John Clark is Executive Chair of Art of Protest. Not only does he bring a wealth of experience from working in youth justice services and campaigning for Restorative Justice for over two decades, but he also makes up one of the three generations of Clark’s within the business – making it very much a family affair. John is also currently a part-time tutor at the School of Lifelong Learning, Leeds University.

We spoke to John to understand how his values and his 50-year career path evolved and heavily influenced the ethos of Art of Protest.

John Clark, pictured in 1967 during his time as an assistant stage manager at York Theatre Royal.

AoP: John, how did you find your way into arts and what was it that struck you early on about its power to engage young people – particularly vulnerable and cared-for young people?

John: I left school at a very young age – 15. I couldn’t stand school from the age of five onwards. It felt like a 10-year prison sentence to me – truly! I particularly had very little respect for or understanding of the teachers - who seemed obsessed with enforcing petty rules but were not inclined to answer questions and paid little attention to actually developing the minds of their charges. There was pretty much nothing there that interested me, other than Art and drama. I just wanted to get shot off it and lean into the real world under my own steam.

And of course, back in those days (1960s) it was really easy to get a job – even at 15! You could find several jobs in a day or an apprenticeship across a range of different industries – as long as you weren’t too fussed about what you did.

However, by luck more than judgement, I found myself working in a Repertory Theatre as an Assistant Stage Manager. I worked both on stage and backstage in a range of theatre companies at home and abroad. It was right from then that I could see the transformative effect that drama and exposure to the arts could have on audiences. It was palpable, particularly whilst working in theatre within education and taking plays into schools.

Wind on a few years and through my connections and work with the church, I ended up (again more by fortune than design) teaching drama workshops at a Local Authority children’s home as a volunteer. This time it was more transformational for me! I could see the tremendous impact that creative learning experiences could have on the young and vulnerable. These were cared-for children who society really had let down on so many levels– but the church and the home could see that exposing these kids to cultural influences could help them connect with their pain, self-discovery and self-esteem, in ways that traditional education simply had not. After that, I knew there was nothing else I wanted to do.

Meanwhile, in the background (I was into my mid-twenties by then) I actually got around to finally sitting and passing my GCSEs! That then led to me achieving a secondment to Sunderland University to study for a professional qualification in Social Work.

AoP: How did you then transition into the field of social justice in the 1980s?

John: As a generic social worker, I was exposed to all manner of examples of social deprivation – and in particular the plight of many adolescents. Back in those days, it was a constant case of passing the problem on from one pillar to the next post. The education system and the care system were little different in this regard. Invariably young people who struggled to fit the mould of the mainstream system just became more and more marginalised. Inevitably, these youngsters would end up in an expensive and ineffective justice system and their prospects from that point became very bleak indeed.

So, the force of justice was the backstop, but very little social justice to counterbalance the defects. Quite simply many of the most disadvantaged in our society were pretty much condemned to end up criminalised. It was plain to me that the whole system from end to end was not fit for purpose, but nevertheless, you had to start somewhere to make a difference.

For me, it wasn’t about trying to fix an inadequate social care system or education system – I was more interested in the acute, sharp end of the system whereby young people found themselves locked into the justice system with a potential lifetime of re-offending at great cost to themselves, their families, their communities, the victims and at huge cost to society and the economy. That’s where I became involved in Restorative Justice and restorative ways of working – a part of the system which is inclusive and empowering to those who have been harmed and those who have caused the harm, where we could act intelligently and recognise that perhaps, what many young people need is another chance and a different chance – rather than no chance at all.

AoP: If you were handed the job in the next government as Secretary of State for Education, what changes would you make to our school system?

John: Well for a start I’d simply burn down many of our secondary schools and start again! No, only joking – but seriously and joking aside, I do believe there needs to be a radical and total overhaul of the entirety of the system as it stands. It’s been wrong for decades and the reliance on a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is just getting worse.

And I am talking about the state education system here – generally speaking, much of our Primary and Higher Education works well but in High schools, it doesn’t really serve the very bright and intelligent pupils well – because they are often bored and held back and it certainly doesn’t help the less academically gifted pupil either, or those in need of more support. I think that’s always been the case, but now in the face of the realities of operating in the rarified climate of the 21st century, it has become a critical and intractable issue that needs to be addressed through sweeping change.

For example, in the UK, we have one of the highest pupil-to-teacher ratios of any European country. So, in essence, no one is really investing in the future success of anyone coming from the state education system – despite the rhetoric spewing by pretty much every politician with an education brief over the past twenty years.

For the well-off, they have a private education system to rely on – and that pretty much guarantees that generations of families can maintain their superior social and economic status. But for the rest, and in particular, the most vulnerable and disadvantaged – social mobility is going backwards with less and less tangible opportunities each year for those socially and economically challenged groups.

Pretty much since universal education was first alighted upon in the beginning of the 20th century there has been an unwavering fixation with rote learning and passing exams. And it prevails to this day with teachers pretty much held at career gunpoint to hothouse kids through exams. No one is taught to think critically or flexibly – let alone independently.

Now, maybe 30-40 years ago that might have been okay? Perhaps it was possible to prepare a generation of pupils for the labour market that everyone knew would be ready and waiting to soak up the legions of school leavers. But that is definitely not the case today. What jobs should our grandchildren be preparing for exactly? Added to that, the current generation of teachers themselves have been disempowered and groomed to teach inflexibly and strictly to a manual. It’s such a handicapped concept, it always has been - but now it’s beyond the pale.

If I were able to change one thing – I would allow for there to be more flexibility amongst schools to bring more creative learning into play to balance out the obsessions that education has had for a couple of decades now with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). Not that these aren’t incredibly important subjects – they are. But they are not necessarily for everyone. And furthermore, those with ability in these subjects would benefit more from learning creatively with a less controlled approach.

You don’t need to strangle a subject to make it valuable. Quite the opposite. But you would need to bring the right people in to nurture this kind of creative learning. You would probably need to do this on an outsourced model – because every school can’t be expected to have a gifted cello teacher and a sculptor and a dance teacher, etc. This would provide a wonderful level of access and engagement to local creative communities with many strands of benefit to it as a model. It would also ensure that the spirit of creative learning was not diluted down or simply industrialised at scale until it became just another ‘one-size fits all’ exam to pass (or fail).

That might sound like a luxury, but it’s not. It could be implemented at relatively low -cost and it would particularly benefit those students who perhaps struggle with mainstream schooling for various reasons of diverse cognition, learning styles and additional needs. Think of the confidence they would develop if there were things at school they could shine at and be seen shining by their peers? What a difference that would make.

I think Art of Protest, if I may take this opportunity to shamelessly plug us, has got their offering exactly right in these contexts. I don’t doubt that there are enough progressive school leaders and academy trusts who recognise the benefits of more diverse learning styles. I think if the next government show even a little encouragement to get behind this opportunity, then Art of Protest will be well-positioned to ensure that young people capitalise on that. I look forward to that possibility materialising.

Clockwise from left image taken in 1970, John as a Stage Director with London & Mediterranean Productions.
John pictured in 2018 during his role as Prevention & Restorative Justice Co-ordinator for Leeds Youth Offending Service.
John pictured in 2016 on his pilgrimage to Santiago.

AoP: You are now into your 70’s, John and have seen a great deal of change and countless cycles of brave new horizons and hopes that have come (and gone!). With all the wisdom and knowledge, you’ve accumulated on your journey through life, what advice would you offer to your 15-year-old self, if you happened to have encountered him today?

Well, as a young John, I’d be greatly surprised that I was still alive. As for advice, I think it would be the advice I offered to my own children, which was to follow your heart and take risks rather than chase monetary wealth..

Words from the wise: John Clark talks education, social work and what his five decades of experience have taught him