Generating Genius (PDF)

The new Black boy has become the billboard for corporate industry to sell the world new toys - but he's not wanted in the boardroom. This radical book shows how Black masculinity is accepted in certain ways but rejected in others, thus challenging much mainstream thinking about the achievement of Black boys at school. It argues that these boys are in search of a road map to successfully navigate not only the schooling process but also the complexities of Black adolescence.This positive and empowering text looks far beyond the notion that institutional racism is responsible for low attainment at school. Instead it explores the complexities surrounding masculinities and argues that Black boys, like all young males, share instincts of sex and violence and that these instincts need a framework of love, ritual and schooling to transform them into a positive force.Tony Sewell brings a creative approach to developing a road map for Black boys. Drawing on new research from Britain and America, he sets out strategies for schools that support teachers but also teach Black boys how to succeed in a system that seems to work against them. He doesn't quite let teachers off the hook, nor does he deny the reality of racism and its impact on boys' lives. What makes this book indispensable in schools is the key strategies he outlines for schools and teachers to cultivate the genius within their students - and this, he argues, can only be done if Black boys are helped to grow a skin not of resistance but of resilience.