I've had a weekend of periodically looking into how daft the DCSF really is. Leaving aside for a moment how effective it really is in flushing billions of pounds down the plughole every single year in pursuit of higher and higher artificial grades rather than ensuring that ALL children leave secondary school armed with the basics.
Also leaving aside just how many DCSF 'policies' are actually brought in not to help children learn but to shaft any future Conservative government I have come across one of the most mind numbingly dumb documents that ALL state schools, even the charitable state Academies, are expected to implement and follow.
This document is breathtaking in the way in which it tries to 'engineer' the correct result as viewed by the current DCSF head honcho, Ed Balls MP, a cabal of civil servants and the odd 'educational', 'terrorist' radical 'extremist' 'expert' or three'.
It is sadly not the only loony document in the DCSF's arsenal of
'How to Manufacture Ideal Citizens In The 21st Century Multi Cultural, Multi Linguistic, Politically Correct EU State, The Dis-United Kingdom' documents, videos and speeches but it stands out as one of the most moronic.
It's a long one 47 pages long in fact so I don't recommend reading all of it as you would lose the will to live long before you got a quarter of the way through.
Instead read Mr Ed's introduction which I have tastefully commented on in the obligatory purple.
Dealing with violent extremism is nothing new. Throughout history there have been groups prepared to use violence to achieve their aims. Twenty years ago the major threat we faced was from Irish terrorism.
How very true. I lived right through those years where the IRA and others were actually bombing things here in mainland UK. I never once felt my life was at all threatened by the IRA as statistically I was more in danger from being run over by a car than by being killed by a terrorist bomb. As today's terrorists are in reality after the Yanks and only make token gestures to bomb indiscriminate UK targets and the number of cars on the road has ballooned I don't feel any different.
Today we face a different threat. A small minority seek to radicalise young people with an ideology which justifies the use of violence through a distorted interpretation of a peaceful religion. While violent extremism influenced by Al Qaida poses the greatest threat to life, other forms of extremism and prejudice are also affecting individuals and communities across the country and can be a catalyst for alienation and disaffection and potentially lead to violence.
This is frankly shocking. What he is prattling on about here is the Islamic world but he cannot bring himself to say Islam or Muslim just in case someone somewhere is offended and a fatwah is issued to 'get Balls'. If he stopped pontificating for split second and canvassed a few countries he would find that most people the international community class as terrorists are not in fact Muslim or followers of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are the best at getting press inches of course which is often the best ever terrorist target.
We have learnt from past experience that a security response is not enough. We need to address the underlying issues that can attract people towards violent extremist causes. The view expressed on a young woman's blog - 'instead of rappers glamourising gun-crime, it is extremists glamourising terrorism' - is a reminder of how real this challenge is and the importance of engaging with today's children and young people if we are to make a difference in the longer term.
Who is the mythical 'we'?
Does he mean the government or the people?
As with much of what Ed spouts it's 'suitably vague' and meaningless.
Our goal must be to empower young people to come together, with their families and the wider community, to expose violent extremists and reject cruelty and violence in whatever form it takes.
Schools can make an important contribution, being a focal point for local communities and helping to build mutual respect and understanding.
I really don't know where he gets the schools being the focal point for local communities from. True his party is spending an absolute fortune to make schools the centre of all manner of public services but he is just dreaming if he things this has already been achieved. Is he really saying we should all be spying on each other to root out 'extremists' because the government agencies don't work?
Who knows but the chances are if anyone exposes an 'alleged extremist' but the courts don't agree there is every possibility of communities being split asunder not brought together.
Extremists of all persuasions try to paint the world as black and white, accentuating division and difference, and exploiting fears based on ignorance or prejudice. Education can be a powerful weapon against this, equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and reflex to think for themselves, to challenge and to debate; and giving young people the opportunity to learn about different cultures and faiths and, crucially, to gain an understanding of the values we share.
New age rubbish that obviously doesn't work judging by the number of protest groups from both sides of the argument who have no trouble surviving in Blairs 'multi-cultural' Britain. Learning about their own culture first should be a fundamental of education if the young are to grow up wise but all too often our own culture is subverted to study some foreign culture hence we get BNP people becoming councillors and Euro MP's.
Exploring ideas, developing a sense of identity and forming views are a normal part of growing up.
Schools can support young people in this: providing a safe environment for discussing controversial issues and helping young people understand how they can influence and participate in decision-making.
And who decides if an issue is controversial?
Who decides if it is acceptable to talk about a controversial issue?
What impact does circumstance have on controversy?
The man's an idiot. Notice how he only wants young people to 'participate' in decision making. Personally I'd happily hand the country over to a parliament whose average age was 21 as at least they are in with a shout of making Britain work. Balls & Co are clueless thieves as they have proved with their 'expenses' scandal.
We need to encourage young people to express their views but also to appreciate the impact their views can have on others, to take responsibility for their actions and to understand that the use of violence to further any cause is criminal.
How mad is this statement?
Certain people don't like the Taliban because they encourage Afghans to grow opium and flog it here in the UK, possibly. Some people don't like the Taliban because they are extreme in the way in with they enforce their version of Islam. No problem with that but if violence isn't the answer why are their thousands of British troops out there risking their lives to basically kill as many Taliban as possible.
Kids are not born stupid. So therefore following the mad Balls line to it's ultimate conclusion not only is every soldier a criminal every politician who sent them to get a 'bit heavy handed' with the Taliban are criminals too!
We also need to recognise that, while it remains very rare for school age children to become involved in extremist activity to the point of committing criminal acts, young people can be exposed to extremist influences or prejudiced views, including via the internet, from an early age. As with other forms of criminality or risk of harm, early intervention is always preferable. Schools, working with other local partners, families and communities, can help support pupils who may be vulnerable as part of wider
safeguarding responsibilities.
Ooh the scary Internet. The internet scares the hell out of people like Ed Balls because getting away with lying to the masses is getting harder and harder. So the liars in power seek to demonise the Internet to keep the young suppressed. The truth is as with all things in the human world there are good aspects to the Internet and their are bad, depending on your point of view in the same way that the vast majority of Catholic priests are honourable and honest people and some are... well do a Google and find out for yourself. Suffice to say they may all pray to the same god but they don't all carry out 'his work' the same way. The same is true of whatever walk of life you choose to examine.
However I actually agree with Ed that early intervention is preferable but that intervention has to come from the family first, the local community second and the state as a last resort.
We have spent a lot of time over recent months talking to young people, teachers, local authorities, police and community representatives about the challenge of preventing violent extremism. I have been struck by your commitment and readiness to engage with what is one of the most challenging and important issues facing our society today.
Sorry Ed you are wrong. The most pressing and challenging issue facing us all today is that your party has bankrupted our country.
You have asked for more practical advice and support about the positive contribution you can make in partnership with others in your local area. This toolkit aims to do that, building on much of the excellent work already taking place in schools and communities across the country.
Remember this 'toolkit' is aimed at schools. Now my sons were both at school when Ed was asking for peoples views and neither school told me he was asking nor did they say they had felt the need to ask Ed for support. Perhaps Ed Balls lives in a parallel universe.
The toolkit is not exhaustive, nor does it aim to be prescriptive - local partners will need to work together to develop responses that are tailored to particular communities' needs. For that reason I am asking local authorities to work with the police and others to provide customised information to go alongside the toolkit and to take the lead in ensuring all local schools are aware of the issues and are supported in this work.
The classic New Labour 'Get Out Of Jail' card. It is only meant to be a guide. It's up to the people in the front line to decide how to implement it's contents.
Preventing violent extremism must be a shared endeavour. I am grateful to young people and to colleagues across the education community and beyond for their views and input to this work so far.
I look forward to working with you further as we move forward together to build more cohesive and resilient communities, helping all children and young people to achieve their potential, make a positive contribution and stay safe.
I wish I could say I was looking forwards to the day that Mr Balls is put out to pasture but sadly it is looking like he will be replaced by a blue coloured Ed Balls clone called Mr Gove, unless of course the BNP manage to get enough votes to form a coalition with The Monster Raving Loony party and the Greens. Then anything could happen and whatever it was it would likely be better than either Labour or Conservative offerings.
Ed Balls
Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
Link
This document is breathtaking in the way in which it tries to 'engineer' the correct result as viewed by the current DCSF head honcho, Ed Balls MP, a cabal of civil servants and the odd 'educational', 'terrorist' radical 'extremist' 'expert' or three'.
It is sadly not the only loony document in the DCSF's arsenal of
'How to Manufacture Ideal Citizens In The 21st Century Multi Cultural, Multi Linguistic, Politically Correct EU State, The Dis-United Kingdom' documents, videos and speeches but it stands out as one of the most moronic.
It's a long one 47 pages long in fact so I don't recommend reading all of it as you would lose the will to live long before you got a quarter of the way through.
Instead read Mr Ed's introduction which I have tastefully commented on in the obligatory purple.
Dealing with violent extremism is nothing new. Throughout history there have been groups prepared to use violence to achieve their aims. Twenty years ago the major threat we faced was from Irish terrorism.
How very true. I lived right through those years where the IRA and others were actually bombing things here in mainland UK. I never once felt my life was at all threatened by the IRA as statistically I was more in danger from being run over by a car than by being killed by a terrorist bomb. As today's terrorists are in reality after the Yanks and only make token gestures to bomb indiscriminate UK targets and the number of cars on the road has ballooned I don't feel any different.
Today we face a different threat. A small minority seek to radicalise young people with an ideology which justifies the use of violence through a distorted interpretation of a peaceful religion. While violent extremism influenced by Al Qaida poses the greatest threat to life, other forms of extremism and prejudice are also affecting individuals and communities across the country and can be a catalyst for alienation and disaffection and potentially lead to violence.
This is frankly shocking. What he is prattling on about here is the Islamic world but he cannot bring himself to say Islam or Muslim just in case someone somewhere is offended and a fatwah is issued to 'get Balls'. If he stopped pontificating for split second and canvassed a few countries he would find that most people the international community class as terrorists are not in fact Muslim or followers of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are the best at getting press inches of course which is often the best ever terrorist target.
We have learnt from past experience that a security response is not enough. We need to address the underlying issues that can attract people towards violent extremist causes. The view expressed on a young woman's blog - 'instead of rappers glamourising gun-crime, it is extremists glamourising terrorism' - is a reminder of how real this challenge is and the importance of engaging with today's children and young people if we are to make a difference in the longer term.
Who is the mythical 'we'?
Does he mean the government or the people?
As with much of what Ed spouts it's 'suitably vague' and meaningless.
Our goal must be to empower young people to come together, with their families and the wider community, to expose violent extremists and reject cruelty and violence in whatever form it takes.
Schools can make an important contribution, being a focal point for local communities and helping to build mutual respect and understanding.
I really don't know where he gets the schools being the focal point for local communities from. True his party is spending an absolute fortune to make schools the centre of all manner of public services but he is just dreaming if he things this has already been achieved. Is he really saying we should all be spying on each other to root out 'extremists' because the government agencies don't work?
Who knows but the chances are if anyone exposes an 'alleged extremist' but the courts don't agree there is every possibility of communities being split asunder not brought together.
Extremists of all persuasions try to paint the world as black and white, accentuating division and difference, and exploiting fears based on ignorance or prejudice. Education can be a powerful weapon against this, equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and reflex to think for themselves, to challenge and to debate; and giving young people the opportunity to learn about different cultures and faiths and, crucially, to gain an understanding of the values we share.
New age rubbish that obviously doesn't work judging by the number of protest groups from both sides of the argument who have no trouble surviving in Blairs 'multi-cultural' Britain. Learning about their own culture first should be a fundamental of education if the young are to grow up wise but all too often our own culture is subverted to study some foreign culture hence we get BNP people becoming councillors and Euro MP's.
Exploring ideas, developing a sense of identity and forming views are a normal part of growing up.
Schools can support young people in this: providing a safe environment for discussing controversial issues and helping young people understand how they can influence and participate in decision-making.
And who decides if an issue is controversial?
Who decides if it is acceptable to talk about a controversial issue?
What impact does circumstance have on controversy?
The man's an idiot. Notice how he only wants young people to 'participate' in decision making. Personally I'd happily hand the country over to a parliament whose average age was 21 as at least they are in with a shout of making Britain work. Balls & Co are clueless thieves as they have proved with their 'expenses' scandal.
We need to encourage young people to express their views but also to appreciate the impact their views can have on others, to take responsibility for their actions and to understand that the use of violence to further any cause is criminal.
How mad is this statement?
Certain people don't like the Taliban because they encourage Afghans to grow opium and flog it here in the UK, possibly. Some people don't like the Taliban because they are extreme in the way in with they enforce their version of Islam. No problem with that but if violence isn't the answer why are their thousands of British troops out there risking their lives to basically kill as many Taliban as possible.
Kids are not born stupid. So therefore following the mad Balls line to it's ultimate conclusion not only is every soldier a criminal every politician who sent them to get a 'bit heavy handed' with the Taliban are criminals too!
We also need to recognise that, while it remains very rare for school age children to become involved in extremist activity to the point of committing criminal acts, young people can be exposed to extremist influences or prejudiced views, including via the internet, from an early age. As with other forms of criminality or risk of harm, early intervention is always preferable. Schools, working with other local partners, families and communities, can help support pupils who may be vulnerable as part of wider
safeguarding responsibilities.
Ooh the scary Internet. The internet scares the hell out of people like Ed Balls because getting away with lying to the masses is getting harder and harder. So the liars in power seek to demonise the Internet to keep the young suppressed. The truth is as with all things in the human world there are good aspects to the Internet and their are bad, depending on your point of view in the same way that the vast majority of Catholic priests are honourable and honest people and some are... well do a Google and find out for yourself. Suffice to say they may all pray to the same god but they don't all carry out 'his work' the same way. The same is true of whatever walk of life you choose to examine.
However I actually agree with Ed that early intervention is preferable but that intervention has to come from the family first, the local community second and the state as a last resort.
We have spent a lot of time over recent months talking to young people, teachers, local authorities, police and community representatives about the challenge of preventing violent extremism. I have been struck by your commitment and readiness to engage with what is one of the most challenging and important issues facing our society today.
Sorry Ed you are wrong. The most pressing and challenging issue facing us all today is that your party has bankrupted our country.
You have asked for more practical advice and support about the positive contribution you can make in partnership with others in your local area. This toolkit aims to do that, building on much of the excellent work already taking place in schools and communities across the country.
Remember this 'toolkit' is aimed at schools. Now my sons were both at school when Ed was asking for peoples views and neither school told me he was asking nor did they say they had felt the need to ask Ed for support. Perhaps Ed Balls lives in a parallel universe.
The toolkit is not exhaustive, nor does it aim to be prescriptive - local partners will need to work together to develop responses that are tailored to particular communities' needs. For that reason I am asking local authorities to work with the police and others to provide customised information to go alongside the toolkit and to take the lead in ensuring all local schools are aware of the issues and are supported in this work.
The classic New Labour 'Get Out Of Jail' card. It is only meant to be a guide. It's up to the people in the front line to decide how to implement it's contents.
Preventing violent extremism must be a shared endeavour. I am grateful to young people and to colleagues across the education community and beyond for their views and input to this work so far.
I look forward to working with you further as we move forward together to build more cohesive and resilient communities, helping all children and young people to achieve their potential, make a positive contribution and stay safe.
I wish I could say I was looking forwards to the day that Mr Balls is put out to pasture but sadly it is looking like he will be replaced by a blue coloured Ed Balls clone called Mr Gove, unless of course the BNP manage to get enough votes to form a coalition with The Monster Raving Loony party and the Greens. Then anything could happen and whatever it was it would likely be better than either Labour or Conservative offerings.
Ed Balls
Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
Link
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