Outside in a teaching life

Featured in

  • Published 20070202
  • ISBN: 9780733316210
  • Extent: 268 pp
  • Paperback (234 x 153mm)

WHEN BB TAUNTED me with continual cries of “You killed Jesus, you killed Jesus … ” I had no idea what he meant. But I sensed that the nuggety, pasty-faced English lad was not paying me a compliment. After all, BB had a well-earned reputation as the school bully.

It was 1964. I was ten and attending a government primary school in a small village in Kent, England. My twin brother and I were the only Jewish kids in the school. Our family was seriously secular and my parents negotiated an exemption from the compulsory religious instruction (RI) class, which they regarded as indoctrination. This meant that while the RI class was on, we sat in another classroom. Because that room had a bookshelf along one wall, it was called the library. We read books while the rest of the class listened to tales of how God created the world and Jesus saved mankind.

Already a subscriber? Sign in here

If you are an educator or student wishing to access content for study purposes please contact us at griffithreview@griffith.edu.au

Share article

More from author

More from this edition

Making a difference

ReportageAMROZI. JUST SAYING his name dissolves the thin laughter lines that usually radiate out from retired teacher Maggi Luke's eyes like a child's drawing...

The academic underclass

EssayIF YOU GET a casual job as an academic at an Australian university, you think you are very lucky – a job working in...

Armed for success

EssayIN 1984, I was a seventeen year-old Aboriginal youth just finishing school. I had a Tertiary Entrance score that told me I was average...

Stay up to date with the latest, news, articles and special offers from Griffith Review.