Born to Enjoy Learning

A stimulating talk by author Sue Palmer took us through key learning from her books and campaigns. We're very proud that Sue wrote an article dedicated to Robert Owen and his role in starting the first kindergarden in the world. In fact the name 'nursery' is reported to have been coined by Owen himself. You can read Sue's article here.

Upstart - a national campaign for a kindergarden stage in the Scottish school system is spearheaded by Sue. She leads a path for us all to do more to campaign for what we believe in that will benefit future generations. As the Upstart website explains:

"Scotland’s children are Scotland’s future. To realise their full potential, they need the very best start to their education. The western countries with the best records in education don't start formal schooling till children are seven. Instead they have a kindergarten stage based on well-established principles of child development.Current Scottish policy supports a developmental approach, but the structure of our schooling system makes it difficult to deliver. A statutory kindergarten stage ensures that the ethos of education for the under-sevens is different from that of formal schooling.In today's fast-moving, high-pressure world, children need more opportunities to learn through play (especially outdoors), to develop their spoken language and social skills, and to build sound foundations for academic achievement."

These themes are well argued in Sue's books Toxic Childhood, 21st Century Boys and Upstart. The good people of Lanark had the added bonus of hearing her passionate conviction to her cause.