Childrens Rights in Education - Essay Example

? An Essay on Children's Right to Voice of the of the An Essay on Children's Right to Voice Introduction A child is a very important member of a family unit, and of society itself. In fact, there would scarcely be a community without children or grand-children, in the normal course of events. Children are a symbol of the continuity of society, and our hope and faith that the world goes on. Though parents and guardians are often seen as role models for children to emulate in society, as they grow up to the realities of the world around them, it is no less important to recognize that children too must have a right to voice their feelings about how they feel, what they want and what they do not prefer in regard to physical, emotional, psychological, educational and mental development. Organizations like the UNICEF, OHCHR and others have promoted the cause of children’s rights through programs like Right to Voice, the Junior 8 Summit, the Children’s Climate Forum and the Right to Know Initiative, covering everything from global climate change to knowledge about AIDS and how to prevent HIV infections. They believe that involving children in these initiatives will not only make them more aware of these important issues but in time turn them into emerging leaders and developers in society. Invariably, children’s right to voice will have a visible impact on their right to education and vice versa. Discussion What does the right to voice mean for children? How can we address the rights to voice of the child to be heard? These and related questions will form the basis for this essay. Our children are our leaders of tomorrow and listening to them and giving them a voice in decisions impacting the future of their society will certainly reap dividends by making them aware and more responsible about these issues. It is also important to fight for the rights of the child in closed societies where they are suppressed and controlled through age old hierarchical traditions. The UK and Northern Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child on 16 December 1991. This document summarizes no less than 42 tenets that must be followed by every country accepting it; furthermore there is also a responsibility to educate schools, teachers, parents and guardians on these matters (OHCHR, 1990, 1). According to Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is expected that: “The child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding. The child should be fully prepared to live an individual life in society in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity” (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1990, 1). Unfortunately, due to various social evils prevalent across different parts of the world, there are organized efforts to exploit children in various ways, ranging from child labour to slavery to prostitution. Children’s Rights Laws have been created to deal with cases involving juvenile delinquency, ensuring due process for children involved in the criminal justice system, allocating appropriate representation and effective rehabilitative services, providing for the care and protection for children under State care and ensuring proper health care advocacy and education for all children regardless of their origin, race, gender, disabilities or abilities. The aim of child rights in education and in the community is meant to ensure a hopeful existence free of violence, exploitation, poverty and neglect as experienced in many underdeveloped nations. It is clear that all children regardless of where they are born in the world have a need for and should be provided access to basic education, health services and support systems that nurture love, hope and encouragement by society. Undoubtedly all these things are required in order for them to experience childhood to the fullest and to eventually develop into responsible and capable adults. But on the contrary, we often tell children what to do and even how to think in a variety of situations that may be good or bad for them when faced with an emergency or a predicament. Even today, millions of young people around the world are exploited. They are forced to work in factories and in the sex trade, sold as slaves and even drafted to fight wars. This exploitation of children is by no means restricted to the public sphere as they are all too often the victims of violence in their own home, where physical, emotional, sexual and psychological abuse can take place. Children are easy targets for exploitation because they are used to depending on adults and social institutions for their development. They are usually unaware of their rights and unable to vote or voice their concerns on a formal basis. People working in human rights agencies and organizations in the media and education are on the forefront of determining and defending the rights of the child. However a lot of work still needs be done before we can make an attempt to enforce children’s rights everywhere. World organizations like the United Nations agencies must monitor and enforce their agendas with concerted efforts. People everywhere need to learn and care about the violations that are occurring not only in their own countries but all across the world. Writing about the key issue as to how can we hear the children’s voices and implement these in policy and practice in the classroom and beyond, Smyth (2006) found that an experiment using photography as a tool was a popular means of involving student participation, especially if they could not communicate so much in words about what they did like or did not like about school and its environment. Similarly, Allan et al. (2006) mention a school in Scotland in which both parents and school staff were encouraged to let children take responsibility for their own behaviour and attitudes in school. This not only improved the atmosphere at the school but so impressed the principal that he was prepared to also give students a voice in which teachers were to be hired in the next semester that they would be comfortable learning with. Trust, feelings of belonging and being valued are important elements in communicating with children as are creating the social networks that allow for such interaction. Children are more likely and able to express themselves when they see that an atmosphere of trust and power have been created in order to enable them to express their feelings about their environment. Finding My Magic, a series of 7 videos about the rights of the child, created by Save the Children Australia with the help of the Cathy Freeman Foundation, is a refreshing and engaging approach to telling children about their rights and responsibilities. There are a series of 12 episodes that introduce children to different aspects of life such as knowing their basic rights, differentiating between right and wrong, accepting and valuing diversity, the need for respecting privacy, using positive affirmation to correct their attitude and habits, dealing with bullying and even protecting themselves from sexual exploitation have been covered. The cartoon characters and their personalities are useful to help children enjoy the series and provide an atmosphere for learning that is enjoyable as well. The videos have been prepared in the light of the different articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Youtube, 2011). In the UK, there are organizations such as A National Voice (ANV) which has been caring for the rights of the child since 1973. Written by Mike Stein, Care Less Lives (2011) tells the story of how young people came together to talk about their care, to support each other and to campaign for improving lives in care. The events described cover what young people in those years thought about their standards of care, their feelings of stigma and control, even receiving abuse at the hands of those who were meant to care for them. But above all it is a story of altruism and collective resilience, indicating how young people can come together to improve the lives of other young people- to make their lives less problematic and less stressful. In their 2010 report on the Emotional Well Being of Children, ANV found that around 45 percent of children in care had a mental health problem affecting their overall well being, compared with 10 percent of the general population in the UK. This is quite alarming and is a wake-up call for agencies and other organizations to play an increasing role in combating this burgeoning social issue. A vast majority of this population belongs to the poorer sections of society, where lack of awareness and hesitancy to reach out for help to professionals are factors preventing the resolution of these issue. The stigma of being labelled as a family with a problem was seen as embarrassing for this section of the population, with recourse being made to alcohol and drugs as alternative easy to deal with the situation. Quite understandably, this leads to more problems and further complicates matters. It is not a wise move at all. Yet the majority of young people who have no previous experience with Care were reluctant to approach professional help as they felt that adults would not understand their problems. In responding to who they were most likely to contact for the resolution of these problems, over 50-60 percent children indicated that they would go to a family member or a friend. Only 11 percent chose a counsellor, with 9 percent preferring CAMHS and another 9 percent saying that they would tell no one but deal with it themselves. Lack of awareness and not knowing what to expect was the chief reason for their apprehension. As to alternative means to deal with the problem, 26 percent stated that they would use alcohol to drown their sorrows, 25 percent drugs and 44 percent smoking. It is thus evident that both the Government and public and private agencies should seek to enhance their roles and participation in dealing with the emotional health of the child. This could be done through questionnaires finding out where strengths and deficiencies of the current programs lie, and revamping approaches or starting new initiatives to get better results (ANV Report, 2010, 3). Rights of children, adults and other groups in society come from a variety of sources such as the Constitution, the legal system and even generally accepted moral principles across the land. Some of these rights are still being debated in courtrooms and philosopher’s meetings all over the world. The changing of rights and duties in response to public opinion is a sign of a living, breathing and thinking society. We must be as conscious of others’ rights and duties as of our own. Furthermore, this facility must be extended to all classes of society. Even the poor and destitute, the homeless and the downtrodden have certain inalienable rights that have to be respected. Regarding the topic of equality and education, philosophy professor David Schmidtz opines that we should not regard education as part of the race to get ahead of others in life, rather there should be equal educational opportunities for all. While most of society agrees on equal opportunities for education, we all want our children to be the best they can depending on the talents they possess and the interest they have in a chosen field of endeavour that they want to adopt as a career. Indeed we should encourage young people to take advantage of the best opportunities that they get in the pursuit of their goals, so as to produce the best professionals we can in every field of endeavour. This will help create a better society that is more endowed than the present one in terms of both health and wealth. We will end up with the best doctors, engineers, scientists, surgeons and researchers- taking full advantage of our educational curriculum and opportunities available both in the UK and abroad (LearnLiberty.org, 2011). Indeed people seem to be disparately concerned as to whether education lets some people get too ahead of others, while others are left too far behind. It also depends on how education is imparted to the child and how much he or she is interested in a particular subject or branch of knowledge. We should let talent and ability be the best judges of our children and the educational opportunities they get in life. Aristotle’s treatise on the virtues of a liberal vs. mechanical education makes several well considered points. He maintains that in the same manner that every state is an extension of a community, and every community exists with a view to providing the best good for its members, therefore the aim of politics or statesmanship is to provide the greatest good for the majority of the community. When society has reached this point, that all wars have been ended and there is no strife from either within or without, then its most brilliant men can afford to lie back and contemplate on what would be the best ideals for society to emulate. To achieve excellence would be the highest good and it with this in mind that society sets its own standards as ideals. As all adults in families would desire the best future for their children that they can give, so all children should likewise expect the best from their parents and from society. It is clear that some subjects would be part of the curriculum by virtue of their practical use such as reading, writing and mathematics, while others are included because of the pleasure they give, such as music. Both deserve to be appreciated in their own right. After all, we have to practice the steps and go through the procedures ourselves before we can aspire to be judges of the same. The desire for peace and harmony is a universal trait (Aristotle, 84-87). Commenting on the London riots that occurred earlier this year, Nyasha McLean writes that it is unfortunate the way that youth groups behaved in less developed and poorer areas. Rather than looting the shops and communities around them and getting a bad name for themselves, they could have acted to stop and prevent the damage thereby proving themselves worthy citizens of London. Wreaking havoc on their own communities only created shortages and problems for themselves. It is little wonder that the police and Government agencies view them with suspicion (McLean 2011). Though their frustration about the lack of jobs, housing and other facilities was understandable, behaving in such a fashion only made the situation worse for themselves. Sadly, many parts of London have been connected and separated by walls and bridges that bring exclusion and distance between communities. It is notable that some of these structures have arisen out of necessity and as a means of protecting citizens on one side of the border. It is not a pretty picture but is nevertheless deemed necessary to stop incidents of crime and lawlessness to some extent (Headliners, 2011). An article by the Department of Education UK makes reference to the fact that children’s rights and wishes should be respected before making decisions about them. In fact Section 22 of the Children’s Rights Act of 1989 dictates that a written record should be kept of the wishes of the children and looked at before care agencies take any action in this regard. The same will be referred to by an Independent Review Officer looking at cases where such action was taken by a care agency worker. So whether in terms of care, education or the like, it is much better to follow the dictates and provisions of the Law (Jones, 2010, 101-102). The Children’s Right Alliance for England reiterates that the voices and viewpoints of children need to be heard in the classroom as well as the formation of curriculum and this was also part of the Children Education and Skills Act 2008 (CRAE, 2009) which put this responsibility on school governing bodies. However it is not been taken as seriously as it should and the voice of children is being marginalised. The Every Child Matters Green Paper (2003) put certain responsibilities on the shoulders of the Director for Children’s Services and the Lead Manager for Children’s Services who are jointly liable for the strategy and planning for this initiative in the local community. This was further clarified in the Children Act 2004, which requires that every upper tier local authority appoint a DCS and an LM who shall work together to ensure that every child in the community is provided with adequate access to services regarding education, health and overall well being. The bottom line as stated by Lord Laming’s recommendation is that “the single most important change in the future must be the drawing of a clear line of accountability, from top to bottom, without doubt or ambiguity about who is responsible at every level for the well-being of vulnerable children.” This also puts certain responsibilities on the Council Leader and Chief Executive of the local community. The DCS and the LM should work out the priorities in each local area and act upon them accordingly. The plan for children’s priorities has been created in the backdrop of various other national plans and reports such as the child health strategy Healthy lives, brighter futures, the Children’s Plan Building Brighter Futures and the White Paper Your child, your school, our future: building a 21st century school system. It also looks at the recommendations made by Lord Laming in The Protection of Children in England: a Progress Report and outlines the Government’s response to it. Building Brighter Futures envisions England as best place in the world for youngsters to grow up. Healthy Lives, Brighter Futures ensures that children in the community enjoy a better future through health initiatives worked through the Children’s Trust. Your child, your school, our future: building a 21st century school system reiterates the need for schools to work collaboratively with other services to meet the needs of children and young people as early as possible, so that they do not become distracted or disengaged from learning and barriers to their learning can be overcome. In this manner, both the children and young people can be supported in their quest for progress and understanding (Williams, 2004, 259). Conclusion We have seen though the course of this paper how the child’s right to voice has been incorporated in the school and learning curriculum in England, the UK and Ireland and also the initiatives in different parts of the world such as Africa and Australia to introduce the rights of the child to both children themselves as well as their guardians, teachers and family members- in fact anyone who comes into contact with them in the context of their daily living and development. World organizations like the UNHCR, WHO and UNICEF are also helping raise awareness regarding education, health, access to potable water and other such basic necessities in deprived and backward countries of the world. It is clear that child’s right to voice must be respected and upheld in their quest for education and the path to a better and more sustainable future. References Allan, J., I’Anson, J., Priestley, A. and Fisher, S. Promising rights: children’s rights in school. Edinburgh: Save the Children, 2006. A National Voice.org. Emotional Well Being Report 2010. Accessed on 15 Dec 2011 at http://moodle.roehampton.ac.uk/file.php/3986/well_being_report.pdf Aristotle. The Nature and Aims of Education. From Barnes, J. The Complete Works of Aristotle, Politics, Books VII and VIII. Trans.by Jowett, B. Princeton University Press, NJ, 1984. Children’s Rights Alliance for England. Right to Be Heard. Accessed on 15 Dec 2011 at http://www.crae.org.uk/protecting/right-heard.html Department of Education, UK. The Roles and Responsibilities of the Lead Member for Children's Services and the Director of Children's Services, July 2009. Department of Education, UK. Voice of the Child. Children and young people. 11 Oct 2011. Accessed on 15 Dec 2011 at http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/families/childrenincare/regs/a0074845/voice-of-the-child Headliners (2011). Walls and Bridges. Accessed on 15 Dec 2011 at http://www.headliners.org/storylibrary/stories/2011/Walls+and+Bridges Equality and Education. Accessed on 15 Dec 2011 at LearnLiberty.org. Jones, P & Welch.S. Rights and the 'Child's Voice' in Rethinking Children's Rights, London, Continuum Press 2010, pp.85-109. McLean, N. London Riots: Fighting for justice or just stealing? From Headliners. Accessed on 15 Dec 2011 at http://www.headliners.org/storylibrary/stories/2011/london_riots.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished.rss Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR). Convention on the Rights of the Child. General Assembly Resolution 44/25 of 20 Dec 1989. In accordance with Article 49, brought into force on 02 Sep 1990. Smyth, G. Bilingual Pupil’s Creative Responses to a Monolingual Curriculum, in B. Jeffrey (Ed.) Creative Learning and Student Perspectives, London: Tufnell Press, 2006. Stein, M. Care Less Lives: The Story of the Rights Movement of Young People in Care. Catch 22 Books, UK, 2011. Youtube. Finding my Magic-Children Rights Series. Uploaded 08 Dec 2011. Accessed on 15 Dec 2011 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wzcA5TXDbU Williams, S. Children's Express: A voice for young people in an adult world in Franklin, B. The New Handbook of Children's Rights. London, Routledge 2004,     pp.254-267. Read More