Words of Wisdom on Wisdom!

[Belly]

These reports are wonderful to read, thank you so much for posting Tony.

I think it would be wonderful if children in infant schools were taught a little like this today. To have poetry and composition as separate subjects, etc. It seems teaching was more academically rigorous in those days?
I've often wondered how the Brontes etc could write so well when they were no more than children, if they had a grounding like this I can see why (apart form their obvious gifts).

I realise I am horribly old fashioned. . My daughter in year one is not taught to write yet and only has 10 mins of reading a week, how times have changed. That said she is being taught to 'think' but sometimes I wonder if the baby has been thrown out with the bath water?

[Kitty]

I realise I am horribly old fashioned. .

Me too. Someone I know teaches primary, and has taught for a very long time - sick of being micro-managed, she gives lip-service to the national curriculum while secretly teaching the children what she wants them to learn

[Anita Bensoussane]

My daughter in year one is not taught to write yet and only has 10 mins of reading a week, how times have changed. That said she is being taught to 'think' but sometimes I wonder if the baby has been thrown out with the bath water?

I know what you mean. At the age of 4 - 5, my son used to study philosophy at school. He spelt it with an "F"!

Anita

[Belly]

That made me smile, Anita. . Kitty, I think that sounds wonderful! I wonder if Enid Blyton herself wouldn't do the same if teaching today?

I also thought it interesting, reading the reports, how Enid's passion for Nature shines through. I think that 'Nature' and Geography etc for 8 year olds were replaced with more general topic work?

Most 8 year old children today couldn't tell the difference between a chaffinch and a great tit( I would have no idea either) . When it comes to plants (apart from very obvious ones) I am similarly clueless as are most children I'd guess. Enid must be spinning in her grave!

I wonder why the curriculum changed? Probably the sort of thing not deemed useful or relevant to modern life.

[Anita Bensoussane]

About three or four weeks ago, I was walking along the street when I saw woman looking up into a tree. She told me she'd spotted an unusual bird which looked "like a giant chaffinch." I was able to tell her it was a jay!

Anita

[Tony Summerfield]

I also thought it interesting, reading the reports, how Enid's passion for Nature shines through. I think that 'Nature' and Geography etc for 8 year olds were replaced with more general topic work?

Surprisingly it would seem that Enid herself apparently didn't teach Nature. If you look carefully at the report you will see that Geography, Drawing and Nature appear to have someone else's initials against them, D.N., implying that these three subjects were possibly taught by another person.

[Ming]

Does Enid leave any record as to who DN was?

[Anita Bensoussane]

Fascinating. I believe that Enid Blyton had different numbers of pupils at Southernhay at different times, with at least a dozen or so pupils passing through the school during the course of the four years. I doubt there would have been enough work for two full-time members of staff, so perhaps when the class was fairly large an assistant or helper came in (maybe only part-time or on a temporary basis) to teach one or two subjects? That would enable the class to be split in half according to age for some subjects (I think the pupils varied in age from 4 - 10). I'm only speculating though. Until Alan's report came to light I had assumed that Enid Blyton was the only member of staff at the school.

Anita

[Redrachel76]

Thank you.
That was facinating.

It is interesting to see her handwriting in a whole report and not just the signiture.

I'm quite envious of the 8 year old boy who had such a good education and was starting to learn French at age 8. In my bog standard state education I only started French at 12 and a half. (about 1988 ish). I remember feeling it was a bit late at the time. A lot of my education seems really poor in comparison to that boy's.

Anyway thanks again.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Last night I unearthed Journal 16 (Winter 2001), which contains a copy of a Southernhay report for John Moon, aged 5. He generally went by the name of Jock because there were several Johns in the class. The report dates from Easter 1922 and there is no sign of any initials of other members of staff. I like Enid's comment under 'Free Drawing': "Excellent. I have been initiated into the mysteries of motor-ploughs, tractors, binders and many other things, besides such ordinary things as ships and buses."

According to Jock's son, Tony Moon, Jock was the inspiration for Moon-Face in the Faraway Tree series!

Journal 16 also contains a programme for the end-of-term entertainment at Southernhay, at which pupils sang, recited poetry, played the piano and performed a play. The play was Spring Cleaning in Fairyland. Jock Moon played a workman and Alan Wisdom played a fairy daffodil. There appear to have been ten children at the school at that time, including four whose first name was or might well have been John (John Thompson, John Terry, John (Jock) Moon and Jack Green). It seems that there were only two girls - Mollie Sayer and Ruth Terry. The other boys were Peter Thompson, Arthur Kennedy and Wilfrid Sayer. At the end of the entertainment, everyone sang "God Save the King," as would have been customary in those days I imagine.

Anita

[Moonraker]

At the end of the entertainment, everyone sang "God Save the King," as would have been customary in those days I imagine.

How I remember those days when the National Anthem struck up at the end of every visit to the cinema or theatre. Being a bit of a rebel, even at the age of 7, we (my mother was not a royalist!) used to make a mad dash for the exit as the credits rolled! When I eventually grew my appendices, I used to ignore the wailing anthem anyway, and just walk out! I can remember thinking, "What's so special about the Queen for us to single her out for salvation?" Mind you, the "Long live..." request seems to have been answered.

[Belly]

Really interesting, thanks Anita. Enid's observations about the drawings made me smile, she seems to have had quite a gentle sense of humour.

Am curious as to how much the names and characters of the children were absorbed by her 'under mind'. Thinking of Jack, Jock, Mollie and Wifred etc.

[Lucky Star]

At the end of the entertainment, everyone sang "God Save the King," as would have been customary in those days I imagine.

How I remember those days when the National Anthem struck up at the end of every visit to the cinema or theatre.

In Ireland when I was young the National Anthem was always played at the end of the evenings TV broadcasting when the channel went off the air. It was also played at school on sporting or other special occassions. Anyone failing to show the proper degree of respect would get their ears soundly boxed. I know this from experience.

[Anita Bensoussane]

In Ireland when I was young the National Anthem was always played at the end of the evenings TV broadcasting when the channel went off the air. It was also played at school on sporting or other special occassions.

I too remember the National Anthem being played at closedown on TV. I used to joke that we'd better stand up! I think it was still played even when I was in my 20s. Was it only on the BBC, or across all channels? When it finished, the screen would go blank and emit a shrill screeching sound. The only time we ever sang the National Anthem at school was during the Silver Jubilee celebrations of 1977.

Anita

[hope189]

It was also played at school on sporting or other special occassions.

The only time we ever sang the National Anthem at school was during the Silver Jubilee celebrations of 1977.
Anita

In our school, the national anthem is played every day in the morning, just before school starts and we are supposed to stand up.