Product reviews for The Monkey-Proof Box

Jonathan Lear has created a wonderful book about the importance of ensuring the curriculum celebrates the joy of learning and supports teachers to ensure their classrooms are places where children experience authentic learning experiences. The key words highlighted on the front cover are “creative thinking” and “independence” which are crucial elements for us to support children to master.

Throughout the book, Jonathan takes you the reader through key things to consider about the curriculum and the essential pedagogy that should sit behind the delivery. There are a range of points to pause and reflect on, whilst also lots of food for thought in terms of what is important for us as a profession to consider. The book concludes with the words that form the start of Jonathan’s schools curriculum policy. You can find these below, which in themselves provide a simple, but powerful marker for what primary education should be all about!

“Our curriculum is skills based and knowledge rich; we cover less because we believe that our children should have the opportunity to study areas of the curriculum in greater depth. We want our children to produce exceptional outcomes whilst developing their independence, curiosity and creativity. We want to produce collaborators, innovators, leaders and more than anything else, young people who understand what it means to be human.” (Jonathan Lear 2019)

Read the review on Best Trust website here.