Today was a red letter one! About 250 children, or young adults might be more appropriate, poured into the House of Lords Chamber to debate the burning issues of their world. These included the media treatment of the young, the ubiquity of the celebrity culture and whether current education was fit for purpose, an unscheduled topic!
It was one of the most uplifting events of recent weeks and truly wonderful to see the Chamber full of young people who were not afraid to applaud what they approved of. The event, the third of its kind, was yet another project within the Outreach Programme set up by the Lord Speaker about two years ago. It seems that this major Outreach initiative has been with us forever given the number and variety of events that have taken place but it is still a young venture.
The Debate is a partnership project together with the Dept. of Children, Schools and Familes, the Media Trust and the Bridge, a youth initiative based in North London. The participants came from all over the country and were not in the least intimidated by the grandness of the Chamber; they jumped up constantly, expressed their views in no uncertain terms and disagreed with one another amiably.
I was struck by a few themes: the recognition that reality tv was an almost degrading concept and very, very far from promoting any worthwhile models for the young: education appeared to be stuck in the treadmill of the three Rs rather than reaching out and adapting to a changing economic and social world. Where were the opportunities to become expert at animation, they asked? How can one teacher manage to discover, let alone nurture, talent in a class of 35 and more? And, perhaps conversely, surely it must be the responsibility of the individual to have enough grit and determination to succeed in whatever chosen field – the implication here being that one should take control of one’s own life direction.
Above all everyone deplored the media treatment of the young in what was perceived as entirely negative terms: a knifing will always trump a positive story, they concluded. The Children’s Commissioner Sir Al Aynsley-Green summed up. He pointed out the shocking statistics that almost 50% of adults polled believed that the young behaved like animals. He also condemned the introduction of the ‘mosquito’, a device only heard by young ears and designed to disperse groups of children in the streets. Colleagues in other countries were, he reported, appalled by this anti-social, prejudgemental and damaging control mechanism.
There is a long way to go if children are to change the way in which they are perceived, reported and treated. Today however was an eye-opener and let us hope that there will be many, many more opportunities for young adults to show just how much talent, goodwill and determination they harbour.
Bah! Nothing but a PR stunt.
What has come out of this?
How has this changed anything?
Yes, your comments on what they discussed were nice to read – but could have been uncovered by simply talking to most of them anyway. I have a feeling that these were a selected group, though. Most of their peers are either not going to care or disagree with them.
No, I cant see the need for this. A way for middle-class parents to feel superior to others, that’s all.
I caught the BBC News Channel report. I must say, it was a very big contrast to the normal sight of the House on BBC Parliament. No doubt the highlights were edited, but in the moments caught they were full of enthusiasm and go, and as you say, eager to applaud contributions.
I’ve no doubt the ladies could dance, and the estimated capacity of the lads to “go a’leaping” seemed, I have to report, depressingly greater than that of the usual occupants, whose capacities in that direction (with the exception of Lord Coe) I have always thought of as beinging generally …well…somewhat constrained.
Overall, a joy to behold, and it is lovely to see it appreciated as much by Members as the rest of us.
‘education appeared to be stuck in the treadmill of the three Rs’
If Britain was a shining example to the world where all children left school with sufficient numeracy and literacy then I could accept this line. But when the reality is the opposite and we’re falling down the league tables -v- our rivals I find this less than convincing.
Indeed.
I’m all for greater youth involvement in political and social debates, but the facts are that the three Rs are the BASICS. They’re the minimum level people should aspire to, not something outdated. To shun them is in no way an improvement…
troika, A little harsh, given that it took a change in the rules to allow the Boy Scout movement to lobby Parliament about the Water Companies’ greed possibly putting them out of operation. Okay, that is a slightly different thing – but surely it is better for voices to be heard than not ?
Agreed it was pretty scandalous that they weren’t initially allowed to lobby.
I didn’t see any coverage of the debate so it’s unfair to comment in any detail. I would say I have some concerns about what might be called the ‘university student politics’ problem: that those motivated to get involved seem deeply unrepresentative of the views of those they ‘speak for’.
Bedd, what you say is true enough; young voices should be heard.
But I do see this as a PR event however, nothing meaningful will come of it, I believe.
I must say, shouldn’t the teachers be telling these children that it’s rather unparliamentary to applaud? Surely a few cries of ‘hear, hear’ would be more acceptable?
Baroness: “It was one of the most uplifting events of recent weeks”. Mamma Mia, too they asked. Hausmutter!