To Sir With Love, by E.R. Braithwaite, is an autobiographical novel based on true events in the author’s life as a teacher in one of London’s schools. Braithwaite arrives at Greenslade Secondary School in the East End of London, known for its poverty, overcrowding, immigrants and the attendant social and political consequences. It is after the end of World War II and the author, who had been in the Royal Air Force during the war, finds it difficult to get a job that suits his qualifications and experience as a telecommunications engineer because of his colour. A chance encounter with a stranger in the park has him looking for teaching positions.
The book is as much about racism as it is about the teacher-student relationship. The author hails from British Guyana (today’s Guyana of the West Indies) and most of his teenaged students at the school are white. Initially, he finds them unruly and unwilling to learn. Given their home situations, he is told, the teachers at the school try to “give them affection, confidence and guidance, more or less in that order, because experience has shown us that those are their most immediate needs”. He finds them unresponsive, often sullen and cautious, and then disruptive, by banging things around in class and using bad language, but after a dressing down after one bout of particular bad behaviour, things get better. “… in a short while, you will be embarked on the very adult business of earning a living. Bearing that in mind, I have decided that from now on you will be treated, not as children, but as young men and women, by me and by each other,” he tells them.
Braithwaite gets much advice and goodwill from most of his fellow teachers and paints a picture of a supportive teaching community in the school. The headmaster of the school, Alex Florian, has put in place a system of Weekly Reviews by the students of any aspect of the school, be it teachers, subject or method, and the child is safe from reprisal. “If we are careless about our clothing, manners or person they will soon notice it, and it would be pointless to be angry with them for pointing such things out. Finally, from the reviews, the sensible teacher will observe the trend of individual and collective interests and plan his work accordingly,” explains Florian. Another occasion where students can voice their concerns is the Student Council report.
To Sir With Love explores many other themes – prejudice, class, power, authority, to name a few. Through the evolution of the author’s attitude towards the students, it also shows that teachers themselves are not perfect, but that they can make an impact when they make an effort, and that students too can change teachers.
