When we mentioned to some of our learners that the Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove, was examining downgrading the status of Citizenship in the national curriculum, they scurried off (and without any prompting from us), came back with this letter.
Our local MP happened to be visiting the next day, so they personally handed it to him, and he assured them that he would get a response for them from Mr Gove.
If Gove won’t listen to us Citizenship educators, or Parliamentary Year Book, or the Association for Citizenship Teaching, or Stephen Twigg MP, or Simon Hughes MP, perhaps he’ll be convinced about the vital function Citizenship plays in our children’s education… by children. The letter speaks for itself.
Dear Mr Gove,
On behalf of the learners of Blackfen School for Girls, we would like to complain about your plan of action to get rid of Citizenship. We think highly of this area of study as it offers us a chance to share our opinions about society. This subject gives us a chance to express out feelings about how things are handled in today’s world.
We appreciate that you may not agree with us, yet our parents have noticed a big difference in our awareness and attitude, since we have been studying Citizenship.
Citizenship offers us the confidence to make a alteration in society. It additionally demonstrates us what we can do to contribute to our community, and teaches us to be open-minded about the variety of cultures within our community.
We ask you kindly to reconsider, as we think highly of this area of study and the educators who teach us. They make us wish to do bigger and stronger things with our lives.
Thank you for offering up your time to read this. We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
The learners of Blackfen School for Girls
Pete Pattisson is a senior educator at Blackfen School for Girls, London. His blog “Power up!”contains new proposals and materials for teaching citizenship every week. For further guidance, see the relevant UK information.
