Beyond the Blockade: Education in Cuba

Ed. Gawain Little, Malcolm Richards, Aretha Green & Phil Yeeles

NEU/CSC/Manifesto Press, April 2020

An essential book produced by UK teachers about the inspiration that Cuba’s comprehensive education system is for the world.

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Review

Cuba is rightly praised for its outstanding education system. This small book provides a perfect introduction to that system through the eyes of British educators. Compiled from over four delegations to the island, this collection covers a wide range of topics, including sections on: Education & Revolution; Curriculum & Pedagogy; Education, Race and Decolonisation; Education & Democracy; and Comparing Britain & Cuba. Each section is divided into short, readable chapters written from the perspective of different educators who have visited the island, giving an easy, accessible feel to the whole book.

The collection opens with an exploration of education throughout Cuba’s history by CSC National Secretary Bernard Regan. This informative piece sets the scene for the chapters that are to follow. The rest of the book provides some genuinely interesting insights into what makes the Cuban education system so special.

For example, Lucy Coleman, an Early Years teacher from Oxfordshire, looks at how Cubans have developed a sense of community within their education system. As Lucy puts it, “The community spirit we experienced in Cuba was in stark contrast to many of the communities here in the UK, where countless people are disillusioned with our government representatives and the systems we have in place”.

Maggie Morgan, a secondary school SEND teacher in West Sussex at the time of her visit, argues that much of this is down to what the Cubans prioritise. As she says, love is at the centre of Cuba’s education system: “during one school visit after another over the course of the delegation programme, the word ‘amor’ cropped up in the head teachers’ speeches as an important underlying principle guiding Cuban pedagogy”.

This first-hand commentary is mixed with more theoretical pieces, such as Phil Yeeles’ fascinating insight into the pedagogical approach of Che Guevara and its impact on the Cuban education system, and there are also pieces on wider topics such as the nature of Cuban democracy (Dr Lauren Collins) and the question of LGBT rights in Cuba.

What makes the book really stand out is the section on Education, Race and Decolonisation, which draws together the perspectives of several Black educators on the Black experience in Cuba. I am not aware of another publication on Cuban education that covers this ground in the same way.

If there is a weakness in the book, it is that the pieces are so short that, by the time you have begun to engage in one topic, you are on to the next. However, in many ways, this is also its strength. There are few books on Cuba which cover so much detail in such a short format that are still so engaging and readable. I would highly recommend it both for educators looking for inspiration, and for the more casual observer of the miracle that is Cuba’s education system.

Mollie Brown for CubaSi Spring 2020 magazine