P5

Continued from p4

It is about reading in the very widest sense and the most individual. It is about choosing what you want to read on the basis of your own personal interests. It is about that section of the curriculum that should exist in any good school, where students are expected to take some level of control of their own learning, to explore, investigate and challenge, to embark on a journey whose destination is not predetermined.

Everything I have just said about the experiences children should have is doubly true of boys. The attainment gap between boys and girls usually comes out at around 8 per cent. In English it is twice that. In other words, there is work to be done to turn children into readers.

Any approach to English that is weighted too heavily on didactic teaching is unlikely to succeed. We have had years of tracking, testing, booster groups, profiling and setting. What is the result? Educational standards have remained relatively static. Why? Well, we are trying a top-down approach, didacticism, instead of engagement.

Author visits, when done well, leave an imprint on a school that can last months or years. They are part of an approach based on tapping into the children, not as consumers of the curriculum, but as individuals with all kinds of crazy ideas. Literature is no longer simply part of the school curriculum, a subject often about dead, white guys. It is something living and energising. There, standing in front of you, is the person who wrote the book. You get to know what makes them tick, their hopes, dreams, aspirations and idiosyncrasies. You can ask them questions. Even better, they will answer.

So how do you make a school visit work for you?

You need to have clear objectives. What do you want out of the visit? Do you want a big set piece talk to a year group? You need to ask the author if he or she feels comfortable with it. Would you like them to lead a writing workshop? Discuss in advance whether that is the kind of thing they do. If it is, it works brilliantly. If it isn’t, it can be counter-productive.

Authors come in all shapes and sizes and from all kinds of backgrounds. Play to the individual’s strengths.

Could they be involved in staff training? Could they speak at a parents’ event, promoting books in the home? Which year group will be involved? With what level of ability will the author feel most comfortable? With good planning you can match the author’s talents to your kids in the most effective way.

OK, that’s the hard work. A fairly short conversation by phone or email can usually establish the intellectual parameters of the visit, its context, running order and quality. Once that is done, you need to look at the practicalities. These are essentially:

• cost

• number of sessions

• phone number

• contact details

• accommodation (Road to Wigan Pier B&B)

• travel

• lunch (authors eat!)

• technology (what ICT support is necessary?).

Then the preparation. Children should research the author, reading at least excerpts, preferably complete books, of his or her work. The author’s books should be promoted and made available for sale. When a child becomes a book owner they are more likely to be a reader. When they are already a reader they are more likely to be willing to read more widely, to move beyond their favourites to a broader appreciation of what children’s literature can offer.

Choose the right author for your kids and you will have an event that leaves a lasting impression and enriches the curriculum. Go on, start planning!