http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/news_blogs/email_updates/interviews/pie_corbett
One question / answer from the interview :
Literacy is clearly a key influence on the future success of the nation, as well as individual success. Do you think literacy is primarily an issue for schools or should it be seen as a social justice issue and treated as a cross governmental priority?
When I was a child, we lived in a two-up, two down. We had no bath - it was a tin tub in the back yard. The toilet was at the end of the yard. The first six years of my life, we used to go over the road twice a day and fetch water from the well. We were too poor to own books. However, every night we were read a story, and those stories came from books, and those books came from the library. It was being read to that made the difference to me and I would say that the reason that I eventually became a teacher, a headteacher, an inspector and a writer, I can track back to our weekly visit to the library. Without that library, the world of literacy would not have opened up for me. Literacy is essential for a healthy, thriving society that gives everyone a chance. All children deserve the right to an imaginative and literate childhood. To reduce the long tail end of illiteracy, I do think that we have to tackle this in an orchestrated manner and ensure that goes beyond it being seen as merely a school issue. It is too important and I would love to see further work on this to establish a full frontal, coherent approach.
