Philip Pullman (author of the His Dark Materials trilogy) is not a fan of the UK’s school testing regime:
The award-winning children’s author Philip Pullman today launches a broadside against the government’s “brutal” school testing regime, warning that it is creating a generation of children who hate reading and “feel nothing but hostility for literature”.
Writing in Guardian Education, the author of the acclaimed His Dark Materials trilogy attacks a lack of focus on enjoyment in the teaching of reading and writing. Drilling to meet the demands of tests makes children’s writing “empty, conventional and worthless”, he says.
You go, boy.
Yeah, I read that piece earlier and found it quite interesting. Pullman has a point. C.S. Lewis used to say that the best way to get children to read good books would be to forbid them to do so and then leave plenty of good books lying around!
I think Pullman’s pretty overrated, incidentally. He does write well, but the thinking behind his work is simply a violent and poorly reasoned reaction against Calvinism. As for his story, yes, it’s fairly good, which is to be expected when you pour large quantities of Michael Moorcock and C.S. Lewis into a pot and stir, sprinkling in liberal doses of Milton as you do.
Woo hoo! Go Philip Pullman! While he’s at it, he should also be kicking down the door on those awful, terrible, overrated, misused and hated GCSE exams. British exams are not good. Not at all.
I have never actually read any of Philip Pullman’s stuff — Darin has, and he loves it. There was a huge debate on Wordplay about the morality and honesty of his books (evidently Catholics didn’t care for it?).
Well, I just thought it was silly – I recognise anti-Catholic writing when I see it, and this wasn’t it. He’s trying to be anti-religious and free-thinking, but it’s quite clearly anti-Calvinist in particular. I don’t think he can see past his prejudices.
He also seems unsure in his reworking of Milton, which is not really surprising when you consider that he is completely out of sympathy with his Roundhead worldview…
Against that, the first book, ‘Northern Lights’, which owes more than a little to Michael Moorcock, is a fine piece of writing, imaginative and compelling.
Dude, Philip Pullman, you rok my sox. (I spelled rock and socks like that on purpose.)
i think that the british tests should be scrapped
i also love :the amber spyglass