Earth minus art = eh?

I like art. I also love real food. Good food, slow food, locally produced food. Food is great stuff – proper nutrition helps produce good brains, especially in young people. And it tastes good too. Win win then!

Room 13 anyone?

Well Room 13 started in my home town of Fort William back in the 90’s. It grew out of the work of an artist mate of mine who worked with some children in a slightly run down and otherwise unremarkable primary school in the village of Caol and is all about developing the artistic vision of the children who embrace the experience that Room 13 offers.

From that one classroom, Room 13, has grown into an international network of Room 13’s, all run by children, for children, and making a bigger impact in the development of the appreciation and practice of the visual arts amongst young people than many major publicly funded bodies I could name.

So given what astonishing stuff children can do when suitably supported, you’d think that a primary school would applaud a pupil they’re teaching who, using their own initiative, combines their love of photography, writing and good food by running a blog? But not a self-indulgent one, a blog with a mission, one that raises funds for Mary’s Meals, whose aim is:

Mary’s Meals is an international movement that sets up school feeding projects in communities where poverty and hunger prevent children from gaining an education.

Step forward Martha Payne.

Martha Payne, fundraiser, blogger, photographer, critical thinker, philanthropist, primary school pupil.

Well no applaud for Martha in Argyll & Bute unfortunately. Sadly the delightful ‘Never Seconds – One primary school pupil’s daily dose of school dinners’ has been stopped dead in its tracks by the education authority.

As Veg the blogger (Martha) announced it yesterday:

Goodbye.
This morning in maths I got taken out of class by my head teacher and taken to her office. I was told that I could not take any more photos of my school dinners because of a headline in a newspaper today.

I only write my blog not newspapers and I am sad I am no longer allowed to take photos. I will miss sharing and rating my school dinners and I’ll miss seeing the dinners you send me too. I don’t think I will be able to finish raising enough money for a kitchen for Mary’s Meals either.

Goodbye,
VEG

Dearie me. Is this how we reward initiative, critical thinking, creativity and philanthropy in the young? Sadly in Argyll & Bute it seems to be.

If you want to lob a few well-thought out comments to Argyll & Bute Education Authority you may do so here

Email link at the left of linked page, and at right you may notice their Curriculum For Excellence mission statement (which I think they may not have read):

This affirms that A Curriculum for Excellence is for all young people in all educational settings, and that it should support them in a range of ways that will help to maximise their potential. At its heart lies the aspiration that all children and young people should be successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors. 
In Argyll & Bute, we recognise that teachers are the key to the successful implementation of A Curriculum for Excellence. The quality of learning and teaching in every classroom – and the inspiration, challenge and enjoyment which can come from teachers’ enthusiasm and commitment – will be critical to achieving our aspirations for all young people. The children and young people of Argyll & Bute need teachers who themselves exemplify the four purposes, who have a sense of community with their colleagues and who share in responsibility for the success of the school and all that happens within it.

I think we should be able to do much much better than this for our children.

EDIT> for a more considered overview of this issue than my hastily penned response see Paul Clarke’s excellent blog post here.