Education

Falling Under the Beautiful Spell of The Lost Words

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“Once upon a time, words began to vanish from the language of children. They disappeared so quietly that at first almost no one noticed – fading away like water on stone.” ~ Robert Macfarlane (The Lost Words)
The Lost Words

When I purchased The Lost Words for my youngest daughter as a Christmas present I honestly didn’t expect it to be such a hit. Not just with her, but also with me and her older, harder-to-please pre-teen sister.

This book is something special, it’s absolutely magical…

In 2007 the Children’s Oxford English Dictionary removed several words pertaining to the natural world. Words like fern, kingfisher and bluebell were discarded and ditched in order to make room for technological terms like blog, chatroom and database. 

The acclaimed best-selling author Robert Macfarlane teamed up with the talented illustrator and writer, Jackie Morris, to draw attention to the incomprehensible actions of the Children’s Oxford English Dictionary. They weren’t happy that these wonderful words (and the things they represent), had been marginalised in a misguided move by a mainstream publication.

The introduction page to each lost word encourages children to follow the letters and discover the erased word.

Soulless technology words, which can easily be taught in IT lessons at school, were deemed to be more relevant to young people. I was flabbergasted, disgusted and sad when I heard this.

How could the words ACORN, ADDER, BLUEBELL, BRAMBLE, CONKER, DANDELION, FERN, HEATHER, HERON, IVY, KINGFISHER, LARK, MAGPIE, NEWT, OTTER, RAVEN, STARLING, WEASEL, WILLOW and WREN be considered not worthy enough to be part of a child’s vocabulary?

“Think of the fierce energy concentrated in an acorn! You bury it in the ground, and it explodes into an oak!” ~ George Bernard Shaw

Their removal and relegation displays an attitude of sickening insouciance by the faceless powers that be, as they dispassionately move pieces of the landscape in dictionary land. But thanks to Robert and Jackie they have been gloriously restored in The Lost Words.

A ‘spellbook’

Neither of my daughters particularly enjoy reading anything resembling poetry, but they loved Robert Macfarlane’s engaging, beguiling and evocative language in each of the cleverly arranged acrostic poems, or ‘spells’.

The Lost Words is described by the author as a ‘spellbook’ and it has certainly put a spell on us!

“You hold in your hands a spellbook for conjuring  back these lost words. To read it you will need to seek, find and speak. It deals in things that are missing and things that are hidden, in absences and appearances. Its tone is gold – the gold of the goldfinches that flit through its pages in charms – and it holds not poems but spells of many kinds that might just, the old, strong magic of being spoken aloud, unfold dreams and songs, and summon lost words back into the mouth and the mind’s eye.” ~ Robert Macfarlane (The Lost Words)

It will become a modern classic I have no doubt.

I wonder how many generations of children have spent hours immersed in the joy of playing conkers every autumn?

My dad used to help me and my brother rope them up when we were young, and my own children enthusiastically sifted through scrunchy leaves to find them buried beneath the boughs of local horse chestnut trees.

Conker was one of our favourite spells!

Gently blowing on dandelion seeds and watching them float away on the breeze across a field or garden is still a fun activity for my girls, as is making daisy chains.

The natural world in decline

It’s depressing to continually learn of the many natural habitats in decline across the globe, and the animal life that depend on such areas atrophying and becoming extinct through man’s insatiable devouring of our planet’s natural resources, (in many cases without thought or care for the consequences).

Now more than ever, it’s important to teach the next generations about the natural world: to admire its beauty, respect its status and understand its importance in the bigger picture of co-existence.

Where will the future natural world icons and champions like Sir David Attenborough, Steve Irwin and Gerald Durrell emerge from, if we don’t nurture a love of nature in young people?

The natural world is our home – we may live predominantly in the urban spaces that we have built, but nature provides an essential home for the animal kingdom, an oasis for outdoor activities, fresh air, rejuvenation, inspiration, the uplifting of spirits, and peace and quiet. Nature was created by a hand far greater than ours.

Why should dictionaries have the authority to imply that nature is no longer trendy and less important than human concerns? We cannot survive without it, either physically or emotionally. We need nature more than nature needs us.

Human fate is intertwined with the environment of the planet.

The rise of technology

We live in a world where we are increasingly controlled by our technological advancements and smartphone addiction, where children are turning into couch potatoes if allowed to play on phones and gadgets for hours on end.

Is technology worth such a drastic trade off?  Not in my humble opinion.

Whilst there are benefits, it requires walking a fine line. If we lose control we are just storing up all kinds of problems for the decades ahead. Some areas of concern include: cyber bullying, child grooming, health issues, lack of hobbies and interests and reduced social skills, not to mention lack of presence or ‘being in the moment’.

We have a rule in the Burges household that no gadgets of any kind are allowed to be used during a family meal, a sacrosanct technology free zone.

Alarmingly, childhood obesity is on the rise, and the lack of outdoor activity and contact with soil, grass and plants reduces the diversity of children’s gut bacteria, which play a major role in human wellbeing, as does a lack of exercise and sedentary lifestyles.

Forest School

In an innovative move, my daughters’ primary school introduced Forest School for all their pupils a year or so ago.

From the enthusiastic feedback my daughters provided, I could tell they enjoyed it, it seemed very popular with all the kids. I very much believe that if a connection with nature is established in a child’s formative years that it stays with them to some degree into adulthood.

I’m not a complete ogre though, I do let my children use technology, probably too much. It’s an integral part of modern life and they are very adept with it, but I have to be really strict with the amount of time they spend on their devices. It’s incredibly addictive.

Every contact with nature reinforces our connection with it, our co-dependency. I’ve noticed startling changes in just a generation. Cue old crone’s voice: when I was a wee lass, (many moons ago), we didn’t have mobile phones or tablets, so we used our imaginations and spent a lot of time outdoors.

It helped that we grew up in a rural area, and I remember vividly we would go exploring and take long walks. My parents didn’t seem to mind us disappearing for hours on end. There was a deserted farm house in the valley not far from where we lived, with holes in the floor, most likely unsafe, but we found it highly exciting to sneak in and venture tentatively into the rooms, keen to discover what lay inside.

We would climb trees, make dens, have picnics and sleep under the stars. Ah, those halcyon days! It wasn’t quite Swallows and Amazons, but if we’d had a boat and an island nearby I’m sure we would have set sail.

Please excuse me, while I bask for a moment in my self-induced nostalgia…

Kids that don’t have regular outings into a park or rural space are missing out on so many benefits. This is why this Robert Macfarlane’s and Jackie Morris’s beautiful book struck such a chord in me.

Also, it’s huge! We get lost in its glossy pages and because it’s a hardback book it feels weighty and solid.

We love immersing ourselves in its awe inducing spells and stunning pictures, our wonderment in nature reinvigorated with each reading.

After a recent reading of The Lost Words with my youngest, who was quite poorly all last week, she told me very clearly and precisely (even with a blocked nose and a fraction of her voice), that she much preferred living near the countryside than in a big city. I beamed at her.

Robert Macfarlane’s superb article in The Guardian about his quest to reconnect young readers to the natural world.

If you buy the book you’ll be pleased to know that a proportion of the royalties from each copy of The Lost Words will be donated to Action for Conservation, a charity dedicated to inspiring young people take action for the natural world, and to the next generation of conservationists.

A free ‘Explorer’s Guide to The Lost Words‘, written by Eva John and intended especially (but not only) for use by teachers and educators, can be downloaded here.

Top 5 Tips on How to Teach Modern Art in Colleges: Guest Blog by John Landrum

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Teaching is a noble occupation.

In ancient times, there were few teachers and those who chose this profession were honorable members of society. Now, a lot of university graduates step on the teaching path, and many of them are involved in art education.

Teaching art cannot be easy: modern artists are unstoppable in producing original and extraordinary masterpieces. Sometimes it can be difficult to make students understand modern tendencies and comprehend artsy styles. Thus, we prepared hot five advice on how to teach art classes in college.

  1. Keep it simple

Modern art is complicated to apprehend. Artists tend to use incompatible colors, forms, and patterns to express their energy, thoughts and feelings. Not surprisingly, it is tricky to convey the “message” of the artist to students.

Simplicity is the key to everything. A very confusing idea can be explained in a simple way. To do that avoid creating a story from a single art element. If the painting is all about messy colors and chaotic lines, it means nothing but messy colors and chaotic lines. Don’t imagine additional meaning if there isn’t one. Some masterpieces don’t have to be understood.

  1. Let your students think

Many teachers have an individual approach to explaining art. They tend to dissolve the concept and analyze it thoroughly. But this approach isn’t effective for modern education. To make learning more exciting for students, you should allow them to contemplate and perceive art their way.

Make them think about what they see and how the image affects their conscience. Ask what feelings and emotions they are having when analyzing some modern sculpture or exhibit. Make their mind work and reconsider their opinions.

  1. Visualize

Technologies are great at making any education more apprehensible. Presentations, diagrams, and videos have to be included in your art classroom management. They ease the perception of any concept and make students memorize better.

Browse some art-house films and include them in the plan of your lecture. Ask students to take part in the educational process creating PowerPoint presentations and mini-movies about current culture tendencies. They will enjoy the creative procedure and research new information. Also, provide students with opportunity to choose a topic for a presentation they are interested in. Thus, they will be eager to do the home task and present their personal opinion on the issue.

  1. Leave the classroom

The old standard way to conduct lessons in classroom is a bit old-fashioned. When it is about art, you have to leave the stereotypes behind and break the mold.

There are many places where every person can become closer to modern culture. Make your students visit with local museums, exhibits, and performances. Give classes in artsy places, free spaces, galleries, and antique shops. The unceremonious atmosphere will ease understanding of modern culture tendencies.

  1. Engage students in artsy activities

If students decided to take art or culture classes, they probably have creative personalities. Why don’t use this fact in teaching?

Engaging students in the creation of artsy projects, you can help them reveal and develop their skills. Give them a chance to become part of creation process. Instead of assigning boring essays, make up something different. Bring bright watercolors, charcoals, and Crayola and engage students in a big project.

Make them open their personalities and show their hidden talents.

And the last advice for every teacher: be kind. Kindness opens hearts to the knowledge. Whether it is art or history you teach, give your students opportunity to express their minds and learn freely. Every opinion has a chance to exist.

 John Landrum is an enthusiastic writer for https://essayvikings.com/. Having graduated from Queen Mary University, John keeps in touch with his professors. This successful man has a colossal amount of teaching experience. He loves being a part of the educational system and bringing changes in everyday academic routine. John is an active member of Internet society: he shares his working experience with colleagues. He is a real bookworm and cannot pass any bookshop without getting a new textbook. John is a very inspiring person and his favorite saying is “Out of difficulties grow miracles”. 

Diatribe in D Major!

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“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ~ Plato.

I can feel a rant coming on. I’ll try not to go overboard, but I’m already on top of my soapbox and it’s a subject very close to my heart – music.

I don’t think I could live without music and the arts, life would be so…lacklustre. Yet a narrow education policy and lack of funding is depriving thousands of youngsters the opportunity to benefit from learning music and thereby develop their innate creativity; which can only improve their lives.

john-lennon-happy quote

My eldest daughter is now showing a great interest in singing and learning to play the violin, and we are so lucky that the High Wycombe Music Centre is just down the road. They do great work. It’s a major centre for brass and woodwinds, but they also do guitar and strings tuition. Emily plays the violin in their ‘sizzler’ group, which gives the children a chance to try all sorts of different instruments before deciding what, if any, they want to take further.

Emily has an hour of this, then a short break and an hour of singing in the junior choir on a Saturday morning. They are such a friendly, welcoming group, and Emily really loves going. It’s a pleasure to hear her singing their latest songs around the house, and it’s done wonders for her confidence. Although the music centre doesn’t charge exorbitant fees, every activity that is extra-curricular soon adds up, at a time when many families are struggling financially.

On Saturday 27th June Emily and her fellow students at the High Wycombe Music Centre will have the chance to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in the BLTM (Bucks Learning Trust Music) Gala. They do this every four years, and as Emily has been attending for only six months or so she’s fortunate to have the chance to take part.

blmt_gala_rah

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” ~ Victor Hugo

Earlier this year when Sir Simon Rattle returned to the UK after 12 years as the principle conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, he promptly suggested that London was in dire need of a brand new state-of-the-art music performance venue. Whilst I agree with him, as a leading city in the world, London should have a modern arts facility. The media really got behind it, even the chancellor and the Mayor of London are on-side. But not everyone agrees.

“Great art and music is created by people, not buildings.” ~ Ivan Hewett

Of course, London already has some fantastic historical and iconic venues: the Royal Albert Hall, the Wigmore Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the Southbank Centre, the Barbican and Cadogan Hall to name but a few.

It’s all wonderful that so much investment will be made in the possible construction of a new hall above the Barbican (current home of the London Symphony Orchestra), but there is one major point everyone is missing…

Where will the future British musicians, soloists, conductors and vocal artists come from to perform in this shiny new hall, if we don’t invest now in grassroots music education for all children, regardless of their socio-economic status?

And it’s not just the future of our nation’s artistic community that’s at stake; the very future of our society is in question. Ahem! Sorry about that, I just had a drama queen moment. Government ministers should be thinking outside the box when it comes to reducing poverty and its associated behavioural manifestations.

I firmly believe that music and the arts (along with education and a loving family environment) will help to protect against emotional, mental and physical vulnerability.

It’s that old computer analogy: garbage in = garbage out.

It starts with prevention. Prevention is easier than cure.  With overwhelming scientific evidence of how learning music affects brain development and impacts on a child’s life in so many positive ways, it defies belief to read about yet more cuts in the arts sector and in education.

Classical Music Magazine outlines cuts by several local authorities earlier this year.

A great visual presentation about how playing an instrument benefits your brain by Anita Collins:

I mentioned the #DontStopTheMusic campaign in a previous blog (The Importance of a Musical Education), and James Rhodes has done a great job galvanising the arts sector and government in improving this dire situation.

However, as someone who signed this petition on change.org last time, I recently had a message from them that made my heart sink: the government are still not giving music the same priority as other academic subjects.

A brilliant discussion about music and the mind that all parents, health and teaching professionals should study:

As the effects of our ‘age of austerity’ seep into our everyday lives there’s even more reason to protect music and the arts, by making sure that all children have access to the very thing that can stimulate a deep emotional response in their brains, that impacts their neurological health on many fundamental levels: memory, learning and plasticity, attention, motor control, language, pattern perception, imagery and other areas. Those early years are so important.

These 11 month old twin sisters demonstrate this point perfectly when they have a delightful reaction to daddy’s guitar playing:

My mother played Beethoven piano sonatas when she was pregnant with me, and I’m sure that’s why I love his music so much, and why music has played an integral part in my life. I grew up with it. We all have stories of how music has influenced us like that.

There would be no such thing as movie soundtracks if music didn’t play such a vital role in our emotional perception. Filmmakers understand how it can add that defining emotional hook in our minds. I wonder if Star Wars would have been such a hit without the majestic interplanetary sound track written by film composer John Williams. The two are inseparable.

Tufts University neuroscientist, Aniruddh Patel, explains how scientists study your brain’s response to music and what parts of your brain are activated by different attributes of music:

Music and the arts are not just some fluffy dispensable activity that stimulates creativity; they are scientifically proven to be beneficial to the human family across the world, no matter the culture. Human beings inherently respond to rhythm and music, it’s a natural and fun way to produce dopamine, the so called ‘feel good’ hormone.

And that concludes my diatribe. If I wasn’t sneezing, coughing and streaming with a summer cold I’d go and pick up my violin for a practice. I’ll just have to listen to this jazz/baroque fusion instead!

Music for a while.

Shall all your cares beguile.

Wond’ring how your pains were eas’d

And disdaining to be pleas’d.

~ Lyrics by John Dryden set to music by Henry Purcell

My call to action this week is to please sign the #DontStopTheMusic petition. The children will thank you.

Transforming Education: The Case for Making it More Creative, More Engaging and Tailored to the Individual

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“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” ~ Albert Einstein

Now that the UK’s 56th general election has been so decisively concluded, and the ramifications of the results are already being endlessly debated, I got to thinking about one of the most important issues for me personally – education. Amidst the weeks of tedious campaigning it reminded me of the much used and successful Labour battle cry, when Tony Blair stormed to victory in 1997.

Education. Education. Education.

education quote - Victor HugoIt’s an important issue. It’s fundamental to most parents and voters. You want the best for your children. If governments got this right, I have a feeling the economy and many of society’s woes would take care of themselves down the road.

We only get one chance to provide a solid foundation for our youngsters. Their minds are like sponges until the age of eight, and their confidence is a fragile commodity well beyond that.

Does anyone have happy memories of their time at primary and secondary school? Do you remember feeling engaged with your subjects and teachers?

Sadly, mine are few and far between. I excelled at French and English, was hopeless at maths, (except Algebra), and loved drama, music and PE. I was bullied mercilessly at secondary school, and worse was to come at college, (but that will have to wait for another post).

Education-Quote-MLKGoing to secondary school and higher education is a time of change and great upheaval: emotionally, hormonally, socially and mentally. If children already have a healthy sense of who they are and what they are good at, I propose they are less likely to go off the rails at this stage. It’s not to say they won’t experience any discomfort, but I think they are better equipped to weather the teenage storm.

But it seems the curriculum, especially for primary schools, is rigid and confined, with too much focus on literacy and arithmetic. Lots of rote learning of tables and phonics. Don’t even get me started about how ill equipped phonics are when it comes to spelling. My daughter spells a word exactly how it sounds, full stop.

Now, being a writer, I’m all for these important subjects to be taught, but they should be taught well, and not just by one method. Our children are individuals and will relate to teaching in their unique way.

Socrates on wisdomWhere is the focus on creativity? Why are music and the arts fighting to be on the curriculum? I wrote a previous post about The Importance of a Musical Education – a subject very close to my heart. Why are there not enough trips and visitors to talk to and show the kids different skills and professions? I know cost is a factor, but what is the cost of not improving our education system?

Good luck if your child is a square peg and doesn’t fit into a round hole, which is what mainstream schooling tries to shape them into. Heaven forbid a child should be ‘troublesome’ or have ‘learning difficulties’. In my humble opinion the ‘one size fits all’ approach is so damaging to children’s self-esteem and creative process. Anything can be learned. Original and creative thought are infinitely more valuable.

Albert Einstein - Our Education System

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” ~ Albert Einstein.

We should not just be teaching them how to read and write, we should be teaching them skills for life. We should be helping them to discover their talents. Emotional intelligence is every bit as important as IQ.

We need more flexibility and imagination in our education system, not more targets.

When you were growing up did anyone truly inspire you to follow a path that lead to contentment and success? I was lucky to have a couple of really wonderful teachers who helped me in certain areas, but they are mostly confined to the system the government of the day imposes on them.

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” ~ Albert Einstein

Progress 8 

PRS OptionsMy 13 year old son William is currently studying at Princes Risborough School and is now choosing his Key Stage 4 options for GCSE. It has been an easy choice for him; he knows what he wants to do, what he enjoys and what he’s good at.

His three choices from the categories available are drama, history and business studies. I’m hoping he’ll do well in his June science exams and be chosen to study either triple or double science as part of his core subjects as well.

The school were very supportive during this process to both students and parents alike, recommending students follow the subjects they love and excel at, plus a technology subject, in consideration of the government’s Progress 8 performance measures.

education keyboardIt is predicted that students will change careers multiple times in their working lives, so to choose a subject for a lifetime is an almost impossible task. What really impressed me was that where students’ interests and government interests clash, they would always side with the student, having their best interests at heart within the set-up and capabilities of the school. Their motto is ‘Enjoy and Achieve’. A lot comes down to leadership. I’m thankful they have a great head teacher in Peter Rowe.

At William’s school they also get to do an enrichment activity weekly (with interests as diverse as beekeeping and falconry on the list), and PE (non-examinable) as part of their post Year 8 curriculums, in addition to taking a Citizenship GCSE and their core subjects of Maths, English and Science.

By the time my kids leave school I want them to believe that there is no glass ceiling on what they can achieve in their lives.

nelson-mandela-education-quote

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case in this TED Talk for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity:

He makes the insightful comments that children get ‘educated’ out of creativity, and that we should educate their whole being. I couldn’t agree more. It’s vital to help children discover their talents. He states that education is currently mechanical, and how it could improve if it were more organic. He talks about the need to create the conditions where children can flourish.

Sir Ken continues with his vision for education in his 2010 talk, Bring on the Learning Revolution:

The rise in home schooling shows the dissatisfaction parents have with such a narrow and institutionalised system.

Article in The Guardian about Home schooling and the rights of both children and parents.

In another TED Talk, teenager Logan LaPlante gives his take on hackschooling:

He sums it up perfectly: education is oriented to making a living rather than making a life.

A great blog on Higher Density highlighting what schools generally don’t teach about creative thinking.

Education is a lifelong process.  I try to set the example for my kids by continued study, as well as putting myself in situations where I will be challenged physically, mentally and emotionally. I strongly believe that if I don’t push myself and get out of my comfort zone, I’ll never know what I’m truly capable of.

tell-me-and-i-forgot-learning-quoteI feel that my role as a mother is to love, care for and nurture my children, which encompasses helping them to discover themselves, respect them for who they are and not who I want them to be, to have conviction and confidence in their ideas and abilities, become self reliant, have a meaningful set of values, a healthy self-esteem and dreams and aspirations to aim for, all in a supportive family environment.

In short, providing the necessary ingredients for them to lead happy, successful and fulfilled lives, where they can have a chance at reaching their full potential.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if schools had the same mandate?

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” ~ Albert Einstein