To sir, with love

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To Sir, With Love is a 1959 autobiographical novel by ER Braithwaite .

content

Born in Guyana and trained in the United States and England , Rick Braithwaite served in the Royal Air Force from 1940 to 1945 . After his retirement, he tries in vain for a long time to find a job as a communications engineer that corresponds to his qualifications, but is repeatedly rejected for pretended reasons - in reality because of his skin color. After all, he applies for a teaching position and is actually accepted, but has to start his service in a “ social hotspot ”, the East End of London .

His first impression of Greenslade Secondary School is terrifying and frightening: an undisciplined horde of lower-class youth with bad manners, vulgar language, and little respect for authorities. The philosophy of the headmaster Mr Florian also arouses his skepticism at first: The pupils should get what they lack at home in school: affection, trust and guidance, an education without coercion and physical punishment - “disciplined freedom”. But Braithwaite accepts the challenge.

Initially, he met with indifference from his students (he took over the senior class of his failed colleague Hackman): They did the tasks assigned to them, but without interest or enthusiasm. A phase follows in which his authority is put to the test: the students disrupt the class by banging on their adjustable table tops and by vulgar behavior and speech. In his effort to discipline the students, one day Braithwaite comes up with an idea that actually turns out to be effective: By treating the students like adults and expecting the same from the students among themselves (so the boys have to address the girls as "Miss" , Braithwaite himself lets himself be called "Sir"), he makes her act more adult on the whole. The atmosphere in the classroom and the relationship between teacher and student keep improving (only a student named Denham must first be defeated by Braithwaite in a boxing match before he accepts the teacher's authority); Finally, it is even possible to visit museums and the theater together, something that no one in the college had expected.

The increasing acceptance by the students is offset by occasional private humiliations. Braithwaite is denied an apartment he is interested in because of the color of his skin, and his colleague Weston keeps teasing him with ironic allusions. When he went to an expensive restaurant with his colleague Gillian Blanchard, with whom he fell in love, they were deliberately treated badly; Gillian's parents are also initially not very enthusiastic about their daughter's black boyfriend. Braithwaite, however, manages to gain sympathy through charm and intelligence. At the end of the school year, when his students leave school, they give him a package that says "To Sir, With Love" .

background

The book is based on experiences of the author during his time as a teacher in London's East End 1950-57. The novel-like structure with detailed descriptions of people and exciting dialogues as well as certain discrepancies with the author's curriculum vitae, however, allow the conclusion that this is not a 1: 1 reproduction of reality, but rather a moderate fictionalization. The first-person narrator of the book came to study in England as early as 1939 , after earning his first university degree in the USA and working in Venezuela for two years ; the author, on the other hand, studied in New York until 1940 , then served in the Royal Air Force until 1945 and only completed his studies in 1949 at Cambridge University .

Racism Issue

One of the central themes of the book is the development of Braithwaite's personal strategy in dealing with racism . Before coming to Britain , he viewed the British Way of Life (like most residents of the former British colonies ) as the embodiment of justice , tolerance , freedom, democracy and human rights . It is therefore a sobering and shocking experience for him to encounter intolerance, prejudice and discrimination in the UK . Unlike in the USA , this racist attitude is never openly expressed or admitted, but rather hidden under a mask of politeness. After Braithwaite's long, unsuccessful job search, his disappointment and disillusionment gradually turn into hatred: he senses antipathy everywhere, no longer shows politeness to whites and even regards white children with hostility. Only through individual encounters with unprejudiced and helpful whites does he manage to regain a positive attitude towards them. He learns not to strike back, but to react calmly and thereby prove himself morally superior:

"Beating people up, never solves anything. [...] I do mind, but I'm learning how to mind and still live. At first it was terrible, but gradually I'm learning what it means to live with dignity inside my black skin. "

reception

Braithwaite's first book is his most successful to date; it saw several dozen editions in both England and the USA. The New York Times praised it as a “moving and inspiring” book that the reader “devours quickly, slowly ponders and does not forget”. Critics, however, complained that Braithwaite treated the problem of racism on a purely individual basis; his personal strategy of gaining moral superiority by combating his hatred and being willing to forgive did nothing to change social conditions. Braithwaite's self-portrayal, which he perceived as vain and complacent, was also criticized.

A German translation of To Sir, With Love was published in 1960 under the title Mit Liebe: Erlebnisroman zu Junge Menschen by Forum-Verlag (Vienna / Hanover / Basel). A short version followed seven years later in Reader's Digest Selection Books Vol. 47 (1/1967). However, the book was unable to achieve lasting popularity in German-speaking countries.

filming

To Sir, With Love was filmed in 1967 by James Clavell with Sidney Poitier in the lead role. The German version was originally titled Junge Dornen ; the DVD title is Challenged .

literature

  • Philip Butcher: "Teaching Tolerance in London". In: The Journal of Negro Education 29 (1960), p. 463f.
  • Kenneth Ramchand: "The Myth of 'To Sir, With Love'". In: Voices (Port of Spain, Trinidad) 1, Heft 5 (1965), pp. 13-20.
  • FM Birbalsingh: "To John Bull, With Hate". In: Caribbean Quarterly (Kingston, Jamaica) 14 (1968), pp. 74-81.

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