This month, Citizenship lessons have received criticism from the tabloids. Never before has it been so important to up the ante in the classroom. This on-the-pulse newsletter shows just how Citizenship informs many aspects of daily life. ‘Beyond the veil’ is a refreshing take on Muslim life in 2010, and ‘The upcoming general election’ questions what it means to be a voter in that same year. ‘The PLTS framework’, which places a very misunderstood skills set into context , is not to be missed either. To round things off, we've recommended some highly engaging, thought-provoking Citizenship Teacher resources on the theme of safeguarding. Enjoy. Victoria Marston In this edition:
Beyond the veil | Rehana Kauser'Oppressed, dejected, concealed. Leading a life following the fundamentals of a religion that her husband dictates. Hidden away from the rest of the world through a black cloth known to many as the "burka". This is the image conjured up in one’s mind at times when one hears the words "Muslim" and "woman" together.' Would any of your students hold this view? If so, why not challenge them through spreading the word about the Peterborough Muslim Women’s Forum (PMWF)? This group certainly shatters stereotypes. British-born and even economic migrants, the PMWF are a group of educated, committed women including teachers, doctors and domestic goddesses, all balancing work and family lives to benefit their community and wider society. Following a leadership course, the PMWF was established in July 2009 with the vision 'for Muslim Women to be at the heart of a cohesive and united Peterborough'. In essence, the group promotes peace and harmony, promotes women’s roles as citizens from a civic and Islamic perspective and organises activities on a grass roots level for Muslim women and the community. The ultimate aim is to integrate mothers of future generations in our country into mainstream society so that they do not feel isolated from the rest of the world. In Islam, mothers are seen as the first educators of their children. For this reason, the PMWF works in partnership with local schools to boost the awareness of parents (especially mothers). This has a positive impact on the personal, social and educational development of children, thus reducing the chance of them becoming disaffected. The volunteers from the forum co-ordinate coffee mornings and awareness sessions on the following: why it is important to read to your child, first aid, drugs awareness, ESOL, internet safety and, last but by no means least, parenting. The objective is that parents become more aware of key areas and therefore more empowered to deal with situations that might arise in life. These sessions are a great opportunity for parents to familiarise themselves with school and staff, which can only have a positive impact on their children’s development. More importantly, parents who have had no dialogue with schools prior to these sessions have held summer fetes and raised money for the PTA. One Muslim parent has also become a school governor. This is a fantastic example of successful integration of this ‘hard to reach’ group into mainstream society. The PMWF further contribute to their community by organising parenting classes and sitting on school governing bodies. They are currently exploring a city wide event to celebrate Muslim people with the Leader of Peterborough City Council. It will promote peace, harmony and integration within Peterborough. With the Muslim community being seen as a ‘hard to reach’ group in England, women from this community are even ‘harder to reach’. So, does the PMWF shatter the stereotype of Muslim women in Britain? Quite evidently, yes! The PMWF are a group of forward-thinking and philanthropic women, reflective of other women in British society. They are far from being the oppressed, dejected and concealed characters as misconceived by some. Don’t delay; spread the word about this organisation and others near you in your Citizenship lessons. The PMWF was established in July 2009 and facilitated by the Greater Peterborough Partnership. The project is funded by the Government’s Prevent Strategy. Rehana Kauser is the Women’s Group Co-ordinator. Why is the PLTS framework crucial to Citizenship education? | Leanne RichardsThe Personal Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS) framework was introduced to help students develop essential skills; skills that will benefit them in their academic, economic and personal lives. PLTS have been changed and adapted over a number of years after lengthy consultation with a wide range of experts (from parents to employers to the students themselves) in order to create a workable and effective set of skills that students should develop over the course of their education. Where the PLTS framework is most effective is in the Citizenship curriculum. The Citizenship curriculum is hugely varied and diverse. It ranges from politics to the media so it can sometimes be a challenge to make sure that all of the useful skills that we teach are recognised. Whilst some elements of Citizenship lend themselves to traditional assessment methods, most do not. The PLTS framework is an opportunity to identify, recognise and measure the progress being made with these skills. It is also a key signifier to indicate the depth of the curriculum. In Citizenship, our entire aim is to prepare students for their life outside of school. The challenge with this is how we can do so in a way that will be easily identified and assessed to show progress. The PLTS framework allows us to show how each of our lessons develops not only knowledge, but investigative, reflective and creative skills. Just one learning experience in Citizenship can often include all of these crucial life skills. For instance, how can a group activity be effective if students cannot manage their time? If they cannot take responsibility for their own role? If they cannot effectively reflect on what the experience has taught them? Without PLTS, learning is essentially pointless. It is only through identifying these skills that we actually help students to value, explore and progress in them. PLTS give Citizenship teachers an interesting and varied way of looking at how their lessons can affect their students. PLTS explain how the different parts of the Citizenship curriculum fit together and how cross-curricular links can be identified. One of the most common criticisms of young people moving into work or apprenticeships is that they are not aware of what is expected of them. They are not equipped with the skills to move from school to work – from being looked after to being responsible for their own time and workload. PLTS help us to identify with students which skills are valuable at work and those that we need in school. A big part of the Citizenship curriculum and the PSHE curriculum is to help students be more prepared for the environment and pressures they find in the workplace. PLTS are a clear way for students to transfer the knowledge and skills they have in the classroom to the world of work. In conclusion then, embrace PLTS within your Citizenship teaching! PLTS tailor the learning experiences that you provide for your students in a way that skills are easily recognised, monitored and assessed. Your students also have a clear and transparent way of measuring their success. Leanne Martin is a trained Citizenship teacher. She is currently Head of Citizenship at Brooke Weston Academy in Northamptonshire. The upcoming general election is important to all students, whether they realise it or not! How can you convey this? | Rob Rea2010 will see Britain’s first general election for five years. Whilst many adults will welcome the chance to cast a vote, politics is a side issue for an ever increasing minority. The record low turnouts of 2001 and 2005 suggest that many Brits no longer see the point in voting – with this apathy endemic amongst the young. The statistics of the politicisation of the British youth make for sobering reading. The Office for National Statistics claims that a third of those aged 18 to 24 believe that everyone has an obligation to vote, compared with four-fifths of the 65+ age group. In our classrooms this apathy is even more prevalent amongst those not yet eligible for the privilege of suffrage. Indeed, the very mention of words such as ‘politics’ and ‘election’ can be met with groans from students – fuelled by an awareness of their inability to vote and preconceptions of the world of politics. Yet this general election is important to all of your students. Whilst they may not see themselves as overtly political beings, they represent the generation that will emerge from the education system in the wake of a recession. The politicians elected this spring will make monumental decisions concerning the environment in which they will enter the workforce. Politics matter on many levels. Most students happily voice opinions on minimum wage, EMA, tuition fees, public transport and the upcoming London Olympics (to name but five political ‘hot potatoes’ that directly affect their lives). We teachers do not have a responsibility for advocating suffrage per se (and it certainly should not act as a means of indoctrination). However, we should provide a basis of accessible, non-partisan citizenship information. Families, peers and the media often do not. To assume that students are blind to the functions of an election is wrong. The adolescent following of Big Brother and X Factor (whereby voting forms the crux of the programmes’ structure) bears this out, whilst the school council serves as an accessible exemplar of political structure. Why not hold a mock election at your school to foster the spirit of competition and challenge to which young learners rise? For teachers who are not confident about what a general election entails, there is a world of accessible and germane resources to hand. The Parliamentary Education Service and the Hansard Society both provide excellent free teaching materials and mock election packs, whilst the BBC Democracy Live is an interactive treasure chest of information. Remember too that the responsibility for conveying the importance of voting should not rest with one individual or department; extracurricular links can prompt a whole-school awakening. Geographers could explore demographic trends in voting behaviour. Mathematicians could chart results from previous contests and linguists could compare British elections with those elsewhere. Parties and politicians are morphing their own modus operandi: the upcoming election is spilling onto YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Politicians actively court the youth vote of today and tomorrow! Many MPs and candidates are only too happy to pay a visit to schools in their constituency; today’s children are tomorrow’s electorate. Why not invite such experts to your classroom? Allow your students to hear from the horse’s mouth exactly why this election is relevant to them. Rob Rea is a graduate of Politics and International Relations. He is a teacher of Citizenship, government and politics and critical thinking at The Pingle School in Derbyshire. Citizenship Teacher resources | Victoria MarstonThe murder of Ashleigh Hall highlights that safeguarding is more than simply the latest buzzword in educational circles. Safeguarding should be integral to any Citizenship schemes of work. Where should your department start if you’re short of ideas for shoehorning safeguarding into what is probably already a very tight timetable? The five lessons below come highly recommended for this very task. Your learners will find them thought-provoking and engaging. More importantly, your young people will come away from lessons with more ownership of their personal safety.
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