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seduced_with_literature's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
A fantastic account of a middle class teacher, predominantly in a lower/working class setting.
The tales are filled with love, diversity, passion, a love of poetry but it also does show how middle class (I am generalising much as Clanchy does) look down on the lower classes.
So part of me has a strong dislike for Clanchy as I can only hear the echo of those teachers I experienced but hold their inclusive values as badge of honour.
I do feel it embodies the idea that we give and receive a little to every person we interact with, in this case every child we teach. It reminds me of what I loved so much of teaching, my own group of young people with such a deep understanding for the real world outside of academia which a lot of educators in my experience treat as myth. Clanchy is clearly passionate for a school setting that is as rich in these experiences (often tragic) as she is its position on league tables and academic recognition. I do have some admiration for the women who's words filled the pages as she is exactly who I aspired to be when I started teaching but as she highlights the emotional depth that comes from teaching that is far beyond the lesson plans or any training you receive before entering the profession.
I have since read a few more in depth reviews and clearly this work is somewhat fictional, but then I think its rare to come across anyone who truly acknowledges their own faults (I have read a good number of autobiographies that do, I feel they have all a more humble background though).
Clanchy also rather consistently highlights patterns that form from only a multicultural dynamic, but It also loads into the classism in place, and how this can be deeply impactful on young people and the opportunities delivered to them, especially through the eyes of teachers who simple see no future for the young people and therefore fail them by not providing them the same dedication.
A highly recommend read, especially for teachers and educators. Although I was tempted to lower my rating based on the controversy surrounding the racism, classism and general nastiness of the author I am maintaining 5 stars as I did thoroughly enjoy the writing and stories contained I couldn't wait to read more and that Is what I want most from any book I pick up.
The tales are filled with love, diversity, passion, a love of poetry but it also does show how middle class (I am generalising much as Clanchy does) look down on the lower classes.
So part of me has a strong dislike for Clanchy as I can only hear the echo of those teachers I experienced but hold their inclusive values as badge of honour.
I do feel it embodies the idea that we give and receive a little to every person we interact with, in this case every child we teach. It reminds me of what I loved so much of teaching, my own group of young people with such a deep understanding for the real world outside of academia which a lot of educators in my experience treat as myth. Clanchy is clearly passionate for a school setting that is as rich in these experiences (often tragic) as she is its position on league tables and academic recognition. I do have some admiration for the women who's words filled the pages as she is exactly who I aspired to be when I started teaching but as she highlights the emotional depth that comes from teaching that is far beyond the lesson plans or any training you receive before entering the profession.
I have since read a few more in depth reviews and clearly this work is somewhat fictional, but then I think its rare to come across anyone who truly acknowledges their own faults (I have read a good number of autobiographies that do, I feel they have all a more humble background though).
Clanchy also rather consistently highlights patterns that form from only a multicultural dynamic, but It also loads into the classism in place, and how this can be deeply impactful on young people and the opportunities delivered to them, especially through the eyes of teachers who simple see no future for the young people and therefore fail them by not providing them the same dedication.
A highly recommend read, especially for teachers and educators. Although I was tempted to lower my rating based on the controversy surrounding the racism, classism and general nastiness of the author I am maintaining 5 stars as I did thoroughly enjoy the writing and stories contained I couldn't wait to read more and that Is what I want most from any book I pick up.
_annabel's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting book about the English education system. This has always been a mystery to me, GCSEs and A levels and all that stuff. She really lays into how poorly the system is set up and how it excludes anyone who isn’t middle-class. The stuff about the expulsion, where kids are informally expelled in order for the school to rate better. But those kids miss out on an education, because their parents don’t know the system. The section on streaming was interesting too, having gone to a school that was streamed. I never thought about what it must be like for the kids put into the lower streams.
emerks's review against another edition
5.0
This is a simply lovely book about teaching, poetry, social inclusion and so much more. Kate Clancy's caring attitude to her students shines through.
talefromthewoods's review against another edition
5.0
I am jumping in and out of this book. Beautifully written, as one would expect from such a poet. Each time I take up a story from inside this book's cover I am transported, drawn in, my senses light up and often tears start rolling. I am learning so much and remembering so much.
pootler's review
4.0
I'm a big fan of Clanchy and what she does. I was completely unaware of the controversy surrounding this book until I came back to Goodreads to mark it as 'read'. I'd wanted to give it five stars for the ideas, stories, and writing, but there was something vaguely off about how she wrote about some of the children that had bothered me. It came into focus in the later chapters, where she talks about girls and their shape and weight and what they eat in a such a derogatory, out of touch, and judgemental way that I ended the book feeling a bit disappointed. I wondered if she'd grown to really understand or empathise with any of her students at all over the years. Biases and prejudices are hard to shift, even when we work hard to rid ourselves of them, as I'm sure she has done. Perhaps talking about how a fat girl eats too many biscuits is still so widely socially acceptable that Clanchy is unaware of how awful these passages are.
Clanchy's writing style is enjoyable and the amazing things she has helped young people achieve remain profoundly impressive and hopeful. I still enjoyed it enough to not want to put it down, and so it still gets 4 stars for the good things in it.
Clanchy's writing style is enjoyable and the amazing things she has helped young people achieve remain profoundly impressive and hopeful. I still enjoyed it enough to not want to put it down, and so it still gets 4 stars for the good things in it.
immyhodges's review against another edition
medium-paced
1.25
Author makes some strange comparisons to herself and students comparing the racism of a student who is somali/kenyan whos scared he would get permanent stay/asyum in the UK to her being banned from teaching into state schools in Scotland for being too English. Author showing signs of white saviour complex 😬
Also getting angry at poetry competition judges for not selecting her students poems blaming it on race which it could be however her emphasis on winning gives the impression that they write to win, cannot they not just write for enjoyment? - almost putting winning as a value.
What a deranged comment of "to feel and believe, that the long-term reward of thinness is better thab the short-tern one of a fig role. I think its worth it. I think im worth it"
(Shes discussing her ny resolution of not having lunch whilst talking about fat students). Another ignorant comment "anorexia is a middle class disorder" - boiled my blood.
This author is full of herself and considers her opinions above others - disregarding other teachers advice.
Also getting angry at poetry competition judges for not selecting her students poems blaming it on race which it could be however her emphasis on winning gives the impression that they write to win, cannot they not just write for enjoyment? - almost putting winning as a value.
What a deranged comment of "to feel and believe, that the long-term reward of thinness is better thab the short-tern one of a fig role. I think its worth it. I think im worth it"
(Shes discussing her ny resolution of not having lunch whilst talking about fat students). Another ignorant comment "anorexia is a middle class disorder" - boiled my blood.
This author is full of herself and considers her opinions above others - disregarding other teachers advice.
canghary's review against another edition
1.0
Edits (August 2021):
I would recommend reading Chimene Suleyman (@chimenesuleyman), Monisha Rajesh (monisha_rajesh) and Professor Sunny Singh (@ProfSunnySingh)’s Twitter threads on this. I also oppose the violence that they, and other authors of colour have received in response to speaking out. Clanchy and Picador’s apologies don’t go far enough, and Clanchy rewriting the book and continuing to profit off her bigotry is unacceptable.
__________________________________________
Over a series of months since I posted this review, the author has threatened to contact my employer, and she has orchestrated her followers on Twitter to comment on it, report it, and contact Goodreads, etc. She has accused me of defamation and abuse (although now all her comments have gone). The quotes I have given are (obviously) from the book and some are available online as previews, so it is baffling to me why Kate denies all of them. The public accusation from Kate that I have organised a pile-on with friends is untrue; this was my honest review and was completely unrelated to any other reviews the book has received. Rather, I would hope that Kate (and people who read this book without criticism) can take some time to reflect on the racism, xenophobia, anti-semitism, fatphobia, transphobia, and classism which run through the book. We are all continuously learning, but we must address our behaviours and be willing to do the work, rather than deny them. Lastly, despite the threats I will not take down my review. I felt (and feel) it was important to speak up for the young people that I believe this book lets down.
—————————————————————————
Original review (November 2020):
I'm a teacher myself and I had so many issues with this book. The narrative is centred on this white middle class woman's harmful, judgemental and bigoted views on race, class and body image. The young people she describes are narrowly fitted into these preconceived categories and Clanchy doesn't seem to view them through any other lens.
Firstly, Kate Clanchy describes young people of colour as racist stereotypes. She describes students as 'so Afghan', Black young people with 'chocolate skin', others with 'slanted eyes', 'almond-shaped eyes', an 'African voice' or a Jewish nose. She calls one young person 'African Jonathon'. Clanchy's viewpoints on young people of colour are bigoted, and I find it uncomfortable that she is profiting from their life stories as a middle class white woman. These young people have interesting stories and write wonderful poems, yet it's Clanchy who controls the narrative and makes the money from them.
Clanchy has a weird obsession with 'foreignness'. She discusses searching for unassimilated, 'very quiet foreign girls' for the Foyle Prize. She sees young people of colour as foreign objects, referring to 'my quiet foreign girls'. She describes some young people of colour as having 'that special, foreign ability'. (What does that mean?!) She writes, 'my assumption, when I sent out the Foreign Girl poems, was that they would be especially welcome because of their foreignness.' Rather than describing young people as talented writers, she talks about their foreigness. Clanchy also talks about wanting to cover up girls who she sees as being too risqué (and probably too disgustingly working class): 'If I could put a burqa on Susie and Kristell tomorrow, I would.'
There is a reoccurring theme disgust of working class people throughout the book. Clanchy has a snobbish and classist view of lower sets, which she acknowledges are primarily working class young people. She says 'no one likes set three [the lower set]', they are 'drearily mediocre', 'running feral', 'destroying lessons' and 'disrupting the whole school'. She states that there is fear between social classes, seemingly fearful of working class young people herself. Working classness is something that Clanchy keeps coming back to - once she has stamped the young people as working class, that is the only lens she will describe them through. She describes young people horrifically, with absolute disgust of their status; for example, 'Poverty is stamped through Cheyenne like letters in a stick of rock, manifesting itself in her rotting, nineteenth-century mouth.' (Cheyenne has dental issues, which Clanchy is disgusted by and places a lot of judgement on her mum for.) Clanchy says she is glad when Cheyenne leaves school early.
Unsurprisingly, Clanchy also has an outdated view on transgender young people, using a slur to describe one trans student she knew of. She comments on the young person's experiences, clearly without understanding gender herself.
This book is the epitome of middle class ignorance. I wasn't interested in Clancy's woes of middle class intelligent children 'missing out' on prizes to non-middle class children who've shown progress. She talks about her 'blonde and angelic' (read: white) son, and how it isn't his fault that he's middle class, but how he is a clever and dazzling pioneer who made school a better place. She talks about long-term ambition as being middle-class. Her views reek of middle class children being 'naturally intelligent', and ignorance of the fact that intelligence is also about a child's access to resources.
Lastly, Clanchy's fatphobic views run throughout the book. As a teacher myself, I found Clanchy's commentary on young people's bodies bizarre, harmful and inappropriate. She describes one young person as having a 'bosomy, curvy figure with a tiny waist'. Clancy says 'she has put on a great deal of weight, so that the pretty figure is blurred, and so that she looks like her mum.' She goes onto describe another as, 'not very pretty…she was fat', as if her body image determines her value as a person. Another girl has been 'brought down from beauty' because she put on weight and became fat. There's a horrible chunk at the end of the book where Clanchy is judging the fat girls for eating the biscuits that she puts out, and then judging the skinny girl for pandering to the male gaze. She says the girls 'can't refuse biscuits any more than they can study' or 'believe in university any more than they can believe in thinness' (!!!). Clanchy herself says that she can 'manage' to not 'stuff fig rolls into her fat face' because she's middle class as opposed to her working class students. I find the idea to a teacher commenting on the fatness and thinness of young people inappropriate and harmful. Clanchy herself admits in the book that she has a snobbish, commodifying and patriarchal gaze, and furthermore these are clearly issues that she is dealing with herself - but I wonder why she thought it was ok to publish these judgements in a book.
Wildly, Clanchy describes herself as a 'nice, liberal person', which seems to place herself as a white, educated middle-class woman above these raced and classed objects she describes. Clanchy doesn't see these young people as humans; she sees them as 'foreign', or 'feral' working class, or ugly and fat. The book as a whole is one, long passage of judgements, prejudices and bigotry. I only hope that these views weren't conveyed to the young people she has taught over the years - they deserve better.
I would recommend reading Chimene Suleyman (@chimenesuleyman), Monisha Rajesh (monisha_rajesh) and Professor Sunny Singh (@ProfSunnySingh)’s Twitter threads on this. I also oppose the violence that they, and other authors of colour have received in response to speaking out. Clanchy and Picador’s apologies don’t go far enough, and Clanchy rewriting the book and continuing to profit off her bigotry is unacceptable.
__________________________________________
Over a series of months since I posted this review, the author has threatened to contact my employer, and she has orchestrated her followers on Twitter to comment on it, report it, and contact Goodreads, etc. She has accused me of defamation and abuse (although now all her comments have gone). The quotes I have given are (obviously) from the book and some are available online as previews, so it is baffling to me why Kate denies all of them. The public accusation from Kate that I have organised a pile-on with friends is untrue; this was my honest review and was completely unrelated to any other reviews the book has received. Rather, I would hope that Kate (and people who read this book without criticism) can take some time to reflect on the racism, xenophobia, anti-semitism, fatphobia, transphobia, and classism which run through the book. We are all continuously learning, but we must address our behaviours and be willing to do the work, rather than deny them. Lastly, despite the threats I will not take down my review. I felt (and feel) it was important to speak up for the young people that I believe this book lets down.
—————————————————————————
Original review (November 2020):
I'm a teacher myself and I had so many issues with this book. The narrative is centred on this white middle class woman's harmful, judgemental and bigoted views on race, class and body image. The young people she describes are narrowly fitted into these preconceived categories and Clanchy doesn't seem to view them through any other lens.
Firstly, Kate Clanchy describes young people of colour as racist stereotypes. She describes students as 'so Afghan', Black young people with 'chocolate skin', others with 'slanted eyes', 'almond-shaped eyes', an 'African voice' or a Jewish nose. She calls one young person 'African Jonathon'. Clanchy's viewpoints on young people of colour are bigoted, and I find it uncomfortable that she is profiting from their life stories as a middle class white woman. These young people have interesting stories and write wonderful poems, yet it's Clanchy who controls the narrative and makes the money from them.
Clanchy has a weird obsession with 'foreignness'. She discusses searching for unassimilated, 'very quiet foreign girls' for the Foyle Prize. She sees young people of colour as foreign objects, referring to 'my quiet foreign girls'. She describes some young people of colour as having 'that special, foreign ability'. (What does that mean?!) She writes, 'my assumption, when I sent out the Foreign Girl poems, was that they would be especially welcome because of their foreignness.' Rather than describing young people as talented writers, she talks about their foreigness. Clanchy also talks about wanting to cover up girls who she sees as being too risqué (and probably too disgustingly working class): 'If I could put a burqa on Susie and Kristell tomorrow, I would.'
There is a reoccurring theme disgust of working class people throughout the book. Clanchy has a snobbish and classist view of lower sets, which she acknowledges are primarily working class young people. She says 'no one likes set three [the lower set]', they are 'drearily mediocre', 'running feral', 'destroying lessons' and 'disrupting the whole school'. She states that there is fear between social classes, seemingly fearful of working class young people herself. Working classness is something that Clanchy keeps coming back to - once she has stamped the young people as working class, that is the only lens she will describe them through. She describes young people horrifically, with absolute disgust of their status; for example, 'Poverty is stamped through Cheyenne like letters in a stick of rock, manifesting itself in her rotting, nineteenth-century mouth.' (Cheyenne has dental issues, which Clanchy is disgusted by and places a lot of judgement on her mum for.) Clanchy says she is glad when Cheyenne leaves school early.
Unsurprisingly, Clanchy also has an outdated view on transgender young people, using a slur to describe one trans student she knew of. She comments on the young person's experiences, clearly without understanding gender herself.
This book is the epitome of middle class ignorance. I wasn't interested in Clancy's woes of middle class intelligent children 'missing out' on prizes to non-middle class children who've shown progress. She talks about her 'blonde and angelic' (read: white) son, and how it isn't his fault that he's middle class, but how he is a clever and dazzling pioneer who made school a better place. She talks about long-term ambition as being middle-class. Her views reek of middle class children being 'naturally intelligent', and ignorance of the fact that intelligence is also about a child's access to resources.
Lastly, Clanchy's fatphobic views run throughout the book. As a teacher myself, I found Clanchy's commentary on young people's bodies bizarre, harmful and inappropriate. She describes one young person as having a 'bosomy, curvy figure with a tiny waist'. Clancy says 'she has put on a great deal of weight, so that the pretty figure is blurred, and so that she looks like her mum.' She goes onto describe another as, 'not very pretty…she was fat', as if her body image determines her value as a person. Another girl has been 'brought down from beauty' because she put on weight and became fat. There's a horrible chunk at the end of the book where Clanchy is judging the fat girls for eating the biscuits that she puts out, and then judging the skinny girl for pandering to the male gaze. She says the girls 'can't refuse biscuits any more than they can study' or 'believe in university any more than they can believe in thinness' (!!!). Clanchy herself says that she can 'manage' to not 'stuff fig rolls into her fat face' because she's middle class as opposed to her working class students. I find the idea to a teacher commenting on the fatness and thinness of young people inappropriate and harmful. Clanchy herself admits in the book that she has a snobbish, commodifying and patriarchal gaze, and furthermore these are clearly issues that she is dealing with herself - but I wonder why she thought it was ok to publish these judgements in a book.
Wildly, Clanchy describes herself as a 'nice, liberal person', which seems to place herself as a white, educated middle-class woman above these raced and classed objects she describes. Clanchy doesn't see these young people as humans; she sees them as 'foreign', or 'feral' working class, or ugly and fat. The book as a whole is one, long passage of judgements, prejudices and bigotry. I only hope that these views weren't conveyed to the young people she has taught over the years - they deserve better.
rrrebekahmay's review
2.0
I'm not ready to review this book yet because I'm still processing my thoughts. I'd say overall it's a good introduction to the British state education system and some of the problems in it, but this book is littered with Kate Clanchy's internal bigotry and biases. She's constantly making bizarre comments and comparing her middle class life to the working class kids she teaches in strange ways. She goes on a tangent about how working class people are fat and her working class students can't think long term so will have a biscuit instead of being thin??? And they can't think of the long term goal of being thin like they can't think about the long term goal of university??? Then there's a wildly confusing section where she's talking about a pretty girl being trouble because boys won't respect her boundaries and has to change to stop getting attention but never addresses that this is a serious problem? I'm still a little mad about it all.
I might come back and review this when I simmer down but for now, I'd say it's an ok memoir but it feels a little exploitative. Also don't be fooled by the Orwell Prize win, this book isn't very political at all.
I might come back and review this when I simmer down but for now, I'd say it's an ok memoir but it feels a little exploitative. Also don't be fooled by the Orwell Prize win, this book isn't very political at all.