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Too early to say’? Patrick Tobin
‘Too early to say’? Patrick Tobin finds that he has been living history as well as teaching it
Although I thought of our recent visit to China as a geriatric first, this was not, in fact, strictly accurate. When I was Headmaster of Prior Park, the school’s connections had taken me twice to Hong Kong during the 1980s, and after the second visit we travelled by train across the paddy fields for a few nights in Guangzhou. But we were thirty years younger then and the world has changed drastically during those three decades. China has undoubtedly emerged as one of the two world superpowers, and in 1997 Hong Kong was returned to China.
Modern China cannot be understood without reference to the shame engendered by decades of subservience to western imperialism. I must once have taught the Opium Wars as part of the O level History syllabus, but I cannot remember them challenging sensibility as they do now. From the 18th century, the East India Company smuggled opium from India into China through warehouses in Canton (Guangzhou), whence Chinese middlemen would carry it into mainland China. The trade created millions of Chinese addicts and devastated the large coastal Chinese cities. In 1839, after a letter to Queen Victoria was ignored, the Chinese Emperor issued an edict ordering the seizure of all the opium in Canton. Great Britain turned to gun boat diplomacy and the Royal Navy inflicted a series of defeats on the Chinese Empire. The war ended with the Treaty of Nanking, which ceded Hong Kong to Britain in perpetuity and established five treaty ports, including Canton and Shanghai.
The strength of Western influence over China was demonstrated by the Shanghai ‘Bund’, a section of waterfront along the western bank of the Huangpu River. Here the imposing mansions built between 1900 and 1939 reflect the neo-colonial influence over the Republic of China in the early Twentieth Century of the banks and trading houses of the UK, France, the USA, Italy, Russia, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Belgium.
We flew from Shanghai to Xi’an to spend a day in the company of the Terracota Warriors and, by contrast, to take in some of the features of living in a major Chinese city.
As we walked through the Xi’an market, a member of our group murmured, ‘Scraping a living!’ Hard to escape the impression that, for all its vaunted growth, China is still a third world country. Our guide remarked that China calls itself a ‘Socialist Republic’, but, in economic terms, there is very little socialism left. Politically, of course, it remains a one-party dictatorship.
Some distance from the city we passed tightly packed clusters of ultra-tall high-rise flats. Why the need to accommodate thousands of people in this way? Our guide next day told us that high rise blocks are built to a height of 100 metres with a maximum number of 33 storeys. Above 100 metres/33 storeys, the government regulations prescribe emergency fire escapes, so that is the working maximum! Property developers buy up parcels of land from the State and will pack on to that land as many apartments as possible.
We have been in China some days now and have yet to see a blue sky. Yesterday, our best yet, the sun peeped wistfully through the haze. Many adults and children go around wearing smog masks.
From Xi’an by bullet train to Beijing. China is proud of having the greatest high speed railway system in the world, which links all the provincial capitals.
We arrived at Beijing West Station and descended into a scene of utter pandemonium - porters shouting at the top of their voices and one of our female guides shouting back at them. How did I get the impression that the Chinese were an inscrutable, uncommunicative people? Then off we set, at a near gallop, the start of yet another long, long walk, the bane of this geriatric’s journey through China, but at least we finally encountered a blue sky above us.
As we arrived, tired, at our vast five star ultra-modern hotel, surrounded by an array of new high-rise buildings, I felt buffeted by the assertive modernity and chilling impersonality of superpower China.
It was not always thus. Our guide, ‘Connie’, told us that in 1950 transport in Beijing was restricted to 49 tram cars and several hundred rickshaws. There were no private cars. Forty years later, car ownership in Beijing had reached 1 million. Three years later, 2 million cars, now 5 million – an appalling traffic problem and environmental challenge.
Beijing’s Summer Palace will always be associated with the Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi and the last Emperor. The ‘Dragon Lady’ seems to have been a singularly awful individual. She was originally in the fifth rank of concubines, but was the only one to bear a son for the Emperor. On his death, she became the power behind the throne, holding the reins for her son. When he in turn died, she adopted a nephew, who also died. Another young man was murdered when he threatened to initiate reform. The dragon lady went on indulging her every whim until her death in 1908. It is perhaps no coincidence that the tomb designed to see the dowager empress through eternity is a marble boat set at a safe distance from the banks of a small lake.
Meanwhile, Western powers did not disguise their contempt for what they regarded as a decadent state and in 1903 eight of them ganged up to sack the Summer Palace. By 1911, when the Chinese people belatedly decided that enough was enough and proclaimed a Republic, most of the treasures of the Summer Palace had been either destroyed or removed to western depositories like the British Museum. This sorry story brought home why post-imperial China was subsequently so vulnerable to Maoist dictatorship, and why modern China is not disposed to heed lectures from the West.
Tiananmen Square, the largest in the world as Connie proudly told us, houses the mausoleum of Chairman Mao. Connie told us that the Cultural Revolution was ‘Mao’s only mistake’. Her own parents had been spared the hounding by the young, uneducated Red Guard thugs of elites and the professional classes, but millions had died and millions more lives had been ruined. Now she declared that Mao was her greatest hero!
She pointed to a brightly clothed troupe of Tibetans. I said that the West believed that China had ended Tibetan independence. No, she said, Tibet had always been part of China. I mentioned the Dalai Llama. He was, she replied, an enemy of China, supported by the USA. I realised that there would be no mention of what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989 – a hateful and fascistic monstrosity.
China shows no prospect of escaping its political straitjacket. Unless one believes - it is arguable - that after its previous epoch of calamitous weakness, and after its recent decades of phenomenal, state-directed economic and technological growth and transformation, modern China cannot afford to dally with
Abroad democracy and human rights, it seems wrong to accept that the long suffering Chinese people will be better off without the individual entitlement which we take for granted in the West. The individual Chinese whom we have met have been kind and charming. They deserve better and they are perhaps beginning to see how that might come to pass. Connie, for instance, had travelled to Canada with her son to visit relatives in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. She mentioned the barriers placed by the Chinese government on internet usage and how much she had enjoyed access to Google in Canada. She enthused about the country, the friendliness of the people and the consideration they showed to one another, as opposed to China where people and drivers barge in relentlessly.
It was a fascinating encounter with a very different world, one which might represent the future more than I find it comfortable to contemplate as the democratic segment of the globe seems to be shrinking by the day. Patrick Tobin was Chairman of HMC in 1998
‘Ms Kennedy knows absolutely everything’ Alison Kennedy rejoices in the role of an embedded librarian
When I say School Librarian what do you think? A stern old lady who sits behind a desk telling pupils to be quiet, while stamping books? School Libraries are so much more than an isolated room in the corner of a school, where pupils come in occasionally to borrow dusty old books. School Libraries in the information age are more relevant now than ever, as we equip our young people with the skills necessary to move forwards into the ever-changing world of work. When faced with so much information, school librarians can act as a guide, so that the task of finding the right, accurate content is much easier for our young people.
In 2015 I came to St George’s School, Ascot as Head Librarian and my objective was to take charge of a stunning, brand new, purpose-built library. From the outset it was essential that the entire school community recognised that the Library had so much more to offer than ‘just books’. A School Librarian must make their presence known across many areas of a school in order to develop relationships and opportunities for collaborative work. In my first term I found myself taped to a wall for a charity event and this certainly set the tone for many future interactions with the school community! If there is an event happening it is vital to think ‘How can I, and the Library, support this?’. Each time a School Librarian promotes the services on offer from the School Library it raises the profile
of the service. Whether it is running a research skills class with the History department on their Castles project, with the end result being some craftily created 3D castles, or a session with a Film Studies A Level class on how to create an annotated bibliography, the work we do has the potential to cover all areas of the curriculum, and beyond.
There is often the misconception that the School Library is purely the domain of the English Department, and this can be reflected in the line management structures within a school. I am fortunate enough to be managed by our Deputy Head (Academic) so my outreach and perspective crosses all departments and subjects. Relationships with staff in all areas of the school is vital; those informal discussions that take place in the staff room or over lunch can lead to fruitful cooperation and fantastic new ideas. At St George’s we have a Teaching and Learning Focus group, and through this group I have been one of the members of staff delivering mini-INSET sessions on topics such as referencing, plagiarism, digital research skills and the ubiquitous ‘fake news’. It is not only the pupils who are supported by the School Library, because we can supply resources to supplement and expand upon the teaching in class, provide advice on materials, and guidance on referencing and research techniques for staff too. In order to be effective at this we must stay on top of current trends, have up to date
resources, and understand where information technology and digital resources can be applied and used alongside traditional resources.
There have been a number of other opportunities for me to get involved across different areas of the school, and in my first year I became a Head of House. We take our House competitions very seriously and the girls in my house recently won House Debating. I like to think that my role as School Librarian helped guide them towards victory, as I encouraged them to research the topics thoroughly and apply critical thinking and analysis to try and anticipate the arguments from the opposition!
As I live on site, I work evenings and weekends in a boarding house that caters for the girls in Years 7 to 10. The number of times I have conversations in the evening or at bedtimes about books is testament to my daytime role as School Librarian, and supposed fountain of knowledge about everything. Yes, everything. During a recent Open Morning I overheard a pupil saying ‘That’s our librarian Ms Kennedy over there, she knows absolutely everything’.
Many people do not realise the incredible pastoral role that a School Librarian has. We are available at all times and my open door policy means that any girl can come to me with a query, question or problem. It is essential that young people feel listened to and can learn about anything in a non-judgemental environment. The minute a pupil walks through your door they are your priority, the emails and invoices can wait.
One of my other roles in the school is Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) Coordinator. It is a role that compliments librarianship perfectly, as it is a research based qualification. Part of the course is a Taught Skills Programme whereby the pupils are equipped with all the tools necessary to undertake a small scale research project, an enormous advantage in the progression to University level study. Pupils learn how to develop useful search terminology when researching online; how to manage their notes and master referencing skills; how to refine initial searches to become more precise; how to spot ‘fake news’ or material that has bias in it; and the importance of interpreting information for their own projects so as to avoid plagiarism. All of this combined helps to take submissions to that next level of academic writing.
Ask any School Librarian and they will wax lyrical about reading for pleasure. As humans we have an innate desire to share stories and connect through shared experiences. We also learn about other cultures and fill knowledge gaps through reading. Reading for pleasure not only fulfills a basic human need and ensures wellbeing (see organisations such as The Reading Agency for further details) but it has been proven to contribute to attainment across the curriculum. In fact, a 2012 report from the Department for Education stated that ‘those who read stories or novels outside of school ‘every day or almost every day’ score significantly higher...compared to those that do so once or twice a week.’
Undoubtedly there are many children who struggle with reading, as they may have a Special Educational Need (SEN) or English as an Additional Language (EAL), or they may simply not have connected with that one book that will change their outlook.
When I started at St George’s, I decided that it was vital to develop a collection that would engage EAL pupils, and reluctant or struggling readers. I find that Barrington Stoke
Books have an incredible collection of dyslexia friendly and easy reader books, and many from well known and much loved children’s authors such as Malorie Blackman and Michael Morpurgo. I am also a huge advocate for the role of the graphic novel in reading for pleasure. Some have the attitude that if it has pictures then it is not really reading, but I would argue that this is wrong. Any reading is important reading, and if we can get young people into the habit early, then does it really matter if they begin with graphic novels? They still need to actively engage in the story, empathise with characters and follow dialogue. The additional benefit of images helps those who tend towards visual learning. Graphic novels also help with language acquisition in EAL pupils as the image helps create meaning from the words they are reading. So many graphic novels also explore other cultures, such as the Aya of Yop city series by Marguerite Abouet and the Dan Delisle travelogues on remote destinations such as Pyongyang in North Korea. Creating this cultural bridge can open up whole new worlds for young people. The key thing is that graphic novels are also seen as ‘cool’ and not the embarrassing easy readers that can highlight that a pupil is a little behind in reading level.
Out of school I am a committee member on the Central and East Berkshire branch of the School Library Association and also serve on the committee for the Berkshire Book Award. As solo workers, or working with one of two other colleagues at most, being a School Librarian can be quite an isolated position. We therefore welcome opportunities to share best practice with colleagues in other schools and develop initiatives that benefit children across the county. There is something special about bringing together a group of enthusiastic readers to meet an author or discuss books; such experiences stay with them and show reading in a positive light. However, this status as ‘solo worker’ also makes it important to develop relationships across the school and see the role within the bigger picture.
The School Library Association currently has a campaign entitled Great School Libraries, which aims to bring together information from School Libraries across the country, and creates an overall picture of the provision. School Libraries, if they exist in a school, vary enormously from school to school and local authority to local authority. I firmly believe that the value of School Libraries is not necessarily about how big the library space is, or how many books or digital resources are available. Oh yes, all of this helps, but the main force that leads to the success of a School Library is the School Librarian. We work tirelessly to integrate the Library into all areas of the school in order to benefit each and every pupil whatever their interests or needs are. Alison Kennedy is the School Librarian at St George’s School, Ascot
Some useful and interesting articles: https://readingagency.org.uk/news/The%20Impact%20of%20Reading%20 for%20Pleasure%20and%20Empowerment.pdf http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/tutors/using-skillswise-as-a-tutor/readingfor-pleasure https://www.emergingedtech.com/2019/01/bridging-the-gap-graphic-novelsreluctant-readers/ https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/learning-at-home/ encouraging-reading-writing/how-graphic-novels-can-help-kids-withreading-issues https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/ attachment_data/file/284286/reading_for_pleasure.pdf
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FOR TEACHERS AND SCHOOL LEADERS - PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES THAT BLEND SEAMLESSLY WITH THE WORK YOU ALREADY DO.
22/03/2018 14:19
