Teacher's Notes compiled by the author

CONTENTS

Introduction and Background
The Moment...
Mr Donovan - The Caretaker
Diane Mr Morley - The Teacher
Lorraine Miss Oldfield - The Head Teacher
Thomas
Jumping to Conclusions & What Happens Next?

INTRODUCTION

I'm not a great fan of "teacher's notes". They can be patronising and irritating. Frequently they are written by people who have no experience of class teaching and whose insight and suggestions are shallow and impractical... But I hope these notes do not fall into this category. They are written by an experienced primary school teacher who also happens to be the book's author. That should at least add some weight to his insight!

The ideas and suggestions in these notes are by no means offered up as definitive. They merely contain a few possible ways into the book that might help children get more out of it and could provide starting points for class work. I hope you will find them useful.

BACKGROUND

Briefly The Ten Pound Note is a culmination of my experiences and observations as a class teacher. So, yes, it has to be coloured with my own opinions and prejudices - but then so is any other semi-autobiographical work. (I can certainly recognise myself in some aspects of Mr Morley!)

The central themes of the book for me are misunderstandings and making conclusions on false assumptions. At some time in the book each character reveals something about him or her self that none of the others knows and they also express an opinion that we know to be false. (Not an uncommon state of affairs in or out of school!)

People have reacted in a variety of ways to The Ten Pound Note. Some have identified with it, others have found it far too strong! But it has sparked many interesting discussions and has stimulated some remarkably reflective work. I hope that it proves to be a powerful starting point for your class.

THE MOMENT...

At the beginning of the book it is 3.45pm. By the last page no more than half an hour has past. Practically all the action in this book is told from the biased point of view of each character and, apart from the final chapter, everything that is referred to has already happened. In a way each of the first ten chapters take place simultaneously. Point out to your children how there is no objective narrator's voice until that final chapter. I intended to create the feeling that "well, now at last it's going to be sorted out" by introducing a brand new structure. Also, because that chapter is written from the point of view of an objective observer and not from the various personal view points of implicated characters, we can take it all at face value. Everything else in the book is open to doubt and many of the observations are positively contradicted by what other characters say!

Try and get your class to articulate their feelings about how the characters changed as the book progressed. What did they think happened? How did they think the children got hold of a ten pound note? Does the way they perceived what was going on in the book reflect their own prejudices?...

There is scope here to discuss the relationships between author and audience, narrator and reader and whatever the fictional characters are going through, with the real world!

MR DONOVAN - THE CARETAKER

Mr Donovan has been a caretaker for a long time. He has cleared up after countless messy teachers and heard enough cheekiness from children to convince him that the only good child is a quiet one - preferably as far away from him as possible! He has no time for any of the other characters, except perhaps, Lorraine - whose father he knows well.

We hear his rantings in chapter one and again at various intervals throughout the book. It turns out that he steals children's balls and that he would pocket any money he'd find rather than hand it in. Yet he is quite content to accuse others of wrong doing!

As a matter of interest I originally intended to give him a bed-ridden ailing wife who needed regular attention and who died leaving him to bring up his children alone. I hoped it would explain why he was such a grumpy old man! But the series editor thought that it would make the book too morbid - especially with so much death in other chapters! So I left it out.

TALKING POINTS

What do you think Mr Donovan's opinion is of Miss Oldfield?
What did he actually see and hear in the cloakroom?
Why didn't he agree with Miss Oldfield when she said it was right to hand the money in if they'd just found it on the floor?
What did he think about Mr Webster?
Talk to your class about hypocrisy. Have they ever been guilty of it?
Why do your class think he is so grumpy? (It might be interesting to tell them what I initially planned would be his own traumatic history - (see above).
Does your class agree with the editor's decision?

DIANE

When Diane grows up she will probably say "I come from a broken home. I should know; I broke it!" Life to her is a successions of conflicts. The main one is with her mother who, if Diane is to believed, has had all traces of affection stressed out of her! Diane is also at war with her baby sister, her teachers and her friends. But the biggest conflict is with herself. She is actually able to admit to herself that she employs her temper so violently because it is expected of her. She has clearly suffered from the fall-out of the conflict between her parents and is a classic example of a child taking responsibility for the actions of its elders. However in this case her mother does actually blame her daughter for the mess she is in!

TALKING POINTS...

What does Diane think about the Head teacher?
What does Diane think her friends think about her?
How long ago did Diane's mother throw out her husband?
Why does she call Mr Morley a "soggy flannel"?
How has Diane's opinion of Mr Morley changed over the year?
Ask your class if they have ever consciously employed their temper as a weapon.
Can they suggest a way in which Diane could break out of this cycle of conflict?
She does actually say that she does not really like being the way she is.
Do your class have any advice for her mother...?
And here's a risky one... Has anyone in your class ever felt that a teacher hasn't listened to them?...

MR MORLEY

He is a newly qualified teacher who makes me cringe every time I read his chapter! He is the ultimate disillusioned teacher and he's only been at it a year! The failed dinosaur project, his clash over the phone with the Head, his total misreading of Lorraine's character; they all add up to a man who has clearly missed the point! But even he tries to fool himself. His chapter starts with him trying to convince himself that it's been an okay year! But then he recognises what a disaster it's all been. All he can think about is the summer holiday ahead. There's not a word of hope for a better second year. Who knows; maybe he won't come back? His actions when the collection tin was being sent around for Miss Oldfield are particularly revealing!

(NOTE- All characters in this book are fictional. Although they may have been inspired by the observations of the author, they are ultimately products of his imagination!)

TALKING POINTS

To what did Mr Morley liken his class to as they entered the classroom for the first time?
Why did he take £1 out of the collection tin?
Why was Mr Morley made to apologise to the caretaker?
Ask your class what they think of Mr Morley.
Does anyone have any sympathy for him, or are all his problems of his own making?
What advice would they give him if he wants to have a happier year next year?
How would they have dealt with Thomas?
Who in your class wants to be a teacher when they are older?
...(and I'm only referring to the children!!)

LORRAINE

To everyone else Lorraine is a quiet, sweet, inoffensive child. But she reveals herself to be a conniving, manipulative thief who is capable of murder! In many ways she is the most shocking of all the characters because of the clear way in which her past experiences have shaped her personality. She witnessed her brother's death and has been a victim of family denial ever since. We also have some idea of the type of man her father is!

Her character is the closest I get to laying my own opinions bare. She is the ultimate result of not facing up to situations and is an extreme example of how much we can misinterpret others if we don't bother to find out what is actually driving them!

TALKING POINTS...

What does Lorraine do with the teachers' mugs?
Why does she dislike Mr Morley so much?
What are the three "S's"?
Has any of your class ever manipulated adults like Lorraine does?
Do any of them use any or all of the "S's"?
Does anyone in your class keep a secret diary?
Lorraine had a particularly dreadful experience when she was small. Has there been any event, happy or sad, that has stayed in the memories of your class members?
What do they think of Lorraine?
Is she to be sympathised with or condemned as a thief and a schemer?
Were her parents right to deal with their son's death the way they did?

MISS OLDFIELD - THE HEAD TEACHER

Miss Oldfield was a teacher long before things such as OFSTED were even thought of. She represents what many refer to as the "good old days". An era that is quite literallygoing to close at the end of the week.

It is often difficult for children to imagine the adults around them as children. So it would be particularly revealing for them to read about the trauma Ruth Oldfield suffered as a child. She seems to have been practically desensitised by the tragic experience of losing both of her parents. She talks as dispassionately about her childhood as she does about her teaching career. As she says - "I gave up worrying about popularity a long time ago".

She is a product of her time. Phrases like "... the younger ones seem to have such a chip on their shoulders!" suggests an intolerance and lack of understanding that is (hopefully) in decline!

The very first act of her retirement is going to be to revisit her childhood! I wonder if it is only adults that would react to her with sympathy? It would be interesting to illicityour class's views!

TALKING POINTS

What does Miss Oldfield think of children in general?
Is she looking forward to her retirement? Why?
Why is Miss Godfrey so important to her?
Does anyone in the book think she is a good Head teacher?
Ask your class if they think she is a good Head.
What would the children in your class have done if they had been the Head and the caretaker had brought Thomas, Diane and Lorraine to them?

THOMAS

Thomas is a bright articulate boy with a huge temper. As we see in his chapter he is also black. The relevance of this becomes apparent when we learn how angry he is about the fact that "Thomas" turns out to be an anglicised version of Maso (a Nigerian name meaning "twin"). There is also the leftover bitterness of the racism experienced by "Ian" his older brother. Furthermore Miss Oldfield refers to the "shifty" look that is common to the family and says that she is irritated that Thomas doesn't look her in the eye (something that is seen as threatening and provocative in Nigerian culture). Thus the area of conflicting cultures becomes another example of misunderstanding.

TALKING POINTS...

Why does Thomas ask if The Ark was the first ever boat?
What does Thomas think about "name calling"?
What does the fact that Thomas knows what a double negative is tell us?
What does Thomas think about his big brother?
What does he think about the two girls?
How well does he know them?
See if any of your class have ever been frustrated by meddling adults or misunderstood by others.
What type of friend do they think Thomas would make?
What do your class think Thomas thinks about himself?

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

We have all been guilty at some time of misjudgement. Whether because of the way a person speaks, what they wear or how they smell! It is equally easy to misread situations and assume the worst about someone. We often look for ways of confirming our initial reactions and fail to step back and take a fresh objective view on things. Thus we come to believe what is untrue and to assume what has never been! The Ten Pound Note is riddled with examples of this. All the characters are both guilty of, and victims of, jumping to false conclusions. I have, of course, taken this theme to the extremes to make the point as strongly as possible. But it's an interesting activity to try to get children to try and trace each misconception. For example, the incident where Mr Morley answers the Head's phone. We have his account of things, which we can assume to be true. Then there are the other versions of the event that have grown from retelling to retelling. Such an activity could be a starting point for discussions on how false rumours spread.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?...

In the end we find out that the money was collected by the top year class for a leaving gift for Miss Oldfield. Suddenly all the assumptions of the characters and the readers are turned on their heads. It would be interesting to find out what your class thinks might have happened right after the note had been read. Did people admit to their errors, or was the whole thing left hanging in the air, unresolved and the root of future angst?

But the question "What happens next?" can be posed on a broader level. Now you've got the books and you've read the notes and, who knows, have even taken up some of the suggestions, what now? Let me suggest one more idea. Why not get your children to ask me, the author, a few questions about the book? Let them tell me what they think about it! (Believe me I'm used to taking criticism!) Get them to ask me things about how I write. Get them to ask me anything!...