LIVING B Why bedtime so important
EST-SELLING children’s author Jeremy Strong used to be a primary school teacher, so he knows what he’s talking about when he says education today is no longer ‘child centred.’ The prolific writer, who recently visited two schools in Huddersfield, is one of many who have criticised the National Curriculum. But not all authors have his insight.
As he says: “The powers that be have completely lost sight of the purpose of education, and the content of education is becoming far too prescriptive.
“I was fortunate enough to be leaving teaching just as the National Curriculum was coming in, and I could see the way things were going. SATS were being introduced and teachers were having to look at every single thing they were doing with every child, in miniscule detail. You could see it was going to take a huge amount of time for them.
“When I was teaching, education was childcentred, now it no longer is,” said Jeremy, who lives near Bath and was invited to West Yorkshire by Nicola Lee, owner of the Children’s Bookshop in Lindley.
Both Jeremy and Nicola agree that schools today have become examination-centred and assessment-centred, with teachers worried about league tables, Ofsted reports and being judged.
As Nicola added: “Teachers used to be able to focus on their childrens’ performance, now they have to worry about their own performance.”
Jeremy, author of The Hundred-Mile-AnHour Dog and My Brother’s Famous Bottom series, had his first book published back in 1978 but continued to teach until the early 1990s. He has 107 books to his name and has won 15 awards. His forte is humour, the most popular genre with children.
These days he tours schools around the country, delivering inspirational talks to children and encouraging them to read and write their own stories. While in Huddersfield he met youngsters from Reinwood and Lindley Junior Schools.
Like many writers he’s puzzled by the Government’s introduction of stringent literacy targets that insist children learn complicated grammatical terms.
He says: “I don’t know the names of most parts of speech, even though I went to a grammar school. It’s more important for children to know how to express themselves and be able to read properly.”
Jeremy also feels that teachers should be trusted to assess their pupils, without the need for external testing. He explained: “Most teachers have a pretty good idea about what their children are capable of; it doesn’t need to be so prescriptive.”
And he is a firm believer that parents share the responsibility for their children’s literacy. He cites the example of a successful inner city school he has visited in Lambeth, which has an outreach programme for parents: “The school is in an area of deprivation and has classes for semi-literate or illiterate parents to learn alongside their children; it has reading corners in every classroom and pushes bedtime reading.
“Reading a book with a child at bedtime is one of the easiest ways to get children into reading – if only parents were able to give their
It’s particularly important for dads to read to their boys and men to be seen reading
Children’s author and former teacher Jeremy Strong reads to children during his visit to Reinwood Junior School, Huddersfield, and right, some of his books children 10 to 15 minutes of their time in the evening. You have a cuddle together and share the story in a comfortable, safe environment.
“It’s particularly important for dads to read to their boys and men to be seen reading.”
Childrens’ books now account for about one third of the nation’s book trade and have been less affected by the growth in e-reader usage, but Jeremy says books are under pressure from digital technology in other ways.
“There is a battle going on,” he explained, “because it’s easier for parents to say to a child ‘go and play with your X Box,’ than to read with them.”
But it’s a battle that can be won, he feels, if parents understand the importance of reading and allow children to choose their own reading material. He explained: “So many times I’ve seen a child pick up a book and say they really want it and the parents have said ‘it’s too easy or too difficult’ and take it away.
“Children should be allowed to have the book they’ve expressed a willingness to read – as long as it’s not the pop-up Kama Sutra, of course. And if you’re reading a bedtime story, never say ‘now it’s your turn to read.’ That puts the child under pressure.”