Date: 1 May 2010 00:07:20 BDT
Subject: CyberMouth SATS
There was a letter in the Guardian today from 87 authors and illustrators opposing SATS (standard assessment tasks) in schools.
Guardian article
As storytellers I think this should concern us even more. I feel that the Key Stage 1 SATS has compromised my work a great deal, I have to concentrate on the written when children are not ready for it, but need to let their imaginations run free within oral storytelling.
There are now a large number of practitioners calling themselves storytellers, and this craft has been recognised to the extent that there is a Storytelling Laureate. Yet storytellers seem to be politically silent or docile. I think we need to be heard.
I would like to send a letter to the Guardian supporting the letter by authors and illustrators. If you would like to add your name to this letter please email me at
mike@michaelolearystoryteller.com giving your email the title of SATS. I'm off to London for a couple of days tomorrow - so will send the letter next Tuesday or Wednesday. Please forward this to other professional storytellers you know who are not on cybermouth.
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We are professional storytellers who work in a variety of venues, but who do a great deal of our work in schools.
We would like to support the letter from Authors against SATS that was published in the Guardian letters page on 30th April.
Storytelling is fundamental to children's learning, not just as a prerequisite for literacy, but to develop the children's grasp of language, critical thinking and ability to debate. We oppose SATS because we believe that the written, box ticking exercise is antithetical to the development of oral language and narrative. It compromises our work in schools.
Mike O
