Mem Fox is learning how to keep fit, how to garden and how to sing. Through these experiences she is also learning how to improve her own teaching by wasting time in the classroom getting to know one another; giving learning tasks a real purpose; giving praise and encouragement; and remembering that it's alright to make mistakes.
The emotional interplay between teacher and student may be the most important factor in the teaching of reading and writing. Mem Fox pleads for vitality and passion in classrooms - for literacy events that spark rowdy fireworks, rather than ooze brown mud.