You don’t have to be young to be idealistic - but it helps. So it is unfortunate that the citizenship curriculum has got off to a weak start (p12).
What better time than the teenage years to tap into children’s developing sense of self, community and desire for justice? The citizenship scheme of work includes the study of conflict and forgiveness, human rights, and the “benefits and challenges of living in a diverse society”. What could be more important than that? Yet schools are not taking it seriously.
To inspire them, The TES this week publishes Respect, a special supplement on teaching about cultural diversity. We hope its stories about schools in deeply troubled areas bringing people together and practical ideas for using art, music and books will help teachers to sustain their own idealism.
