Grab your books and take a seat in the reading corner children!

This afternoon we will have story time if everyone finishes their work

My earliest memories of reading are of being read to by my mum and my teacher. I loved story time. It was a time to just sit and be at peace.

As a young child I wanted the same story every night and it was Cinderella.

As I became a more accomplished reader I loved going to the library to pick out books with my Granny. She would patiently wait for me to pick out a pile of 3 or 4. In school we had a reading corner that was decorated to match the book we read as a class. I read fairy stories, fables, and as I got older in my early teens I read girl oriented books like Ballet Shoes, Nancy Drew, Enid Blyton books, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. I was also encouraged to read the classics and read more complex books like Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. I didn't fully understand those books and yet I reread them frequently. Reading was something that was valued and encouraged all through my childhood and into my late teens.

My earliest memory of writing is dictating a sentence to my teacher who then wrote it down for me to copy. I felt proud to see my words on a page.

In elementary school we were encouraged to write using many different genres: short stories, newspaper articles and poems.

In secondary school I also wrote using a variety of new genres.

We wrote short stories, poems, letters in place of essays, plays and for several years the majority of school writing was creative writing. I kept a diary. I loved to write things down.

As I progressed through school writing changed from something that I enjoyed to preparation for an exam prompt. It was a hurried scrabble to arrange thoughts and words on a page without the ability to revise except to do a quick reread checking for errors. Writing became a stressful experience. At some point I stopped thinking of myself as a writer.

Open your papers and get ready to begin. You will have one hour to write seven essays and answer 742 multiple choice questions.

The people who strongly encouraged me to read, and supported my love of reading, were my teachers and my parents.

Schools were very focused on developing strong reading comprehension skills in students.

My parents understood the role of reading as a tool for my future success.

Unfortunately, it was also my parents and my teachers who turned me off writing. When I reached my final years of high school the majority of the writing that I did was in preparation for exams. Papers would be returned with red lines and marks through them. Getting a paper back became an exercise in torture and I learned very quickly that peers were mean if I got a good grade for my work. Writing was not valued in my home except as a tool for securing a good job. Creative writing disappeared in the classroom and the focus was on answering prompts.

Pens down children!

Hand your papers and your creativity to the proctor on your way out the door!