Guardian UK: Why shouldn't children skip lessons to protest?

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Why shouldn't children skip lessons to protest?
A teacher accused of letting pupils out to protest has been suspended – but such engagement in politics is educational

Simone Webb
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 8 February 2011 13.00 GMT



Student protest … 'Sue Caldwell took the ideals of political involvement out of the classroom and on to the street.' Photograph: Gabriel Szabo/Guzelian


Political apathy among young people is a problem frequently commented on by politicians and journalists. I am constantly told how disconnected my generation is with the political system and how we need to get more involved.

At Harlow college, where I'm a student, there were several events last year to motivate us politically, including a citizenship conference and a hustings with the constituency's parliamentary candidates. It was hard, therefore, not to be slightly frustrated to read about the teacher Sue Caldwell, of Friern Barnet school, who was suspended for allegedly encouraging students to skip school so they could participate in the recent protests against education cuts and fees – an allegation she denies.

Obviously, skipping school is never something to make a habit of. Teachers should be wary of urging students outright to take time off – but the reasons for doing so have to be taken into account, and in this case the suggestion is that the teacher was doing so to get her pupils politically involved. To suspend a teacher seems an extreme reaction – wouldn't a reprimand be enough? – and completely misses the point that education is not just confined to the classroom.

One or two days missed school rarely harmed anyone; if someone is ill for a couple of days, it's usually fairly easy to catch up. My college will also allow students days off for educational purposes: I legitimately took a day off in September to attend the Labour party conference, which was extremely beneficial to my studies of government and politics. School trips often involve missing certain lessons (although they don't usually involve police charges). ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/08/teacher-children-suspended-protest