Literacy news
Poet to inspire children at Conservative Party Conference
5 Oct 2012
Following recent research that revealed that children are reading less today than in 2005, the National Literacy Trust is set to challenge young boys’ perceptions of poetry and literacy at this year’s party conferences.
Award-winning spoken word poet Dean Atta will be leading a workshop with four boys aged 14-16 from Baverstock High School. Together, they will construct a poem about their aspirations and challenge the boys’ perceptions of writing poetry.
Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust said:
The reading of poems has decreased by 11 percentage points (31% vs. 20%) since 2005 and nearly one young person in five (17%) is embarrassed to be seen reading by friends.* This is something that must be addressed.
It is frequently claimed that low literacy is related to unemployment, a lack of aspirations, poor physical and mental health. We hope to encourage key policy makers that further steps must be taken to inspire a nation of readers.
Alongside the poetry workshop the National Literacy Trust will be exploring ‘How we get the next generation reading’ at the Conservative party conference. A panel debate will focus on the newly announced programme of study for the national curriculum. It will also touch upon the relationship between functional illiteracy and long-term youth unemployment.
Speakers include former Schools Minister Nick Gibb MP, Priti Patel MP and Evening Standard Editor David Cohen. The panel discussion will take place on Tuesday 9 October at 10.00-11.00, with the poetry workshop occurring at 14.45-15.45 on the same day.
If you are attending conference and would like to attend our fringe event, please RSVP to Michael Gallagher at policyintern@literacytrust.org.uk
