Editorial: UK education reform is a step forward

Spectre of domestic terrorism prompts Britain to reform education toward creating a greater national identity

This week's op-ed piece written for the Humber EtCetera:

By James Sturgeon
02-02-2007

An epic struggle is currently underway in the United Kingdom that Canada's education policymakers should observe closely.

At root, it's a struggle to mend and unify a population that has become, according to British Education Secretary Alan Johnson, increasingly fragmented and disenfranchised.

The most recent manifestations of this occurred two weeks ago, with the arrest of nine suspects in raids on Jan. 31 in Birmingham, England on charges of conspiring to kidnap and publicly murder a British Muslim soldier.

The suspects are alleged to be Muslim extremists exacting revenge on a “traitor,” according to a website reported by the BBC.

The raids took place a mere five days after Secretary Johnson announced the completion of a report calling for a deep and comprehensive redesign of what is being taught in that nation’s classrooms – starting with a greater emphasis on an inclusive national history, compulsory until the age of 16.

The arrests illustrate the crux of what the education reforms are trying to fix: Britain’s multicultural society has no clear identity of itself, or a collective vision for its future.

In such a diverse environment, divisive angst – most acutely felt towards government and its role in Iraq and Afghanistan - has filled this vacuum.

The effort by the British to create a national identity through a shared and common history is the best measure yet by a Western government to quell these anxieties – not just from British Muslims, but from all uncertain Britons.

There exists a myriad of problems that confront the liberal-democratic state in the twenty-first century, but chief among them is the integration of a growing kaleidoscope of vastly different cultural groups who have different worldviews, values and social expectations.

Johnson's report may represent a (nascent) solution to the inherent friction such differences typically cause.

The program, called “Identity and Diversity: Living together in the UK," is a bottom-up approach that aims to generate a culture every member of society holds an equal stake in.

This may sound like a rehashing of an old idea, and indeed, it is. The education system is designed to normalize individuals into society.

But this is the first attempt since the attacks of 9/11 by a Western state to use a method beyond bludgeoning its will for security upon those who are subversive to stability.

It’s an attempt to knead out those inflammatory elements, not incite them.

This may also be disagreeable to those who would say that their own history deserves separate recognition - not a role in a multi-faceted one.

But than where does unity and cohesion come from?

On some level, we must share something in order to peacefully co-exist, and history is an excellent starting point.

The fruits of the reforms will be greater integration and opportunity for all.

Canada can also learn something from Britain’s struggle.

The arrest of 18 young adults in Toronto last June on charges of plotting to bomb several targets in Ontario is an ominous example that even our seemingly tolerant society is capable of breaking down in similar fashion.

In an age where disgruntled and terror-minded groups can operate easier than ever before, nations must not fail in unifying all elements of society to ensure mutual security.

Creating a common story that all lawful people hold a place in is the first step in doing so.

- JS

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."
- Charles Darwin