Jaqueline Woodson – writer part 3

Liz discusses the importance of introducing “difficult” topics such as pandemics, racism etc into the classroom. 

She believes that the fundamentals needed to grasp these topics (equality vs fairness/difference, opinion and bis etc.) are already in a young child's s...

Jaqueline retells how she is a slow reader and how this clashed with the academic interests of her teachers at school who wanted her to read faster. 

Because accessing literary skills is usually based on speed when it comes to books, many child...

For parents and teachers, Thomas emphasises the importance of taking the focus away from results and focussing instead on the learning process. What did they gain, how did they feel about it, what did they enjoy instead of comparing their progress with the progress of others. 

Richard is certain that afterthe global pandemic schools will never be the same.

Online learning has forced teachers to look at how they can get through to pupils and how they can reinvent the learning experience to engage children in a safe, social environment.

She recounted an awkward situation in which a student of colour proposed some people may be racist as they believe black people’s skin “looks like poop”.

Liz recognised that this may have been an internalised belief for the young girl and is would be wrong to chasti...

Being held back a grade in middle school will hugely impact the future career of a person and so this pressure can mean many students are put at risk of developing depression/anxiety/EDs as a result of high stress levels. 

This culture is devastating is unaddressed and...

She argues that this stems from her African American history, when so many black Americans where prohibited from learning to read or write. 

This illiterate nation of people therefore had to retell their stories in a different way, through song...

She also argues that this is not politicisation of the curriculum as what is taught at schools, what textbooks are used and how much teachers are paid is already government reliant. 

Children are already exposed to political discourse and so it should be ap...