We need more citizenship education, not less
Two days ago Alastair Campbell wrote that we need more politics teaching in schools. Here he explains why he thinks citizenship education is worth fighting for.
The hints that the Government is thinking about removing citizenship from the curriculum are becoming a little louder. It would be yet another mistake by Michael Gove, at a time the government is developing a reputation not just for cuts yet for problems with competence. Just as Mr Gove had to backtrack on the full scale of cuts he wished to make to school sport, so we should campaign vociferously to force a shift of position on citizenship.
Whether we call it citizenship, democracy or politics, there is a need for more education in this area, not less. That’s why I am supporting the Parliamentary Year Book campaign to retain citizenship in the National Curriculum.
When my tenure at Jamie Oliver’s Dream School began, most of the learners began out by saying they found politics boring. Some may have felt the same at the end of our course. Yet numerous of them didn’t, and I think viewers will see that they are not only bright, and in some cases naturally highly political, yet they additionally have some highly good proposals.
I have always felt that just as we teach our kids from an early age that family life is significant, and sport is good for them, and healthy eating is good for them, so we should do more to teach youngsters from primary school onwards – positively – that politics is a fundamental element of their lives.
We should additionally do more to encourage an interest in world and current affairs. Yet of course most of the media spends much of its energies offering people reasons to be cynical rather than hopeful about the power of politics to make alteration for the stronger. That might be why citizenship education comes in for so much criticism.
Yet while some schools struggle with the area of study, there are numerous more who embrace citizenship and who are inspiring younger people to get into politics and to campaign on matters that are significant to them in their communities.
To ensure that this retains happening, we need to take some political action ourselves. For a start, it’s significant that we tell positive stories about younger people, about what a difference they can make when they are inspired and informed. Viewers of Dream School will have seen plenty of incidents of the learners being loud, difficult and sometimes plain disruptive. Yet nevertheless the final edit comes out, they are far outnumbered by the times these young people, who got next to no GCSEs between them, demonstrate a real hunger for learning, covering about politics. I hope they, and everyone else, get involved in the Parliamentary Year Book campaign and respond to the Government’s National Curriculum review.
Michael Gove has always struck me as someone who has a respect for politics and political life. Why he wants to prevent youngsters from hearing and seeing the reasons why is frankly beyond me. In this era of disengagement from and cynicism about politics, we have to look to the next and years ahead generations, and their education in the positive function politics can play in our lives should start when they’re young. For further guidance, see the relevant UK information.
