Detention (Ralph Jackman, A&U)

Detention is a powerful memoir about Australia’s youth detention system, told from the perspective of a rookie teacher and his fight for the rights of some of our country’s most vulnerable and misunderstood kids. When former ABC journalist Ralph Jackman landed his first teaching job at Melbourne’s Parkville Youth Detention Centre, he found himself teaching literacy and numeracy to incarcerated children. The book follows Jackman as he navigates the daily challenges of the classroom while building relationships with boys who have grown up in the toughest of circumstances, facing issues such as domestic violence, gang violence, drug addiction and racism. Through anecdotes about his students, Jackman captures both the teaching wins and the setbacks, illustrating the impact education can have on a young person’s life. As the book progresses, Jackman becomes increasingly aware of potential human rights violations within the centre and begins to advocate for change on behalf of his students. Jackman’s portrayal of his students is empathetic and compassionate, highlighting their resilience, humour and intelligence, as well as their varied interests such as music, cooking, gardening and reading. Jackman’s own growth as a teacher and in his personal life is central to the book, showing how his connection with his students influenced his own life and helped him to develop as a teacher. Detention is an important call to action for anyone interested in the current state of Australia’s youth justice and education systems, and will appeal to readers of Teacher by Gabbie Stroud.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Gabby Spina is an emerging writer and bookseller based in Meanjin. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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