How to Use Homophones to Create a Better World
The thrill of subversion
I’m writing a book for Teaching Assistants who teach pupils in Key Stage 2 and beyond (that’s grade 3 onwards for Americans).
TAs are the overworked and underpaid women and men who are usually given charge of pupils who cannot decode, cannot access the curriculum and are far behind their peers in learning. Every day without reading drags them more and more behind.
Once a pupil gets to Key Stage 2, schools have very little understanding expertise, or training in how to remediate such pupils. It’s a situation I aim to address with my book. I have the understanding, the expertise and the training.
I’m collaborating with a former colleague of mine. A woman who is even more impressive than I am. A woman who marries intellectual rigour and enquiry with practitioner excellence and understanding.
We’ve written all the lessons, all the preamble, all the theory and will soon turn it over to some colleagues and TAs to pick apart and give feedback.
But before I let it loose, I’m finishing the homophone part. Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently. They’re brilliant as an aid to understanding; when we see peace on the page, our brain immediately thinks of harmony and concord, not a…
