The last word: communication

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By John Coe — Information Officer for the National Association for Primary Education

Young children listen to us talking all the time. But how much do they understand?

We communicate in so many ways with the children whose lives we share. A frown across the classroom, a finger pointing out a spelling mistake so egregious that correction must be made immediately, a nod signalling approval, a little cough to send a message that the squabble over a pencil case must stop. But what we say remains the most important of all. Our all-singing, all-dancing whiteboards may encourage children to do things for themselves rather than merely watch, but without us and our words to direct the proceedings, there would be little point in the technology.