Poem: First Day At School by Roger McGough and Introduction of Poet

Here is a poem that describes a student's first day at school and his naivety and ignorance towards school...

First Day At School

by Roger McGough

A millionbillionwillion miles from home

Waiting for the bell to go. (To go where?) Why are they all so big, other children? So noisy? So much at home they Must have been born in uniform Lived all their lives in playgrounds Spent the years inventing games That don't let me in. Games That are rough, that swallow you up. And the railings. All around, the railings. Are they to keep out wolves and monsters? Things that carry off and eat children? Things you don't take sweets from? Perhaps they're to stop us getting out Running away from the lessins. Lessin. What does a lessin look like? Sounds small and slimy. They keep them in the glassrooms. Whole rooms made out of glass. Imagine. I wish I could remember my name Mummy said it would come in useful. Like wellies. When there's puddles. Yellowwellies. I wish she was here. I think my name is sewn on somewhere Perhaps the teacher will read it for me. Tea-cher. The one who makes the tea. Taken From:  http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/first-day-at-school/ *************************************************************** Analysis of poem: The spelling errors in the poem and his misinterpretations of the words show his innocent mind and his limited vocabulary, giving readers an impression that this was written by a young child who has yet to have any school. 'to keep out wolves and monsters', 'things that carry off and eat children' shows that his mind has been exposed to fairy tales, which shows that he is really young. We can also see his ignorance towards school. *************************************************************** Introduction to Roger McGough Born on the 9 November 1937, Roger McGough was not interested in poems when he was schooling.  He only studied them because it was part of the curriculum.  However, he had a Physics teacher who recited poetry during Physics class.  He started enjoying poetry.  When he became a teacher in Liverpool, he himself recited the poems to his students.  He realised that he was interested in poetry because his pupils enjoyed them very much.  That carved out his career as a poet and he tried out the poems he had written in class.  Now, he has written over 50 poetry books for both adults and children.  He has also written fiction books for children, some of which introduce the children to poetry. His awards include:        ~Signal Poetry Award (1984 & 1999)        ~BAFTA(British Academy of Film and Television Arts) (1985)        ~Cholmondeley Award (1999)        and many more... His award-winning productions include:        ~Sky in the Pie        ~Kurt, Mungo, BP and Me        ~Bad, Bad Cats