Sally Bavage writes
'I Robot' at Spring Bank. Apologies to Isaac Asimov.
Wednesday 3r December, and the assembly hall has
thirty visitors and parents waiting with happy anticipation for the latest in
Headingley LitFest’s poetry assemblies tutored and coached by James Nash, local
writer and poet. “Child: We’ve got someone really important in
the class today. Daddy: Who? The
Prime Minister? An Olympic gold
medallist? Child: No, A
Writer. A Real Writer!”
|
James Nash with Luke Wrankmore Photo: Sally Bavage |
Once again, James had worked
with all of Year 4 on their ideas, initiated by their science work on circuits
and switches, but taken to whole new levels by their originality and perceptive
writing. James: “Think
writing. Find inspiration.” They did, in spades. A robot is certainly Something Else in
their world, and words, shared in front of the whole school.
“I dream of finding another
robot to play with”
“I am building my
replacement”
“I nip someone’s finger as
an alarm clock”
“I am a very lonely robot, I
don’t have a friend to play with but I’m not a bad robot”
“My magic single eye can
give you a shock”
“I try to fit into your
family but I don’t have any feelings or emotions”
and
“I am made of enchantment.”
Indeed.
Class teacher Luke
Wrankmore said, “James works so successfully to bring out the creative talent
in all our children.” A sentiment echoed by the deputy
headteacher Amy Houldsworth, who added how delightful it was to “See the whole
class very much inspired.”
For
one girl, the best bit was “Reading my poem out,” and her parent wrote that she
“was inspired to write independently at home – this is a first! Thank you.”
The many parents there were
fulsome in their praise for the way the work had developed both writing skills
and confidence: “..he [James] has been
inspiring and leading the class for weeks. It seems to me that with his additional leadership all the
students have been particularly engaged in the process, where normally perhaps
the ones with stronger literary skills might engage with activities like this
more than some others. Our
daughter benefited and loved it, and so did we.”
From so many other
expressions of enjoyment, perhaps this parent’s words stand as a testament to
the value of what James produces: “One of the best assemblies I’ve seen at this
school. The children’s poetry was
fantastic. I hope they get to do
more.”
And the last word goes to
the children themselves.
Question: What have you
learned in this project? “Poems
are brilliant!” “It increases your
confidence.” “Sharing others’
poems is fun.” “So you can inspire
people with your work.” “You grow
your confidence.”