Preaching Politics - By Bethan Massey, Rosebery School
Some argue that young people are the future, and that by educating us they are preparing the next generation… I say we are the present! To see the change we want to happen, our voices need to be heard, which is why we should be taught about Politics, as this is the foundation of a civil society, and why events such as the UK parliament week can make a huge difference in allowing young people to see the impact their voices can have.
Yet many friends tell me they don’t see the point in voting in elections, as they consider nothing will change whoever is in charge. I disagree. We should have a say in our lives and futures as often the choices made by our government including, dare I say it, Brexit, will impact our lives much more than the generation that voted for it.
This is why I think it’s crucial that schools participate in activities such as the UK parliament week in November 2-8th, a festival that helps understanding of the political system and inspires people to get involved.
When the organisers determined the timing of the event they could not of predicted it would coincide with a General Election Campaign, this provided the perfect backdrop for the celebration at Rosebery.
During the UK Parliament week in Rosebery, a model UN discussed the issues different countries faced due to the climate crisis. The Rt Hon Chris Grayling, our local MP, came to give an insight into his work as a constituency MP and undertook a challenging Q&A session where he was quizzed on, climate change, mental health, university-tuition fees, the NHS and undertook the challenge of explaining Brexit. We were also joined by councillor Liz Frost, who explained her responsibilities at a local level. We held a lively debate on whether or not the voting age should be lowered to 16 and at the end of the week we held our own referendum on the issue.
I concluded that regardless of the voting age young people should have an impact on their own future, whether that equates to a vote or not!
Article written by Bethan Massey, see link below.
https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/youngreporter/18049854.preaching-politics-bethan-massey-rosebery-school/
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