What an incredible, raw, gut-wrenching and important book this is. In Detention, Ralph Jackman recounts his first teaching job, which he took on in his 50s, leaving his sports journalism career behind. At Parkville College, a school for boys in youth detention, he is assigned to the remand section. The cohort is a mix of boys who have been traumatised by dysfunctional and abusive upbringings and now await their fate. The colourful language and behaviour at the site, alongside the strictures and security they must navigate throughout each day, are juxtaposed with heartbreaking moments, such as when Jackman meets a 15-year-old who has the reading level of a six-year-old, and joyous moments, such as the poetry lesson where Jackman teaches the students alliteration and assonance with song lyrics.

Yet despite his myriad small successes, the environment at Parkville begins to disturb Jackman. There are constant lockdowns when staff numbers are reduced, and the use of collective punishment, meaning boys are driven half-crazy by being in solitary confinement, which in turn leads to riots, which result in even tighter restrictions and threats by government ministers to move the boys to adult prisons. Jackman advises the students that ‘The pen is mightier than a popped sprinkler’. However, after assisting a student to write a letter to the then-Minister for Education (James Merlino) advocating for a library at the school, a clash with school leadership is inevitable. As the damaging effects of isolation on the boys cannot be ignored, Jackman decides he can no longer be a bandaid for a broken system or operate within what he has come to believe is a rogue government department that ignores the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, otherwise known as the Nelson Mandela Rules.

This account of what happens inside detention centres and how the basic human rights of children are ignored is eye-opening. When a manager states that, ‘The system is not broken, it’s on a journey,’ it’s hard to swallow such hollow corporate-speak. Anyone interested in the justice system and who believes that all children have the right to an education must read this book.