Political Literacy – An end to apathy?

Matteo Bergamini of Shout Out UK

The need for political education is an issue that has become more pressing as a result of the events of 2016 both here and in the US.  In this guest blog Matteo Bergamini outlines the case for Political Literacy.

It has been an incredible year for politics. Pre-2016 we had the first coalition government to grace No.10 since the Second World War; we have witnessed the utter obliteration of the third largest party in the UK, the Liberal Democrats who, in 2015 shrank into irrelevance. We also witnessed the resurgence of the great left and right debate with the growth or right wing movements like UKIP and the rise of Jeremy Corbyn. This year alone, we saw two incredible anti-establishment votes, with Britain deciding to leave the European Union and Donald Trump being elected as the next US president, both occurring after two tumultuous campaigns. The referendum had a profound effect on the country and us, the British People. Yet were we qualified to make such a decision?

We live in a society where the majority of people gain their political information from their parents, whom vote Labour or Conservative because of their out of date belief in what the parties stood for years ago, the media, and vote due to vague social customs. Politics unfortunately has remained the playground of the financially better off and while the sons and daughters of the higher echelons of society are educated in politics, the rest of us are not, creating a division, which can be seen when looking at the background of MPs and the ever expanding Oxbridge bubble in Parliament.

Yet, the issue becomes bigger because everyone in our democracy is entitled to a vote, hence, the divide not only secures the political industry for the elite, but it also lets loose a very politically illiterate populace during elections and referendums, leaving us vulnerable to decisions fuelled by misinformation, media spins, and ignorance. It is clear that this can't carry on if we wish to have and continue to hold on to a healthy democracy. The real issue here is a lack of political education in all but the top end schools.

From my experience, people, especially young people, are interested in politics, but lack an understanding due to this society-induced ignorance. Currently, we assume that once we hit 18 years of age we suddenly become enlightened with all the political knowledge one needs to vote and engage. Of course, this not the case, it needs to be taught and understood in school as a compulsory subject. We treat English and Maths in very high regard, as two of the most important subjects. However, the one subject that allows us to be who we want to be, gives us a voice and creates a society we wish to live in, we give no time to in schools.

The issue is that political literacy would give us, the next generation, a clear understanding of what politics is, how our society works and why voting is relevant and important. There have been some incredible initiatives recently by the UK government around voter registration and getting young people to vote. Yet, screaming at us to vote without telling us why or how society and politics works seems a little premature. Like asking someone to run a marathon before being able to walk. You can't get an entire generation mobilized without first giving them the instruments to understand the system they are supposed to be influencing.

We, Shout Out UK, aim to combat this, and this year we launched our course entitled Political Literacy. The course aims to get more young people interested and engaged in Politics, by teaching them about the processes in Politics, public speaking and debating. The young people we taught were more engaged and passionate about politics because they were taught it, they understand it now and even more important than that was longevity, they stuck with it rather than being involved sporadically over the course of one election or referendum. Politics takes times and only when you are taught this, will you have the patience to stomach it.

Roisin Murray a Teacher at Bentley Wood High School, Harrow, said,  “Understanding Politics is key to understanding how society works. Shout Out UK’s Political Literacy Course supports students in developing their political awareness so they can take a more active role in society. After sitting in on several lessons with Shout Out UK and our students, I can honestly say it has been a fantastic opportunity for our students to develop their knowledge and awareness of current affairs as well as their ability to speak in public, debate and present a discussion coherently. This has also helped students to develop their self-esteem and confidence.”

Maybe it’s time we look at the issue seriously, rather than just around elections and referendums. The issue is not apathy itself, it’s why apathy happens. Apathy amongst young people happens because the system has become so complex, that people no longer understand it and so get frustrated by it. We must give schools the tools necessary to deal with this issue because no matter how many times you scream at someone to vote, if that person does not understand the system or why you should vote, he or she will never be engaged in the long run, even though they may vote the one time you asked them to.

It’s the modern equivalent to the old proverb, 'give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time'. In a similar fashion, if we ask them to vote, they will do it once before getting bored or disillusioned, but if we give them the tools to understand the system they will remain engaged for a life time.

About the Author: Matteo Bergamini

Matteo Bergamini is a multi-award winning entrepreneur and political literacy activist. He has a degree in Politics & History, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Law from the University of Brunel. He has worked on a number of projects from the Channel 4 Youth Leaders’ Debate to the creation of a Political Literacy Course, accredited by AQA. An avid promoter of political discourse and literacy amongst young people, he was invited to become a fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce for his work in encouraging political education amongst young people.

This year, Shout Out UK launched their AQA endorsed political literacy course to local schools in order to better educate young people in politics and encourage a longstanding interest and understanding politics. The course covers British Politics, International Relations as well as Employability. If you would like more information on the course please visit: http://www.shoutoutuk.org/political-literacy-course/  

GCSE affair "morally repugnant" senior examiner

The legal action undertaken by Brent Council, other local authorities and many schools,  seeking a judicial review of the GCSE marking fiasco has received unexpected backing from a senior figure in AQA, the examination board.. This report from the BBC:

A senior exam board figure has resigned over the shifting of English GCSE grade boundaries which left thousands of pupils with lower grades than expected. Stephen McKenzie quit the exam board AQA on Wednesday after 16 years as a GCSE English moderator. In his resignation letter Mr McKenzie said the grade boundary shift was "the worst decision ever made by AQA". He said the AQA board’s handling of GCSE boundary changes was "morally repugnant"  He told BBC News: "I could not go on working for them - to be frank AQA English has fallen apart." 

 Mr McKenzie's resignation came as the exam boards and the exam regulator Ofqual were given more time to consider a legal challenge from teaching unions, schools and local authorities asking them to regrade English GCSE papers.  The alliance has written formally to Ofqual and the exam boards AQA and Edexcel challenging the refusal to regrade GCSE English papers in England. They are threatening to seek a judicial review after thousands of pupils scored lower-than-expected results when grade boundaries were raised midway through the year. 

In his resignation letter Mr McKenzie called the handling of the affair "morally repugnant" and "disingenuous". He said that claims that teachers had marked controlled assessments too generously were based on "paltry evidence" and called the moderation of the qualification "poor, stressed and chaotic". He added that AQA had reneged on guidance to schools about the standard needed to achieve a C grade and said that this had hit the most vulnerable part of the student population hardest.

 "We have in this whole sorry business the classic social disaster scenario; mismanagement succeeded by chaos, hurt innocents succeeded by collusion between official bodies to suppress the reality of the disaster.  The various AQA English specifications have as their spine texts - To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, The Crucible, An Inspector Calls - where ordinary but principled people stand up for social justice at whatever cost. If I see anyone at AQA English do this any time soon, I will reconsider my decision not to work for them. Otherwise I mourn the passing of a once fine institution."

In his letter Mr McKenzie quotes emails from a senior English assessor at AQA who states that the changes to grade boundaries between January and June did "massive damage" and "instantly hit the most vulnerable" pupils. In particular the assessor's emails focus on the raising of the grade C boundary on the lower tier English 

Mr McKenzie, vice principal of Morley Academy in Leeds, says this paper is marketed at the students who would have had to work the hardest to achieve a C or better and who needed the grade to enter apprenticeships, employment or further education. 

Earlier this month letters between another exam board, Edexcel and the regulator Ofqual, were leaked to the Times Educational Supplement. These showed that Ofqual ordered the board to make grade boundary changes against its will just two weeks before the results were published. 

The TES says the Mr McKenzie's resignation letter and the emails reveal "that assessors from AQA, the board with the biggest market share in GCSE English, were just as concerned as their Edexcel counterparts about the grading changes". AQA said it was unable to comment because of pending legal action over GCSE English.

Who would you back,  the principled Stephen McKenzie or Michael Gove?

Brent Council joins in GCSE judicial review call

Brent Council has  confirmed it will be joining other local authorities in an attempt to seek a judicial review into the altering of grade boundaries for GCSE examinations between January and June this year.

The council took the decision after conducting a thorough survey of predicted and actual GCSE pass grades among all of its secondary schools which found that as many as 100 students who sat exams in June were adversely affected by the grade boundaries being reset.

Brent's Lead Member for Children and Families, Cllr. Mary Arnold said:

"We believe that the AQA and Edexcel exam boards altered their grades between January and June of this year which resulted in a marked difference in students' predicted and actual grades. On behalf of the hundred or so students affected in Brent and the many thousands of other young people across England we are whole heartedly behind the legal challenge to Ofqual for a thorough investigation into this matter."

A formal joint letter of complaint, to which Brent is signatory, was issued to Ofqual on 20 September calling for a judicial review into the increase in grade boundaries.