I remember the names of all my primary school teachers, well, the junior school teachers but not the infant school teachers, apart from Miss Foreshaw in top infants (now called Year 2). The teachers in my first two years clearly made little impression on me. I also remember clearly what we did in knitting and sewing in the junior years, apart from the second year. My class combined with the next class down (we were quite strictly streamed according to perceived ability) and then divided according to gender, the boys doing woodwork and metalwork while the girls did sewing and knitting.
In first year juniors (now Year 3) we knitted little shoulder bags and lined them with fabric. What we did in second year juniors escapes me completely. Was this because my form teacher was a man, Mr Dalley? No idea! In third year juniors we did embroidery, making tray cloths, an object which nobody ever uses nowadays, as far as I am aware. In the fourth year, top juniors (now Year 6), we made dirndl skirts, most of us hand-stitching the seams, which Miss Cunningham would cruelly unpick and make us re-do them if they were not straight. A few trusted souls were allowed to use the one sewing machine in the classroom. How did she decide who was sufficiently advanced in sewing skills to be allowed to do this?
Making a skirt is quite advanced. Do children still learn these skills in primary schools? Is there room in the National Curriculum for such things? I must check with my primary school teacher daughter but I suspect the answer to both those questions is no. Granddaughter Number One and I have been teaching Granddaughter Number Four to knit. Initially quite enthusiastic, she grows impatient with the slow progress. Maybe she will persevere; Granddaughter Number One seems to find it quite therapeutic. Like Granddaughter Number Four, she was taught to knit as a small child but never made use of the skill until a few years ago when she re-taught herself from youtube videos. She has proudly made a couple of jumpers but her big thing is knitting socks! I suspect we shall all receive handmade socks again for Christmas this year.
This bit of nostalgia was promoted by this article about children reading, or, rather, not reading as much as they used to. This prompted a memory of my top juniors (current Year 6) teacher reading “King Solomon’s Mines” to the class, a memorable and sometimes frightening experience. During these sessions we were allowed to relax from our normal sitting-up-straight regime and even put our heads down on the desks, only to be jerked into more upright posture by the terrifying bits of the tale. Children love to be read to, especially if the reader does it with expression. As a young teacher I was given a first year secondary English class, despite my having been employed as a Modern Foreign Languages teacher; eleven and twelve year olds still enjoyed being read to.
And being read to must surely encourage children to seek out books to read for themselves. Yet it seems that reading frequency is at a historic low, with 20.5% of eight- to 18-year-olds reporting reading daily in their free time, compared with 28% last year. This is a great loss, in my opinion. Experts agree about the benefits of reading: “We know that children who read for pleasure, and children who are read to, gain all kinds of benefits, from increased vocabulary to vastly improved mental wellbeing”, said children’s laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce. “But today’s survey shows that too often as a nation we are withholding those benefits from our children.” He described the benefits as an “invisible privilege”.
Unsurprisingly the National Literacy Trust found that twice as many children who said they enjoy reading in their spare time have above average reading skills (34.2%) compared with those who don’t enjoy it (15.7%). That seems logical!
Somehow we need to find time to encourage reading. Parents need to be encouraged to read to their children but they also need to be seen to read for pleasure themselves. If children don’t see their significant adults enjoying books, and if books are not easily available, then children will not see reading as natural, usual pastime.
We are fortunate. Our smallest grandchildren enjoy a bedtime story and enjoy visits to the library. Grandson Number Two, five years old, isn’t yet an independent reader but knows his favourite stories by heart. Granddaughter Number Four, eight years old, has made the quantum leap to independent reading. Their cousin, ten year old Granddaughter Number Three, who lives down south, has become an avid reader, progressing now to young teen fiction. Granddaughter Number Two, now twenty-one, never goes anywhere without a book. Granddaughter Number One, twenty-seven, tells me she reads regularly. As far as I know, the exception is Grandson Number One, nineteen, who has always preferred non-fiction, seems to spend more time playing computer games than reading. So it goes!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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