Why Hugh Jackman's brother cried on his first day as a prison-school teacher

Ralph Jackman's new memoir, Detention, shines a light on problems within the youth justice system. (Getty Images)

When Ralph Jackman first met 15-year-old Jimmy, the boy was pacing up and down, kicking the door, mumbling to himself and yelling at passers-by.

Jimmy had moved home 50 times since the age of seven; he had severe ADHD and was addicted to ice, the drug that had already destroyed his family.

Jackman was a former sports reporter who changed career midlife to retrain as a teacher.

This was his first day in his first job, thrown in at the deep end at Parkville College, the school campus attached to maximum security Parkville Youth Justice precinct in Melbourne's inner north.

Jackman believes the youth justice is failing vulnerable kids. (Supplied)

The school opened in January 2013 as a government initiative to provide education to students from the age of 10 (now 12) while detained in the youth justice system or placed in a secure-care setting.

Jackman was hired in 2021; his role was to teach boys on remand while they were awaiting trial.

The towering walls and endless coils of razor wire at the entrance struck an ominous chord. Jackman was issued with a bunch of keys — he says he felt like a character from 1980s TV drama Prisoner — and a "duress alarm", a panic button to summon the Safety and Emergency Response Team (SERT) when needed.

He was furnished with tales of riots and assaults on staff, concussion and broken fingers.

Jackman confesses he was in tears by lunchtime on that first day, felled by the enormity of the task ahead.

On advice from his team leader, Jackman read to Jimmy: Horrid Henry, a book his own eight-year-old daughter was reading.

Jimmy struggled with literacy and, in a flash, Jackman became his lifeline.

"I really want to learn to read," was the boy's heartbreaking request on that first day.

"When you hear a story like that, you can't help but get passionate about what a place like Parkville can do for these kids," Jackman tells ABC Arts.

He went home inspired: "Why hadn't I become a teacher sooner?"

Jackman's debut memoir, Detention, pulls no punches as he describes the stark realities of teaching boys dealing with issues ranging from domestic violence to racism, poverty and gang crime.

It's clear he fervently believes in the power of education, and reading about his crusade to connect with his students and change their lives is deeply affecting.

Jackman felt like a "floundering fish out of water" in his first months teaching at Parkville College. (Supplied: Allen & Unwin)

Jackman says his main motivation f