Benjamin Zephaniah, poet, performer, writer and cultural commentator came to Monteagle to inspire children who were putting an hour a day of hard graft learning the sounds of the English language through Synthetic Phonics.

Of the many titles he has been given and taken, the one that still makes Benjamin Zephaniah most nervous is writer. It's a throwback to his disastrous early education when he used his oral skills to impress girls in the playground whilst failing to learn to read and write in the classroom.

He remembers learning the letter sounds as a child. But at that time there was no diagnosis of his dyslexia. And he had behavioural problems. His mind was busy with other things. Learning how to read was way down on the list.

He left school at 14, was sent to borstal and later spent two years in prison. The poet now believes his inability to read and write led him into petty crime and going back to school to learn the language he used to such great effect as a street poet led him back out again.

Back to school

Earlier this year, coming up to his half century, Benjamin went back to school again, this time to Monteagle Primary School, as a mentor. And for the first time in his life, he didn't want to leave. "I had an idea what to expect from Monteagle. I used to live around there. But on the first day vandals broke all the windows at the school and I thought, oh, right, yeah, this is it," he explained.

Then he met the head teacher Lynna Thompson and her deputy Mark and after taking a while to admire their passionate committed action and take part in an official introduction in the main school hall, he was thrown in at the deep end.

His remit was to show the kids where learning to read could take them: That there was fun to be had with words – once you learned how to read them.

"You have to learn the foundation and how to use the language and you have got to have that in you to be able to pass your exams and improve yourself. But life isn't just about that.

"You also do it because how do you tell people that you love them? How do you get to like songs and poetry? How do you play with words?"

The ideas were fine but what about the reality? Some children already embarrassed by their lack of skills didn't want to know Benjamin, never mind what he had to offer. Some made fun of him, others were more direct with their insults but there were also those who ran up to him in the school corridor asking for a reading or trying their own raps out on him.

Growing confidence

As the synthetic phonics programme and one-to-one tuition took hold and boys in the starter groups started to succeed, Benjamin watched their confidence grow and decided it was time for another challenge A poetry party.

At the first try-out for what was to become known as the poetry team, the selected boys hid behind pieces of paper filled with words they had only recently learned to decode. Then they read them, then they memorised them and finally they performed in front of a collection of parents and teachers.

The moment they stood on the small stage in the school hall is one that poet and activist says he will always carry with him.

"None of them were reading from a page. A couple of months before that they could not and would not have done that. It was brave. It is different when you are singing, you can feel like you are performing. When you are saying the words you are more vulnerable," he said proudly.

Leaving the school

Busy mentoring his small charges and struggling to engage those who didn't want to be anywhere near him, the poet didn't think about leaving until it was time to go. Then he realised how different this particular school journey had been.

"I had relationships with these boys. It was different than any other school visit where I go in and do my stuff and then leave. This time I had to get involved. I saw what it was like for the boys and for the teachers. I was sad to leave. I was enjoying school. That was a turnaround."

What had Benjamin learnt?

And what had he learned? That Synthetic Phonics worked? That inspired leadership was enough to change the fortunes of a single school and its pupils?

His time at Monteagle made him think and he thought that a little education done right, goes a long way.

"People come to me and say it is wonderful that you are uneducated and look that you have done this and got that doctorate.

"There are times when I still feel my lack of education. I wish I would have learned to read books at a younger age," he explained

"I still look at a book and my first thought is not about what I am going to find. The first thing I do is think 'oh look at that, it is so big'.

"Education is power. It makes you powerful. I would say to the Monteagle boys and other kids who are struggling don't fear education. It's your right. A basic human right like food, water and shelter.

"Learn to read and see beyond".

Check out Benjamin's poem about Monteagle school here»

More about Benjamin

Dr. Benjamin Zephaniah was born in Birmingham, but spent his early years in Jamaica, where he absorbed much of the music and poetry that influences his work.

He has published poetry collections for adults but is best known among children for his books written for them: Talking Turkey and Funky Chicken. He has also written two novels for teenagers, Face and Refugee Boy.

He holds honorary doctorates from the University of North London (1998), the University of Central England (1999), and the University of Staffordshire (2002).

In 1998, he was appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education to advise on the place of music and art in the National Curriculum.

Author: Mary Carson

A Way With Words
www.channel4learning.com/waywithwords
Featuring the works and words of Benjamin Zephaniah.

The Monteagle Project | The Challenges | A Week in the Life of the Programme… | Benjamin Zephaniah | Monteagle Primary School Poem | Shane's Poem | Why We Did It | What Monteagle Did and What It Cost | The Testing of Reading Ability at Monteagle Primary School

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