Girls call for chance to reclaim their future
YOU might have seen them as you’ve been driving around the town.
Over the past fortnight 34 billboards calling for changes to the school curriculum have been on display.
They are the work of 30 12 and 13-year-old politically engaged girls from across the borough.
The campaign began last October when the girls joined forces to produce a manifesto for change, addressing their concerns about community, leadership and education leadership programme hosted by the charity Reclaim.
Concerns raised included the need for young people at the centre of decision making and an emphasis on the utilisation of the talents and creativity of both teacher and pupil within the classroom.
They also expressed their frustrations about an outdated curriculum and the pressures they face within a classroom that doesn’t cater to the variety of learning styles amongst pupils, instead focusing solely on grades.
Their campaign aims to encourage discussion amongst pupils, parents and education professionals to ensure that the current curriculum supports them and other young people in England for the future they face.
And the billboards encourage supporters to visit the website and sign their petition.
One of the girls, 13, involved in the Reclaim project said: “We feel the curriculum isn’t preparing us for the future we face. Where are the life skills? Where is the critical thinking? Where is the political education? Where has creativity gone? We know the future will not be the same as the past so why is our education?”
Another girl, also 13, added: “We want the curriculum to be debated and made fit for purpose. We as young people spend 35 hours a week in the education system, we are the people who should be involved in the debate. We need to create the future by recognising the talents within us all.
“We learn in different ways, have different skills and our education is limiting the ability of many to achieve what we are capable of.
“We know many teachers feel the same – they are limited with large class sizes, the pressures on targets is taking up their time, meaning they are unable to bring the creativity we know they have.”
The Reclaim programme aims to support and inspire working class young people to develop the skills and experience needed to become leaders and role models within their community.
A Reclaim spokesman said: “We are asking other young people, teachers and education professionals to be involved in effective discussions on how we develop a new curriculum which will better fit with the times we live in and the future we are creating.”
To sign the petition visit change.org/p/ukparliament-rochdalegirls-say-educate-forour-future-create-anew-curriculum.
Join in the conversation on Twitter at @ RECLAIMproject using hashtag #ChangeEducation.