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Interculturalitate și orizont anglofon

COORDONATOR :
Lect. univ.dr. MIHAELA CULEA

MASTERAND:
Fuioagă (căs. Diaconu) Raluca Daniela
LEPC an I, Sem. al II-llea
 Chapter 8

Social behaviour and ҅moral panics҆

This chapter is presenting the main problems in which Britishers face in everyday life. In
particular, I have chosen to discuss about Teenage pregnacies and drugs and Marriage
because they, in the most part, are going hand in hand. I supposed that a pretty good education of
children according to the right values can reduce these problemes in a society which is marked
by a continuously change.

Britain has been confronting , in the last years, with a highest rate of teenage pregnancy
and drugs addicts in Europe, also, with a decline in the institution of marriage. The importance of
eduction according to sex, drugs and traditional values is quiet interesting in schools and homes
partenership.

҅ orst in Europe҆
Drug-taking Britain is w

Victoria Fletcher and Ian Brodie

(The Times, 2 January 1999) abridged

This text is supposed to reveal one of the main problems in which the young British
people are put face to face. Most of them take drugs as cannabis as far back as they were
children.

In one of the researches, the specialists find out that the most teenagers who take the drug
ecstasy are young British people as compared to Germans, French and Swedes. For these kinds
of reasons, schools and politicians have to get fast solutions to slow the increasing number of
youngers taking drugs.
 The first movement was to inform all people that the drugs are dangerous. Another one,
was the Government expense in school projects but this solutions proved that the drugs education
in school has so far not worked.

Also, the government point out that there should be no distinction between hard and soft
drugs. Bob Weiner said that marijuana…cannot be called soft when it is second only to alcohol
as a substance implicated in car crashes.

According to this text I found an imagine (Imagine one) which is focused on protecting
and upgrading young people from drugs and alcohol getting better drug education into schools.

‘Pupils taught marriage is “just one option” for family life’

This text is focused on the problems of the new relationship patterns in Britain. The
decline of traditional values according to marriage it has started a major interests in schools. The
teachers have to prepare the pupils for the potentially much wider of relationships that exists
nowadays. The last researches showed that during 12 years from now that half the adult
population will be unmarried.

The changes in marriage, divorce and cohabitation have contributed to the growing
number of new types of family as stepfamilies, in the most cases.

The following statistics illustrate the problem of declination of traditional values.

 The government thinks to imply in the next couple of years a code in the national
curriculum. It is proposed this code in which the teachers have to identify the pupils who come
from non-traditional families and set up some hours dedicated to preparation for life.

Conclusions

From my point of view the decline of the family results in terms of poverty, educational
underachievement and anti-social behavior. This decline in values involves changes of behavior
which can be powerfully affected by a change in culture. But while values change, panic about
their decline is one of the constants of government. This currently moral panic is represented by
this obsessive used of drugs and this decline of the traditional family values. The social values of
Britain have changed fast. This freedom from everything without limits has been a major
contributing factor, causing a clash of values.

A recent research has showed that the UK has the highest proportions of marriages that
fail (absolute divorce rates are not so bad only because fewer people get married in the first
place). The Uk has the highest proportion of single parent families in Europe, at 24 per cent. So,
the children are more likely to engage in under-age sex, and they more likely to get pregnant.

A report by the United Nations agency UNICEF found that young people in the UK are
suffering greater deprivation, worse relationships with their parents and are exposed to more
risks from alcohol, drugs and unsafe sex than children in any other developed country. A study
by the children’s charity NCH found a doubling of emotional problems and conduct disorders
among young people since the 1930s. One in ten children now have a mental health disorder to a
clinically significant level. Nearly one quarter of children live in official poverty and they are
more obese than before.

Changes in values often trail social changes which are themselves driven by
technological and economic changes. Sometimes values change simply as a result of increased
knowledge (When the facts change, I change my I mind).

Pre-marital or extra-marital sex was far more likely to have profound, negative
consequences when there was no welfare state. The state has increasingly taken responsibility
away from people in its well-meaning attempt to protect them from financial hardship or risks to
health and safety.

Also, I get this article Hundreds of babies born drug-depend (picture 2) because both of
the problems (drugs and families topics) are involved in this. There is showed that almost one in
500 babies in hospitals in England is born dependent on drugs their mother took while pregnant.
Most reasons of these situations are due to the non-traditional families where the mothers are
young and they come from lone-parent family, or the parents deal with a disadvantaged socio-
economic background.

A clip called Children see. Children do. Make your influence positive. as well as reflects
these two problems in which how important is the influence of society, school and family in the
child’s growing.

For solving these cases I think it is particularly important for pregnant women who use
drugs to get supportive, collaborative care to reduce the risks to the health of their babies.

In conclusion I think that education in school are quiet important to grow up pupils with a
healthy mind and body. If there are programs such as ‘Life Skills Training’, these kinds of hours
can reduce drugs and alcohol use because one element of life skills approaches is to challenge
young people’s ideas about what is normal and accepted.
Annexes

Text 1

‘Drug-taking Britain is “worst in Europe”’ Victoria Fletcher and Ian Brodie (The
Times, 2 January 1999) abridged Young Britons are much more likely to take drugs than any of
their European neighbours, with ‘soft’ drugs proving the most popular.3 A recent survey by the
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs found that 35 per cent of British teenagers regularly
took cannabis compared with 25.7 per cent in France and 21 per cent in Germany. The
‘recreational’ drug ecstasy has been tried by 9 per cent of young Britons but by only 2.8 per cent
of Germans, 3.1 per cent of French and 1 per cent of Swedes. For the past decade, schools and
politicians have struggled to find a successful approach to slow the increasing number of young
people taking drugs. Campaigners have divided between those arguing for a tough,
straightforward message that all drugs are dangerous—typified by the ‘Just Say No’ adverts—
and those arguing that children need to be given more information to inform their decisions. Two
years ago, the Government showed its commitment to tackle the drugs problem when it ploughed
£1.6 million into a range of innovative educational projects…

However, Britain has become aware that the drugs education has so far not worked and
that the problem is escalating. Exactly one year ago, the Prime Minister decided that the only
way to co-ordinate drugs education was by appointing a ‘drugs czar’… Keith Hellawell took up
the position with a mission to draw up a detailed and clear drugs education policy for schools.
The British and American drugs czars are responsible for co-ordinating national drug control
policy and have direct access to their heads of government. America’s drug czar, Barry
McCaffrey, takes the same hard line as his British counterpart in saying there should be no
distinction between hard and soft drugs. His spokesman, Bob Weiner, [said that]
marijuana…cannot be called soft when it is second only to alcohol as a substance implicated in
car crashes. Similarly, marijuana disrupts productivity in schools and the workplace… In the
official American view, those in favour of legalising soft drugs always maintain that increased
use is irrelevant. According to Mr McCaffrey…it is the most important reason against
legalisation. According to his staff, the point was proved in Alaska, which recriminalised
marijuana after several years of reducing it to the level of a parking ticket. The switch was pro.
Text 2

‘Pupils taught marriage is “just one option” for family life’ Judith O’Reilly (The
Sunday Times, 10 January 1999) abridged A new moral code proposed for Britain’s schools
has upset traditionalists by telling pupils that marriage is just one of a number of routes to a
happy family life, and that cohabitation and single parenthood can be equally valid. The code is
already being piloted in 150 schools and could be introduced nationwide from this year. It tells
teachers that they must prepare youngsters not only for marriage but also for the potentially
much wider range of relationships that exists nowadays. It coincides with last week’s figures
from the government actuary, which showed that within 12 years more than half the adult
population will be unmarried. It will be the first time since records began in 1801 that those who
are single, cohabiting, widowed or divorced have been in a majority. In the next 25 years the
number of cohabiting couples is expected to double from 1.5m to 3m and about half of all adult
men between 30 and 44 will be single. Under the new code teachers will have to recognize that:
‘The love and commitment required for a secure and happy childhood can be found in different
forms of family and there are marriages in which there is neither love nor commitment.’ The
code adds that teachers must recognize that many pupils already come from non-traditional
families. ‘Schools will want to give careful thought to this issue.’ The guidance continues: ‘One
way forward is to explain that values are ideals, something we try, but sometimes fail, to live up
to. Pupils need to understand that difficulty in living up to our values does not give us a reason
to revise our values downwards.’… Once the code has been approved schools will be expected to
dedicate about 5 per cent of the school week to preparation for life. Within two to three years,
the government will change the statutory requirements to make it a compulsory part of the
[national] curriculum.

national curriculum The centrally devised national curriculum containing those subjects
to be taught in British schools and to children at various stages of their school education.

Such moves have, however, been criticized by Chris Woodhead, chief inspector of
schools. He has argued that [by] expanding the curriculum, issues such as citizenship and
personal finance will take too much time away from basic literacy and numeracy lessons. The
guidance seems certain to prompt complaints from traditionalists over what children should be
taught about marriage. Nick Seaton, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: ‘Most parents
and many teachers will be deeply disappointed that the guidance isn’t more clearly in support of
marriage, twoparent families and absolute commitment.’ [See text 7 for the Labour
government’s position.] mpted by a surge in use and increase in traffic accidents.

Imagine 1
Imagine 2
Bibliografy:

Books

Jane Whittle and S. H. Rigby, Approaches to Popular Politics, 10 DEC 2007, Oxford
University Press;

Articles.

Has there been a declie in values in British society? by Anthony Browne, ‘Social evils’ and
‘social problems’ in Britain reports.

Web sites

https://www.slideshare.net/Mentor_UK/drug-prevention-in-schools-web-version

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36703939

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdC-cehHN6k