Series 2. Blog 1 Some thoughts about our Young People

Series 2. Blog 1 Some thoughts about our Young People

In my first series of Blogs, I surveyed the history of education of working class children up to the period following the end of the Second World War, the Attlee Labour Government and the subsequent Conservative Government. The main lesson that can be learnt from this study is that the Ruling Elite did not want to educate working class children. They considered that it was dangerous to do so, because it would give them ideas above their station. Those who did consider education working class children saw in that education, a way of disciplining children, and ‘correcting their behaviour’. However, it became clear that industry and commerce required ‘educated managers, foremen and workers’, hence the tripartite structure of Grammar, Technical and Secondary Modern School. I have written, more extensively, about the present attitude of our Rulers to education in an article that was published in International Socialism, Issue 151, ‘Does Every Child Matter’ (This can be found on the ISJ website isj.org.uk). I have also written about the alienation that young people feel and indicated some ways in which this can be overcome in an article I wrote for The Left Berlin ‘The Voice of Youth’ (this can be found at theleftberlin.com). In this series of articles, I want to explore, in more detail, the needs of young people and the suggestions being made for meeting those needs. I will be drawing heavily from the Children’s Commission, which has produced a series of Reports outlining these needs and calling for action with respect to them (see www.childrenscommissiner.gov.uk).

I have been extremely fortunate in having three granddaughters who are quite happy to talk to me. This has meant that I have, to some extent, remained aware of the world of young people. I say aware, because it is impossible for older generations to understand the world of young people. Even though we were once young, things have changed to such a large extent that comparisons are almost impossible.

Unfortunately, it would appear that young people in general have a poor reputation amongst many in the older generations. This is expressed when they see litter, such as empty cans, lying about. The blame is apportioned to ‘teenagers’ when it is far more likely that the culprit is well past their teenage years. Groups of teenagers are criticised for gathering in groups, when they have nowhere else to go. All this is unfair on teenagers and young people. Young people deserve to be given the credit that is their due. More importantly, as I noted in the article for Left Berlin mentioned above, young people are totally ignored when policy is being determined, even when they are directly affected. During the present Covid Crisis, although attention has been directed towards the schooling needs of young people, this is not because of concerns for their needs, but because of the effect of having children at home - requiring parental supervision, thus preventing those parents from being at work. Necessary steps, such as providing laptops, so children can work at home, has not been forthcoming.

During my research and writing of my Series of Blogs on the Purpose of Education, one of my granddaughters, Callie, acts as my editor, correcting my script and suggesting ideas. As she did this, she proposed that I look into the problem of mental health amongst young people. One of the messages that my granddaughters give me is the complaint, repeated amongst most children and young people, that no one listens to them. Amongst the information that Callie gave me was that of children between the ages of ten and fifteen, one in ten say that they have no one to talk to if they feel worried or sad. She added that the same amount children between ten and fifteen have a diagnosable mental health issue. What is very relevant is that, in half of those suffering from mental health problems, the problem was established by the time they were fourteen. The figure increases to three quarters of all who have such problems, for those for whom the problem was present by the time they were eighteen years old. It is of concern that three quarters of young people faced with mental health problems are not receiving any treatment.

It is relevant that 90 percent of school leaders reported that in the last five years they had seen an increase in students with anxiety or stress. As we noted above, only one in every four of these students get the help that they need. But what are the things that need to be considered in terms of the problems faced by children and young people?

Callie outlined the extent of these problems. First in the list came the matter of body image. We tend to underestimate the influence of the media in general upon the way that young people feel about how they look, in comparison with how they are made to feel they should look. This is also related to social media platforms, such as Instagram, with the question of cyber bullying. Further problems with social media are caused by exposure to upsetting and inappropriate content.

Children and young people are confronted with a great deal of stress in all stages in their lives at school. Curriculum content and school procedures are geared, not to the needs of pupils and students, but to the demands of school performance tables, leading to a competitive educational structure. (This is dealt with in more detail in the ISJ article referred to above).

Callie was particularly critical of the changes to GCSE examinations introduced by Michael Gove. The aim of these changes was to make the examinations harder. They had particular effect upon those students who were part way through their courses as the curricula changed, leading to additional problems when they sat their examinations. What was of particular concern is that these changes brought into the examinations, that pupil take at 16, material that had previously been included in the examinations taken at 18. The school examinations have never been a means of assessing pupils ability and progress; they have always been about dividing and selecting pupils, based upon the needs of industry and commerce. As more children have succeeded in meeting the examination requirements, so have the examinations been made more difficult, in order to maintain the aims of the examination. In educational terms, bringing material from the later stage to the earlier stage is the wrong thing to do. The aim of education should be for students to understand the material. The approach adopted outlined here places the emphasis on absorbing content to be reproduced in examinations - a false aim. All of this makes the pupil student experience more stressful. Instead of life in school, college and university being a rewarding exercise in self development and understanding of the world, the student becomes alienated from themselves, and from the whole experience of education. They come under pressure to do well, but for many, this pressure simply leads them to achieve less than they are capable of producing. The result is seen in the mental distress that we are considering.

The approach of the Government to keeping schools open, and attempting to keep the examination structure intact, has demonstrated how little concern the Government has for the young people they should be nurturing. Without doubt, schools and Universities should be closed, and alternative ways should be found of providing the education that young people need. The student protests that led to the complete acceptance of teacher assessment without any moderation showed the strength and resolve of our young people, with a willingness to stand up for their rights. The moderation that the Government sought to impose illustrated the class nature of our education system, and demonstrated the considerable advantage that Private School pupils, and those coming from rich backgrounds, have over pupils coming from working class backgrounds.

What is particularly noticeable in modern society is the number of children and young people who come from “non-typical” families. I use this term in preference to the idea of ‘broken family backgrounds’ because I feel it better defines the nature of these families. They are not necessarily broken - modern society operates under different conditions to the situation many people consider as normal. What is not given sufficient regard is the effect of this on the young people involved. The breakup of a marriage and divorce leaves the children in a dilemma. No matter what efforts the parents make to limit these problems, the child has to find a solution for themselves. There are no support mechanisms (we will consider the lack of support mechanisms in another essay in this sequence). But family problems are not confined to this situation. Whilst the problem of poverty, low income, lack of employment for adults, is given scant attention, the effect of these upon young children is totally disregarded. We expect all children to meet the same criteria, to reach the same level in examinations, whether or not they have the same facilities at home, in terms of books, computers, encouragement, visits to museums, foreign travel, and a host of other things that children from better off families are able to enjoy. Poverty is a major factor in the lives of many young people. How aware are we of the number of young people who are acting as carers, for their siblings, for their parent, or in other ways involved in responsibilities within their home above and beyond the normal requirements placed upon young people?

Within our society there are major problems of racism, issues about sexuality and matters of religion. All of these factors impact upon young people. However, this fact is disregarded. The issues of sexuality, and in particular transgender issues, are particularly difficult for young people. This is not made any easier by, otherwise quite understanding, parents and grandparents who have grown up in different times with different norms. The young person may have a far more progressive view on such issues than those found in the home. For those youngsters facing personal problems in this direction, means of support are difficult to find.

These are some of the issues that I hope to consider in future items within this series. I am indebted to my granddaughter for her advice and assistance with these matters. I will be drawing upon Reports of the Children’s Commissioner and other authorities in future blogs to gain a wider perspective of these issues.

                                                Scribart 29 November 2020