| Abstract: | Throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first century we have been led to believe that there is an inevitable link between poverty and early literacy and learning difficulties, and since the end of World War II, poverty has been translated into notions of cognitive or linguistic deficit. Teachers have turned to 'experts', often academics or those responsible for official education reports, for solutions. Each decade has brought a different group of experts, often vigorously denouncing the last. This paper argues that teachers and the public have been hoodwinked into believing that answers for success lie with any particular methods, materials or even parental involvement programmes. Rather than turning to 'experts', readers are invited to listen to the voices of successful learners across the last century in London's East End, as they reflect upon what really mattered for them during those early years in school. |
