Education has to be done with young people, not to them - how to make staying on a carrot not a stick

I’ve already talked about this week’s cross-party report on the professions and social mobility. There was another important report this week on raising the participation age to 18, by the Youth Commission; a project established by Barry Sheerman MP, chair of the Select Committee for Children, Schools and Families with the Edge Learner Forum.

The report is based on responses from over 4,000 young people to questionnaires, an on-line survey and workshops designed and run by young people themselves. They found:

• 58% are in favour of staying until 18, with 31% against
  
• 70% of bad experiences happen within the classroom, 64% of the best happen outside
  
• 78% feel there is too much pressure from exams, and 41% believe the best way of showing what they are good at is through a mixture of exams, coursework, practical work and performances
  
• changes they want to see are about how and what they learn; 48% say they learn best practically
  
• 44% do not feel they receive good advice on work options

The young people conclude with six solutions. I urge you to read them and consider which you think are better: the Youth Commission’s six or Milburn’s 80 recommendations? Seriously, check it out! You need look no further for proof of the importance of greater engagement of young people in their own learning. To misquote their sixth solution: education has to be done with young people, not to them.