Please Mrs Butler: The timeless school poetry collection

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The author of this article, Dr Oliver Tearle, is a literary critic and lecturer in English at Loughborough University. He is the author of, among others, The Secret Library: A Book-Lovers’ Journey Through Curiosities of History and The Great War, The Waste Land and the Modernist Long Poem.

This views the start of another school year in September from the schoolmaster’s perspective, rather than his pupils’. He associates the chalk and the board and the classroom with his own mortality, with each September bringing him closer to the grave – and this feeling is only made more piquant by gazing out upon all the ‘April faces’ of the young schoolchildren, who have their whole lives ahead of them.Allan always dreamed of being a writer, but first he became a primary school teacher. However, nothing has been wasted. The children in his class, his daughter, his passion for football and even being a postman for a while … all have found their way into Allan’s stories and poems. This book is a lovely collection of school related poems about all times of the school day including home time. I have been reading the poems from this book over and over from my own childhood as I enjoyed them so much from a young age. Now, as a teacher, I see them for more than their entertainment value.

Ahlberg wrote his first book when he was thirty-seven, after a decade of teaching - a profession that he maintains is "much harder" than being a writer. He says that if he hadn't become a writer, he would have loved to be a soccer player. He was married for many years to fellow children's author Janet Ahlberg, with whom he often worked. Their daughter, Jessica Ahlberg, is also a children's author. A lovely reading comprehension resource which explores the popular performance poem Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg and includes a differentiated version.The first time I read Please Mrs. Butler was as a year 6 pupil. .it is a journey through the school day - School time, Play time, Dinner time, School time again and Home time - all from the prospective of the children. The third part of the poem progresses in the same way, with the final issue being raised in the fifth stanza and amusingly dismissed in the sixth. Please Mrs. Butler’by Allan Ahlberg is a six-stanza poem that is divided into sets of four lines, known as quatrains. These quatrains follow a simple rhyme scheme of ABCB; changing end sounds from stanza to stanza. It’s also worth noting that all the odd-numbered stanzas and even-numbered stanzas follow a simple line structure. This helps keep up a steady rhythm and makes sure that the three parts of the poem are very easily distinguished from one another.

discussed the way the poet has organised the poem into sections which develop or move on the 'story' of the poem; In the first lines of this poem, the speaker, a young student, begins by asking their teacher what to do about a boy copying their school work. Because the child says “This boy” when referring to “Derek Drew,” it seems like the speaker is a young girl. This is a light hearted, humorous verse written about playtime. I like the way it is easy to read as a verse and by adding a touch of humour to a subject all children can relate to gives added interest to the listener. Whole class activities Shared writing. Begin by asking pupils to help you make a list of the things people say in school. This could be divided up into two halves: things teachers say, and things children say. Compare the different statements. What do the children's statements have in common with each other, and the teachers'? How are the two different kinds of statement different? What do they tell us about the people concerned? What kinds of tone of voice are they spoken in? Discuss the feelings of both parties.

From the opening verse of the first poem it is easy to see how beneficial such a collection is to a child's understanding of the features of the literary form such as structure, verse, rhythm and rhyming couplets: The teacher has a surprising answer. Readers are likely expecting to hear the teacher chastise the child, Derek, and possibly praise the young speaker for doing what’s right. But, the teacher does something very different. Using anaphora, the poet describes the teacher telling her student to “sit in the hall” or “sit in the sink.”

The poem is about a student asking the teacher for help with minor inconveniences in the classroom. Rather than helping, the teacher expresses her irritation and frustration with having to always be the one to fix these relatively insignificant issues. Haircut' depicts a common fear in many children's lives - standing out. At school consistency is key; the minute you change your appearance someone will have something to say about it. Ahlberg captures the annoyance at being told the blatantly obvious; There are a few different themes that one might interpret from this poem. One of the primary options is self-reliance. The teacher is unwilling to provide the student with the answers they are looking for. Instead, they are forced, in theory, to solve their own problems. Allan Ahlberg's collection of witty and comical poems about the trials and tribulations of being at school is superb. Although some of the content is pretty dated, having been written in 1983, the comedy contained within still manages to produce laughter in the classroom. Children of all ages can relate to the various aspects of school life such as friendship, breaking up and making up, misbehaving and getting into trouble, and mean and unsympathetic teachers. Please Mrs Butler is a fabulous collection of funny little poems centering on the school experience. They cover all the relevant issues including doing projects, lost scissors, making excuses, and empty fish tanks. If you like Shel Silverstein, you will enjoy this little book.Reading again as an adult I notice poems such as Slow -reader with a greater sense of empathy and the poems take me on more of a reflective journey. Through rhyming couplets and short punchy lines Ahlberg creates a fun yet informative read for children of all ages. Younger children can enjoy the musicality of the poems when read aloud, whilst older children can appreciate the rhymes and relatable content of the verses.