* I AM pleased to see so many articles encouraging imaginative teaching. I agree with Rosemary Westwell that you have to build learning on the associations children make themselves. This is the approach we take in the British Library’s education workshops and website.
However, the teacher’s role is to move them on towards shared cultural understanding. The best way to remember the word “conscience” is not to use obscure references but to know what it means in Latin. Then you will not only remember how to spell it but know what it means to us all. Making meaning is surely the purpose of learning, not “getting it right” in a test. Creative teaching is fantastic but the thinking has to be rigorous and children have to be challenged.
Bridget McKenzie
Head of education
The British Library, 96 Euston Road
Camden, London NW1
