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Detention: A rookie teacher. The toughest prison school in Australia.
A powerful and moving memoir about how the youth detention system is letting down our most desperate and damaged kids, and how one rookie teacher fought the system on their behalf. Explosive, heart-breaking, inspiring.
What happens when your first teaching job isn't in a classroom - but in juvenile detention?
When Ralph Jackman swapped his career as a sports reporter for life as a teacher, he expected yard duty and parent-teacher nights. Instead, he found himself behind the razor wire of Melbourne's Parkville Youth Detention Centre, teaching literacy and numeracy to some of the nation's most vulnerable and damaged boys.
This raw and powerful memoir takes you inside a world few educators ever see - both shocking and inspiring, with humour and heartbreak, and moments of connection that make teaching matter. But it's also the story of a system failing its most desperate kids - and a teacher who refused to look away.
Detention is more than one teacher's journey, it's a call to action for everyone who believes in the rights of all kids to have an education - even behind bars.
What happens when your first teaching job isn't in a classroom - but in juvenile detention?
When Ralph Jackman swapped his career as a sports reporter for life as a teacher, he expected yard duty and parent-teacher nights. Instead, he found himself behind the razor wire of Melbourne's Parkville Youth Detention Centre, teaching literacy and numeracy to some of the nation's most vulnerable and damaged boys.
This raw and powerful memoir takes you inside a world few educators ever see - both shocking and inspiring, with humour and heartbreak, and moments of connection that make teaching matter. But it's also the story of a system failing its most desperate kids - and a teacher who refused to look away.
Detention is more than one teacher's journey, it's a call to action for everyone who believes in the rights of all kids to have an education - even behind bars.
- GenresNonfiction
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 2, 2026
About the author
Ralph Jackman
7 books5 followersRalph Jackman was born in Norfolk in 1981. He holds a first class honours degree in Classics from King’s College, London, and a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Essex, where he was tutored by Marina Warner and Philip Terry.
Ralph’s work draws on his lifelong interest in history.
Ralph's first novel, Actium's Wake has just been announced as finalist in the historical fiction category of Foreword Reviews' IndieFab 2014 Book of the Year Awards.
Injustice, a historical short story, was published in the new online magazine of the Historical Novel Society in 2012.
Apprentice Pillar, having been longlisted in the 2011/12 Fish Publishing International Short Story competition, was runner-up in the 2014 Words With Jam Short Story competition and will be published shortly in the anthology.
Last Chance Saloon was published in an anthology, Crime: Unleashed in June 2013.
Ralph is currently working on the first of a historical trilogy, The Olive Tree, which was a finalist in the Chapter One Promotions 2010 Novel Competition.
Ralph has also completed a novella, Portraits of Rome.
In 2010, Ralph wrote the lyrics of A Destiny Revealed, the opening track to the movie score, Henri 4.
Ralph’s work draws on his lifelong interest in history.
Ralph's first novel, Actium's Wake has just been announced as finalist in the historical fiction category of Foreword Reviews' IndieFab 2014 Book of the Year Awards.
Injustice, a historical short story, was published in the new online magazine of the Historical Novel Society in 2012.
Apprentice Pillar, having been longlisted in the 2011/12 Fish Publishing International Short Story competition, was runner-up in the 2014 Words With Jam Short Story competition and will be published shortly in the anthology.
Last Chance Saloon was published in an anthology, Crime: Unleashed in June 2013.
Ralph is currently working on the first of a historical trilogy, The Olive Tree, which was a finalist in the Chapter One Promotions 2010 Novel Competition.
Ralph has also completed a novella, Portraits of Rome.
In 2010, Ralph wrote the lyrics of A Destiny Revealed, the opening track to the movie score, Henri 4.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 11, 2026
It is an uncomfortable realisation that the issues Jackman describes are not confined to Victoria. Many of the injustices he documents remain unaddressed and continue to play out across Australia. I have seen firsthand how easily educational opportunities can be disrupted when systems are under pressure and how quickly the needs of young people can become secondary to operational demands. It is devastating to watch history repeat itself while those with the power to make change continue to ignore the lessons that have already been laid bare.
As outlined by Jackman, we are letting our most vulnerable young people down. We are perpetuating a narrative of inequity, racism, and injustice. These young people are often spoken about rather than spoken with. Their stories are reduced to headlines and political talking points, while the complexities of their lives, trauma, and disadvantage are overlooked.
The people making decisions about youth justice rarely seem to listen to those working directly with these young people every day. The mentality described by Jackman in Victoria, that teachers are "guests within Youth Justice", is a sentiment I have heard repeated in many staff meetings. Education should not be an add-on or an afterthought within these settings.
Every day, I work with young people who are capable, intelligent, and deserving of opportunity, yet are continually failed by systems that should be supporting them. Jackman's book is a powerful reminder that meaningful change requires more than political rhetoric. It requires a willingness to listen. Most importantly, it requires us to recognise the humanity of the young people in our care and to ensure that education remains a right, not a privilege, regardless of their circumstances.
My only criticism of this book is that it does not dig deeper into the systemic racism within Youth Justice. It does not fully address the overrepresentation and unique experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in these settings, nor does it explore how a Westernised narrative of education and achievement often remains at the forefront.
An important contribution to the conversation around youth justice and education.
As outlined by Jackman, we are letting our most vulnerable young people down. We are perpetuating a narrative of inequity, racism, and injustice. These young people are often spoken about rather than spoken with. Their stories are reduced to headlines and political talking points, while the complexities of their lives, trauma, and disadvantage are overlooked.
The people making decisions about youth justice rarely seem to listen to those working directly with these young people every day. The mentality described by Jackman in Victoria, that teachers are "guests within Youth Justice", is a sentiment I have heard repeated in many staff meetings. Education should not be an add-on or an afterthought within these settings.
Every day, I work with young people who are capable, intelligent, and deserving of opportunity, yet are continually failed by systems that should be supporting them. Jackman's book is a powerful reminder that meaningful change requires more than political rhetoric. It requires a willingness to listen. Most importantly, it requires us to recognise the humanity of the young people in our care and to ensure that education remains a right, not a privilege, regardless of their circumstances.
My only criticism of this book is that it does not dig deeper into the systemic racism within Youth Justice. It does not fully address the overrepresentation and unique experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in these settings, nor does it explore how a Westernised narrative of education and achievement often remains at the forefront.
An important contribution to the conversation around youth justice and education.
June 9, 2026
Firstly, I want to be clear that this review is biased because I know the author. I am Ralph Jackman's sister and couldn't put this memoir down. It's about his rookie teaching job in a juvenile detention centre in Melbourne, Australia. Ralph changed careers mid-life and paints a vivid picture of the highs and lows, the rewards and the frustrations of his first two years as a teacher. I was rooting for him through the first terrifying encounters with the students right through to his determination to highlight the injustices in the system.
Every teacher I know has vivid memories of their first professional year. Ralph's was in a class of its own and told with typical humility and self-deprecating humour. The author didn't go looking for an underdog story to champion, but he also didn't run from the challenge. If you've had a hard day, year, or decade in the classroom, read this book and be reminded the possibilities education offers.
Every teacher I know has vivid memories of their first professional year. Ralph's was in a class of its own and told with typical humility and self-deprecating humour. The author didn't go looking for an underdog story to champion, but he also didn't run from the challenge. If you've had a hard day, year, or decade in the classroom, read this book and be reminded the possibilities education offers.
June 24, 2026
Inspiring read for any teacher right now.
June 13, 2026
Career change from sports journalist to teacher seemed reasonable but then to find yourself entering a notorious juvenile detention centre to teach young offenders literacy and numeracy skills would be a different kind of challenge. Ralph Jackman has recounted his journey, drawing us into the everyday lives of these young males, their backgrounds, the reasons they are in detention, what their futures look like. I was impressed by the way Jackman adapted lessons around topics these young people were interested in and the way he encouraged them. The lockdown during Covid added further pressure on an already unsteady system and only heightened the mental stress on everyone. It was during this time that Jackman made a decision to stand up for his belief that in spite of the broken system around him, all kids have a right to an education. Thank you Ralph Jackman for making a difference.
June 25, 2026
Ebook. Life for teenage boys inside youth detention - it is not pretty. I love his creative teaching style and the way he tunes in to each individual student. I really enjoy books by journalist writers who are good at telling it as it is and holding your attention. I think it is Jackman’s first book and I hope we get more.
June 9, 2026
It was a good read, enlightening about the current Victorian Youth Justice System. From the blurb, I expected more tangible results in terms of the boy's fights for human rights, but that may be my need for a happy ending.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews