Hello, my name is Ms. Grant.

I'm so glad you've decided to learn with me today when the modern text first deep dive, and our modern text is "Leave Taking" and we're looking at the power of education.

Today, we're gonna look really closely at the character of Enid as such a rich character, a character that Pinnock had said herself she was fascinated by when she was writing this play.

I'm gonna be your support and guide as we work through today's lesson together.

I can't wait to hear all of your fantastic ideas.

Let's get started.

So by the end of today's lesson, you're going to be able to explain why education is so important to Enid in "Leave Taking".

Now, Enid really dominates this play.

She's such an important character, such a rich character to explore, a character that you would talk about in any essay on "Leave Taking".

So it's great to marry together this really important character and this incredibly important theme, education.

Now, there are some key words which are gonna be referenced throughout today's lesson.

They're gonna help us unlock our learning, and they are rural poverty, which is situations in which people who don't live in urban areas lack financial stability and necessities for day-to-day living.

Precarious, when something is unstable or insecure.

Eurocentric, which is when there's a focus on European culture or history, ignoring or excluding cultures and history from the wider world.

Indoctrinate, which is when you make people believe something, and a less formal synonym is to brainwash, and, finally, colonisation, which is when a country establishes control over another country, exploiting it for economic gain.

So these are all really important in order for us to understand the character of Enid and ideas about education.

So they're gonna be referenced throughout today's lesson and help us achieve our objective.

Our lesson outline for today, we're gonna start by focusing, well, the whole lesson is going to focus on Enid, but to begin with, we're going to think about the idea that "They can't take you education away from you." This is a quotation from Enid herself.

It's from scene six when she's talking about her daughters, Del and Viv, and why she's less worried about Viv than she's worried about Del.

So for Viv, she has this education.

We know that Viv is an incredibly academic and studious student.

She's doing incredibly well in school, and Enid says, "They can't take you education away from you." And then the second learning cycle, we're gonna think, well, what is Pinnock exploring in terms of the power of education through this character of Enid? And we're actually also gonna think about how Enid's views about education are challenged.

So let's start off by looking at this quotation, "They can't take you education away from you." Why Enid might say this? What does she believe about education? So I'd like you to consider "Leave Taking" as a whole, and discuss how Pinnock establishes that education is important to Enid.

So think about all eight scenes and any ideas that you can come up with about why or how Pinnock establishes that education is important to Enid.

So pause the video.

I can already see people reaching for their "Leave Taking" texts, which is a great thing to do when you're asked a question about the whole play.

So use that, your play script, in order to help you discuss this question: How does Pinnock establish that education is important to Enid? Pause the video and discuss the question now.

Welcome back from that incredibly rich discussion, showing of your fantastic knowledge of all eight scenes of "Leave Taking" and the character of Enid.

There were some brilliant ideas, and here's some of the ideas you might have had.

So she doesn't let Viv help her clean the house, but tells her to get on with her work.

And that's the opening of scene two.

And I heard people make really specific references to the text.

It would be easy to say, "Oh, we know that education is important to Enid," but actually your discussions focused on specific moments in the text, which really generated a powerful and exploratory discussion.

So one of the ideas that lots of people reference was the opening of scene two, where Enid doesn't let Viv help her with the housework.

She enjoys saying Shakespeare after Viv quotes from "Macbeth" in scene two.

So also enjoying the idea of Viv's education.

She tells Brod about Viv's school report, "All A's", scene two, so a really proud moment for Enid where she's showing off.

Viv seems a little bit embarrassed, but Enid is shouting from the rooftops that Viv is a grade A student.

She's really proud that Viv will go to university, unlike her sister's children.

She actually contrasts her own children to her sister's children.

She refuses to engage with the idea that Viv will take a gap year.

So Viv sort of suggests that she might want to do that, and Enid says no because her education is too important.

And she saves for years so that Viv can be financially stable at university.

And we see this in scene four.

So she still, I know education is really important and she's actually planned ahead to make sure that Viv can be stable at university.

So these are just some of the ideas that you might have had from across the play.

Now, one reason that education is so important to Enid is because of her own upbringing in rural poverty in Jamaica.

This we find out about Enid's upbringing a little bit in scene two and then much, much more in scene four.

Now in scene four, Enid has found out about the death of her mother, and she's grieving, and Viv finds her sitting in the dark in their living room.

And Enid says, in response to Viv saying, "You should turn the light on," "I'm used to sitting in the dark.

You think me mother could afford electricity? Hot an' cold running water? Flush toilet?" She also says to Viv, "You think it easy living off the land? The land fail you, you might as well be dead." And by contrast, Enid says, "They can't take you education away from you." So we've got two moments here where we're looking at Enid's past rural poverty, and then we've got this quotation, which is obviously the central quotation from learning cycle about the idea that they can't take your education away from you.

Now, I'd like you to discuss using just these three quotations, why is education so important to Enid? So just using the quotations on the board this time and why is education so important to Enid? Pause the video and discuss the question now.

Some lovely discussions there.

Now, earlier you showed off your ability to look across all eight scenes, but now you've shown your ability to look at three really important quotations.

And two, zoom in your discussion there.

So two different skills there, but both equally important to the analysis of literature and the analysis of "Leave Taking".

So some ideas that you might have had.

Well, Enid sees education as a way to escape rural poverty.

I had lots of people referencing that key word.

We can see that Enid grew up in rural poverty and now she's saying, "Well, they can't take your education away from you." And that will be a marker, something to fight against the idea of moving back into that poverty that Enid faced when she was growing up.

When Enid was young, her family's existence was precarious and they entirely depended on the land.

So this idea that her upbringing was a little bit unstable, it had financial economic instability.

It was precarious because she entirely depended on the land.

And in this quotation, she says, "If the land fail you, you might as well be dead." So Enid views education as something that can be relied upon, something that cannot fail you, like land can.

So this phrase, "They can't take you education away from you," it takes on real significance when you consider it in terms of Enid's upbringing.

That's why it's such a central quotation to "Leave Taking".

Now I'd like to check for understanding because we must be able to understand Enid's past in order to understand her feelings about education.

And that's the focus for today's lesson.

So how has Enid's upbringing affected her feelings towards her education, towards, sorry, education.

Is it, A, she sees education as precarious, in a way that farming is not.

B, she views qualifications as reliable and permanent.

C, she remembers rural poverty, but knows education is a precarious way out.

Or D, she remembers the precarious nature of her existence in Jamaica, and sees education as a way to escape it.

Pause the video.

Think about this question.

How has Enid's upbringing affected her feelings towards education? And select which responses you think are correct.

Pause the video now.

Well done if you selected B and D, showing off not just a great understanding of the character of Enid, but also of one of our keywords, precarious, and another key word, rural poverty.

So Enid views qualifications as reliable and permanent, and she remembers the precarious nature of her existence in Jamaica and sees education as a way to escape it.

Now I'd like you to reread this section of scene three.

It is on the board and it's a dialogue between Viv and Enid.

This is before Enid has found out that her mother has passed away, and Enid and Viv are having a disagreement about how Viv's future should pan out.

And I'd like you to complete the three sentence starters that are on the right hand side of the board once you have finished the rereading of scene three.

So we've got, education is important to Enid because.

Education is important to Enid but.

And education is important to Enid so.

So I'd like you to pause the video now and complete these two tasks, rereading the section of scene three on the board, and then completing the three sentence starters, pause the video and complete the tasks now.

Well done for so carefully rereading that section of scene three and showing your ability to accurately analyse it and think about this idea of education and the character of Enid through those three sentence starters.

Here's some ideas that you might have had.

So education is important to Enid because she sees it as an escape from the rural poverty of her youth.

Education is important to Enid, but her daughter, Viv, doesn't value it in the same way, perhaps because she's not grown up in rural poverty.

And education is important to Enid so she refuses to accept the idea that Viv might not immediately go to university; she thinks Viv's dream of going to Jamaica is naive.

Now you won't have sentences that are exactly like this, but just have a look at yours and see that they make sense in terms of the because, but, and so, and potentially seeing if you can push and make sure that you've got a key word in at least one of your sentences, if not more.

So pause the video and just reread through your sentences, checking them for sense and seeing if you can get one of the keywords in there as well.

Pause the video and reflect on your sentences now.

Well done for finishing this learning cycle with a really clear understanding of why education might be so important to the character of Enid.

We're gonna move on to the second section of our lesson, and we're gonna think about the power of education.

So we know that Enid thinks education is incredibly powerful.

We looked at that in learning cycle one, and now we're going to refine and develop our ideas about this idea of the power of education, bringing in maybe some of Pinnock's intentions and how other characters view the power of education.

Now for Enid, education is powerful and positive.

However, Pinnock also explores education's power in other ways.

In her introduction, Pinnock writes: "My parents' generation had been indoctrinated by a colonialist education that lionised, celebrated, all things British.

They celebrated Empire Day, 24th of May, when their schools distributed British flags and lollipops.

Now, Jamaica was colonised by the British in 1655, and it exerted its power in many ways, one being through the education system.

Until Jamaica achieved independence in 1962, its education system was largely Eurocentric.

So celebrating European culture, values, and history rather than the culture, values and history of Jamaica.

Empire Day, which Pinnock talks about being celebrated in Jamaica, was a day when the British Empire, the colonisation that it exerted over various parts of the world was celebrated.

So the idea that on the 24th of May, people in Jamaica would celebrate their own colonisation and Pinnock draws attention to this fact in her introduction.

Now the character of Enid is of the same generation as Pinnock's parents who "had been indoctrinated by a colonialist education that lionised, celebrated, all things British." And this quotation from her introduction and is a really interesting contextual idea, which you could draw into lots of analysis about the play, "Leave Taking." Now in scene two, so let's connect this idea from the introduction, this contextual information that we have to the play itself.

Because in scene two, Del accuses Enid of "bowing and scraping to your, her, beloved England." Now, I'd like you to discuss why might Enid feel this way about England? Why might she feel that it's beloved, why might she, as Del puts it, bow and scrape to England? And what might Pinnock be suggesting about education's power? So two quite complex questions there.

And we've got a contextual idea and idea from Pinnock's introduction as well as a moment from the play.

So give yourself some time to contemplate both of these questions.

Pause the video and think about how might Enid, why might Enid feel this way about England and why? What might Pinnock be suggesting about education's power? Pause the video and discuss these questions now.

Well done for giving those questions the time and space that they deserve.

And the more you think about these now, the easier it'll be to bring into your analysis of "Leave Taking" if you are writing an essay about education or about Enid or about a whole host of other ideas where these ideas might be relevant for that particular essay.

So some ideas you might have had.

Enid, growing up in a colonised Jamaica, was taught to think only positively of England.

So we can see that Pinnock introduction says her parents' generation were indoctrinated by a colonialist education.

Well, Enid is of that generation and that indoctrination seems to have worked; she thinks of England as a great place.

And what might Pinnock be suggesting about education's power? Well, perhaps Pinnock is suggesting that education can be used as a tool to oppress people, so to make them think certain things unquestionably, which is what this word indoctrination means.

So we've seen through Enid that Enid really relies on education as a way out of rural poverty as an escape from that.

But Pinnock is also drawing attention to the idea that it can be used as a tool to oppress.

Now I'd like you to show off your fantastic understanding of these ideas, these contextual ideas, these difficult ideas about education, particularly this word indoctrination through a check for understanding.

So Pinnock believes her parents' generation were indoctrinated by their education.

Is this true or false? Pause the video and select your response now.

Well done if you selected true.

Now I'd like you to justify your answer.

Is it, A, Pinnock believes they're indoctrinated to endure in rural poverty? Or B, Pinnock believes they're indoctrinated to celebrate British culture and identity above their own.

Pause the video and select your justification now.

Well done if you selected B.

It's not about the indoctrination in terms of enduring rural poverty, but actually through their education system, through their Eurocentric education system.

Now I'd like you to reread scene two from Enid when she says, "You read Viv's school report?", all the way down to Brod where Brod says to Viv, "She want better for you." So this is a section of scene two, really important scene in the play.

And after you've reread that scene or that section of the scene, I'd like you to complete the table with short notes and quotations.

And we've got two subheadings for our table.

One is why is education so important to Enid? We've discussed a lot of these ideas already in learning cycle one.

And then the second one is, how are Enid's views about education challenged? And you're gonna see how the character of Brod is really central to that.

So reread scene two from, "You read Viv's school report?", all the way down to, "She want better for you." And after you have reread that, you are going to complete the table using the two subheadings to guide you.

I'd like you to gather your "Leave Taking" text with you, get whatever you're going to write on or record your ideas on beside you and complete the task now.

Well done for rereading that scene so carefully.

Always really nice to have a first reading of the text and think what's going to happen? How is this character going to react? How is the storyline going to develop? But I love returning to a text and rereading it with a clear focus in mind so that I can sort out all of my ideas about it.

And you have just done that really beautifully now, focusing on the character of Enid and the idea of education.

So here's some ideas you might have had.

So why is education so important to Enid? Well, Enid's sister's children are not going to university, but Viv will.

Thus, Enid views this as a permanent escape from rural poverty and is pleased England afforded her family this opportunity.

Enid is proud of her life in England and her English girls.

When she says, "England been good to me," in part she's talking about its education, especially for Viv.

And I heard lots of people selecting these short quotations in order to back up their ideas.

Enid doesn't want to question the education system.

It is part of a way to stick to the rules and fit in as a first or second generation immigrant.

Education allows Enid to look forward rather than back, to Viv's success and financial stability.

So Enid does not want to look backwards.

She finds her past quite painful at this point in the play.

And so she instead is looking forward to Viv's success and financial stability.

Enid herself wanted to escape rural poverty and become a postmistress, but she failed the exam.

She wants better for her daughters.

And I remember when I first read the play, I missed this kind of short moment where Brod says, "Your mother wanted to be a postmistress." But actually it's incredibly important 'cause we can see that Enid wanted to escape rural poverty, took some action, but didn't pass the exam.

And so it's yet another reason why she wants Viv to be really successful in her education.

Let's think about how Enid's views about education are challenged.

Well, Brod challenges Enid's boasts about Viv.

Enid's sister's children can't go to university because the country's too poor.

And he says, "An' why they poor? Because a colonialism." And again, just as Enid's quotation about "They can't take you education away from you" is really key, and one that I would rely on many "Leave Taking" essays.

So too is this one from Brod.

It's a direct challenge it gives the play and some political and social criticism and some edge.

Enid wants to think of her children as English girls, but Brod says they have Caribbean souls and questions their Eurocentric knowledge and education.

So Enid is proud about her English girls.

But Brod says the direct opposite, says they've got to remember who they are.

They've got Caribbean souls and this Eurocentric knowledge, it's not the right way.

It's not everything that they should be taught.

They should have some knowledge of their cultural heritage.

Viv says she's never heard of Nanny of the Maroons.

And Brod explains her historical importance, and thus questions the narrow focus of British education.

So this reference to Nanny of the Maroons is a real way in which Pinnock explores the Eurocentric education system because Viv has never heard of her.

When Viv recites a poem about being English, Enid is not quite sure how to take it.

And there's a growing disconnection between mother and daughter.

And Pinnock stage directions, they're often quite sparse throughout the play, but they're so incredibly important.

And this one here, which lots of people picked up on the idea that Enid, it says in brackets is not quite sure how to take it when Viv quotes about what it means to be English, she's quoting from an English poet.

It does show that there's a disconnection between mother and daughter.

And so her views about education, her purely positive views about education are challenged here because it is making a gap or a disconnection between her and her daughter.

Enid's desire for her daughter's education to be a success is in some ways a burden for Viv: "How can I ever live up to that?" So the idea that children often find it very difficult, the expectations that their parents place on them and Pinnock is exploring that through the character of Viv with this question, "How can I ever live up to my mother?" Well done for exploring scene two in such depth and really focusing your ideas on the character of Enid and this important theme, education.

Now the table that you've created is so important to keep safe because it records some really complex ideas about a central character and a central theme.

So make sure you keep that somewhere safe.

In summary, Enid values education.

Enid believes education is a way to escape the rural poverty she experienced.

Enid believes "They can't take you education away from you." Pinnock says, "My parents' generation had been indoctrinated by colonialist education." Pinnock uses the character of Brod to explore the narrow focus of the British education system in the 1980s.

It has been such a pleasure to focus on this character and this theme and hear all of your really interesting ideas about how Pinnock explores it through the character of Enid.

How she explores education through the character of Enid and why Enid values education so much.

I look forward to seeing you next time.