The Children Are The Future

#I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier #

Yes, the lyrics of that Whitney Houston song are completely smaltzy. But you have to admit that there's a certain something to them, particularly the second and third line of the chorus.

Now I truly believe those words. I'm not going to be around in about 70 years but my cousin's kids will be. And all those kids I chained to their desks when I was a full time teacher will be too. If obesity and all its related illnesses doesn't get them first, but that's a whole other blog.

So these kids, they're a kind of legacy. Right?!

And childless though I am, I still have this weird maternal instinct to do right by them.

Crazy – I know.

With this in mind, my dream job has always been to combine my passion for writing with my desire to pass on knowledge.  Even better if I could also foster a love of reading and literature in the young people I work with. When I was a teacher I was able to do this to some degree. But I always felt that the strict perimeters of the curriculum meant I couldn't quite do it justice.

Then last year I was approached by a young teacher called Darren Goode. I had been his mentor when he was a student teacher. And he had this brilliant idea for a supplementary school. He wanted to know if I'd be interested in helping him create a curriculum with a focus on creativity.

“Hell, yeah!”, was my response.  

So I've had a full year of working with Darren and his team at KEYS and Part 1 of my dream agenda seems to be panning out.

But what about Part 2?

So imagine my delight when I found this.

I'd love to be a part of this. It sounds like the perfect addition to what I'm doing at KEYS.

So with my heart in my hands, I dashed off an email to Louise (founder of Inkhead) and then sat chewing my nails to the quick as I waited for a response.

On opening Louise's reply my heart was beating a ridiculously loud tattoo that could equal anything produced by the Scots guard in Edinburgh.

The result...

• This September KEYS begins its new academic year with little old ME heading up their Deptford centre. Because, yes, they've got another centre opening in Sydenham.

• And... I venture into the exciting world of Inkhead where I've already had the privilege of being The Magician's Assistant.

Kids, watch out - I'm coming and I have a mission.

Because...

I believe the children are the future!