What I wanted to do was use literature and different kinds of stories and poems as a springboard, tapping into the creativity of our teens - I wanted teenagers to come up with their own creative responses to literature - using books themselves as a starting point.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes using literature as a tool to inspire creativity in teenagers, encouraging them to respond to stories in their own unique ways.
Malorie Blackman expresses her desire to leverage literature, including stories and poems, as a catalyst for creativity among teenagers. She envisions a process where teens engage with literature, not just as passive readers, but as active creators who are inspired to develop their own artistic expressions. This approach encourages critical thinking and personal interpretation, fostering a deeper connection between young individuals and the literature they encounter.
In practice
In a classroom discussion on fostering creativity, this quote can inspire teachers to rethink their methods.
I remember going into a bookshop, and the only book I saw with a black child on the cover was 'A Thief in the Village' by James Berry, and I thought, 'Is this still the state of publishing?' Then I thought, 'Either I can whine about it or try to do something about it.'
I hope to instill, in every child I meet, my love and enthusiasm for reading and stories.
Children will go with any story as long as it's good, but white adults sometimes think that if a black child's on the cover, it is perhaps not for them.
History should belong to all of us, and it needs to include people from different cultural backgrounds. Otherwise, it risks becoming irrelevant to children, who could then become disenchanted with education.
I read a lot of highly unsuitable books for an 11-year-old. I was desperate to read as widely as possible. I thought, 'There are so many places I am never going to get the chance to visit, but I can if I read them.' And I did. I could go anywhere in the world - and off it - by reading.
Don't you know that boys don't cry?' Adam grinned. 'Shall I tell you something I've only recently discovered,' I replied, not attempting to hide the tears rolling down my face and not the least bit ashamed of them. 'Boys don't cry, but real men do.
It would be great to have every engineer have at least some amount of knowledge of machine learning.
When you're young, you keep reading new writers and you keep changing your mind about how you ought to sound.
Children are not yet fools, but we shall turn them into imbeciles like ourselves, with high I.Q.'s if possible.
Some years ago I became president of Columbia University and learned within 24 hours to be ready to speak at the drop of a hat, and I learned something more, the trustees were expected to be ready to speak at the passing of the hat.
We must be learning if we are to feel fully alive, and when life, or love, becomes too predictable and it seems like there is little left to learn, we become restless - a protest, perhaps, of the plastic brain when it can no longer perform its essential task.
Parents are usually more careful to bestow knowledge on their children rather than virtue, the art of speaking well rather than doing well; but their manners should be of the greatest concern.
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