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Primary Geographer - Meet the Editor
Since the Autumn 2005 issue, Fran Martin has been the Editor of Primary Geographer. Find out more about Fran and her plans for the journal...
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When I think about the experiences that led to the passion that I feel for geography they stretch far back into childhood and provide a continuous thread through my life to the present. I grew up on a dairy farm in the Chilterns, in the days when parents didn’t worry if you were out roaming the countryside all day and didn’t get back until tea-time.
My favourite haunts were the woods behind the house (spying on the farm and building dens) and the barns (more dens out of straw bales).
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My favourite activities were cycling around the lanes (free-wheeling with no hands on the handlebars down the hills) and riding in the grain trailers at harvest time (seeing how long we could stand in the middle on the way out when the trailers were empty, sitting high on top of the grain on the way back).
I did a joint geography and education degree and had the opportunity to travel to South Africa (my first real encounter with injustice on a massive scale) and then went on to work as an early years practitioner in first schools, followed by a stint as advisory teacher for primary humanities, two years as a deputy head and then into higher education as a primary teacher educator in 1993.
During my early career I became interested in development education and this has continued to be a keen interest of mine through my associations with the World Studies Trust and Birmingham’s TiDE centre.
I continue to enjoy the outdoors. My most recent pursuits are walking the dog on the Malvern Hills, where I now live, boogie boarding off the coasts of Pembrokeshire and North Devon, and gardening – yes, it comes to us all as we grow older!
Since taking over from Margaret Mackintosh as Editor in Autumn 2006 I have thoroughly enjoyed the role. I am supported by a wonderfully creative group of Editorial Board members - they are listed on page three of each issue and represent geographical areas around England, so if you want to write for the journal (go on, you know you want to!) and would like some local support look in your last issue for your nearest contact. Our ideas for future issues at the moment are:
Spring 2008 - Making progress in geography (copy to me by end September)
Summer 2008 - China/Olympics Special (copy to me by end January)
Autumn 2008 - Our Space: New Technologies
One other thing, the photograph shows Barney and me taking part in one of my favourite aspects of geography - awe and wonder of the world!
Fran Martin
July 2007
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