Children are becoming more vocal as new youth leaders like Greta Thunberg and Malala Yusuf have become more prominent. And these young women have been praised by policymakers, teachers and parents, too. We urge our pupils to see them as role models.
And yet, the very skills that created these new leaders are overlooked, if not entirely abandoned, in the current curriculum - one that leading educationalist Sir Ken Robinson has characterised as being unflinching from its original Victorian principles of forming quiet and obedient children.
Prioritise PSHE
In light of the modern zeitgeist, I propose we seek something more nuanced in the way we educate our children, prioritising communication, socialisation and emotional intelligence, which are embedded in that much-overlooked subject: PSHE.
I am not advocating that maths and English have no place in schools; they are the ways in which children can unlock traditional subjects and academic achievement.
They are not, however, the keys to happy, well-adjusted and cause-conscious young people.
Yet with schools under greater pressure to produce quantitative results to measure outcomes, how can schools make conscious efforts to prioritise skills to which you can easily attach a grade? Well, here are some ideas:
1. Prioritise more forms of communication
Speech and negotiation are as important as written ability. Learning to read is undeniably essential, but so is learning to voice your ideas clearly and listen to the opinions of others. English can be geared more towards practicality and the skills we need in every career and relationship throughout our lives.
2. Frame books through the lens of emotional intelligence
Reading is important, but we could do more to emphasise emotional learning. Introducing feeling boards enabling students to empathise and name the emotions felt by a character can, in doing so, teach them to better understand their own emotions, how to express them and how to react to them.
3. Intentionally study otherness
Pick a civilisation, culture or landscape that students are unlikely to have experienced and have them find both commonalities and differences. Have them think about how they could relate to these experiences. They can learn to socialise and unify with some areas of this new world while recognising differences as just that rather than aggressive or frightening.
While we can not change a historic system of education, we can reframe it to suit the cultural and societal needs of our pupils in this globalising world. Students deserve the opportunity to emulate their heroes, so let’s give them the skills to speak, empathise and express themselves as their role models do.
Elizabeth Kitto is a Prevent officer in East London
