Opinion - Look out for extremists

Teachers can become, and are, members of the far-right BNP party, which believes in repatriation of ethnic minorities. How can they hold these views and treat all children fairly? Much of what a teacher does is at their discretion: which child to pick to answer questions, what grades are given, who is punished and for what. These powers could all easily be used to discriminate against non-white pupils.

For example, a relative of mine was constantly getting in trouble at primary school and thought he was being picked on. His mother spoke to the teacher, who admitted that sometimes a group of boys misbehaved and she couldn't identify each one, but recognised Roy because 'he does stand out with that hairstyle, doesn't he?' Roy has mini-dreadlocks and was the only black boy in the group. The teacher probably did not intend to be racist in singling out Roy, but he was easy to identify and therefore blamed for the group's behaviour. Until Roy's mother pointed this out, the teacher had no idea that she was effectively discriminating against Roy. She was not knowingly racist, but this is how institutionalised racism works.