Youth Parliamentary Debate by Charles Mulele That was parliament week.

During that week I attended a youth debate at the Cone ygre Youth Centre in Tipton. It wasn't a conventional debate in the style of Bar ack Obama vs Mitt Romney but it was effective. We were divided into groups of 5 tables with an average membership of 5. The debate was conducted in a forum. The topics on debate were Make public transport cheaper, better and accessible f or all. The motion for the debate is as follows: We need to improve pricing stru cture, cleanliness, frequency, reliability, and treatment of young people on pub lic transport, including those in rural areas. Eric from National Express was there to hear what the young people were saying e specially concerning public transport. Getting ready for work. The motion for the debate was as follows: The rate of yo uth unemployment is too high and young people need better education, skills deve lopment, apprenticeships and mentoring schemes to help equip them with the right tools to enter the employment market. Every school pupil should have the opport unity to participate in work experience, in an external working environment, for a minimum of one week in a field of their choice, as well as access to opportun ities linking them to professionals to help inspire them to learn about differen t career choices. Most of us after the debate agreed that it should be compulsory for teenagers to undertake one week's worth of work experience. However, we also noted that ther e were a few flaws to this idea because some individuals are not necessarily see king employment and would students have a say on the sector in which they would gain work experience. Marriage for all. The motion for the debate is as follows: We believe that all p eople in the UK should have equal rights to marriage. We believe that same-sex m arriage should be legal in the UK and should give equal rights and benefits attr ibuted to marriage s current legal status in society. At the beginning of the debate most of the members were of the opinion that same sex members should negotiate with the church in order to allow them marriage. H owever, after discussion we decided that same-sex marriage should be enforced by law. There was also consensus that religion is not homophobic but that adherent s had began to form their own opinions of what was deemed acceptable or unaccept able. An equal minimum wage. The motion for the debate is as follows: We believe that paying young people a lower National Minimum Wage than their adult counterparts because they are younger is age discrimination, and this is unacceptable. My personal opinion is that paying young people a lower National Minimum Wage th an their adult counterparts does not constitute age discrimination because many times than not it is the adults who have a number of expenses. They also may hav e a spouse and children to take care of whilst younger people in most cases neit her live in their own home nor have a spouse. However, the case for an equal min imum wage was so strong that it won. A curriculum to prepare us for life. The motion for the debate is as follows: Th e national curriculum should be radically overhauled through a youth-led review that helps develop young people s political knowledge, better sex and relationships education, cultural awareness, community cohesion, finance skills and sustainabl e living. I agreed with the motion because academic subjects tend to be abstract whilst po litical knowledge, better sex and relationships education are social issues and are presumably more relatable. There is also an observation that class members d o not have the same academic inclinations. My proposal was that academic subject s be taught to the individual by homeschooling.