As we go into a New Year the hopes and aspirations for we hold are vital. I think we all know that we can’t change the “weather.” DfE and Ofsted will do what they do but we will be ready to react accordingly to that, we’ve got sun-cream, wooly hats and umbrellas at the ready. The response of the new HMCI will be very interesting in the wake of the Ruth Perry inquiry. How that impacts our accountability system is currently up in the air. We have all seen the impact the pressures the system can have, fact is we can’t control the outside school system but we definitely can control the inside.
I do however have a few wishes for the 2024. Ones that we will hope to fulfil in our school.
Firstly I wish for this upcoming year that we, as teachers, act on the principle that education is not only about the mind — but that it’s about the person. The past three years during the pandemic and beyond it highlighted for me that the gaps aren’t what we do in our classrooms. I believe a school must function for the purpose of developing students as whole people, not just merely as empty minds which require regular and constant filling up of knowledge. School just is more.
Children more than ever need schools and they need them to be more. That is not saying that we don’t have to teach stuff because blatantly we do and obviously that is our core purpose, but there is so much more to what we do and we ignore that at our peril. If attendance rates tell us anything it’s that increasingly schools are not meeting the needs of all pupils and that one size fits all approaches are alienating many of our young people who sit on the periphery.
My wish for teachers is that we can truly focus back in our classrooms. That we can can strip away the nonsense and just get on with doing the best job in the world. As a head a huge part of my job is creating the conditions so that is the case. I will be that “crap” umbrella so my teachers can just get on with the job.
I also wish that we can get our children back to that spot where learning is a motivator in and of itself and that we embrace the joy that brings.
I hope that we can move to a place that engagement and excitement in our classrooms are not seen as the enemy. School should be a joy. Children should rush out to tell parents what they’ve learnt, personally I think it’s never been more important that that is the case. Smiles and happiness should be synonomous with school, so I also wish that we make time to have fun, to enjoy the time teachers spend with the children in their class. Great primary schools are fuelled by brilliant relationships.
Is it too much to ask that we find time to laugh? Time to breathe, and wonder, and imagine, and daydream? Time to draw and dance and sculpt and create. Time to rest as well as time to work.
What’s been lost in the past few years is more than education. We can recover the education we just need to ensure that we don’t do it at the expense of other things that are important in our schools.
To put it another way in the words of Kevin Bacon in Footloose…
“Ecclesiastes assures us… that there is a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to laugh… and a time to weep. A time to mourn… and there is a time to dance. And there was a time for this law, but not anymore. See, this is our time to dance. It is our way of celebrating life. It’s the way it was in the beginning. It’s the way it’s always been. It’s the way it should be now.”
Just thought I’d put together a collection on picturebooks I would use if I were teaching World War II.
In the past I’ve used a range of books to expand understanding about subjects. However the fact is more often than not the real stories are way more interesting than the fiction.
I’m also interested in the small stories, the acts of human endeavour and bravery. I love how we can go from Macro to micro to discussing the big and seeing it play out in the small. I love how these small stories often bring understanding and perspective to often quite amorphous ideas. I also think they are brilliant in helping children understand that their actions however small can make a difference.
So with that in mind these are the books I would use now…
Nicky and Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued by Peter Sis
In 1938, twenty-nine-year-old Nicholas Winton saved the lives of almost 700 children trapped in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia—a story he never told and that remained unknown until an unforgettable TV appearance in the 1980s reunited him with some of the children he saved.
Czech-American artist, MacArthur Fellow, and Andersen Award winner Peter Sís dramatizes Winton’s story in this distinctive and deeply personal picture book. He intertwines Nicky’s efforts with the story of one of the children he saved—a young girl named Vera, whose family enlisted Nicky’s aid when the Germans occupied their country. As the war passes and Vera grows up, she must find balance in her dual identities—one her birthright, the other her choice.
Nicky Vera is a masterful tribute to a humble man’s courageous efforts to protect Europe’s most vulnerable, and a timely portrayal of the hopes and fears of those forced to leave their homes and create new lives.
This is a wonderful telling of the story of Sir Nicholas Winton. It’s a brilliant true story of how small acts of defiance can make a real difference. Peter Sis has long been one of my favourite picturebook creators and this is possibly his finest yet. It is a quiet story of rebellion and bravery and about doing the right thing. Sis’s illustrations are wonderful and he just inspires exploration into the detail. Inspiring stuff. It also has one of the greatest television clips ever see below. (History/Holocaust links)
Hidden Hope by Elisa Boxer and Amy June Bates
The remarkable true story of how a toy duck smuggled forged identity papers for Jewish refugees during WWII During World War II, a social worker named Jacqueline bicycled through the streets of Paris, passing Nazi soldiers and carrying a toy duck to share with the children she visited. What the Nazis didn’t know, however, was that Jacqueline wasn’t a social worker at all, but a Jewish member of the French Resistance.
Families across Europe went into hiding as the Nazis rounded up anyone Jewish. The Star of David, a symbol of faith and pride, became a tool of hate when the Nazis forced people to wear the star on their clothing and carry papers identifying them as Jewish, so that it was clear who to arrest. But many brave souls dared to help them.
Jacqueline was one of them. She risked her life in secret workshops, where forgers created false identity papers. But how to get these life-saving papers to families in hiding? The toy duck held the answer.
Written by award-winning journalist Elisa Boxer and movingly illustrated by the acclaimed Amy June Bates, Hidden Hope , a true story, celebrates everyday heroism, resilience, the triumph of the human spirit, and finding hope in unexpected places.
It’s a truly brilliant story, the art creates tons of tension and hold your breath moments. Extraordinary, brave and true
Bartali’s Bicycle by Megan Hoyt and Iacapo Buno
This picture book biography tells the inspiring story of Italian cyclist, Gino Bartali who worked with the resistance to save 800+ lives during WWII- eventually named “Righteous Among Nations” by Yad Vasham, the Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel for his wartime work helping to rescue Jews. Hoyt ensures that Bartali’s story is easily accessible to a young audience while illustrator Bruno perfectly captures the depicted time period. A excellent over the timeline, letter from Bartali’s granddaughter, or author’s note at the end of the book make it a brilliant look at a little known story.
The Story of Bodhri by Hedi Fried and Sina Wirsen
“Hédi spends her days playing with her dog Bodri in the park, but her quiet world starts to crumble the day she hears Adolf Hitler on the radio. Germany’s leader hates her and her family, just because they are Jewish. And Hitler doesn’t even know them—it doesn’t make any sense. Soon Nazi Germany invades Hédi’s country, and her life changes forever.
Inspired by the author’s experiences.”
“The Story of Bodri” is a true and powerful story, simply told. The illustrations perfectly give it feel of a timeless story and evoke a bygone era. The story is ultimately hopeful, but reminds us that this is a story not to be repeated. Never Again. (History/Holocaust links)
The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding and Britta Teckentrup
“History comes home in a deeply moving, exquisitely illustrated tale of a small house, taken by the Nazis, that harbors a succession of families–and becomes a quiet witness to a tumultuous century.
The days went around like a wheel. The sun rose, warming the walls of the house.
On the outskirts of Berlin, Germany, a wooden cottage stands on the shore of a lake. Over the course of a hundred years, this little house played host to a kind Jewish doctor and his family, a successful Nazi composer, wartime refugees, and a secret-police informant. During that time, as a world war came and went and the Berlin Wall arose just a stone’s throw from the back door, the house filled up with myriad everyday moments. And when that time was over, and the dwelling was empty and derelict, the great-grandson of the man who built the house felt compelled to bring it back to life and listen to the story it had to tell. Illuminated by Britta Teckentrup’s magnificent illustrations, Thomas Harding’s narration reads like a haunting fairy tale–a lyrical picture-book rendering of the story he first shared in an acclaimed personal history for adult readers.”
A clever journey through a period of time. This historical picture book offers a glimpse of different times in history, but all at the same location: at a little, wooden house by the side of a lake. History happens around the house, and the house plays a vital role in many peoples lives. The book encourages questions and follow-up. It doesn’t give all the answers and is all the better for that. What it does however is allow us to see the passage of time in what was a tumultuous period of history. (History links 1920-now)
I’d also recommend exploring “The House” by J P Lewis and Roberto Innocenti and The Apartment by Alexandra Litvina and Anna Desnitskaya which do similar looks at history.
A Bowl full of Peace by Caron Stelson and Akira Kusaka
Caren Stelson brings Sachiko Yasui’s story of surviving the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and her message of peace to a young audience.
Sachiko’s family home was about half a mile from where the atomic bomb fell on August 9, 1945. Her family experienced devastating loss. When they returned to the rubble where their home once stood, her father miraculously found their serving bowl fully intact. This delicate, green, leaf-shaped bowl–which once held their daily meals–now holds memories of the past and serves as a vessel of hope, peace, and new traditions for Sachiko and the surviving members of her family.
I cannot recommend this true story of the bombing of Nagasaki and its impact on one small girl and her family enough. The story doesn’t shy away from the impact of war on the people involved. It provides a very different perspective on the end of the second World War and highlights the human impact of the actions taken. The story is a beautifully told true story and completely need wider sharing (History links)
Finally I’d add these two fantastic picturebook biographies
Code Breaker, Spy Hunter (How Elizabeth Friedman changed the course of two world wars) by Laurie Wallmark and Brooke Smart
And
Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life by Laurie Wallmark and Katy Wu
Both tell brilliant stories about actions that had much wider consequence. They bring the importance of Women as part of the war effort to the fore and are both absolutely fascinating
These are the books I would use now to supplement looking at World War 2. Hope they are useful.
Being Brave! a first time headteachers blog. 