Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

It's lovely to see you here today.

My name's Dr.

Clayton, and I'm here to guide you through learning journey today.

Today's session's called, "Understanding Ideas of Love and Obsession in Kay's 'Dusting the Phone.

'" So we're gonna read through the poem and think about what's happening to the speaker.

Then we're going to think about what Kay might be saying about love through the poem.

So if you're ready, grab your pen, laptop, and everything for this lesson, and let's get started.

So by the end of the lesson you'll be able to explain how Kay presents ideas of love and obsession in "Dusting the Phone." So we have four words today we're going to be using as our key words.

They'll be identified in bold throughout the learning material, and I'll try to point that to you as well so you can see them being used in context.

So first keyword is deduce, which means to reach and answer or a decision by thinking carefully about the known facts.

We're going to be thinking about what deductions we can make about the speaker's relationship through what we're told in the poem.

Our second keyword is illicit, which means something the society disapproves of, something not permitted.

We're going to be thinking about how Kay hints the speaker's relationship is something society might not approve of.

Our third keyword is obsessive, which means thinking about something or someone, or doing something too much all of the time.

We're going to be thinking about how we might characterise the speaker's feelings as obsessive.

Our final keyword is all-consuming, which means completely filling one's mind and attention.

We're going to be thinking about how we might see the speaker's feelings as completely filling their whole mind and their attention.

So I'll just give you a minute to write down those key words and their definitions.

So pause the video, write them down now.

Fantastic.

Let's get started with the lesson.

So we have two learning cycles in our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're gonna be reading through the poem and think about what's happening within it in terms of the speaker and their relationship.

For our second learning cycle, we're gonna be thinking about what Kay might be saying about the nature of love through the poem.

So, let's start by thinking about what predictions we might make about the poem from some of the words within it.

Now I think there's such a useful exercise to really think about the ideas and connotations we get from individual words, and how they shape our understanding in what's happening.

So here are some words from the poem.

Imagining, disaster, love, waiting, phone, letter.

And what I'd like you to do is think about what you think the poem's going to be about from those words.

Why? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great ideas there.

One of our Oak pupils, Alex, said, "I think the poem's going to be about someone waiting for news of a loved one.

It sounds if they're imagining that worst has happened." So, what I'd like to think about, is whether or not you agree with Alex.

So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now I think people could definitely see how Alex reached that prediction since words "phone," "waiting," and "letter," seems someone's waiting for news of their loved one.

And the words "disaster" and "imagining," seems they're thinking what could have happened to them.

Now it's completely okay if you had a different prediction to Alex.

Individual words have different meanings for all of us, and those meanings can lead us to different conclusions and predictions.

So, now I'd like you to read through the poem.

You'll find a copy of Kay's "Dusting the Phone" in the Eduqas 2025 Anthology.

So pause the video, read the poem now.

Welcome back, everyone.

I really hope you enjoyed the poem.

Now, let's think about initial reactions to the poem.

What I'd like you to do is highlight five words that particularly stand out to you, and explain why they stand out to you.

Now remember, everyone will have different words that stand out to them because language has different connotations for all of us.

So pause the video, highlight your five words now.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now, exercise like that are so useful.

So it really helps you think about the way you're connecting and responding to the poem.

Help you to think about how you might approach the poem.

You can start off by thinking about why those particular words catch your attention, and then build your understanding from there.

So, we know from the poem the speaker's waiting for their beloved to call them.

And what I'd like us to think about is what deductions can we make about their relationship from the information we've been given? So I'd like to think about the following ideas from the poem.

The speaker implies that no one would ring them, tell them if a disaster had happened because they don't know.

The speaker's beloved tells them not to talk about love.

And what I'd like you to do is think about what deductions we can make about the speaker's relationship with their beloved.

The deduction's one of our key words, means to reach an answer and decision by thinking carefully about the known facts.

So what answers can we reach from the information we've been given? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great ideas there.

One of our Oak pupils, Izzy, said, "I think perhaps we can deduce it's a new relationship if the speakers beloved hasn't told anyone about them and doesn't want them to talk about love yet.

Or maybe there's a need to keep the relationship a secret because there's something illicit about it." Now, illicit is one of our keywords.

It means something society disapproves of, something not permitted.

So perhaps the relationship is one that society would not approve of.

So, what I'd like you to do is think about whether or not you agree with Izzy.

Why or why not? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now I think it's really interesting that Kay gives us clues about the relationship rather than giving us actual details.

For me, I think it reflects how the speaker themselves isn't certain of where they stand with their beloved.

Their uncertainty is reflected in the poem, and the information we're being given.

So, now for a quick check for understanding.

So which of the following is an accurate summary of Kay's "Dusting the Phone"? Is is A, the speaker's plucking up the courage to call their beloved? B, the speaker's waiting for their beloved to call? Or C, the speaker's trying to break up with their partner? So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now the correct answer is B, the speaker's waiting for their beloved to call.

So very well done if you got that right.

Amazing work, everyone.

Now the first task of the lesson.

So what I'd like you to do is think about the title, "Dusting the Phone." And what I'd like you to think about, is why do you think Kay chose that particular title for this poem? I always think it's really important to think about how the title connects to the meaning of the poem.

Because the titles are introduction to the poem.

It sets up the themes and ideas for us within the poem.

Now, you might consider, what the title initially conveys to the reader? How the title might relate to the content of the poem? So pause the video, take a few minutes to discuss.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great discussions there.

What I'd like you to do is think about Lucas's ideas and whether or not you agree.

So Lucas said, "I think Kay chose the title because the idea of someone dusting a phone is a very apt way of suggesting that someone's carrying out mindless tasks while staying extremely close to the phone in case someone calls.

It could also reflect their idea in the poem of paying service to the phone, try to encourage it to ring.

So pause the video, think about whether or not you agree with Lucas.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now I think it's very interesting the title focus on the phone and the speaker's actions towards the phone, rather than the speaker's beloved.

And for me, I think it represents the distance between the speaker and their beloved.

They want them to call, but they don't.

And therefore there's a physical separation, but also separation in terms of emotions and expectations.

Amazing work, everyone.

Now the second learning cycle.

We're going to think about what Kay might be suggesting about the nature of love through "Dusting the Phone." So let's think about some of the ideas from the poem and what the significance might be.

So I'd like you to think about the following ideas.

The only thing we hear about in the poem is the speaker waiting for the phone to ring.

We don't hear anything else about the speaker's life or who they are.

Only that they're waiting by the phone.

The speaker says they feel trapped and they cannot move.

And what I'd like to think about is what do these ideas suggest about the idea of love and the speaker? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great ideas there.

One of our Oak pupils, Laura, said, "I think they suggest the speaker's desire for the phone to ring is all-consuming.

It's if nothing else in their life is important or even happening." Now all-consuming is one of our keywords.

It means completely filling one's mind and attention.

So the speaker's attention is solely focused on waiting for this phone call.

The only thing that matters is this potential phone call.

Because of this, I think we could also suggest the speaker feels obsessive over their desire to hear from their beloved.

And obsessive is another one of our key words, means thinking about something or someone, or doing something too much or all of the time.

So the speaker's thinking about the desire to hear from the beloved all of the time.

So, what I'd like you to do now is think about whether or not you agree with Laura.

Why or why not? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

It was great to see people also picking up on the irrational nature of some of the speaker's actions, such as thinking if they're nice to the phone, the phone will ring.

And how this feeds into how we might see the speaker's actions as obsessive because the resultant actions we might consider irrational.

So, now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false? The speaker implies their desire to hear from their beloved is only a small part of their life.

Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

The correct answer is false.

Now I'd like you to tell me why it's false.

So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

You might have said, "Since we don't hear about anything else during the poem, Kay implies the speaker's desire for the phone to ring is all-consuming." So very well done if you got those right.

Now, arguably, we can see love is associated with pain in the poem.

So what I'd like you to do is think about which words you would choose as evidence for this idea, that love is associated with pain.

Why? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great ideas there.

Let's talk through some of the things you might have said.

So you might have picked the word disaster, because that connotations of accidents and tragedies.

We associate them with feelings of pain and fear.

I also think there's something telling about disaster specifically, 'cause just something really significant happens, something really bad.

I think it reflects how obsessive the speaker is.

You also might have picked the word sirens, because it's associated with emergencies and accidents.

Because we associate hearing sirens with emergency vehicles, such as ambulances and fire engines.

I think, again, the idea of the speakers hearing sirens in their mind, shows how all-consuming their love is, because just their mind, is in constant state of anxiety and alarm.

You also might have picked the word assault, because of connotations of physical harm and violence.

And again, points how upset are the speakers being, over their desire for the phone to ring.

Because they're willing to inflict pain onto others to try and make it happen.

So now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So it true or false? Did Kay arguably suggest that love is painful in "Dusting the Phone"? Pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

The correct answer is true.

Now, tell me why it's true.

So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back, everyone.

You might have said, "The reference to assault, for a sample, it's just that love can cause pain and heartache.

So very well done if you've got those right.

Amazing work, everyone.

We're now at the final task of the lesson.

So what I'd like you to think about is what specifically do you think is making love painful for the speaker in the poem? I'd like you to write a short answer using evidence from the text to explain your reasoning.

Now you might consider, has a disaster actually happened? And the fact the phone never rings in the poem.

So pause the video, write your answer now.

Welcome back, everyone.

Fantastic work there.

What I'd like you to do, is think about Sofia's ideas.

Do you agree? Why or not? So Sofia said, "I think Kay is suggesting it's the uncertainty that speaker feels that's making love so painful.

The speaker is anticipating a disaster and sirens.

This implies they're on edge waiting for something awful, potentially calamitous to happen.

Arguably, the speaker feels trapped because they're unsure of what's going to happen.

They want their beloved to call but they haven't heard from them, and they do not know if their love is reciprocated." So pause the video, think about whether or not you agree with Sofia.

Welcome back, everyone.

Now I think this really speaks the nature of love.

We think of love as being something overwhelmingly positive and uplifting.

But that's only true if we feel secure and stable in our love.

If we feel unsure, uncertain, it can be incredibly painful and unsettling, 'cause we don't know if our feelings are truly returned or not.

You all did amazingly well today, everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

Kay's poem trace the thoughts and feelings of someone waiting for a call from their lover.

We see how the speaker's completely consumed by this desire for their beloved to call.

They imagine some disasters happened, and they engage in irrational actions.

So just trying to bribe the phone to ring just so they can hear from their beloved.

We might suggest the poem captures the uncertainty and obsessive nature of love.

We catch a glimpse that speaks uncertainty over the nature of their relationship.

We get hints that either relationship is new, or that something society doesn't approve of.

Either way, we see the speaker feeling uncertain of where they stand in their relationship.

And arguably, this caused the obsessive behaviour such as never leaving the phone and talking about nothing else but the desire for the phone to ring.

Arguably, it's this uncertainty of love that makes the speaker feel trapped and frightened rather than happy.

Love can make us feel energised, positive, and uplifted, but only if we feel secure and safe.

And we see from the language of alarm throughout the poem that the speaker feels anxious and unhappy because they don't know what's happening in their relationship.

I really hope you enjoy the lesson, everyone.

Hope to see you for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.