The Knowledge Debate: an anecdote about my embrassing brush with a music superstar and why children need to acquire knowledge

The story you are about to read is true (I really wish it wasn't); it involves my chance meeting with one of my musical heroes in a motorway service station which led to a moment of such utter and complete cringeworthy embarrassment that I still get the sweats every time I hear him on the radio (which is every Sunday). I wonder whether he would remember the moment a random bloke repeatedly questioned his knowledge about HIS OWN SONGS and argued the toss after he was kind enough to stop and chat. I call this story 'The Curse of the Music Streaming Service'...

Back in the late noughties, I was the fairly new head teacher of a large urban primary school in East Manchester and, along with some colleagues, I was taking a group of year 6 children down to an activity holiday in London. Partway down the M6 motorway we decided to pull in at a service station (again) to allow the kids to visit the toilet (again) as they weren't allowed to use the loo on the coach (what is it about coach drivers and their toilets? I mean, what's it there for if you're not allowed to use it?). I asked the other staff to nip the kids off to the loo while I went to buy coffees for everyone.

As the coffee shop was very busy (and because I wanted chocolate) I decided to buy my coffee from the newsagents, which was almost completely empty. Whilst I was paying at the till, I became vaguely aware of a couple of people chatting behind me. And then it dawned on me! Without turning, I blurted out to the till person; "That's Guy Garvey!" To which Guy Garvey smilingly replied as I spun round in a dither; "You're right, that is Guy Garvey."

Now, although I would find it hard to believe, some of you might not know who Guy Garvey is,  so let me initiate the unknowing! Guy Garvey (yes, I am aware that I've written the words Guy and Garvey too many times...) is the lead singer of the band Elbow. Like many people, I had become enamoured with the band following the success of their album The Seldom Seen Kid and had listened and fallen in love with their music across their back-catalogue. Their songs are defined by incredible poetic writing, mixed with beautiful musicality and Guy's deeply emotional voice; think part John Donne, part John Cooper-Clark, part Jack Duckworth. There are those moments in most people's lives when a certain band or performer really affects in the soul, Elbow did that for me. I fell in love and, as I turned round to face my hero in the flesh,  I was awestruck!

Back to the newsagents. Now,  I'm not normally one to become starstruck but Elbow's music had become a kind of playlist to my life; I played it constantly in my office,  in the car etc., I'd even used it in lessons at school. As my eyes met his, the following dialogue ensued:

Me: I'm a massive fan

Guy: Oh, thanks very much!

Me: Wait till I tell the kids I've met you!

Guy: Oh, so you're with the ankle-biters I've just seen heading for the loos?

Me: Yes. I use your songs in school to help with teaching poetry. 

(This is true; Elbow songs are rich in poetic structures and imagery and are a great starting point for teaching poetry)

Guy: Oh really! May I ask which ones?

As he says this, Guy folds his arms, leans towards me and moves from polite affability to a more genuinely interested demeanour. At this point,  two things happen simultaneously inside my brain:

1. I see Guy Garvey accepting an invitation to visit our school and him then giving our staff and kids a masterclass in song writing and poetry; he'll laugh at my jokes, be wowed by my head teacher stylings and invite me to tea... maybe we'll be friends forever!!

2. Unbeknownst to me, my head has just completely emptied of any other piece of information...

Back to the newsagents:

Me: I use your songs in school to help with teaching poetry

Guy: Oh really! May I ask which ones?

Me (head now full of egocentric fantasy and nothing else): Oh...! Oh, the er... the er... what's it called...? that er... that one where the phone rings...!!

Guy: Ah, you mean The Bones of You?

Me (now sweating): No, it's not called that! (it is,  of course it is) It's from your second album...

Guy: Oh, okay... well, that's Leaders of the Free World...

Me (I am now drenched in sweat and stammering in a panic): No, that's not your second album!! (It is, of course it is)

Guy (now stepping away and preparing to leg it): Well, it's been nice to meet you fella!

He extends his hand, I shake it, my hand damp and trembly, and watch my dream walk away, knowing that he must have been relieved to have escaped without any further questioning of his knowledge about HIS OWN music and without me attacking him with a tube of Trebor mints or a multipack of mars bars. 

When I returned to the coach, the look on my face made the other staff think I'd been assaulted. But something worse had happened, I'd been robbed. Robbed of the chance to impress a bona-fide hero of mine, robbed of the opportunity to invite him to our school... robbed of my credibility, my dignity! 

So, what happened? And how does this link to OfSTED's much-vaunted search in each school for 'cultural capital'?

I know exactly what happened. You see, as a  fan, I'd obviously bought Elbow's albums, including the back catalogue. However, I almost always listened to their music on a certain music streaming service. This led me to actions such as overplaying certain 'liked' songs, playing songs out-of-sequence etc.  I could sing the lyrics to most of their songs but, when it came to recalling the titles, I was lost. I hadn't looked at the album cover or the playlist for ages, none of that information was secured in my long-term memory. The cultural capital I needed at the moment of meeting my hero was not available to me. This shouldn't really have mattered; it was indeed true that I had used Elbow's songs to teach poetry; I could still have asked Guy to visit school, but in that moment,  in the absence of being able to validate my assertions, I became uncertain, nervous,  my learning wasn't secure so my confidence was affected.  

This is why I believe that the intention of enabling children and young people to securely acquire a wide body of knowledge is so important. It is not just to impress people (or heroes!), it is to help with confidence. When we are able to assert an opinion about something, and we are able to underpin that opinion with a bank of knowledge, it allows us to interact more confidently during debates or opinionated discussions, affording us the chance to test and strengthen ideas against what we already know.  

Children and young people deserve the chance to enter adulthood with a secure body of knowledge which enables them to begin their interactions feeling like they have something to contribute. This is especially important for those children whose early lives were not enriched with wide cultural experiences. When children are imbued with stuff that they know, it helps them to build greater levels of self-belief, and with belief comes a greater opportunity for growth.

I recall Guy Garvey speaking about spending a lot of his younger years in and around music: in record shops or working the doors at local music venues; they seemed to be a haven for him, a place of reassurance and safety, as well as a testbed for his musical passions. And from these experiences he grew his body of musical knowledge, and now look at him! As I stood watching him and his mates on stage at the Manchester Apollo a few years ago, I couldn't help but feel that I missed an opportunity the day I bumped into him, one that might just have led to the kids in my school gaining valuable insight into songwriting, poetry and music. Instead, I'll just tell them this cautionary tale in the hopes that they listen better, learn widely and avoid looking like an idiotic and sweaty spanner in a motorway service station!