‘Not another one!’ Brenda from Bristol summed up how many people felt when she heard that Theresa May had called another election in 2017. With another election in the near future looking increasingly likely, at a time when politics is more divisive than ever, many people are simply fed up with it. However politics is inescapable, and the decisions made over the next few months have the potential to impact us, for better or worse, for years to come.
Teachers, like the BBC, are expected remain impartial to a fault… are we doing our learners any favours by excluding politics from the classroom?
Voting rights
As teachers, we often think that politics should remain firmly out with the classroom. Teachers, like the BBC, are expected remain impartial to a fault, but with more and more exciting and unprecedented political developments happening on a weekly basis, are we doing our learners any favours by excluding politics from the classroom?
Issues such as Brexit or Independence will impact our learners just as much, if not more than, the rest of the population. Therefore it is our role as teachers to equip them with the tools to process, debate and evaluate these ideas in a constructive way.
Firstly, our learners can now vote (at least in some elections) at 16. In my experience as a Modern Studies teacher, the young people in my class are as engaged, if not more so, than many adults. They understand the responsibility that comes with the right to vote, and the impact that their choices can have. I can remember on several occasions having pupils count their age at the next election, only to realise that they will be too young by a month or so to vote. The look of disappointment on their faces clearly shows their eagerness to take part.
Tools such as de Bono’s Six Hats of Thinking, or Making Thinking Visible Routines such as Tug of War debates can provide learners with the opportunity to evaluate the issues of the day.
Tools for learning
It is important that we help to equip learners with the tools they need to make informed political choices. We do this in almost all areas, whether it be managing money or making healthy life choices, so why not in politics?
Tools such as de Bono’s Six Hats of Thinking, or Making Thinking Visible Routines such as Tug of War debates can provide learners with the opportunity to evaluate the issues of the day.
For example, if we asked the pupils the same question many of us answered in 2016, ‘Should the United Kingdom remain or leave the European Union’, we can use these tools to provide a structured way for learners to form an opinion.
Fake news
As teachers it is our role to provide then with the skills, sources and routines to effectively examine the facts. This could be newspaper articles, clips of interviews, infographics or any other contribution to the debate. Alongside evaluating the issue at hand, this also provides learners with an opportunity to critique the sources, identify bias, and determine the trustworthiness of sources. This takes in the wider issues of ‘fake news’ and the reliability of new media, which again can equip our learners with valuable life skills.
It is important that young people understand that with their vote comes power and the ability to shape the policies that directly impact their lives.
Political agency
Secondly it is important to instil in our learners a sense of Political Agency. Brenda from Bristol, like many others is suffering from a condition on the rise in the UK, voter apathy. But voter apathy leads to a system where the winners are those with a vested interest, or a specific agenda. Tackling issues such as Brexit head on gives us an opportunity to show learners how these issues can affect them directly, and how the decisions those in power make will shape their futures. Being a ‘Responsible Citizen’ is at the heart of Curriculum for Excellence, and as such, it is our role to help to shape our young people into the engaged and informed voters of tomorrow.
Finally, once we have shown how and why learners should engage with politics, we should consider the consequences of becoming active citizens. 57% of 18-19 year olds voted in 2017, compared to 84% of those over 70. Age is the defining factor in how people vote and this is clearly reflected in policy. I ask my pupils to think of everything that the elderly get from the government, and compare it to the benefits young people receive; free bus travel, winter fuel payments, and secure pensions in contrast to a reduced minimum wage for those under 25, cuts to EMA and tuition fees south of the border. The outcome of another apathetic generation of young voters will be a generation of ignored voters. It is important that young people understand that with their vote comes power and the ability to shape the policies that directly impact their lives.
So should we engage our learners in the ongoing political debates? Absolutely! Disengaged young people will continue to be ignored and excluded. Engaged young people have the potential to shape the policies that affect their lives every day and the future direction of the country.
