Peter Rafferty of Green Park School fame sent me a YouTube link to Dave Kirby’s poem ‘A Tale of Two Kensingtons’ that he wanted to include on his class blog. Even as an Everton supporter, I recognise that this is a great resource for getting boys interested in poetry, particularly if you are teaching on Merseyside.

The problem is that if you click through to the video on YouTube, you are forced to read comments that are profane and unsuitable for his Year 1 audience.

At the top of KS2 (10/11 year-olds) I would happily grasp the nettle and discuss the appropriateness of the commenting but not at Year 1. It’s a shame that the software doesn’t allow the link back to YouTube to be disabled while still allowing the video’s level of google juice to increase. Then everyone would be a winner.

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I’m going to undertake a full evaluation and investigation of YouTube with my children and students to canvass their ideas and views.

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This short video was uploaded directly from my mobile phone. What fantastic opportunities… and I managed to do it without happy-slapping anyone!