Why Active Citizenship is Little More Than Kid’s Play

Civitas, 23 June 2006

Through its system of select committees, the House of Commons is currently undertaking a review of citizenship education in schools. This element of the national curriculum aims to turn out pupils who are civil, politically literate, and active in public affairs.
Given newspaper accounts of daily proceedings in the Commons, there is some reason to doubt how well suited some of its present occupants might be to deliberating how schools should set about seeking to attain these educational objectives.
Consider the following exchange there reported in yesterday’s Times:
“Shut your bloody gob!” shouted Dennis Skinner at Andrew Robathan on the Tory front bench. Mr Robathan, who had just told Mr Skinner that it was time for him to get his pension, smirked back.
“Tell him to shut his bloody mouth!” cried Mr Skinner at the Speaker who admonished him to calm down. “He started it!” cried Mr Skinner.
The Speaker chided him: “You are getting very childish.”
Mind you, learning about such goings on there might be the best way to persuade schoolchildren how undemanding it is to be an active citizen. It is nothing more than mere child’s play even at the highest national level– or should I say especially there?