Annaleece Longmore
Now more than ever, young people are becoming engaged and interested in the state of their own country’s politics. Whether it be locally or nationally, politics affects everyone differently. Many young people have taken it upon themselves to become aware of the current political climate, especially in Western European countries and in North America. In the UK, youth engagement has increased since issues surrounding the 2016 EU referendum and the 2019 general election arose into spotlight. Should high schools be further encouraging this engagement? What are the pros and cons to teaching politics at high school/GCSE level?
Young People & Social Issues
It isn’t new for younger people to be actively engaged in political and social issues. If you look at periods of time in the UK, when the country faced unrest over conflicting views, young people have always made their presence and influence known.
I spoke to Kat who told me about the strikes in 1911 where school children protested school conditions, as well as corporeal punishment. In recent years, climate activist Greta Thunburg showed teens all around the world that they had a voice and should use it for good!
When asked about why younger people are drawn to support social issues, Chelsea from Bath said that, “We learnt the history of our oppressive ancestors. Our parents did too and they started to make change!” We look to our parents and older family members, as well as idols in the media to show us how to fight for what we believe in. As Emma Watson said, if not now, when?
“What it’s saying about the world we live in, is that now is the time to actually change, and if we don’t, we’ll face huge consequences.”
Impact of Social Media
Social media has undoubtedly allowed us to interact with others from all different walks of life. Most recently, people have been united in the joint agreement that more work must be done to tackle oppression and generally make the world a better place for the next generation. Talk to any politically engaged student and they’ll speak of how our generation and the following ones, are going to be responsible for solving issues caused by actions of politicians today. Overall, social media is a great place to hear other views and learn from others.
However, there are parts of social media which encourage and spread false and dangerous information within the political sphere. Chelsea said: “People justifying the capitol attacks on social media was wrong. People being overtly racist on social media… that is wrong.” She also discussed how debates on human rights can become nasty, which is especially prominent in arguments about asylum seekers who are escaping countries of war and conflict.
“Social media platforms are meant to be a place for people to listen, support and make change – not receive hate from oppressive spammers.”
Politics in Schools Today
Often, people can hold second-hand embarrassment and may feel ashamed due to our country’s actions from the past. This may be in relation to our links with colonisation. It is also an argument made on why politics isn’t put into high school curriculums. How can you teach the good, without mentioning the bad and ugly?
Teachers themselves may refrain from engaging in discussions of politics in the classroom, as their role and job prevents them. Some schools have obligations in remaining impartial, but whether all teachers stick to this rule is debatable. Chelsea told me, “None of my teachers ever brought up politics – not even in history.”
Schools and teaching staff are also aware of the problems of radicalisation, which can affect children and teenagers very quickly. They wish to ensure that they do their best to protect children from the spread of radical and dangerous political organisations. The danger of this in schools has risen since far-right ideas have circulated online in recent years.
Pros & Cons
Whilst it is important for teachers to acknowledge and do everything in their power to prevent students from being led down the wrong path – there are obvious pros to discussing politics. It is possible to prevent to worst, and encourage the best. We speak about the worst case scenarios, but we should also consider what good impacts this can have.
By beginning discussions in a controlled environment, it allows students to express what is important to them. Some students may agree with their parents views, but then may form their own views when given the opportunity. These people as adults are therefore more likely to participate in elections by voting in the future. More voters means higher legitimacy (especially in times of referendums!).
Engagement in schools may influence others’ future career ideas. Many students become interested in politics during high school and college, meaning they study it as a degree at university. From there, they look to industries where their knowledge is useful (such as civil service, Parliament, local government, or even journalism!).
It would therefore be worth considering adding politics onto the curriculum. In many ways, the pros outweigh the possible concerns. It is possible to add more enrichment and variety into the classroom, whilst protecting students from radicalisation. It would be a good addition to the current teaching of citizenship, which is only currently taught in a handful of areas.
Featured image courtesy of Jon Tyson on Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to this image.
Annaleece Longmore
Annaleece is an 19 year-old student journalist in her second year at the University of Sheffield, studying Journalism Studies. You can find her on Twitter at @JournoAnnaleece.