Chalking it up

The year is 1975. Platform shoes, floral skirts, cheesecloth smocks, floppy broad-brimmed hats, desert boots, flared trousers, wide lapels and kipper ties are the fashion. The film 'Jaws' is showing at the cinema, Queen’s 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is number one and Abba is sending out its 'S.O.S.' through small tinny transistor radios and chunky cassette tape players. A loaf of bread is 15p and a pint of lager is 20p. Pocket money favourites are Opal Fruits and Horror Bags. Newly qualified Kate Hall begins her teaching career in an inner city Secondary School in the South of England. Fate has contrived to thrust this naturally shy and nervous young woman into a hostile urban setting where the kids are streetwise and she feels like roadkill. Follow her progress as she faces all the challenges that await her in the classroom and in the staff room. Some trials she can anticipate and prepare for, whilst others take her completely by surprise. See the 1970s classroom through Kate’s eyes, without all today’s smart boards, computers, tablets and mobile phones. Find out what it was like before the National Curriculum, OFSTED, school league tables, inclusivity, safeguarding and social media. All Kate has – apart from a fertile imagination – is a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a few books, paper and a red pen. Judi Woodnutt presents a thoroughly entertaining tale, inspired by events she encountered and the experiences she endured as a young teacher. The book makes an interesting, historical background read for anyone considering entering the profession as well as generating nostalgia for those who taught or learned in a 1970s classroom.