8:00pm Tuesday 15th September 2009
By Vanessa Moon
WHEN he failed his English O-level, Peter Inson never dreamt he would one day be an English teacher.
In fact he became a headteacher, and has now launched an online guide to help people improve their literacy skills.
Mr Inson, of East Road, East Mersea, said: “I have always been aware of the pressure put on kids to succeed for the school, rather than for themselves.”
“I used to ask my school kids which O-level they thought I had failed, and they would be shocked it was English literature. But I became an examiner for that subject and I am now an examiner for the International Baccalaureate exams.”
The 62-year-old dad-of-two thought of the online literacy skills guide after hearing from academics and employers about the poor standard of English among students and young staff.
He said: “Academics were complaining about how some PhD students can’t write a proper sentence, and employers were complaining about youngsters’ inability to express themselves.
“It is worrying for two reasons. If you can’t communicate your ideas to people succinctly, economically and clearly, you are less effective than someone who can.
“Secondly, although our speech is our primary way of communicating, educated people who have studied material and developed skills, speak very differently.
“A more extreme form of this are barristers, who have to speak publicly.”
The website will act as a virtual classroom. It covers everything from punctuation to how ideas are put across, writing a summary and learning how to check your own writing.
He based its structure on his experience as a 19-year-old, when he bought a Ford Prefect, which broke down. He took the engine apart and put it together again, understanding how each component worked to enable the engine to function properly.
He hopes, by stripping bare the English language, his guide will be used by youngsters, parents who want to help their children, and teachers looking for new ideas.
He said: “I taught English as a foreign language to adults as well as children, and it makes you think about how you are using your language, which helped with the website, too.
“If you understand something, you will use it more efficiently. That’s what I am doing with the English language on my website.”
Mr Inson is passionate about teaching, describing educating youngsters as “the most important job in the world”.
He said parents have a role in helping their children prepare for school, and by joining the Parent Teachers Association, they show their children they are interested in their education.
Also, by being part of an official group, parents can put pressure on schools to achieve good standards.
But he warned: “Don’t send children to a school you are not prepared to support.
“You can’t expect your child to do well unless you are prepared to support that school.”
Mr Inson is also a published author, having written five books about the struggles teenagers face.
He was inspired to write when he was teaching at prestigious international Swiss school, Le Rosey, when he heard of two friends who had fostered a boy who eventually committed suicide.
His first novel, called “dunno”, won an Arts Council Award.
Mr Inson went to school in Wanstead, London. He then trained as an agriculturalist and bred pedigree pigs, later becoming a teacher of English and, eventually, headmaster of a comprehensive school in west London.
He realised having an education had given him choices – choices he wanted others to have.
Mr Inson is encouraging youngsters who need help with their studies to try his online guide.
He assured users, despite the classroom setting, there are no sarcastic remarks, detentions or calls * For more information, visit www.peterinson.net/book_6.php
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