalling sub-normal school – and sees the disaster
being wreaked …
… another
colleague goes to see Kingsley’s mother … who cannot understand what’s been
happening … and whose husband is typically locked into the way of life …
downtrodden, and certainly has no aspirations for his family or himself.
The women
persuade the family to let Kingsley attend Saturday school, put on by understanding West Indian parents to help children who struggle.
 |
Amazon book on 'The Glory of
African Kings and Queens' - by
Pusch Commey |
Kingsley
very quickly thrives … his talents are recognised, his curiosity is
acknowledged by being encouraged … he learns to read … and is seen round the
family dinner table getting to grips with his reading through a children’s
history of African kings and queens.
Steve
McQueen – as we now know did get out of the sub-normal school system and has
achieved so much with his life – which I will write about in 2021.
 |
| Kenyah Sandy as 'Kingsley' in the BBC film |
There’s an
interesting snippet in the film … when the West Indian Women’s Association …
whose aim is to allow children to blossom, and not be kept back by ‘the system’
…
… as the
parents can, if they’re in the period of appeal, apply to get their children
out from the sub-normal schools into regular schooling … by writing to the
Secretary of State for Education – who at that time was Margaret Thatcher – our
future British Prime Minister!
These have
all been extraordinary films … with Education being the last of the five …
appropriate … as it lets us know about the British school system fifty years
ago (1970s) …
 |
| An appropriate Chinese proverb |
… but I
would also suggest opens our eyes to other ways of life … back then and now …
here in this country, and in other countries in this muddled world we seem to
find ourselves in …
 |
The book written by
Bernard Coard on the
system published 1971 |
It is well
worth seeing … as poor schooling, lack of appreciation of others’ societies,
where our historical roots might be … has been the ruin of many a poor person …
I will
struggle to enjoy that song ever again … the visuals will remain …
Thank you
for reading, commenting and being interested – there will be more … along
slightly different lines in 2021, as well as report backs on outings I haven’t
written up about …
One more
post before Christmas and the New Year … which ties many of my recent posts
together … it’ll be short …
Washington Post article with Steve McQueen on this his 5th film in the Small Axe series ...
Article on the 'How the West Indian Child is made institutionally sub-normal in the British School System' ... by Bernard Coard
Article from The Guardian - by Bernard Coard on why he wrote the English Sub-Normal Schools book - see in post
Hilary
Melton-Butcher
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