According to Angus (personal communication, July 21, 2011), children are citizens. That is, he considers them to be active participants within society, agents of their own lives, and rights holders. I tend to agree with him - to an extent. I believe children are citizens, but their participation and agency is facilitated by adults, as are their rights. Children need support from their parents to join a sports team, they need their teacher to provide them with opportunities to build their independence, and they need humanitarians to stand up for their rights. So, will kids always be kids? I believe the answer to be no. Kids are learner citizens. Therefore, I believe children to be learner citizens.
Whilst discussing how to reduce instances of bullying within schools, Boyd (2008) makes a good point. She states that school community needs to "empower [it's] young people" (p. 4). This resonated within me because as learner citizens, children need to be given the opportunity to take control. They need to be able to develop the skills that will enable them to function independently within society, without adult facilitation. Letting children take ownership over their behaviour is a good start (Boyd, 2008), however, I do understand their are other ways children can develop their agency. For instance, providing independent and self-directed learning experiences will allow children to take control of their learning, and develop the skills that will permit them to take control of their lives as citizens.
So, will kids always be kids? I believe the answer to be no. Kids transform from being learner citizens to citizens through adult facilitation.
Check out teaching tips that will help me facilitate my learner citizens' learning.
- I will consider all of my students to be learner citizens who need support to develop their independence. To help them, I will provide them with various independent and self-directed learning experiences across a range of curriculum areas.
- I will involve my students in the planning process. They will help me to identify their needs and wants, and we will work together to develop ways we can all express how we feel about our learning.
- Together, my students and I will create learning contracts that specific their rights and responsibilities within the classroom and the school. This will help them to develop an appreciation for the importance of their own rights within society.
Is childhood disappearing from contemporary society?
Have a look at this extract to find out about how the boundaries between childhood and adult hood are blurring.
Will kids be kids? Well, accord
