The sums of school visits

25 responses to “The sums of school visits”

1. 

   Anne Booth

   12 September 2018

   This is very well put. Thank you James. You are so right and you help everyone by writing this – and by the way, I was blown away by reading – THEY GET TO KEEP YOUR ARTWORK!!! That’s amazing. That’s worth the fee even if you did nothing!!

   Could you put a sharing button for facebook and twitter by your posts?

   Reply
   1. 

      James Mayhew

      12 September 2018

      Thank you Anne… If I can work out how, I’ll add! (Digital numpty)

      Reply
2. 

   Chloe of the Midnight Storytellers

   12 September 2018

   Spot on James. I’ve been a full time storyteller for 19 years and the struggle is real. More than ever now I’m asked to work for “expenses only”. I literally can’t afford to work! .. not on that basis. The bills are going up, my income is falling away.
   You will understand that anything “arty” has little value in the UK today, certainly not in schools. The poorest relation seems to be storytelling – it’s just toddler fodder, to the general public. Unless you’re a celebrity of course. And nobody bothers to wonder how you leapfrog from jobbing author / storyteller / illustrator to the exalted realms of Rowling or Gaiman.
   All I know is that, as an only child of unsociable parents, books and my own creative instincts saved my life. I believe the same magic – the same refuge – must be available to today’s young people, be that in hard copy books or any of the wonderful technologies that make it so easy to create and transmit words, music and film.
   Schools need what we bring. Our creativity can reveal the purpose of slogging through those years of curriculum stuff: we model a life enriched by the arts. Our work, and sharing what we know, shows young people how learning the key skills opens up possibilities for fun *and* practical application.
   It’s crazy and self defeating for schools to refuse to pay us. And the literature festivals… arts events… community organisations – nobody allows budget for performers / visiting arts people!
   If we want a society in which only the rich and privileged can afford to work full time at creativity, then everything is going the right way.

   Reply
   1. 

      James Mayhew

      12 September 2018

      Thank you Chloe – I agree with all you say. It’s a complication thing because it’s not just about a fee or no fee, but the many other ways in which our work is diminished, even if it is simply the insinuation that we should charge less, or are not really valuable. The arts here in the UK are at an all time low. Everyone compartmentalises, and art is seen as just pictures on walls, and a hobby, a luxury, a decoration. Of course art is so much more!

      It is sculpture, printmaking, photography, fashion. It is the clothes you wear, the shoes you walk in. Art is the designer of the car you drive. It is the carpet on your floor, the sofa you snooze on. Art is the home you live in, the architecture around me now. It’s the design in theTV programmes you watch. the sets and costumes in the cinema epics or theatre you love. The computer games your children play. It is literature, word, poetry and prose. Art, design, creativity is the very essence of human behaviour. It is communication. It is that which sets us apart, it is that which records our very civilisation. It is our history. Without it, we are nothing.

      It is also an economic triumph, for the creative industries continually inspire and surprise at their ability to adapt and regroup and still bring money and kudos as a world leader, to the United Kingdom.

      WE need to, collectively, show teachers, parents, politicians, people… that arts in education is not only about very real professional opportunities. It’s not just about vocation – although it IS that too. It is also about creating fully rounded, culturally literate people who can experience and enjoy art, and find empathy and meaning from their own cultural history.

      These things should not be the reserve of an elite (who barely appreciate them). This should be the fabric of all our lives, a means of expression and as you say, refuge. The fight continues!!! Thank you so much for commenting and I wish you all the best. X

      Reply
3. 

   Alan Dapre

   12 September 2018

   Everything you have written applies to me. I write for a living. A financially illiterate thing to do. Advances are more like retreats these days. Festival bookings are great but are reliant on publishers setting them up. Royalties rely on books being stocked on shelves, UK wide and internationally. They need to be seen in order to be bought.

   Schools provide a vital income boost. I have done my fair share of ‘free visits’ and will only do them rarely now, perhaps when a book first comes out and I’m doing school launch. I appreciate that budgets are tight in education but it becomes quite depressing for an author when you’re the only adult in a room not being paid.

   Austerity has hit our pockets hard, as has the libraries closures. The rise of the self serving god-like online bookstore. The fearfulness of physical chain bookstores who stock big names and ‘celebrity-authored’ books, at the expense of lesser known writers. I could earn more working at a supermarket till.

   I love writing. It is my job. It is my choice. But I didn’t choose to be exploited or made to feel guilty because of my decision. Authors bring a certain magic to a classroom. What we do is for life. We foster life-long memories. Ones that children can take away with them.

   We generate sparks that will light up imaginations.

   Surely that is worth something?

   Reply
   1. 

      James Mayhew

      13 September 2018

      I wholly agree Alan – and so many people will say “Well you chose this job – hard luck!” But we did not choose the level of exploitation, on line sales, discount catalogues etc, that we currently endure. It’s insidious and increasing. Ultimately, all schools have a budget and how they spend it is up to them. They have to choose priorities. I understand times are hard – for us all. But I suppose if a school says they can’t afford us, at least that suggests they recognise the need to be paid. It’s being the only unpaid adult in the room, as you say, that is just not fair.

      Reply
4. 

   Candy Gourlay

   12 September 2018

   Well said!

   Reply
5. 

   Sophia Bennett

   12 September 2018

   Great post, James! I’ll be sharing it. I’m sorting out the school visits I’ll soon be doing this term and can I just put in a good word for the many schools who do pay our fees without question, who prepare their classes, whip up enthusiasm and sometimes even give us flowers? One school has even asked for my invoice months early so they can be sure to pay me promptly. Times are hard for all of us, schools included, and those who invest in us are also, I believe, investing in their students, while enabling us to carry on doing what we do. So thank you to them, and thank you to you for explaining to the others why it’s reasonable to pay for what they get.

   Reply
   1. 

      James Mayhew

      12 September 2018

      SUCH an important point, which I really should have made more clearly. OF COURSE most schools DO pay, without a quibble (although there can sometimes still be a slight inference that we are being a bit greedy; I really *did* hear a teacher grumble that I “earned £500” a day and she wished she did; plus the widely held belief that we actually make real money from our books). And as you say, I am hugely grateful to them. But with shrinking school budgets, is there a danger that the dreaded freebie will make a come back?

      Reply
6. 

   Ciaran Murtagh

   12 September 2018

   Well said James. The way in which education has been reduced to a tick sheet of figures engenders this kind of nonsense. Teachers shouldn’t feel aggrieved because someone with a different skill set is paid to do something in an educational context. We’re all on site to help children learn and think. The more people you can bring into a school to offer differing perspectives on learning and development the better, surely.

   But this ‘us and them’ and ‘value’ narrative is what happens when schools have to choose between an ipad, a classroom spruce up, books for the library or an author visit. It reduces it all down to nothing and the less tangible result is the easier it is to dismiss or devalue. In fact the temptation IS to devalue it because then you don’t feel inadequate for not having it.

   It’s peculiar to this country and to the state sector. While the current government marginalise the Arts subjects as worthless and airy fairy you know that most ministers went to schools where the school had a debating society, a music department and a performing arts faculty all highly valued and funded. Whenever I go to a private school I sit in a nice theatre with a microphone and am surrounded by pupils and staff who realise and appreciate that the ability to think creatively and to express oneself eloquently are required in almost every business. Amazing how those who have benefited from that education find themselves in positions of power – mainly through the gift of oratory and creative thought – now want to deprive that chance to others. Or perhaps it isn’t amazing at all…

   Just today I’ve been invited to speak in Cambodia for a week – not a rich country, nor a country known for fostering creative and questioning minds – however, they realise the value of both those skills and are prepared to not only pay for my time but my travel and expenses too.

   When our children enter the workforce they are not going to be competing regionally or even nationally for jobs, they are going to be competing internationally. The kids in Cambodia will have been taught to think for themselves and create opportunity. Our state educated children will have been graded into subservience and won’t understand the value of anything that can’t be monetised. Meanwhile those who have benefited from a private education will have the opportunities and skills to succeed. If it wasn’t worth having I don’t think Eton, Harrow and others would waste time with it would they?

   Reply
   1. 

      James Mayhew

      13 September 2018

      Couldn’t agree more Ciaran, and so beautifully expressed. It’s a constant frustration to me that the arts are compartmentalised as a frilly add-on, whereas, in fact, they affect every part of our lives, and inform our entire history and civilisation. To not value them is deeply troubling, but all too common. The fight continues!

      Reply
7. 

   Anthgony McGowan

   12 September 2018

   Let’s say there’s a school with no budget for author visits. The children are mainly from poor backgrounds. The school is skint. There has never been an author visit. There may never be one. Those kids will leave school without ever seeing an author. It’s a special school, with the children having moderate to severe special needs. You bump into the librarian from the school. She shyly asks you if you could visit. She knows it’s a big ask, but she loves the children and wants the best for them. She thinks they might be able to scrape together £100 by raiding various budgets. You wouldn’t go. I did. I’m not claiming any special credit for this – I lacked the courage to look the librarian in the face and say ‘no’, no pay, no play. But nor do I think it’s in the top 1000 most immoral things I’ve ever done.

   Reply
   1. 

      Anthony McGowan

      12 September 2018

      Slightly distressed that I spelled my own name wrong. I suppose that suggests the quality of author you get on the cheap.

      Reply
      1. 

         James Mayhew

         12 September 2018

         Well it proves you’re not a bot 🙂

         Reply
   2. 

      James Mayhew

      12 September 2018

      Thanks Anthony, for such a thoughtful comment. I was in a school just yesterday, visiting for free, as it happens. Another local illustrator asked me, and I agreed as a favour. They were opening a new library. I like to support libraries. I’m certainly not saying an individual should never do that, given the right circumstances. I, too, have that same lack of courage to say no! But I want to raise a few points as well here. I don’t believe, to begin with, that any such school exists, unless it’s on the cusp of closing. Every school has some kind of budget and how it is spent is up to the school to a large extent. If they pay teachers, pay support staff, pay visiting sports teachers, pay the caretaker, pay medical experts to visit, pay IT people to mend the internet, pay people to clean the toilet… what does it say, that someone in the arts is expected to be paid nothing, because of their job title? Is the librarian who is asking getting paid? Would he or she give up a couple of days salary? Chances are, all these people earn more than an *average* author. This isn’t about me BTW, I’m talking in more general terms. PTA funds, sponsorship… there are many ways to fund a school visit. It’s like the discount book argument. Of course I want ALL children to be able to buy books. But why is it always the creator or author who shoulders the fiscal burden? I regularly haggle/negotiate. I’d always rather something went ahead than not at all. I’m a pushover, I really am. Soft as butter. But there does come a point where, I think, people (not just teachers) need to be educated about how much authors earn and why we charge what we do. I’d like to add that most schools are marvellous and totally understand all this.

      Reply
      1. 

         Anthony McGowan

         12 September 2018

         Fair points, James. I suppose I just have that guilt thing – we visit private schools, get well paid, and well treated, and we’re just another lovely service laid on for the posh kids. Then there are the schools where the kids never get anything … I don’t know, I honestly don’t. I wish I had another job, and could go back to writing for fun, ie daubing limericks on bus shelters using my own excrement.

         Reply
         1. 

            Anthony McGowan

            12 September 2018

            Or anyone’s excrement. Don’t want to be accused of elitism or not caring about inclusion.

            Reply
            1. 

               James Mayhew

               12 September 2018

               Phew, I was worried for a moment there….

         2. 

            James Mayhew

            12 September 2018

            I completely agree. Well, not so much about the excrement, perhaps, but everything else. I feel a bit uncomfortable in posh private schools in some respects (although I do sometimes see a different kind of deprivation there in a way). It’s also the case that some schools in poor areas get support and great teachers and have a real buzz to them and treat me with impeccable manners (and pay me without quibble), while some posh schools are so entitled and privileged, I’m nothing to them, because they had Prince Harry and JK Rowling visit last week. So it’s a complicated matter. It’s not just rich vs poor. I think any school losing pupils for whatever reason, is going to be losing money. Anyway, I didn’t mean to stir a hornets nest, just clarify WHY I charge, and what you get for the money. I’ll still do a freebie once in a while. When I do, I shall think of you.

            Reply
8. 

   Paul Harrison

   12 September 2018

   Very elegantly put and you are entirely correct – a good author visit is a thing of wonder and does involve more than just the “show”. It’s hard work and everyone deserves to be paid for the effort they put in. I’ve seen it from both sides. I’ve done school visits as an author, but now work in a couple primary schools looking after their libraries. Sadly as they’re in one of the worst funded counties author visits are few and far between; £500 is more than half my book budget. Granted schools get to decide what they spend their money on, but when redundancies loom you know that things are tight (and we all do a stack of unpaid hours, so it’s not just visiting authors being asked to do stuff for nothing). Interestingly, I remember one author saying that he found the more he charged the better he got treated – and I think there’s something in that. There is a degree of valuing your product; if you’re not putting a value to it why would anyone else? On the other hand I was at an event for gifted and talented young writers and the (very famous) author running it told me (practically as his opening line) that he liked doing big schools because he sold more books. A practical assessment, yes, but crushingly dispiriting to hear at an event where he’s meant to be inspiring the next generation of authors.
   Anyway, good luck with the latest book and I’ve no doubt your worth every penny – I’d love to have you visit and if there’s any way of pulling the funding together I’ll be in touch. All power to your elbow and that.

   Reply
   1. 

      James Mayhew

      13 September 2018

      Thanks Paul… and yes, there is definitely a tendency for us emotionally fragile creative types to UNDER value ourselves. Certainly, it’s possible with FREE visits (even I do them sometimes) to be treated with indifference! I feel uncomfortable about the whole gifted and talented thing, and bigger schools = bigger book sales. That’s not why I do it. I rarely sell books, only if specifically requested to do so. AS you say, “crushingly dispiriting”!! For me, it’s about the visit, the children, and making it a positive and rounded experience, and yes, value for money. I actually have a sliding s ale of fees depending on several factors, “£500” was just a quick example. So who knows? Maybe I’ll get to one of your schools one day 🙂

      Reply
9. 

   John Noden

   12 September 2018

   I notice the majority of comments so far have come from authors so would like to show support from the teaching side. As a teacher working in a school that has asked James to visit multiple times I can without doubt say that we have absolutely had our money’s worth! The contact before visit is extremely thoughtful, you have accommodated our requests to work with multiple large groups throughout a jam-packed day, as well as fitting in a whole school assembly and a book signing after school. Let’s not forget the travel all the way to the Lincolnshire coast the day before and back again on the day – what an exhausting experience, yet from the enthusiasm, the carefully crafted interactions with the children, the skill with which you help them develop their watercolour work – you would never know! I absolutely look forward to your visits, as do the children, and I hope it is something that my school will continue to value for years to come. You are helping to inspire and raise the aspirations of future generations – to me, £500 is a small price for us to pay! (That’s not me telling you to put your price up though!)

   Reply
   1. 

      James Mayhew

      13 September 2018

      Thank you John, that is a very generous response. I certainly don’t want to antagonise schools – I LOVE visiting and I’m hugely grateful to the vast majority, who understand it is my livelihood. I know I always come away from your school feeling appreciated, and knowing the children have definitely benefited, because of the careful arrangements on both sides. I think very few people realise how small a return authors commonly get from their books, or how much unsalaried prep time is involved in a successful school visit. But we authors LOVE what you do in schools too. In fact, I think another blog about brilliant schools is in order soon… 🙂

      Reply
10. 

    Rosie Hill

    14 September 2018

    Hi James, this is brilliant. All the school visits I have ever organised for you have been delighted with you. They appreciate the hard work that goes into the preparation for the day, and have felt you offer great value for money. I often suggest that independent schools invite local state schools to enjoy author visits, and they often do. They will send their mini buses to collect children as well.
    I am part of a Literature Festival in a couple of weeks, we expect to pay our authors and have several in schools inviting in other schools. The festival is run as not for profit by a group of volunteers as a community venture. All our money comes via sponsorship, donations etc. Carry on the great work please.
    Very best wishes Rosie (independent book seller)

    Reply
11. 

    Margaret Pemberton

    16 September 2018

    Thank you James for a brilliant article explaining some of the home truths about author visits etc. There have also been some wonderful comments from other authors and also from teachers. I had the pleasure of hearing you speak recently at a conference and loved hearing about your work and of course about “Gaspard the Fox”. Keep up the good work.

    Reply