Weekly Competition #36
14 June 2019WINNERS ANNOUNCED:
respectful_guitar and resilient_accordion
A wonderful week of competition entries! Well done Burnet News Club. There were some excellent reasons given and we could see the open-mindedness from students who gave reasons on both side of the argument. Our primary school winner, respectful_guitar, showed excellent reasoning. They explained their point of view, explained the other side and also showed how their reasoning had led to their conclusion.
Resilient_accordion was a winner too. They emphasised the power of youth protest and student voice. They gave the other side of the argument and their rebuttal to that, which is fantastic reasoning. Well done!
WEEKLY COMPETITION #36:
The government says that a child is only allowed to miss school if either:
The child is too ill to go in
OR
The child has advance permission from the school
Recently, lots of children have missed school to join climate change protests. However, some schools haven't given 'advance permission', which means the absence from school isn't authorised. An unauthorised absence goes on your school record and, if you have lots of them, your parents/carers can get intro trouble.
We want to hear your opinion and reasons on this! Vote in the poll to tell us what you think and explain your reason below. Winners will be announced on Friday!
Comments (114)
I don’t think the children should leave school to protest but instead ask their parents opinion and have them go protest
this is a valid idea so they don't miss valuable school hours
In my opinion I think schools she give the authority to let there student out of school to go protest, On the other hand I think children should stay in school because the crowd and for there education.
I agree they should do the protest because, they want to save their there future life . they want to do it because if they don't the planet will affect the schools but not for a limited time a unlimited time so they want to help the world including there school.I agree that they should do the protest.
I disagree with ' that a child is only allowed to miss school if either:
The child is too ill to go in
OR
The child has advance permission from the school'is stupid because if the child has a good cause for missing valuable school hours like protesting for a good cause like Greta Thunberg ,who was protesting for climate change to be realised by the government all over the world.
What is "good" and how do we define it if we can't do that then the idea cant ever be implemented. So please tell me what is good.
Well if you know what's bad you should know what's good.
I agree that they should do the protest because they ejucation
i agree too
I think that people should be allowed to be absent because its really important because it could change peoples life if they agree but on the other hand to be absent means less education and when you grow up you would be upset cause you didn't go to school. Also school is very important because you can learn more and then when you grow up and people will agree with you more cause you have more reason
i think the children should be out of school for a bit of time because this planet counts on us with climate change and they should be in school as well because of our education.
In my opinion I think we should all help each other to get rid of the temperature rising. We should work as a team because if we all work together we can destroy the heat rising.
I think that schools should allow students to protest regularly as long the students still go to school because what is the point of teaching them, if they don't have a future in a few years time. And some schools even teach about climate change, all those teachers always say that its important and urgent but do they really mean. I mean what happens when earth is almost destroyed all I'm saying is 'Save the future by stopping climate change.
I think both. I think children should be able to protest about the climate change and really from my point of view adults should be helping.Well...,on the other hand school is also very important.In reality you wouldn't really know what climate change is unless your parents told you or you seen it on TV.Climate change is very important but so is school.
I think that we should be allowed to go and protest for our planet, on the other hand , you shouldn't because people could do it at school.
Recently, lots of children have missed school to join climate change protests. However, some schools haven't given 'advance permission', which means the absence from school isn't authorised. Yes, but schools can teach the whole world Maths and English when the world is not in danger of exploding. Yes, children would not get educated if they go and protest. Yes, children's future jobs might not be that good if they go and protest. Yes, children's academic records might be a tiny bit bad if they go off and protest TO SAVE THE WORLD! Think, most children don't like going to school, but they do like seeing their friends and taking part in sports and games, and those children, those children who miss seeing their friends, who miss sports and games, to go off and protest as they do not want their family's,schools,friends and pets to die because of something horrible humans do to our world. There is only ONE world, and we must fight to protect it. There is only ONE chance, so grab it now!
in my opinion i think protesting is right because on climate change it depends on the whole human races future because if we are all dead there's no point of education but if a school made the fact that they would let people take off of school to protest public i think some students would overuse that excuse to avoid school but i think protesting about things that are right is the right path and i think people should do it about right things because it makes you feel better about yourself and like your doing the world a right.
i believe that you should be allowed to take your child out of school for the protest of climate change because it is very important that we work together to forbid over heating and under heating.
of the weather.
I think you should be able to have advanced permission because if there is a crisis that could endanger many lives and many species even though education is also very important, the lives of thousands of animals and soon we will not survive
I think its correct since you have a valid reason.
In my opinion, I support both sides of the argument. This because I believe that both the climate and education are both really important in our lives.
You should not be allowed to skip school just to join a protest for climate change. This is because education is really important in your life. It helps you to get a good job in the future. Not only that, you also use subjects like maths in your everyday life to calculate things. It is also the law that children must go to school. The government has said that the only excuse for missing school is:
1. If you are too ill to attend
2. If you have permission from the school
If you skip you skip school, you can be fined for £60 per child and £120 if it has not been paid within 21 days. If it has not been paid within 28 days, your parents can be prosecuted (institute or conduct legal proceedings against a person or organization).
However, I also believe that you should be allowed to skip school to protest about climate change because it is a good cause. Your protest could actually get noticed and something might happen to banish our problems caused by climate change. You could raise awareness and people might start helping to make the Earth a greener planet. All the days you skip school could pay off.
i think that schools should not only give permission for school absence for illness and an authority because a different reason even more important than illness like visiting a family member who is passing away is very important but it wouldn't be accepted. The penalty is £60 and could rise up to £120 if not payed after a period of 21 days but payed within the deadline of 28 days and if so you may be prosecuted or set to punishments i shall say like parenting order which means that the parent would have to go to parenting classes but if prosecuted the parent could get a fine up to £2500 , a community order or even a jail sentence up to 3 months with a set parenting order for the parent from the court. Also if a child is ill it doesn't mean that he/she can be absent , the headteacher has to first go through the reasons of the absence and decide if to authorize the absence.
i think it is correct because they are trying to do some thing to help improve society and save the world in fact i think think that they should be praised or applauded
however their might be a different reason why this crisis is happening maybe it is just the earth changing
I said no because if you miss out on learning that amount of time you miss out in your learning and that is not good by the end of that year you would be behind so if you missed out on your learning for two weeks then you would be behind two weeks and you class will be two weeks smarter than you if you do not up your game then you will not know anything at the end of the year you attendance is much more important than climate protests they are just showing or sharing your opinions with other people and then you write a letter to your local MP (member of parliament)but then it is not really in Leeds these type of things mostly gradually happen in busy places as for an example London omg I feel blessed to have to live in Leeds those many souls that have died there is unbelievable but all that I am saying that school is more important than climate change groups that go around together you do not know what they do together do they smoke do they kill do the drink but then you won’t have a clue because you didn’t go to school and listen
Recently, lots of children have missed school to join climate change protests. However, some schools haven't given 'advance permission', which means the absence from school isn't authorised. Yes, but schools can teach the whole world Maths and English when the world is not in danger of exploding. Yes, children would not get educated if they go and protest. Yes, children's future jobs might not be that good if they go and protest. Yes, children's academic records might be a tiny bit bad if they go off and protest TO SAVE THE WORLD! Think, most children don't like going to school, but they do like seeing their friends and taking part in sports and games, and those children, those children who miss seeing their friends, who miss sports and games, to go off and protest as they do not want their family's,schools,friends and pets to die because of something horrible humans do to our world. There is only ONE world, and we must fight to protect it. There is only ONE chance, so grab it now!
I think that children should be able to miss school so they can go and protest. I think this because protesting is what can get your voice heard and in this case, one little protest can affect the whole world. The earth is in danger and we, together, must find a way to protect our planet. In 2015, one in five eight graders (19.5%) missed school for more than three days in a month. This may look bad and make your reputation look bad but it's being used for a great cause. If people just stay in school and do nothing, the whole civilasation will be over. All humans and animals will be extinct. But if we act now and miss a little bit of school, we can save the world and get back to studying. We can't just sit their and do nothing. Especially when children will be the ones that will be massively affected by climate change. Our future is in the leaders hands. We need to stand out and stand bold in protests, even if it means missing school for a bit.
There are two ways to look at this argument.
The first is to say that taking time off school to protest about climate change is infact a good thing to do, hence it should be allowed by schools. I, of all people, believe it is good for children and teenagers to have their own opinions, especially when they are for preventing climate change as I too share this opinion. Allowing children to take time off school for this is arguably a good thing, as it strengthens youths' abilities to stand up and act for what they believe, which is really what needs to be done about climate change. This is because things like recycling, limiting electricity and water, and planting trees all take some effort to go and pursue. I believe this will also help to fix the modern problem of youths with electronic devices because they will have a desire to get up and do something productive rather than the same thing all the time, just like at school.
The second approach to this argument is to say that children shouldn't be allowed to take time off school for climate change protests. I believe this is because at school, children will learn things, things that can be used to resolve climate change theirselves, instead of protesting and trying to get other people to do it because ultimately it would make more of a difference for 1000 people to be scientifically fixing climate change than 1000 people waving placards around a city center trying to inform people on things that really, they already know.
Overall, there are pros and cons to both, but I believe that schools should not allow children to take time off of school because I believe their education will resolve climate change a lot more than protesting will.
this is the wrong thing to do this cannot happen lots of children missing out on school parents and carers you should be the one to speak not your child or children to speak out loud for you should be the one to protest not YOUR Child.I can understand why you want your child to protest is because you want your child to have there say and chance to speak. SO PLEASE STOP THIS FOR YOUR CHILDREN AND JUST KEEP THEM IN SCHOOL AND ENJOY SCHOOL LIFE SO THEY GET THEMSELVES INTO ANY HALM. SO REMEMBER THIS IS FOR YOU CHILD SO DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN SO NOW STOP.!!!!!.
HOPE YOU ENJOY MY SAY.
I think they should because its good that children actually want to join because most children wouldn't want to.
I think children should create something in the school that will make teachers aware of what's happening so that they can give them advance permission to go and protest ,maybe some kids do it because no one might not listen to them so they do it so everyone knows why they are taking this risk.
If children don't protest it means that no one is doing anything about the fact that the world could possibly explode. So teachers should give the students an advance permission so they can protest, this is good because it means that the children will show resilience and show that they will never give up on the message they are trying to send not only to the government but to the whole wide world, this is good because even though they aren't going to school they are giving themselves good qualities, which is good because socially it will make them feel more confident about themselves so they can get a good job in life, which is good because it means that you can do anything and achieve what you want, because they missed out on lessons during schools but with a good cause and the way the have been protesting they still get the good life qualities for a better future.
I think that schools should let their pupils go on protest, becasue it helps the school and other student attending! Also, if you look at children today, who protest, such as Greta Thunberg, who achieve something and who earn position in society, not that people don't but they spread the message on how we can change!
Children should be able to go to protest and do against the climate change. There is only one world and no more. If we loose this one it would be the end. The protection of our world in the present should be a priority otherwise there won`t be a future to look up to.
Protesting is not enough. Even though we are not adults yet, but already we can act wisely. Just for example waste management, recycling, controlling how and what materials we should use - reducing usage of plastic, not wasting water or just simply not buying unnecessary items. Don`t think you are just a child: if you have a new idea to make the environment a brighter future try to do it and encourage others as well.
Live today but think about the future as well. And never forget to show a good example with on how to help not just with your words but with actions. There's only one chance to prevent the worse to happen and now is the time to do it!
I think that children shouldn't go and protest because learning is more important than protesting.
On the other hand children should be able to go on holiday but only if the sign the holiday form. I don't think that parents should pay the fine because hotels get way more expensive in the holidays and parents cant afford it.
In my opinion, I strongly believe that Climate Change is a potential threat to the Earth’s existence and its atmosphere and that we need to take action and protest in order for us to pollute less and find an alternative method for manufacturing goods in factories to reduce or no greenhouse gases (which is harmful for the Earth). Everyone must stand and join Climate Change protests and it is our moral obligation to keep our planet clean which we are currently living and for our future generation. These protests will help our future generation not live in a world of toxic gases, waste and pollution and more people will start to listen because of the message that has been sent out by the protest. In addition, we have to do as much as possible since in a dozen years, scientists predict that the Earth will have catastrophic changes increasing the Earth’s temperature, the oceans will rise and lands will disappear. In the protests, MPs, leaders, prime ministers and maybe generals will be able react to this and make low car emission zones -like those that they have in London- or electric cars and breaking diesel and petrol cars to make new electric cars. Since no other people have been protesting against Climate Change, it also makes it fair for schools to protest and the children are allowed to take sensible decisions for themselves for what they want.
On the other hand, even though the children can decide themselves alone, regarding the Climate Change protest, the children who are under the age of 16 has to be considered as minor and they need proper parents and responsible adults, guidance and protection. Therefore, the children under 16 either primary or secondary school must need the parents’ consent to join the protests accompanied by their parents or an adult (someone who is recommended by their parents). Nevertheless, as far as school’s concern, the head teacher’s final decision is the decision everyone must follow during school time, which the parents must follow. Therefore, during school hours, if the head teacher does not allow the children to join Climate protest, the parents must obey the head teacher’s decision. If the parents do not obey the head teacher’s decision and do not send the children to school and join the Climate Change protest, then the parents have to face the consequence and the penalties the head teacher has given not sending the children to school. But if the head teacher decides to join the Climate Change protest, then he or she must inform the parents and take their consent form the parents before joining the Climate Change protest and be sure to give maximum safety to the children who join the protest accompanied by responsible teachers or teachers assistants.
However, another subject to consider is the children’s education. The students and pupils are protesting in their school time and missing important education. Education is very important since education will lead you to a path of jobs and will run the next part of the future. If the children are protesting, they are going to also be missing a lot of their important education. Even though they are protesting for Climate Change (which is completely necessary for the Earth and its atmosphere), they are missing their vital time of education and it is affecting their chances of carrying on the future and getting new jobs. Missing education is extremely important. Therefore, I believe that they should do it somewhere out of school time in order for their protesting for global warming and for the education that is a right and something that they deserve. However, if they protesting during the school hours is once or twice a year, which is negligible, losing important education time in school is considerable. Nevertheless, some children or adults may have their own personal reason not to send the children to school excusing the Climate Change protest (they do not go to school or the Climate Change protest and waste school education time and also they do not care about Climate Change).
Considering both arguments of why children should protest against Climate Change, I believe that they should be able to protest. However, the children have to be accompanied by their parents or responsible adults and they have to do it in a separate time to their vital education time.
wow great explanation well done!!!
I think children should stay at home since if those children are out there protesting then they are missing learning time. I agree that if they are out there then they get experienced about how to protest although if they learn at school maybe then could become a climatologist and change climate and the infrastructure of it.
I personally have a mixed opinion because ...
Yes I think they should be aloud to miss school, I think this because if kids are becoming involved with the news that might influence others to join in and then they would eventually notice how badly it is affecting their/ our society
But then children shouldn’t be aloud to have time of school, my opinion is I think that if a child had a day off school no matter the year they r being pushed back on work at school and homework not given in on time which could also lead to detentions on some schools. As well as that , if maybe they r studying for a test and they go out to protest I think that the child would be stressed about all the studying that is being pulled on her/him. So that could cause stress, depression and other serious circumstances.
İ think it is correct because the student wront able to work well and on the way to school or inside the school something medical and alır of people will gel faint.
I disagree and agree because if your very sick you can miss school. Some people take that as an excuse to miss school and if your not sick the school should go and knock on your door to see if you are lying .
On the one hand, I think we need to get our message across that climate change IS a potential threat and if we don't do some thing fast our planet will die out.
On the other hand, children's education is very important and they need to be punctuate in school to exceed
I think that although climate change is an important issue, children should not be missing school because of it. They can use their free time such as weekends and holidays to participate in protests, they do not need to take time out of their education to do this. Also, we can not underestimate the role that schools play in ensuring that children fully understand the implications of climate change. At school, children will be learning to research, gather evidence, make persuasive arguments and take part in debates; these are all skills that are needed in order to effectively persuade people and governments to take the issue of climate change seriously.
Recently, lots of children have missed school to join climate change protests. However, some schools haven't given 'advance permission', which means the absence from school isn't authorised. Yes, but schools can teach the whole world Maths and English when the world is not in danger of exploding. Yes, children would not get educated if they go and protest. Yes, children's future jobs might not be that good if they go and protest. Yes, children's academic records might be a tiny bit bad if they go off and protest to safe the world! Think, most children don't like going to school, but they do like seeing their friends and taking part in sports and games, and those children, those children who miss seeing their friends, who miss sports and games, to go off and protest as they do not want their family's,schools,friends and pets to die because of something horrible humans do to our world. There is only one world, and we must fight to protect it. There is only one chance, so grab it now!
I think school should support this protests as why should childen study for a future that doesn`t exist. If climate change happens then there will be no future to study for
I agree, I think that every school needs to let students protest so that the governments are aware and realize that 1 thousand of students can't skip school for climate change so they need to do something.
In my opinion I think schools should allow students go to climate change so that they understand what it is and what would happen if we ignore this and in a future the world would be a better place because of the students that would be the adults.
i voted for 'yes' because school is all about the youth, and it is the youth's future that will be affected by climate change
I think that children should skip school for reasons like protesting against the government for not doing enough for stopping the climate change because the school helps them to built a successful future but if the government doesn´ t do anything, what future are they going to built if it won´t exists?
I don't want to see each country move their population.
I think they should because its good that children actually want to join because most children wouldn't want to.
Also, children will not take care of the planet however their might be a different reason why this crisis is happening maybe it is just the earth changing. We should be allowed to go and protest for our planet, on the other hand , you shouldn't because people could do it at school.
I think schools have to let students miss classes to go and protest for global climate change,because it is a problem that affect us all,it is a real problem we do not have another planet or place to be,maby we need to go back in the years and realise that we cant continue this life progress.We need schools to support us and make more pression and influence over the government ,so we need schools to support us and realise that we cant continue with the life that we have
I think children all over the world should spend a day fighting against climate change. This is because in a future it will be the main problem in the world and we will probably can´t deal with it. Last century the problem was war, now is climate change.
i think this is so important because us children van not vote so we protest!!!!!
I am clearly in favour for protests about climate change, as I agree that, if everyone wants to continue living, the essential thing everyone wants to do, this has to stop now. Im sure that if I have children when I am older, I don´t want them to have to live in terrible conditions because of people like us, who just because of pure lazyness of not wanting to reduce, reuse, and recycle.It is unacceptable!
I voted no for schools to let children go and protest because you can make schools teach you about climate change instead of protesting about it
simple; if school children didn't protest the government their might not be a school.
yeah, if they don't protest then their school will be underwater in 25 years
i agree
I think that trying to save the planet is a pretty decent excuse to get off school, permission slip or not
i think that the kids should be missing school to protest, because it is their future that they are protesting about so they should be allowed to
I think that people who protest against climate change should have permission from their school to do so. it is ridiculous that they are trying to save the climate and the school is basically stopping them from doing that. Does the earth want to die NO so i suggests that school gives the chance and opportunities for kids to protest against climate change if not that is absolutely abusive. If the world ends they won't have a future they won't get a job they won't have an education so think about it do u want this world to end everything that we have achieved in this world think about it if we don't stop our grandchildren won't have a future it's up to schools and people to stop climate change.
In my opinion, I strongly believe that Climate Change is a potential threat to the Earth’s existence and its atmosphere and that we need to take action and protest in order for us to pollute less and find an alternative method for manufacturing goods in factories to reduce or no greenhouse gases (which is harmful for the Earth). Everyone must stand and join Climate Change protests and it is our moral obligation to keep our planet clean which we are currently living and for our future generation. These protests will help our future generation not live in a world of toxic gases, waste and pollution and more people will start to listen because of the message that has been sent out by the protest. In addition, we have to do as much as possible since in a dozen years, scientists predict that the Earth will have catastrophic changes increasing the Earth’s temperature, the oceans will rise and lands will disappear. In the protests, MPs, leaders, prime ministers and maybe generals will be able react to this and make low car emission zones -like those that they have in London- or electric cars and breaking diesel and petrol cars to make new electric cars. Since no other people have been protesting against Climate Change, it also makes it fair for schools to protest and the children are allowed to take sensible decisions for themselves for what they want.
On the other hand, even though the children can decide themselves alone, regarding the Climate Change protest, the children who are under the age of 16 has to be considered as minor and they need proper parents and responsible adults, guidance and protection. Therefore, the children under 16 either primary or secondary school must need the parents’ consent to join the protests accompanied by their parents or an adult (someone who is recommended by their parents). Nevertheless, as far as school’s concern, the head teacher’s final decision is the decision everyone must follow during school time, which the parents must follow. Therefore, during school hours, if the head teacher does not allow the children to join Climate protest, the parents must obey the head teacher’s decision. If the parents do not obey the head teacher’s decision and do not send the children to school and join the Climate Change protest, then the parents have to face the consequence and the penalties the head teacher has given not sending the children to school. But if the head teacher decides to join the Climate Change protest, then he or she must inform the parents and take their consent form the parents before joining the Climate Change protest and be sure to give maximum safety to the children who join the protest accompanied by responsible teachers or teachers assistants.
However, another subject to consider is the children’s education. The students and pupils are protesting in their school time and missing important education. Education is very important since education will lead you to a path of jobs and will run the next part of the future. If the children are protesting, they are going to also be missing a lot of their important education. Even though they are protesting for Climate Change (which is completely necessary for the Earth and its atmosphere), they are missing their vital time of education and it is affecting their chances of carrying on the future and getting new jobs. Missing education is extremely important. Therefore, I believe that they should do it somewhere out of school time in order for their protesting for global warming and for the education that is a right and something that they deserve. However, if they protesting during the school hours is once or twice a year, which is negligible, losing important education time in school is considerable. Nevertheless, some children or adults may have their own personal reason not to send the children to school excusing the Climate Change protest (they do not go to school or the Climate Change protest and waste school education time and also they do not care about Climate Change).
Considering both arguments of why children should protest against Climate Change, I believe that they should be able to protest. However, the children have to be accompanied by their parents or responsible adults and they have to do it in a separate time to their vital education time
I think that skipping school to protest should be fundamentally allowed because the planet should be everyone's main priority as we only have one life and so does the planet so we should treat as one of our lives too.
In my opinion, I believe that children should be missing school to protest because if climate change continues then the earth will die. If the world dies then they will have no future to need an education for. Many people may disagree with my opinion because they can just teach children about climate change than protesting about it, however this wouldn't physically not the problem.
i think that everyone can protest and it should become a human right if it is a dilemma that will impact the globe and everyone on it
I think that missing school just to protest about climate change and trying to stop it is a bad idea because all the children are missing school to protest are missing their education which is going to help them in life but if they are spending their school ours on protesting instead of learning at school it can really affect their future of actually getting a job and earning money in order to have a roof under your head and actually having food to eat daily. Another reason for this is because most schools could even be kind enough to at least make it some sort of school trip so that they can go out on the streets and protest with adult supervision but if they are going out by themselves then they could get in trouble for local citizens. Some people might disagree with me and say that they are aloud because they might be feeling the same way and think that we need to do something about changing and stopping climate change. The problem is that children don't know that people are doing everything they can to stop climate change. In conclusion I think that they should not be allowed to protest in school ours as it can ruin their chances of having a future and earning money.
I think that children kind of have to take days off school because they want to inform people about climate change but most teachers won't give them an advanced permission so children still take days off school to protest . Contrastingly, the disadvantages about this is that this could land them into trouble.
The advantages about this is that it teaches them positive discipline which is a good life skill for the future.
I personally think children must not participate in climate change protests because, rather than missing lessons they need to learn strategies in order to prevent climate change. This means that they can not achieve preventing climate change if they have not formed a plan. Using knowledge from school and joining a protest is a more sensible way to prevent climate change as u need specific ideas and key knowledge to help the environment and protect the societies natural environment.
However, some people may disagree with me because it may help spread awareness of how we hurt the environment and how it effects the climate. One example of this is that Greta has decided to protest that anything we do can effect the environment. She has spread awareness that we need to start being more responsible for our care for the earth.
In conclusion, i think that it is not good to miss education for protesting because you need more experience and knowledge for what exactly you are protesting.
I think that children should be able to join protests out of of school without advanced permission because politicians and other people aren't recognising the amount of people who want to stop climate change. For example,Theresa May was too focused on dealing with brexit when she could have been stopping or trying to do something about global warming and climate change.
Some others may disagree with my point as parents will get fined and may be sent to prison. Also children are missing out on key learning when then they could be learning about how to prevent it.
I do not believe that students should be given permission to protest, but they should feel free to go anyway. As someone who regularly attends these, some may think that this is a controversial answer, but I have more reasoning than just 'it isn't important enough to miss school to protest without consequences'
My reasoning for saying no for the poll is that it creates a lot more attention and disruption, even if you have warned the school ahead of time. It is also a good reasoning chance of whether you personally believe that it is a great enough cause to risk consequences for. Another reason is that it is a chance to experience what it may be like to strike when you are older and strike, if you ever do. Following on from that point, if you strike when you have a job, you will most likely not gain permission from your manager.
I have also seen a lot of people answer this question with something along the lines of 'they should ask their parents to go for them' and this is something I disagree with on a very high level. Before I start explaining why I disagree with that statement so much, may I just say that I am fine if you are younger (e.g. primary school or younger) and take a known adult with you; in fact I encourage you to take one.
The first point is that 96.2% of adults in the UK are employed, and they may need to go in on the days of school strikes and may not have the time to go for you. The second point is that its a youth strike, for youths, and I'm sorry but on this occasion I'm not going to be flattering your parents and say that they are youths. My third point is that the fact that children feel it a great enough problem to miss school adds to the shock factor that brings it to the forefront of people's minds and grabs attention. If it was on weekends, it would still gain attention, but nowhere near as much as if it was a working day.
Another point that people have been raising against permission for absence is that you need education more than you need to strike and, guess what, I have a counter-argument for that too! First off, its one day a month. that's only 11 days a year. Another point is that generally it is the more intelligent children who are striking, so they are already ahead the majority of children.
The reasons you give for causing more disruption being a good thing are well thought out. However I would challenge where you have claimed it is more intelligent children who are striking. Where is your evidence for this
simple; if school children didn't protest to the government their might not be a school.
This can be a test for students who actually are good at school. If they are not restricted for protests, you see the logic you can see that they know what they're doing, why they're doing it and it means that they pay attention at school also this proves how dire the situation is.
Schools also should organise protests to pressurise the government to "harass" them.
Grown Ups should not be able to decide the futures of the children. This is why Schools should not be able to prevent schoolchildren from striking and protesting.
I think you can use it as a school trip and give school trip letters to people just in case a parent doesn't they child to go and protest. Also it is educational because your learning the skills you need to vote.
Students should only really be allowed to take time off school if they are actually really badly sick and can't get out of bed. If the child only has a little cold and has the sniffles then they should be allowed to go to school. The students that have just got the sniffles I think are just making up excuses and missing special, valuable lessons that need to be taught.
I think that even though protesting is a good thing, students shouldn't be skipping school. They can protest at the weekend where more people are around to hear them so it is a win, win. They get to be heard by more people and they don't have to skip school as anything could happen on that day.
however, many protests are on school days, and so the children might still be able to go to some protests, but sometimes the only protest that the child actually wants to go to 'will have to wait'.
I think yes because the kids could go with the class as a school trip and they can learn something . They can learn how to stand up your self .
i think if some people are physically/mentally affected by this then yes they should be allowed to take a day or two (depending on how long/bad the situation is ) and also if it's really bad then it shouldn't be put on there school record
Should children be authorized to go out of school for protesting?
I come from a high school where we have yet to protest . I believe that we should not be let out of school because of what you are missing out on and what you could do with the time spent protesting. Whilst kids our protesting, in our school we learn about climate change instead. This is way more convenient than going on strike. On the other hand, I can see why kids protesting is a good or even great thing to show of to the politicians ...
I agree with Greta Thurmberg as she brought up a rather true point in one of her speeches. In that particular speech, she brought up the fact that if we don't stop climate change there will be no need for education at all. Schools always talk about climate change and the negative effects on our planet but if EVERYONE really cares, as they should, they should let us at least try to save our only planet.
in my opinion protesting is a very good way to show your opinion in matters such as climate change , especially if you are under age and do not have the right to vote . writing a letter to your local politicians will not help in any way because many of them have an assistance that write and read many of the non-official or Important emails. Having one day of to protest what you believe in is not going to seriously damage your education in the long run. no one got anything by writing a bump letter to someone in power, for example the woman's rights movement and gay rights these were all done thanks to protesting and lack of trust for the idiots that run our country.it our future so stop standing in the shadows and do something. Before there is no time left
I believe that it is greatly wrong to allow children to miss school to join in political protest, this is not only using children to push a political message but it is also making children absent from the school which without genuine reason is illegal.
I believe that it is good that children have come out of school to protest for climate change. Even though it's controversial and even though it could get their parents in trouble, in the end, protesters are most likely the reason that the UK was the first country in the world to declare a state of climate emergency. Without these protesters, who knows if parliament would've even consider it? At the moment, the news has been dominated by Brexit, however now these protesters have made people aware about an even bigger problem: climate change. A Swedish girl, called Greta Thunberg, even went into the Houses of Parliament to inform our politicians about how severe the problem is, and what we can do about it. Without people like her, the UK might not have declared a state of climate emergency. I believe it's even better that children are protesting, because children are going to be the future. And the children of our generation's children are going to be worst affected- children are saving children.
I think it is right to allow students to skip class because it is a good cause. Saving the world and making the government listen to you can make great changes. If we couldn't skip school who would protest and if the world ends there wouldn't be any school anyway.
I believe children should be allowed to take time off of school to do climate change protests. The reason for this decision is that this is our generation's future. If we do not speak out to try and make a change of climate change then our future will be very bleak. Climate change is affecting countries like Bangladesh.
Since two-thirds of the country is less than five meters above sea-level, it is very prone to flooding. With climate change, the chance of it flooding is becoming higher.
If children weren’t legally allowed to leave school, then the topic won’t be as prominent as it is now. And the issue won’t be brought up to be fixed.
This is why I believe that children should be allowed to take time off of school to protest on climate change.
Personally, I believe that if the school supports them in taking a day of school then yes they should leave school to protest because of many things such as the fact that it is their choice and if they want to make a difference then they can and I think that it is inspiring that are making a difference and that they shouldn't be stopped as it is their future as well as everyone else's. Furthermore, I believe that it is a good thing that they are protesting as people usually look passed the younger generation because they believe that they don't know as much as everyone else because they are young and that they don't know as much as the adults do; however, if they have a chance to prove that they care as much as everyone else then they should. Also, I believe that children actually understand a lot more about climate change then adults do because it is our future at risk, so who should stop us if we want to make a change? Especially because they are the ones who unintentionally and gradually started this problem and if we want to save our planet the we should start with those who will be affected the most?
In addition, a large number of students already take days off of school because they simply can't be bothered but if these children are doing it to make a difference then who should stop them?
Other people could argue that, it is jeopardizing their future and their education by taking days off of school, and I understand that by taking days of then they aren't taking in the information that they could be learning but to that I ask: will there really be a sustainable future to worry about if we don't make a change now, and fast?
However, I believe that it also depends on the way that you approach the government and local MP's can also influence how seriously that you are taken and while I was looking on some online newspapers relating to the issue, I was shocked to see the way that some of the children were reaching out to the government and the inappropriate wording that they had used on their posters and I think that if that they are approaching them in this way then they should be stopped from taking days of school and ensuring that they don't ruin it for the other children who are reaching out to the government in a non-violent and respectful way.
I kind off agree
I think that schools should let their students be able to go out and protest. This is because climate change is an issue that has been around for years, but has recently started to get worse and worse, and as a result is drawing our attention more towards it.
Furthermore, the younger generation are the people that have to suffer most, despite the older generation contributing more towards climate change. We are not yet able to vote, so our voices do not get heard until we draw the attention of the adults. At the moment, protesting is one of the only methods that we can use where we can get our voices across to a place that they will actually be listened to and something will be done about it.
Although some people could argue that children could protest during their weekends, that is a time to relax and enjoy themselves when they are not at school. As well as that, the weekends are a time when many children complete the homework which they get from school. Both homework and protesting would take up the whole day, which means that the child would get no time for themselves.
To conclude, if protesting is the only way for people to take action, then it is the route which we will have to take in order to get a positive end result.
I think that even though climate change is a very important issue, your school is just as important. The fact that your parent/guardian is the one getting in trouble is unfair to begin with, especially when they might not even be giving this child permission to even miss school. I'm not saying that nobody should participate in any protesting, I'm just saying that the idea of children ruining their education on something that might not be taken action against for a while.
I understand that children are trying to use something against the government to try and make them act against climate change but does that really affect them. It's not their education that is being ruined. Why can’t people just do these protests on the weekend or throughout the holiday when they don’t have school. Take away their own free time. Going to school you still learn about Climate Change and ways that you can stop it from happening yourself.
Whereas I feel that Climate Change is very important and should be fought against, we don’t know what the government is doing behind closed doors, they could actually be doing something to help. It’s been made obvious now that there is an issue and it should be fought against but can they really do anything when they have to deal with children leaving school to protest. Some people have even started writing inappropriate things on signs and police have been spending time arresting those who are causing a lot of trouble.
I understand why it is children who are protesting because it will more likely affect us than it will older people but going to school could probably make it so that people can understand the problem a lot more. Those people that are in school could also change other people’s minds about climate change and so slowly but effectively helping climate change without causing any problem with protests.
Schools should allow students to miss lessons to protest be because Parliament is not taking it seriously enough and maybe when students are literally missing their lessons they might take them more seriously. I feel like the younger generation are the one's that are going to suffer it because this is our future.
I think that even though it is the future of the worlds children that will experience the worst effects of climate change; children missing school to protest about it is unwise and even detrimental for the education of the children and the economy. Many of these children are rather uneducated about the issue. I believe that schools often teach students a biased argument and hence students don't realize that the entire economy revolves around climate change. Hence instead of missing school to protest like blind mice and actually get educated on the matter.
Protests are good but skipping school is not...
Maybe protests are changing the world in a peaceful way but people still shouldn't miss school, your weekends and time after school is yours but sacrificing education is not the way. Children don't have to miss school to make a point or ruin innocent peoples days who are trying to get to work because they cant wait to the weekend. It's a big issue but education it important too. It doesn't have to be one or the other it can be both why can't students wait until the weekend? In my opinion and i think others will agree students should not miss school for protests there is always another way!
I have varying opinions on this matter. First, school is there for a reason. As students we require an education for us to progress in the world. Though this applies more in secondary school than primary school but one lesson could introduce or finish off a topic and not cover that particular area again then you're pretty stuck when it comes to revision and ultimately your exams.
However, climate change is a massive issue and I thoroughly believe that it needs addressed by people in all walks of life and age. With our world and potentially our lives at risk action needs to take place. Think about it this way: If global warming and climate change ravage the world as it is predicted to flooding and specie distribution will render many parts on the world inhabitable school and education will the last of our worries.
Despite this, should we not be educating this generation on how we can act now and later in life which will support our planet? If this is such a huge issue for these students getting a strong education and then protesting during their free time not during school hours.
In my opinion this is outrageous, students who are saving the world, should be credited and have permission to go, not face possible fines for standing up for what they believe in.
On the other hand because of this kids could miss important days of school which could land a huge impact on their education, which could upset parents.
The whole basis for the protest march was that the students missed school for climate change. This isn't really a big deal in my opinion because one day out of years of constant schooling isn't really going to have any lasting issues for the student. In addition to this an adult often uses less than half of what they learn in school during their future career. The main reason for school is to prepare them for the future and give them as wide of a range of job options as possible. If the students went on a protest march it would be no different to school, its simply an experience trip to help prepare them for the future. Many culprits of climate change has used their school absence to ignore their message but if schools are really trying to do their job they would change it to a school protest march and use the opportunity to teach their students independence and the importance of opinion. Either way its preparing them for their future.
I voted yes because if we are passionate about our country and we want our voices to be heard then we should be allowed to go
what do you mean
I think the children should go on the march but to also take time to learn. Also, we are in school to learn so why aren't we starting to learn this.
Yes they should be able go on climate strikes because if no one does anything about climate change we will not have a future and be able to go to school!
I agree with you but you need to explain it more.
I think that some people should go on a march but not all of them, this means they don't stack up and you can take part in the issue. The teachers can't tell you or your parents for helping the environment, because your life comes before your education and we are ruining our world. IT MUST STOP!
Why should people march?
Personally I think that climate change is a big deal and that maybe schools could give the option say once every 2 months for the whole school if the students want they have the option to go on a protest then you are managing the situation of lots of student missing school and giving them the experience of a protest and letting their voice being heard. I think that this is a good compromise as students get the authorised absence but do not regularly miss school and feel that the school is helping them and the environment.
I believe children should be allowed to protest without being penalised for doing so. Schools and the government are forgetting the main reason why Greta Thunberg set out for the climate strike in the first place. She is telling the world that if climate change gets so bad, and I mean really bad, then what’s the point of worrying about exams and learning in school if there is no future for the human race beyond our generation? So the global school strike is set to continue until the world leaders start to listen. The truth is, we would rather not have to campaign, go on a march and miss out on our education. If there was no need to protest, then this would mean that the world leaders are finally taking the climate crisis seriously. If right now the climate emergency was the top main agenda in parliament, we would not even have this discussion at all. But, sadly, it’s not, so we have to continue to protest to keep the pressure on.
Besides, teachers should applaud us for wanting to protest because most of the time we are independently doing our own background reading. Unless you are part of the BNC club, then the majority of other pupils in our school do not get any formal education on climate change. So maybe if schools do not allow students to go on a protest maybe schools should have Friday climate change lessons instead.
I feel many of us are held by the strict school system and our school is no exception. Unless you are seriously ill in hospital, you would have the school team knocking at your door and be dragged into school and then our parents will be put into question. Most of the time parents that do want to protest are not able to because they have to go out to work in order to pay for the bills and put food on our tables. So it’s much easier for the children to raise the awareness on their behalf as we have a lot less to lose.
Some may argue that Friday strikes are more of a way of allowing kids the perfect excuse to bunk off school thereby it allows the adults to question the children’s motives of whether we are really serious about the message. To stop these kinds of criticism, I think we should extend the protest to Saturday as well which will show the seriousness of our message. Then it will also allow those that are not permitted to go on a Friday strike to attend Saturday strike instead, which I’m sure will bring a much larger crowd.
In my opinion, climate change is something that will effect generations of man-kind therefore I believe that the government should give students the authority to go on strike from school.
I think that schools should allow students to go to protests and miss school. I believe this because we are protesting about thing's which will affect our future more than theirs and we could end up having a major scale of 'mess' that we have to clean up because the adults didn't listen to children. I think one of the many reasons why students aren't getting noticed is because we're still "kids" and we can't vote, or simply because people have this view of "we are young and we don't understand as much as adults" when it's ultimately going to affect us and we probably know more about it than them. I'm not saying all the adults are to blame because there are probably people who have solutions but can't do anything as they don't have any permission. People argue that we are missing important days of school. If this is really a big problem for them then they should send the work they missed home to do. There is only one world. If drastic action doesn't take place soon the world could end a lot faster than we'd expected and then protests or school absents wouldn't matter.
This question took a while to answer, but I voted yes. The world needs more help and people should be able to protest for it. They would need permission from their parents, but helping people and their world will make a big difference. A lot of Plastic is found near schools, since they have a lot of children with snacks. So taking time to lick it up would be okay with the school I think, your helping them too. Yes, you would need to take time off, but do we want our world to live?
Recently, lots of children have missed school to join climate change protests. However, some schools haven't given 'advance . Yes, children would not get educated if they go and protest. But it will help the children's future and not let the earth be wiped out. Although children's academic records might be a tiny bit bad if they go off and protest TO SAVE THE WORLD It will still help them! Think, most children don't like going to school, but they do like seeing their friends and taking part in sports and games, and those children, those children who miss seeing their friends, who miss sports and games, to go off and protest as they do not want their family's,schools,friends and pets to die because of something horrible humans do to our world. There is only ONE world, and we must fight to protect it. There is only ONE chance, so grab it now!
I firmly believe that schools should give permission to children to allow them to protest. Currently, young adults are fighting for their future, the future generations to come. Let me put it this way. Would you allow to throw away the chance of making people aware of the Earth's greatest threat? Not only is this harming the animals roaming our planet, it is beginning to ruin lives of ours as well. Children have a voice. They should be able to be heard, to speak out their opinions which is what they are doing today. These protests made by adults and children are, in other words, saving us: every time there's a protest against pollution or global warming, more and more citizens are realising how serious this matter is.
Therefore, this is why schools should allow children to have a voice and warn the world about the worst to come.
I think that children should be able to miss school for protests because they need their opinion heard. This will get their parents in trouble however, it’s the children's future adults are ruining but people don't know that. Climate change will be irreversible in 12 years so what else are they going to do? We have to do all that we can to fix the unspeakable mistakes we've made. Adults are busy and working but when you see the phenomenal work they devoted their lives to and saved our planet, you will NEVER regret the choice of allowing children to skip school. Like a wise person once said, there's no planet B.
I think that children should go to school to learn but if they are sick they should stay at home in bed until they get better, if children don’t have education they can’t get a job or live their lives properly. If the Adult get into trouble they should explain why the child hasn’t came to school for a few days.
teenager miss school for reasons because school is boring maybe and they mite be very bad people and just go somewhere and parent call teachers to know where they child.
I think should leave school and protest because children might have the right to do it
I Think people should skip school and go protest because teenagers and other people want to save planet B but if they don’t act fast, we will all die and if u die we have nowhere to live it’s the only planet we can live in and if you do bad things to it you are getting closer to this planet getting
destroyed. These people are leaving scares on this planet that will never go away and how hard u try to fix it, it will stay there forever.
I think that children should have there say because when they are older they might not have a chance to have there say.
I believe that PEOPLE can make a change and not just an individual but protests are not the way. I think this because, even though the children have good intentions, it affects many like the school and the child as well. A school needs children to be a school but what matters most is education. If a person is well taught then they could invent something to prevent climate change such as the people who thought of the electric car and renewable energy. That is why I have voted no but I am not against stopping this issue.
In my opinion I agree, because they are trying to save the world, trying to help people think of them as really important people. People who want to save the earth. If this was you what would you do I would help more I wouldn’t care if I was broke I would stay helping the world
I agree and disagree. I agree because people should go out there and make a difference but if you don't get good education your future will not be as great as it could have been . Are you against climate change or not against climate change? If you were against climate change what would you say to a person who is not against climate change to make them against climate change? What would you say if you were against climate change to a person who is not against climate change to turn them into a person who is against climate change?
And they wanted to protest
thanks for hearing my say
The government says that a child is only allowed to miss school if they are ill because they can not physically come in. The other reason is authorised absence. The reason behind this is that it protects a child’s education. I think that the thought behind this is accurate, but because of the recent protests the government need to make a decision: should they let a child out of school to protest and loose educational time or should they not let children off school. Personally I think that children need to be in school, this is there education, they could protest at the weekend. Parent’s might support this as well. However I appreciate that there is no point getting a good education if you do not get time to use it. Children could write to the government in their spare time and if enough children or adults write then the Government would have to listen.
I believe that children should be allowed to leave school to join the climate change protests as school is all about learning and independence. Joining the protests is showing that the children have educated themselves about the world and have made the independent decision to help our world. Also, the world is very fragile so the more voices that are saying to do something, the more likely world leaders and politicians are likely to listen. Even though the children are not old enough to vote, they can still make a difference. Also, adults can leave for the strike so why can't we? Children's voices matter so we should be able to help as well. Would their have been as much of a reaction to climate change if Greta Thunberg hadn't gone on strike?