listen again - The Moral Maze

You can catch this radio 4 programme on listen again here (not sure how long they keep it up for)
mac users can add a listen again widget to their dashboards - i use it loads.

Have we become scared of young people and are we right to be? This week airport-style scanners are announced for Britain’s toughest schools in a clampdown on knives and even the Home Secretary says she’d be scared to walk the streets of East London at night. Add that to the recent cases of attacks by teenage thugs which have affected law-abiding citizens and the fear of violence is palpable. But is it warranted and if it is can society rediscover the moral atmosphere that relies on trust and respect?

Have adults lost the confidence and ability to give any discipline or authority? Has the child protection agenda gone too far and left children knowing their rights and trusting no adults? Or is the coverage of the worst, tragic cases concentrating on violence which is unrepresentative of a whole generation?

this programme sparked off loads of reactions, thoughts and ideas in me especially around the need for youth workers to be catalysts for building intergenerational local community. i agreed with many of the commentators regarding the problems but not necessarily with their solutions - not massively impressed by the person from children's society. The head teacher featured used to be the head of Islington Green which is our local school - i used to do some work there with him.