³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

For Burns Day we asked learning consultant to give us his take on inspiring children to try a bit of Burns.

It isn't every week that poetry dominates the news, but this past week may just be exceptional. The appointment of Liz Lochhead as Scotland's national poet, in succession to the late Edwin Morgan, continues a fine cultural tradition in the life of the nation and could hardly have come at a more appropriate time, in the week when we celebrate the birth of THE national poet, the man whom , another of our modern-day poets and Burns biographer, described as 'the rhythmic heart of the nation, forever supplying warm sustaining blood to the otherwise cold body of Scotland'. Cultural status doesn't come much higher than that!

The young Robert differed from most of his peers as a result of the value his father placed on a formal education, he was also conversant with some of the great writers in the English language and could quote freely from Shakespeare and the Bible. How many young people leaving Primary 7 could do that today?

But the world is different today, I hear you say. How is it possible, in the age of the iPod, Wikipedia and Lady Gaga, to engage children in the life and works of a ploughman poet who has been dead for over 200 years? Of course, the world moves on, as last week's release of the (available free from iTunes) will testify, but some things never change, like the quest for love, the struggle to feed and care for one's family, the companionship of friends, the appreciation of music and a good story, the search for justice and the absolute belief in the equality of men, regardless of colour, class or creed, the very things which Burns valued in his life, and has come to represent in ours. And thanks to new technology, the interest in the man and his works is likely to increase, rather than diminish, with time.

How apt for a man whose greatest achievement was arguably that he collected and preserved for future generations the traditional songs and tunes of Scotland, many of which would have been lost but for his determined efforts - no Microsoft Word, Google docs, memory sticks or CDs at the end of the 18th Century!

The first engagement with Burns should always be through the ears, rather than the eyes. After all, many of the early poems were not originally written down, but composed by the author in his head, memorised and delivered first-hand to their normally flattered recipient (the biting satires would come later). Hence the importance of rhythm and rhyme, and the need for the poems to be spoken aloud.

So when introducing Burns in the classroom, make use of the many wonderful recordings on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ archive and let the poems speak for themselves. Children will delight in the imagery, the onomatopoeia and the often ghoulish nature of the subject matter. Burns had latched on to the fact that we all like a scary story long before Harry Potter or the Twilight phenomenon.

Set kids the challenge of identifying the Scots words which are still in use today. Send them away to ask their grannies to supply them with more, and when they are ready, encourage them to tell their own stories in the style of their very own national bard. More importantly, try it yourself, just like I did!

Some Interesting Facts about Robert Burns (That Perhaps You Didn't Know)

• After Queen Victoria and Christopher Columbus, Robert Burns has more statues dedicated to him around the world than any other non-religious figure.
• Auld Lang Syne is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as one of the three most popular songs in the English language, along with Happy Birthday and For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.
• A miniature book of Robert Burns' poetry was carried into orbit by astronaut Nick Patrick on a two-week space mission in 2010, completing a 5.7 million mile trip and 217 orbits of the Earth.
• Robert Burns was the first ever person to appear on a commemorative bottle of Coca-Cola, in 2009.
• US fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger claims to be a direct descendent of Robert Burns.
• Burns' body was dug up 19 years after he died to be placed in a new cemetery in Dumfries. During the exhumation his skull was measured and found to be bigger than that of the average man.
• Pop singer Michael Jackson is said to have been a big fan of the poet, and there are rumours that he worked on an album, not yet released, setting the Scotsman's poems to music.

I was delighted to see Liz Lochhead appointed as Scots Makar yesterday, taking up the mantle from the late, great Edwin Morgan. Like her predecessor, Liz has been studied and adored in classrooms all over the country. She also follows in the illustrious footsteps of the Older Scots , Robert Henryson and William Dunbar (if you haven't heard of them, do give their poems a look, they're well worth a read!)

Anyone who's had the pleasure of hearing Liz Lochhead read her work will testify to the exuberance and passion she puts in to her performances, bringing poetry alive for children and adults alike.

It's interesting too that perhaps her best known poem, is not only about going to school, but is a critique of the attitudes towards Scots language in Scottish schools. Her final lines, 'The way it had to be said/Was as if you were posh, grown-up, male, English and dead' are a damning indictment not only of the devalued status of Scots in the classroom, but of so many strange notions of class and propriety which are also, unfortunately, tangled up with poetry.

I like the idea that working-class, young female Scottish (and very much alive!) students who may have felt poetry wasn't for them will be inspired to write by a strong role model such as Liz Lochhead. I'm sure that her audience will be far, far wider than that, but it's nonetheless great to think of the apple-cart of poetry being upset, just a wee bit. With Carol Ann Duffy, another Scottish female writer, as the it seems now's the time for young women in Scotland to get reading and writing poetry.

I'm sure we'll be hearing lots more about a certain other national poet next week, so I think it would be great if perhaps, as with a Burns Supper, schools allow Liz Lochhead's work to serve as the 'Reply from the Lassies', or, 'Reply from the 21st Century'. Indeed, the first appointment of our new Makar will be to open the new in Alloway. I hope that we learn to give our best poets better recognition while they are here, living, breathing, reading and writing among us - perhaps the classroom is the place to start.

Some extra reading:
Pauline McLean's blog on Liz Lochhead's appointment
Liz Lochhead reading some famous works of Robert Burns

On this website back in March 2008, , a well-kent face in education in Scotland and beyond, mentioned as part of a blog post about the use of mobile phones in conferences, classrooms and elsewhere.

At the time I'm not sure I even pretended to understand what that could mean. Later that month Ewan gave a presentation to our department, during which he highlighted Twitter with a practical demonstration, asking his followers if anyone had any messages for our team at the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ (I seem to remember the demand to "bring back "). He also showed how teachers were using it to share ideas and links.

With that, and after watching this video explaining , I was persuaded to give it a go, despite my anxiety tremors which usually kick in when dealing with anything "social...". So it's thanks to Ewan that I've managed to 'get' Twitter and go on to get things from it. Ewan's been using Twitter since January 2007 - four years on, it's apparently not a passing fad.

But despite the celebrities and programmes really trying and testing Twitter for themselves, especially over the past year, I still hear that "I just don't get get Twitter" from family, friends and colleagues. And all too often you see the aborted accounts of two tweets: "Ooh I've signed up to Twitter!" followed by "Ummm...". As an introduction I always say that I treat Twitter like a text message to no-one in particular: if someone picks up on it then hooray (or heaven help you, depending on content); don't expect an answer or feedback, but don't be shy to help or answer others too.

So here's some reasons for why I suggest if you're interested in education you should be giving Twitter a go:

• Shared links and resources - every single day you'll find something new, from personal blog posts, links a teacher may have stumbled across, the programme they might be tuning into, there'll be something to entice/enthrall/annoy/ignore. And all the way to -city.


• Conferences - this week has seen and . I'd know nowt much about them without reports back from the floor - kudos to tweets pointing to blog posts from and for starters. I doubt I'd know much about either and certainly wouldn't have attended the very special .


• Help and advice - I've seen bona fide cries for help on how to deal with difficult pupils or parents, to tips for next-day job interviews, as well as general queries starting "does anyone know..."


• Expanding your horizons - starting from a Scottish standpoint, I've found some interesting links and viewpoints from every single part of the country, as well as from teachers down south or outwith my own 'range', and noted differences and similarities from educators in America or Australia, for example. Not to mention reports from those that get to travel more than us.


• Friends and personalities - from general banter, the human touch reminds us all that we're all in this together and wee things from insights into family/personal life to social meet ups - in holiday times, or just to celebrate poetry and/or beer - it can be a very good laugh online or in person. And that's not to mention accessibility to a human voice from companies, celebrities or politicians - for example, since the start of the year education secretary .

And all that checkable at a glance on your computer or mobile phone.

The only little warning I'd give, if it's really needed, is to be conscious of its repercussions - it is publishing to the web, and open to all. So that tweet, whether on a whim, as an angry reaction or after a few relaxing glasses of wine, .

And finally, I've an admission to make, I'm not on that other social-media thingy, Facebook - I fear I'd be a bit too much of a compulsive for that, constantly checking. A thing I like about Twitter is in its name - it is like tuning into birdsong - and is as ignorable or as enticing as your mood allows. So if you've not checked it out, have a look and sign up if you like. And if you want help finding new friends and opportunities give a shout. Though for proper engagement and enrichment, I'd suggest start by following (), () and - and we'll put you in touch with some jolly interesting people.

.