Tuesday, 23 March 2010

Students into Politics - Superb!

Max congratulations to the innovative and determined students at South Dartmoor Community College.
As some-one with a schools-based background I experienced the under-investment of the Tories, when they were in power - falling far short of ensuring a decent education for every pupil, every student, in every school and college.
I'm so proud that the results of years of massive Labour Government investment in education were so wonderfully
demonstrated last night. Well over 100 students, parents and interested members of the public enjoyed the entrance display featuring major political and social issues while being treated to a fab feast laid on by the College's Catering students.
The hall itself had been stage-lit and set up to accommodate the audience with the Panel on a raised dias and space in front for student performances -
  • two dance performances evoking the dramatic era of women's suffrage
  • a politcial drama, doubly effective by means of  its understated simplicity
  • a student band whose intense performance of Rage Against the Machine was relished by all
Inbetween the perfomances a wide variety of challenging questions were to put to the Panel of local constutuency candidates, activists and student representative Sophie Garner: a confident young woman whose views carried weight. For me, to discover that her personal sense of empowerment had a strong feminist base, was an added bonus.
Feminism, like the other '-isms' - socialism, humanism, capitalism - is a world-view about how best we should live together on Planet Earth.
But it is the only '-ism' which from the start includes girls and women as 50% of the picture. If a suffragette could have been present at last night's event, seeing young women and men combining their talents to tackle difficult political issues, she would have known her sacrifices to have been worthwhile.
Whatever political solutions are needed in this 21st Century, South Dartmoor Community College students cannot fail to be amongst the best proponents for a better future. Congratulations.

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