The other character’s in the poem “Half-past Two” is the little boy’s teacher. The teacher comes to the little boy’s rescue. As when she enter there is a dramatic effect, and she’s shocked when she see’ the little boy still in the classroom:
And then, My goodness, she said
The teacher’s disorganized, disorientated and forgetful as she scuttled about, panicking about the boy. The teacher is so busy, she can’t remember what she has taught her pupils. The reader gets the impression that the teacher is young and doesn’t have a lot of teaching experience being new to the field. It’s ironic as she says “Run along or you’ll be late” as he doesn’t know what time is.
UA Fanthorpe’s presentation of the education system as presented in “Half-past Two” shows the reader how imperative time is in order to function and survive in modern day society. In the poem the importance of time is when the detention ends not when a particular event occurs. The message UA Fanthorpe is getting across to the reader about the education system is that time is crucial and that it must be taught earlier on in the school syllabus rather then a later stage in life, as a young child’s sense in life is determined by routine events.
The second poem is called “Dear Mr Lee” also written by UA Fanthorpe. The poem is written in form of a letter, by an English student expressing their love for a piece of literature by Laurie Lee. The student is writing a letter of apology, as they think they have failed an English exam yet may be proved wrong as the student seems pessimistic. The reader learns about why the student is writing the letter and the feelings and emotions of the student about failing an English exam.
The beginning of the poem “Dear Mr Lee” is one long continuous stanza by the student whereas in “Half-past Two” the poem is written in short verses. The poems are both similar as in “Half-past Two” the short verses represent the child’s short disjointed thoughts as also in “Dear Mr Lee” the structure of the poem follows the students thought’s like a stream of chaotic consciousness by using enjambment. The reader gets the feeling that the student is three dimensional, as even though the character is pessimistic, yet they are positive about “Cider with Rosy”. The student is very sarcastic about her English teacher, Mr Smart but shows maturity as she doesn’t pass the blame for her failing exam. In contrast to “Dear Mr Lee” the vocabulary used in “Half-past Two” is very simple and the made-up words represent a young child’s language. The reader learns that the main character in the book is an English student expressing their passion for their favourite author, Laurie Lee. The student addresses Mr. Lee is a sign of the student’s respect and admiration for him. The student refers to Mr. Lee as Laurie Lee as they see him as a friend:
It’s rude to call you Laurie, but that’s
how I think of you.
The letter is friendly and informal yet trying to be formal in order to show respect.
Other character’s mentioned in the poem in “Dear Mr Lee” is also a teacher just like in “Half-past Two”. The student describes her English teacher Mr Smart as cynical and uninspiring, indicating to the reader he isn’t a supporting and helpful teacher. The name “Mr Smart” may be an ironic nickname given by the student, yet the reader never finds out. Mr Smart is a direct contrast to Laurie Lee who is his dynamic opposite. He doesn’t seem to motivate his students, which is due to the lack of enthusiasm shown by the student towards his English classes. In “Half-past Two” the teacher didn’t mean to leave him in the classroom for that long a period of time to cruel. The teacher had genuinely forgot that she had left the poor little boy in the classroom and did everything she could to slot him back into his usual routine. Mr Smart is harsh and critical as he says to the student that anyone with her punctuation to consider poetry as a career is enough to make “the angels weep”. Mr Smart is only interested in exam results and not the subject.
The presentation of the education system in “Dear Mr Lee” criticizes the education system, as it doesn’t credit the student’s enthusiasm and passion for literature and English. From UA Fanthorpes poem, it indicates to the reader that education is interested in good exam results from pupils and wants a restrictive and analytical approach, which discourages a personal and intimate response from students. The student didn’t enjoy studying Shakespeare, as she didn’t understand what was being taught. The one book that the student was able to understand and love was the book “Cider with Rosy” yet when it came to the exam the student “didn’t much like the questions about social welfare in the rural community and the seasons as perceived by an adolescent”. The exam doesn’t credit the student’s enthusiasm and passion for the book, and so the student failed the exam. Unlike “Dear Mr Lee” the poem “Half-past Two” is less critical, as it only emphasis’ the necessity of time. While in “Dear Mr Lee” is very critical towards the education syllabus, and how the syllabus is being taught. The poems are both similar as the teacher plays a major role in the student’s view and thoughts. Mr. Smart’s attitude towards one of his students has an affect on their motivation towards English. As a teacher Mr. Smart lacked to offer the support and passion the student required in order to appreciate and take leisure in English.
The last poem I will analyse is “Reports” which is also written by UA Fanthorpe. The poem “Reports” is written from a teacher’s point of view unlike in “Half-past Two” and “Dear Mr Lee” which are written from the point of view of students. Out of all the poems “Reports” is the most critical, as the teacher shows his or her frustration towards the education system. The teacher is trying to write reports for their students yet in order to justify the truth about the students they must be politically correct. This leave’s the teacher stranded and unable to write an accurate, truthful and fair report for the pupils. Due to not writing accurate reports, it leaves the teacher annoyed, as there is no more truth in the education system, which has become corrupt. The poem “Reports” is the most negative of the three poems, this is due to the fact there isn’t one single positive comment made by the teacher.
The beginning of “Reports has the use of italics in order to indicate to the reader what the teacher is thinking of what to write unlike in “Half-past Two” where italics represent speech:
Has made a sound beginning
This is written in typical report style phraseology. The tone of the poem is formal from the start to the end, similar to the poem “Dear Mr Lee” except “Reports” is formal through out. The poem is written in stanzas just like in “Half-past Two” except they are longer showing the thoughts of the teacher are more sophisticated and more developed than the little boy in the poem “Half-past Two”. Using “Pronouns are dangerous” as the teacher doesn’t want to be personal and indirect which may be considered rude. When the teacher use’s the word “dangerous” they are using a mocking sarcastic tone, as the teacher will be in trouble for breaking a school policy. This proves to the reader that teacher and pupil relationships aren’t close as shown in “Dear Mr Lee” where teachers don’t want to get personal with their students. The teacher has a very cynical view of reports, as they feel they are obligated to write what people want to hear. The teacher’s negativity is sensed in “Dear Mr Lee” as seen by the character Mr. Smart. The teacher must constantly remind themself to:
Be on your guard
The teacher feels the report says something about the teacher and not just the pupil. The teacher must keep on thinking about what the officials want to hear yet something that will be easily understood as the teacher wants something that “Should satisfy them”. Near the end of the poem “Reports” the teacher is reminding themself why they wanted to teach in the first place. Like the teacher in “Half-past Two” the teacher from “Reports” used to think education was the most important thing in the world. Then after a few years teaching like in the poem “Dear Mr Lee” teachers were no longer idealistic and think they could change the world. This leads to the failure of pupils due to education.
Other characters that are mentioned in “Reports” are “Parent, child, head”. In contrast to “Half-past Two” and “Dear Mr Lee” the characters mentioned in “Reports” aren’t direct and don’t speak. The teacher thinks about who will read the reports and they are seen as evil as they will look for mistakes made by the teacher:
Unholy trinity, will read
Your scripture backwards
The holy group of three becomes unholy. Through out the poem the “Parent, child, head” are mention by the teacher as “them”. Like evil, the devil will read backwards and three is seen as a magical number. The teacher doesn’t want to set them any “riddles” which will be difficult to understand and interperate.
The presentation of the education system in “Reports” by UA Fanthorpe compared to the other two poems is similar to the moral of “Dear Mr Lee” is that education is dieing because it’s becoming controlled and narrow. Pupils are failing because the education system is failing them similar to “Reports” when the student fails their exam. Yet, in “Reports” unlike in “Half-past Two” and “Dear Mr Lee” it indicates to the reader from the poem that people are no longer able to tell the truth and pupils have no more enthusiasm towards education like in “Dear Mr Lee”. The education system leads to disillusionment for both pupils’, teachers and officials. The future of education will only be grave stones as death is the ultimate teacher ending with an epitaph saying:
Rest in peace.
From studying all three of the poems written by UA Fanthorpe it becomes obvious to the reader UA Fanthorpe doesn’t agree the way education is being run through schools. The message comes across to the reader as UA Fanthorpe criticizes the education system as being corrupt and unjustified. As shown through the poem “Reports” UA Fanthorpe express’ her frustration through the teacher. UA Fanthorpe is saying that there is no longer truth and that the education system must be politically correct.
My personal response to the poem is that education has become more restricted in the modern day society we are living in today. The education system syllabus concentrates more on getting the grades than getting a pleasurable response from the students. I think for students to be motivated further it’s imperative they get the inspiration to learn. Obviously this is no longer happening in the education syllabus. As mention in “Dear Mr Lee” the student’s passion for Laurie Lee’s literature, wasn’t ever credited by their teacher at the time Mr Smart. The student wasn’t enthusiastic about learning, so how is a student meant to progress? I felt there does need to be honesty in the education system in order for it to succeed and be efficient, “Reports” addressed my attention to this matter. I feel UA Fanthorpe is raising awareness about what the education system is becoming and make us aware of the issue and decide for ourselves.
