Youths- image by Dave Souza
Once upon a time children ran around in green fields, played hopscotch and climbed trees then along came knives, guns and hoodies and suddenly 'youths' are the most feared group in society. But are today's youngsters really as bad as we think or is it just that don't feel connected to the world around them?
Female First spoke to founder of Coco de Mer Samantha Roddick and rapper Sway about the disengagement of youth and how we can combat it.
"I think the Government need to back off," says Samantha Roddick when asked what the solution is to the crisis of youth that seems to be running riot in the UK at the moment.
"You can't stop these things by enforcing more laws," she adds, "You have to engage with youths and allow them to figure out how to solve their own internal problems and give them the basic skills to be able to do that."
Sam is one of the famous faces backing a new website aimed at giving youths a voice and encouraging them to get engaged in national and global issues- and being the daughter of outspoken Bodyshop founder Anita Roddick we weren't suprised that she had plenty to say on the subject.
We're being told day after day how the young people of the UK are out of control and while the Government debate new ways to control their behaviour we examine an alternative view that lets these intelligent young people figure it out for themselves.
"I don’t think young people get enough credit for actually being intelligent and being able to have a say and actually affect what’s going on in the world today," says Sway, a 25 year old successful rapper from North London, who is also backing the new site.
Sway
"I’m a young person myself I know what its like," he adds, "Without music I would be just like any other young person, not really having a voice."
So is it really just a case of young people feeling lost in society and not really knowing where they belong? Feeling like you don't have a place amongst your peers is bound to cause confusion and resentment and could well be the reason why some many young people seem to be turning to the security of their own groups and gangs where they feel they belong.
Sam thinks that gang warfare isn't just about these kids having negative feelings and hatred for the rest of society but she thinks they are actually scared: "These kids aren't bad inherently," she says, "They are scared. But we have to ask why are they so scared and disenchanted?"
And Sam isn't alone in thinking that the education system actually has a lot to do with why young people feel so lost in the world today. Many people are calling for the strict results based assesment systems to make way for a more flexible education that can fit every child's needs.
"Schools should look at how they are assessing kids and how they are engaging them," says Sam, "Teachers are just as frustrated with the whole system as the kids are."
"The reality is that if school isn't inspiring them then these kids become disenchanted because their souls aren't being fed with things that reflect who they are and what they want to be."
"We have to allow them to develop their own areas which they are interested in and allow them to create their own education rather than control them with it," suggests Sam.
But can we trust children to make such important decisions about their future?
"These kids aren't stupid. They are smarter than the politicians in some ways," argues Sam
No one is saying all kids are stupid but as adults we can appreciate the value of getting a good start in life and making the most of your youth in order to develop the skills you need for later in life- even if we didn't take heed in our younger days. But with so many other distractions affecting modern young people can they prioritise education over having fun with friends, getting hold of the hottest new mobile phone or being popular amongst their peers?
However, us grown ups don't always seem to be doing such a good job of guiding young people towards the best future they could hope for so perhaps it is time to hand over some power to the kids themselves.
"You can't solve things by becoming more domineering or restrictive. That's just going to perpetuate the problem," says Sam, "You basically have to engage the youth's intelligence and provide forums where these kids can find solutions for themselves."
Ctrl.Alt.Shift is the latest project by Christian Aid which aims to get the ball rolling on this issue. A survey carried out to launch the new website found that 85% of youths do actually want to change things around them but they just don't know how to go about it.
The site is similar to the popular social networking sites but users can engage with issues, sign up for petitions, upload their own content and involve themselves in action groups. This is definitely a step towards giving them their own forum but is it enough?
Is the stereotypical hooded youth brandishing a knife on the street corner really likely to sit in front of a computer debating issues such as education, the environment and what's going on in Dafur? Perhaps not. But why not?
The truth is these kids won't just suddenly feel empowered and start engaging in issues if they have not been brought up to do so. The problem of disengagement is often a seed planted before they even get to school and the reason is that their parents feel exactly the same.
"I think parents play a huge part," says Sam, "I think some parents feel very much the same as kids feel and they are not engaged themselves. I don't think people realise how powerful they are as individuals."
So if we don't feel like we matter and that we can really make a difference to the world around us how can we expect our kids to feel any different? The reality is that a democratic society just doesn't work properly unless we all stand up and be counted. We can't just leave the responsibility of the future on young shoulders- it's about time we all got our soap boxes out more often and shouted about the things we feel passionate about. That's the only way to make real change.
Caz Moss- Female First
Once upon a time children ran around in green fields, played hopscotch and climbed trees then along came knives, guns and hoodies and suddenly 'youths' are the most feared group in society. But are today's youngsters really as bad as we think or is it just that don't feel connected to the world around them?
Female First spoke to founder of Coco de Mer Samantha Roddick and rapper Sway about the disengagement of youth and how we can combat it.
"I think the Government need to back off," says Samantha Roddick when asked what the solution is to the crisis of youth that seems to be running riot in the UK at the moment.
"You can't stop these things by enforcing more laws," she adds, "You have to engage with youths and allow them to figure out how to solve their own internal problems and give them the basic skills to be able to do that."
Sam is one of the famous faces backing a new website aimed at giving youths a voice and encouraging them to get engaged in national and global issues- and being the daughter of outspoken Bodyshop founder Anita Roddick we weren't suprised that she had plenty to say on the subject.
We're being told day after day how the young people of the UK are out of control and while the Government debate new ways to control their behaviour we examine an alternative view that lets these intelligent young people figure it out for themselves.
"I don’t think young people get enough credit for actually being intelligent and being able to have a say and actually affect what’s going on in the world today," says Sway, a 25 year old successful rapper from North London, who is also backing the new site.
Sway
"I’m a young person myself I know what its like," he adds, "Without music I would be just like any other young person, not really having a voice."
So is it really just a case of young people feeling lost in society and not really knowing where they belong? Feeling like you don't have a place amongst your peers is bound to cause confusion and resentment and could well be the reason why some many young people seem to be turning to the security of their own groups and gangs where they feel they belong.
Sam thinks that gang warfare isn't just about these kids having negative feelings and hatred for the rest of society but she thinks they are actually scared: "These kids aren't bad inherently," she says, "They are scared. But we have to ask why are they so scared and disenchanted?"
And Sam isn't alone in thinking that the education system actually has a lot to do with why young people feel so lost in the world today. Many people are calling for the strict results based assesment systems to make way for a more flexible education that can fit every child's needs.
"Schools should look at how they are assessing kids and how they are engaging them," says Sam, "Teachers are just as frustrated with the whole system as the kids are."
"The reality is that if school isn't inspiring them then these kids become disenchanted because their souls aren't being fed with things that reflect who they are and what they want to be."
"We have to allow them to develop their own areas which they are interested in and allow them to create their own education rather than control them with it," suggests Sam.
But can we trust children to make such important decisions about their future?
"These kids aren't stupid. They are smarter than the politicians in some ways," argues Sam