I was always the classroom clown, and the teachers allowed me a certain latitude. The assemblies were good, and the headmaster used to tell little stories; I loved the idea of communal storytelling.

When I was little, I always used to like to tell stories cuz it was entertaining to people.

Birmingham people are the salt of the earth, and I've carried that with me all around the world. People respond to a certain down-to-earthness that I have, and that's purely as a result of coming from Birmingham.

If you've ever been in a classroom, you know these teachers are underpaid.

There's not enough teachers for every classroom that we have.

I've seen teachers label just about everything in the classroom. And they'll put up a bulletin board that represents the different cultures in their classroom. That makes the child feel accepted.