I wonder what people think about the recent research conducted by ICM on behalf of Barnardo's which 'reveals that the public holds a negative view of all children, despite the majority being well behaved, attending school, taking part in activities and a significant number contributing to their communities and volunteering'?

The report showed that 'nearly half the UK population (49 per cent) agree that children today are beginning to behave like animals'.

And that '44 per cent agree that children in this country are becoming feral, nearly half (47 per cent) agree that the trouble with young people is that they’re angry, violent and abusive, one in four (25 per cent) of people think that children who behave badly or anti-socially are beyond help by the age of 10, more people disagreed with the statement that children who get into trouble are in need of help (38 per cent) than agreed (36 per cent).' (From Barnardo's press release 03/11/2011 Available at: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/news_and_events/media_centre/press_releases.htm?ref=74051)

If such views are indeed so prevalent in our society, how does this affect our ability to educate young people?  Or perhaps it is society we need to educate? Or pollsters?

Teenage Learners Improving their English/ Communication Skills.

A couple of weeks ago at BU I described my experience of being a supply GCSE English teacher for a day at a local FE college.  Almost without exception the learners demonstrated no interest in improving their ability to communicate in English and it struck me that it is perhaps not strange that young people, who are perfectly able to communicate with the people they choose to live with, do not see it as being to their benefit to focus on how they communicate.  Perhaps for some it may even feel like a threat to their self-identity to be told, however nicely, that they need to speak and write in a different and better way.

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