1. Welfare recipients – a speech by David Cameron
“On my first night as Prime Minister, I said we would build a more responsible society. Where we back those who work hard and do the right thing. Where we look after the elderly and frail. Where – as I put it – those who can, should; and those who can’t, we will always help.
Building that society is simply not possible without radically reforming welfare. Today, almost one pound in every three spent by the Government goes on welfare. In a world of fierce competitiveness – a world where no-one is owed a living – we need to have a welfare system that the country can properly afford. The system we inherited was not only unaffordable. It also trapped people in poverty and encouraged irresponsibility. […]
Take two young women living on the same street in London. One studied hard at college for three years and found herself a full-time job – say as a receptionist – on £18,000 a year, or about £1200 take-home pay a month. She’d love to get her own place with a friend – but with high rents in her area, the petrol to get to work and all the bills, she just can’t afford it. So she’s living at home with her mum and dad and is saving up desperately to move out. Then there’s another woman living down the street. She’s only 19 years old and doesn’t have a job but is already living in a house with friends. How? Because when she left college and went down to the Job Centre to sign on for Job Seeker’s Allowance, she found out that if she moved out of her parents’ place, she was automatically entitled to Housing Benefit, so that’s exactly what she did.
[…] what these examples show is that we have, in some ways, created a welfare gap in this country – between those living long-term in the welfare system and those outside it. Those within it grow up with a series of expectations: you can have a home of your own, the state will support you whatever decisions you make, you will always be able to take out no matter what you put in.
This has sent out some incredibly damaging signals. That it pays not to work. That you are owed something for nothing. It gave us millions of working-age people sitting at home on benefits even before the recession hit. It created a culture of entitlement. And it has led to huge resentment amongst those who pay into the system, because they feel that what they’re having to work hard for, others are getting without having to put in the effort.
[…] that’s what our reforms are all about. Transforming lives. Helping people walk taller. Attacking the complacent, patronising view that said all millions of working-age people were good for was receiving from the state. And saying: no – self-reliance is in everyone. Industry is in everyone. Aspiration is in everyone. No-one is a write-off. That’s why getting people into jobs is central to our vision for making this country stronger and we need to keep building a system that delivers this vision. […] it follows from this that we need to think harder about who receives it. If it is a real safety net, then clearly it’s principally for people who have no other means of support, or who have fallen on hard times. But there are many receiving today who do not necessarily fall into these camps.
For example, the state spends almost £2 billion a year on Housing Benefit for under-25s. There are currently some 210,000 people aged 15- 24 who are social housing tenants. Some of these young people will genuinely have nowhere else to live – but many will. And this is happening when there is a growing phenomenon of young people living with their parents into their 30s because they can’t afford their own place, almost 3 million between the ages of 20 and 34. So for literally millions, the passage to independence is several years living in their childhood bedroom as they save up to move out – while for many others, it’s a trip to the council where they can get Housing Benefit at 18 or 19 – even if they’re not actively seeking work.
Again, I want to stress that a lot of these young people will genuinely need a roof over their head, like those leaving foster care, or those with a terrible, destructive home life and we must always be there for them. But there are many who will have a parental home and somewhere to stay – they just want more independence. The point is this: the system we inherited encourages them to grab that independence, rather than earn it. Perversely, the benefits system encourages this process from one generation to the next. […]
Raising big questions on welfare, as I have today – it might not win the government support. Frankly a lot of it might rub people up the wrong way. But as I’ve argued, the reform of welfare isn’t some technocratic issue. It’s about the kind of country we want to be – who we back, who we reward, what we expect of people, the kind of signals we send to the next generation. So no matter how tough it is, we are going to ask the big question. Because governing is not a popularity contest. It’s about doing what is right for our country not just for today but for the long-term – and that is what we are determined to do.”
David Cameron, from the UK government website, 2012.
1) Comprehension:
Explain Cameron’s assertion that Britain’s welfare system does not encourage self-reliance. Write about 120 words.
2) Analysis:
Examine the language Cameron uses to persuade his audience. Write 200–250 words.
3) Evaluation:
Prime Minister David Cameron argues that his ideas for welfare reform – cutting benefits for young people straight out of school – are “right for our country”. Comment on this point of view. Write about 250 words.
4) Creative Task:
Imagine you are a reporter and have heard Cameron’s speech. Write one of the following articles in about 150 words:
a) An objective summary of his central ideas for a broadsheet newspaper.
b) An emotional summary of his speech for a tabloid newspaper.
c) An editorial for the newsletter of the opposition (The Labour Party).
2. Mediation
Your school would like to take part in the KICKFAIR project with your partner schools in the UK and Poland. You have been asked to present KICKFAIR to their teaching staff.
Prepare a short statement in English (maximum 200 words). Explain how KICKFAIR works (their aims and partners) and why football is important for social and global learning.
Kickfair
Fußball fasziniert, begeistert und verbindet Menschen auf der ganzen Welt – unabhängig von Alter, Geschlecht, sozialem Hintergrund oder kultureller Zugehörigkeit. Beim Fußball können Kinder und Jugendliche wichtige soziale Erfahrungen machen: Sie lernen im Team zu spielen, sich an Regeln zu halten, mit Sieg und Niederlage umzugehen und die Leistung des anderen anzuerkennen. Dieses Potenzial greift KICKFAIR seit mehreren Jahren auf und entwickelt über Fußball vielfältige Projekte in den Bereichen Bildung, Lernen und Erziehung. Im Mittelpunkt steht der junge Mensch – der Leitgedanke, an dem sich KICKFAIR orientiert. Über die Projekte werden Räume geschaffen, in denen junge Menschen gemeinsam Dinge in die Hand nehmen und entwickeln. Hier können sie miteinander lernen, ihr eigenes Lebensumfeld mitgestalten und so für sich und andere neue und positive Lebensperspektiven aufbauen. […]
Im Vordergrund steht das Entdecken und Entfalten von Stärken und Talenten. KICKFAIR schafft Räume, in denen junge Menschen Aufgaben finden, die sie fordern und fördern – unabhängig von Geschlecht, von Nationalität, von sozialer Herkunft, von ethnischer Zugehörigkeit oder von schulischer Bildung. Das Gefühl der Zugehörigkeit und der Aspekt des Miteinander- und Voneinander-Lernens ist dabei zentral. […] Im gemeinsamen Handeln und Entwickeln ergeben sich dabei vielfältige Lernmöglichkeiten. Die Jugendlichen lernen, im Team zu arbeiten, flexibel und selbstständig zu arbeiten, und können dabei wichtige Schlüsselkompetenzen erwerben. Das Lernen geschieht so in einer ganzheitlichen Form: auf der Basis eigenen Handelns und der eigenen Erfahrungen, die im Projektverlauf immer wieder reflektiert werden. […]
Über Straßenfußball sollen attraktive Zugänge zu verschiedenen Themen geschaffen werden. Lernbereiche wie Demokratie-Lernen, Werteerziehung, Konfliktmanagement oder globales Lernen sollen nicht kognitiv, sondern ausgehend von den eigenen Erfahrungen auf dem Spielfeld geöffnet werden. […] In langfristig angelegten gemeinsamen Projekten haben die Jugendlichen die Möglichkeit, ihre Kompetenzen zu erweitern und neue Blickwinkel kennenzulernen. Ziel ist es, über Straßenfußball eine gemeinsame Identität zu schaffen. Die Jugendlichen sollen so kulturelle Vielfalt als Bereicherung erkennen und Einblicke in globale Zusammenhänge bekommen. Globalisierung soll dadurch nicht als Bedrohung, sondern als Chance für die gemeinsame Entwicklung erkannt werden.
KICKFAIR arbeitet in einem Netzwerk aus internationalen Partnern. Diese Partner arbeiten ebenfalls über Fußball in den Bereichen Lernen, Bildung, Erziehung und Entwicklung. Zentrales Ziel der beteiligten Organisationen ist es, Kompetenzen und Erfahrungswissen aus den verschiedenen gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhängen zusammenzubringen und zu systematisieren. Das gemeinsam entwickelte Wissen fließt in die jeweiligen Projekte zurück und gibt dort wichtige Impulse für die lokale Weiterentwicklung. Durch gemeinsame Veröffentlichungen wird es aber auch für andere zugänglich gemacht.
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2.50
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