Systemic and institutionalised discrimination does exist and, sad to say, still exist in the education system. In a conversation with a child, I was asked, what is systemic racism? or discrimination? I cited the example of favouritism of one person over another based on the skin colour, or disability, sex and age. If a person of a particular skin colour gives more opportunities to someone of similar skin colour over someone with a different skin colour. This can be seen as systemic racism. Systemic discrimination looks like this:

In my 20 years experience of being in the education and childcare sector, I can state, I have experienced discrimination. However, because the structure of education and childcare teaches and practise anti-discrimination, this experience has been far in between and comes more has indirect discrimination.

I sometimes wonder if the experience of having individuals with less experience or qualifications than me but ended up being my supervisor, in my early years in the profession, had the effect on me of not staying long in an organisation in order not to deal with direct discrimination. Maybe it was my way of dealing with discrimination and running away from the feelings of disappointment and frustration.

Towards the end of 2019, I went through an interview process. The last email I received, after the whole process, was such a teachable moment of discrimination. I felt it was the most recent form of systemic discrimination I have experienced. After visiting an institution twice, numerous emails with the manager of the course, sending copies of my qualifications: GDL, QTLS, MSc., BSc., NNEB, my CV full of teaching/lecturing experience of different levels of health care and childcare and other necessary sensitive documents as requested, below was the final response from the manager:

After receiving this email, I thought to myself, what other qualification could I possibly get to meet the awarding body requirement. I guess I am overqualified… And this, sadly to say, is the experience of most ethnic minorities in the UK. I received several opportunities after this experience, but as I said, it was such a teachable moment of systematic discrimination.

What are your thoughts? How have you explained discrimination, racism or prejudice to your child? What discuss have you had with your child, if any?