It's Not Fair

A radical yet practical manifesto on why it's time to rethink our treatment of children and their place in society.

In It's Not Fair, author and educator Eloise Rickman argues that we need to urgently rethink how we raise, educate, and treat children, and that the discrimination children face is a political and social justice issue that has been ignored for too long. Upholding children's rights is crucial if we want a better world for us all — a future that could be within our grasp.

Rickman shows the ways in which children are ignored, repressed, or actively harmed in many aspects of our society, considering everything from smacking and public shaming, to the ways in which the school system disadvantages children, and the governmental failure to confront air pollution. Children are not passive victims though, and It's Not Fair highlights examples of children's resistance, from staging climate protests to 'bad behaviour'.

Drawing on sociology, philosophy, children's rights, and educational theory, It's Not Fair is at once a rousing call-to-arms and a hopeful book, featuring practical solutions and the voices of people who are working towards them. From educators creating schools where children are free to be themselves to the political campaigners advocating for children's right to vote, Rickman shows that the positive changes we need are closer than we think.