The Test

The test of true culture
Is the ability
To move among men,
East or West,
North of South,
With ease and confidence,
Radiating the pure light
Of a kindly humanity.

Una Marson is a rare find.  Her life and achievements have only recently been unearthed: her pioneering spirit committed to articles, curated collections and even a BBC short film ‘Our Lost Caribbean Voice’.  Her story is fitting for the BHM themes for both last year and the upcoming year - Celebrating Our Sisters and Reclaiming Narratives - because her trailblazing and determination are galvanising.

Una Marson was born in the parish of St Elizabeth Jamaica in 1905.  She would eventually become a journalist, editor, playwright and poet.  But that short biography does not demonstrate the extent of her achievements and talents. Whilst in Jamaica she started and then became Jamaica’s first female editor and publisher of The Cosmopolitan.

You could be forgiven for not having heard of Una Marson or for not being aware that she was the first black female broadcaster on the BBC in 1941.  She featured on George Orwell’s 6-part poetry magazine Voice in 1942, which also featured TS Eliott in the December episode. Cleverly, Marson turned this opportunity into a BBC West Indian Service, Caribbean Voices where she was able to honour works from Sam Selvon, Edward Kamau Braithewaite and Vidia Naipaul. Her achievements have been languishing, somewhat buried in obscurity given her sudden passing aged 60 in 1965.  Or perhaps her limited popularity is a reflection of her personal story which is interspersed with struggles with mental health, periods in mental institutions and a diagnosis of schizophrenia. But, it is in these aspects of her life that her fortitude and spirit lie.

Whilst much of Una’s writing is not easy to access, it is possible to read her poetry. In her lifetime she produced 3 volumes: Tropic Reveries (1930), Heights and Depths (1931) and The Moth and the Star (1937). These pages reveal her experiences as an immigrant to the UK, challenges and desires, determination to fulfil her potential and her willingness to address the cruelty of racism and the narrow gender stereotypes of England and Jamaica.  In her poem ‘The Test’ she expresses a deep want for humanity and a deep need for every person to be able to move through the world unshackled and free.

Una’s story in lots of ways is not dissimilar to many activist immigrants of her era, it is no surprise that she worked alongside Dr Harold Moody or that she brushed shoulders with Paul Robeson.  However, this would belie the struggles she navigated that existed at the time. This is something that Una addresses in her poem Kinky Hair Blues (1937) where she writes about the status quo regarding beauty, a world that doesn’t see her hair as attractive and the tension between standing out and fitting in. In this poem, she makes a choice that we have come to see as very modern; she uses a Jamaican dialect to recreate her voice, its cadence and rhythm.  In choosing to write in her dialect, once again, Una is trailblazing, demonstrating a fearlessness and a resistive and restless spirit.  Una demonstrates she can codeswitch and speak to different audiences, but this also reflects the tension of her existence. When broadcasting on the BBC on West Indies Calling (1944), her use of received pronunciation (RP) was faultless but the internal struggle in Marson showed, ‘There is conflict pressing in on her all the time.’

Selecting Una Marson for this blog was deliberate given that her story - until recently - had not seemed to exist to current generations.  She possessed so much activism and courage.  She was passionate about female equality and liberation.  She took to the stage to give speeches on race and class, was an articulate black female activist, was the first Jamaican woman to edit and publish a magazine and she believed in female employment and financial freedom. Marson espoused views not commonly associated with women like her and usually perceived to be part of a post-war civil rights movement.  In reality, Marson existed as an influential feminist figure prior to the Windrush period which we so often wrongly perceive as the moment of arrival from people of the Caribbean into the UK.

Una Marson’s story – like many others – is complex and she is far from a perfect heroine, but her struggles, bravery meant that her voice was heard. Whilst we may want to avoid both the stories of struggle or the superhero narratives when exploring the lives and contributions of racially minoritised people in the UK, it is important not to ignore the lives of those like Una Marson and the contributions they have made, particularly when their lives began with such uncertainty.

The dust that covered Una Marson’s legacy is slowly being removed.  Her poems and plays, her life, her successes and her role in bringing the experiences of people from the Caribbean to a large audience are all slowly emerging and ready to be unpacked.  Her story is at least in part, a triumphant stand against the limitations that others tried to impose.

Her voice was heard and it will be heard again.

If you would like support on race equity and how to embed anti-racism and inclusive practices in your school/setting/trust, you can find out more.  or contact the Wellbeing team on email: wellbeing@hfleducation.org

Sources

www.bristol.ac.uk/history/public-engagement/blackhistory/snapshots2021/marson/ 
Jarrett-Macauley, The Life of Una Marson 1905 – 65 (Manchester University Press, 2010)
 

“I don’t know what to write!”

“I haven’t got any ideas!”

“Writing is boring and just makes my hand hurt!”

Sound familiar? I have heard variations of these quotes throughout my classroom whenever a writing task is introduced in every class I have taught over the last 10 years.

Fast forward to this week. Yesterday, one of my pupils who was firmly in the “Writing is boring” camp back in September groaned audibly when I said we wouldn’t be writing in the English lesson - groans that were echoed by many others in the room.  Another pupil who was firmly in the “I haven’t got any ideas!” camp showed me a story that she had been writing at home. A third pupil who was in the “my hand hurts” camp asked to stay in during playtime to finish their writing as they wanted to write more. What’s caused this shift and change in attitude?

Winning at Writing

We have just finished implementing Winning at Writing with our Year 4 cohort. We spent the spring term using the detailed lesson plans and resources provided to teach our English lessons. I am astounded by not only the change of attitude that the children have shown but also the progress in their writing. 

Before

After

In the autumn term, I attended the HFL Education Winning at Writing training. This was delivered in 3 parts, one for each of the teaching sequences. The training was informative and clear, providing lots of opportunities to learn from others on the course and share ideas.   From the first training session, I had a sense of excitement about the planning and was eager to teach it and see the results. The children engaged enthusiastically with the lessons and by the end of the first sequence their change in attitude towards writing was already becoming apparent.

Prior to beginning Winning at Writing, when met with cries of, “I don’t have any ideas!” I found it hard to know how to support the pupils. The biggest barrier for my class, year after year, was their attitude towards writing. As a key stage 2 teacher, the children in my class arrived each September with a firmly established attitude towards writing.

My current class, back in September, was largely made up of children who were disengaged with writing and did not enjoy it. This was partly down to a lack of confidence and partly down to a perceived lack of ideas. The use of writing journals, which is a key part of Winning at Writing, gave children the confidence to ‘have a go’ at writing. The shift to writing for a real purpose (the children knew they were writing stories to share with their families) helped those reluctant and disengaged writers to see the purpose of  their writing which gave them a motivation to write.

The biggest change for me as a teacher is how I speak to the children about their writing. When discussing their writing, I now always use the phrase, “As your reader...” For example, “As your reader, I am imagining .... is this what you wanted?” Very quickly my children grew confident with saying, “No that’s not,” and recognising that they needed to change something. It did not take long before they were then able to identify exactly what needed to change and edit their writing accordingly. This conferencing was a highlight of the project for me and having time to sit with the children and discuss their writing, without focusing purely on grammar and punctuation errors, enabled me to have a clear knowledge of each pupil’s next steps and quickly put scaffolds in place to help the children reach these.

The focus on the writing processes in Winning at Writing meant the children were clear about the stage of writing they were at each lesson. The colourful icons that accompany each stage were brilliant and through incorporating them at the start of every IWB presentation and on the working wall the children were always able to identify what the focus of the lesson was and therefore the success criteria they needed to achieve. The proof-reading and editing stages ensured the children were aware that these are both key parts of writing and not an ‘extra’ when you have finished. This has had a lasting impact on my class and they are now able to edit and proof-read more effectively.

Another noticeable and very positive difference in my classroom is the way the children talk to each other when writing. The children now regularly ask their peers to read their writing and tell them if it makes sense or if they need to change anything. They also use the phrase, “as the reader, does this make sense?” which has helped them to become more independent writers, proof-readers and editors.

Having just finished our latest unit of writing, it is very encouraging that the children have continued to make progress with their writing, in many cases rapid progress, and the impact of Winning at Writing continues to be seen.

Finally, these quotes from a pupil highlight the massive shift in attitude that has taken place over the 12 weeks. Before Winning at Writing, when asked how he felt when faced with a writing task, he said, “I feel nervous, miserable, sad and worried.” When asked the same question at the end of the 12 weeks he said, “I really want to write because I like writing.” Unsurprisingly, the quality of his writing has improved dramatically.

The difference in my class in such a short space of time has amazed me and I am pleased to say that now when told they are going to be completing a writing task the resounding response is: “Yes!”