Mina

I'm reading David Almond's new book. Mina, the main character, is 'home-schooled' because of an incident at her school over a SATs test. There is a disturbing section in the book that describes this incident. Although there is plenty of humour in this section, it is also depicts the tragedy of the demise of a great profession.

From the opening, the prominent theme of the book is clear: the disjunction between childhood imagination and the crushing nature of modern education, with its prescription and reductionist approach to learning and assessment.

Here is a passage:

'When I was at school - at St Bede's Middle - I was told by my teacher Mrs Scullery that I should not write anything until I had planned what I would write. What nonsense!

Do I plan a sentence before I speak it?

OF COURSE I DO NOT!

Does a bird plan its song before it sings?

OF COURSE IT DOES NOT!

It opens its beak and it

SINGS SO I WILL SING!

Almond speaks through Mina's writing in her journal. It's an interesting book for children which, amongst other things, reveals Almond's beliefs about childhood, the imagination and education.