A workplace culture where fathers are encouraged to take paternity leave would result in stronger families, a more equal labour market and a better economy.
David LammyRead
Many black youths are defying stereotypes, achieving good academic results, finding employment and contributing to their communities. But helping those who fall behind is not an exercise in political correctness, it is a precisely what a compassionate - and sensible - state should concern itself with.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of supporting underperforming youths rather than simply conforming to stereotypes.
David Lammy highlights the positive achievements of many black youths who break stereotypes through academic success and community contributions. He argues that assisting those who are struggling is not merely a matter of political correctness, but a necessary act of compassion and sensible governance that reflects a commitment to equality and opportunity for all.
In practice
In a speech about community development, the quote can inspire discussion on the need for targeted support.
A workplace culture where fathers are encouraged to take paternity leave would result in stronger families, a more equal labour market and a better economy.
People don't contest that I'm British as a black man, but they do contest that I'm English. Too many people are going back to an ethnocentric idea of what being English means.
We cannot afford to lose talented young black people, who make it to university, overseas, or worse, to let other talented black people be put off by the notion that university is somehow not for them.
The idea of a family sitting round the kitchen table and carefully planning their future family size based on the certainty of years to come is a complete fantasy. Back in the real world, jobs are lost, livelihoods taken away, families break apart, partners leave or pass away.
Like many black men growing up in London, I have been stopped and searched by several policemen. I was 12 years old when I was first groped and frisked by police for walking down the road. It terrified me so much I wet myself.
Dads are not a risk to be managed, but a resource to be used for the benefit of the whole family.
To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.
Erudition - that is, reading, writing, and arithmetic - is taught in the schools; but where is the more important quality, character, taught? Nowhere in particular. There is no authorized training for children in character.
I regularly take my entrepreneurship students out walking because I want to get them in the habit of noticing and thinking about what they notice. They have to leave their phones behind to learn the basic lesson: Be where you are.
Introducing a spelling test to a student by saying, 'Let's see how many words you know,' is different from saying, 'Let's see how many words you know already.' It is only one word, but the already suggests that any words the child knows are ahead of expectation and, most important, that there is nothing permanent about what is known and not known.
Truly, learning appears to be a reverse geometric progression with experiences at one hour, one day, one month or one year dramatically more influential and formative than later experiences. As has often been quoted, 85% of brain development takes place by age 3, and yet we spend only 4% of our educational dollars by that point.
Most people involved in the delivery of history, in universities, publishing, museums and the heritage industry, are aware that we have a problem with diversity and inclusivity.
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