Biography of charles dickens ks2 sats

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An entertaining biography of Dickens by one of our finest actors

Acclaimed actor and writer Simon Callow captures the essence of Charles Dickens in a sparkling biography that explores the central importance of the theatre to the life of the greatest storyteller in the English language.

From his early years as a child entertainer in Portsmouth to his reluctant retirement from ‘these garish lights’ just before his death, Dickens was obsessed with the stage. Not only was he a dazzling mimic who wrote, acted in and stage-managed plays, all with fanatical perfectionism; as a writer he was a compulsive performer, whose very imagination was theatrical, both in terms of plot devices and construction of character.

Like many actors, Dickens felt the need to be completed by contact with his audience. He was the original ‘celebrity’ author, who attracted thousands of adoring fans to his readings in Britain and across the Atlantic, in which he gave voice to his unforgettable cast of characters.

In Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World, Callow brings his own unique insight to a life driven by performance and showmanship. He reveals an exuberant and irrepressible talent, whose ‘inimitable’ wit and personality crackle off the page.

It has been years since the publication of Hard Times. In that time, education has been through a lot and our approaches have changed. Dickens believed that education had the potential to break the cyclical nature of poverty and save the destitute from poor physical and moral health. On his th birthday, what would Charles Dickens think of education today?

The three Rs

The Three Rs (a questionable acronym, at best) -** Reading, WRiting and Dictation and AR**ithmetic were central to the education of children during Victorian times. We don’t use the ‘acronym’ any more, but the focus on teacher reading, writing and mathematics has not changed. In fact, much to many teachers’ dismay, the National Curriculum in England () even includes, “write from memory simple sentences dictated by the teacher…”

Whilst Dickens may not have appreciated the continuing regurgitation of sentences given to students by the teacher, the compulsory teaching of English and mathematics to all students from 5 to 18 years old would have pleased the socialist in him.

Facts vs skills

Facts or skills? Victorian education often involved students learning facts and young people were rarely tested on their deep understanding of topics. Dickens hated this as shown by his satire of education at the time embodied by the character of Mr Gradgrind,

“NOW, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else and root out everything else.” Mr Gradgrind, Hard Times ().

Dickens was concerned that this approach would extinguish creativity and imagination in students.

A similar argument ensues today over the exam-factory style of teaching that you can see in many classrooms in the UK, as a result of the growing pressure for good results from teachers and students alike. Ofsted’s move away “from headline data to look instead at how schools are achieving these results, and whether they are offering