A few years ago, a teacher friend told me that she had been administering an English speaking and listening exam to her group of Year 11s. Having instructed them to prepare a speech making an argument they would have to defend under questioning, nothing in her training had prepared her for the opening statement of one young man’s strident speech: "9/11 was invented to kill Muslims".
Terminating the exam and reviewing the rest of his notes, she found references to Zionist conspiracies, garbled slogans and a deep-seated hatred of the American and British governments. Despite the fact that she passed on her concerns about his vulnerability to potential extremist influences, no action was taken. Maybe a decision was taken to ease off because of his difficult home life or maybe his explanation about creating a persona was given the benefit of the doubt.
.... Outside the home, for many of these children, teachers are their connection with the wider world; their guides and guardians. We can’t just abandon them to face a rising tide of extremism and hate alone. [tes] Read more
