Message Board Archive
Discussion 1
What do you think about places to go and things to do where you live?
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Scotland's Commissioner for Children & Young People, Kathleen Marshall, thinks that adults shouldn't be allowed to smack children for any reason. The law says that it's wrong for one adult to hit another. Parents, though, are still allowed to smack a child or a young person, as long as they don't hurt them badly (e.g. leave a bruise or hit them around the head).Some other people argue that they should have the right to decide whether or not to smack their own children as they think it helps teach them right from wrong. They think that the law should stay the way it is.What do you think? Have you ever been smacked? Let us know your views by logging on to the message board.(If you're worried about somebody hitting you, you can call Childline on 0800 11 11 and speak to someone at any time, day or night).
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The Beano comic recently featured a cartoon family called "The Neds". The Mum and Dad were called Ned and Nedette and they had two teenagers called Asbo and Chavette. The family spent their time looking for ways to buy new tracksuits, bling and baseball caps, annoying the neighbours and avoiding hard work! It's been suggested that this cartoon is a bit insulting to children and young people and their families, particularly those who choose to dress in baseball caps and tracksuits. What do you think? Do you think it's wrong to use words like "ned" and "chav" to describe young people? Does this give the wrong impression of what young people are really like - or is this all just a bit of harmless fun? Here's where you have your say...... (Please note: this message board is designed for children & young people under 21. If you're over 21 and you want to contribute to the debate, please feel free to e-mail us at inbox@www.sccyp.org.uk)
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The Mosquito is a new device designed to tackle anti-social behaviour. It gives out a very high pitch signal that only young people can hear ?– which is apparently really irritating (but the makers say it doesn?’t damage your ears). You can?’t hear it by the time you?’re in your early 20s (as you lose the ability to hear really high sounds as you get older). The Mosquito can be positioned outside a shop or anywhere young people get together ?– and can be switched on by the shopkeeper to make sure that you don?’t hang around - even if you?’ve done nothing wrong! It?’s already been tried out by some Police forces in England ?– and newspaper reports suggest that one major retailer is considering introducing it in Scotland. The makers say that the Mosquito is harmless and is a good way to cut down crime and anti-social behaviour ?– but what do you think?
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You asked us to make ?“things to do?” our top priority. You said there weren?’t enough things to do near you and what was there was often too expensive or difficult to get to. Well, now we?’re creating a brand new ?“detective kit?” - and that?’s where you come in?…. The detective kits are your chance to make a difference. They?’ll be sent out through schools and colleges ?– and are designed to help you gather information and work with local decision-makers to make positive changes to your area. They?’ll help you map out what?’s available near you ?– and highlight what?’s missing. So here?’s how you can get involved ?– we?’d like to know what kind of things you?’d like to find in the kit. What kind of information would you like ?– and how would you like us to present it to you?
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A recent report by Sportscotland found that many of Scotland's sports facilities were in a pretty bad way - in need of urgent repair and upgrading. They estimate that it will cost millions of pounds and take years to put things right. We'd like to know - what are the sports facilities like near you - and what kind of improvements would you like to see happening in your area? (It would be helpful to know where you are - but you don't have to tell us this if you don't want to!).
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Communal changing rooms ?– where everyone (of the same sex) gets changed together in one room rather than in individual cubicles - are used in many schools across Scotland. So do you love them or loathe them? If you loathe them ?– what would you prefer to have instead? Here?’s your chance to tell us your views. (P.S. if you want to view comments on our previous topic - the state of Scotland's sports facilities - just click on "Message Archive").
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The Minimum Wage was introduced two years ago for most 16-17 year olds (with a few exceptions) ?– guaranteeing a wage that?’s now £3.00 an hour. But if you?’re younger than that ?– no matter where you work or what you do, employers can pay you as much or as little as they want ?– as there?’s no Minimum Wage for under-16s. Plenty of 14 and 15 year olds have part-time jobs, though ?– including paper rounds, shop work and waitressing etc. So do you think you?’re missing out? Should employers be expected to pay you a minimum amount per hour? Are you happy with the way things stand at the moment? Here?’s where you let us know your views....
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Using your thumb-print to borrow a library book might seem like an idea from far into the future, but it?’s happening right now in some Scottish secondary schools. The system - which scans your thumb-print digitally -replaces a traditional library card ?– but if pupils aren?’t happy supplying their finger print, then they still have the option to use a card instead. The schools operating the scheme elsewhere in the UK claim that it is very popular amongst the pupils and actually encourages them to read more. Some parents have said that they?’re worried about where pupils' fingerprints will be kept, if they?’ll be shared with anyone else and if they?’ll be deleted once a pupil has finished school. Others feel it?’s unfair to use young people as a way of trialling out this new technology ?– when it?’s not being used with adults at the moment. The people making the system say that the fingerprints are stored safely, only used for the library and that they are all deleted once a pupil leaves school. So what do you think? How would you feel about giving your thumb-print at school? Does your school use the system already?
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It's been in the news recently that the age that you can buy cigarettes in Scotland may soon rise from 16 to 18. The knock-on effect of this could be the introduction of stronger punishments for shop-owners selling to people who are under-age - including large fines or even stopping them from selling cigarettes altogether. So would you welcome a ban on selling cigarettes to under-18s ?– or should it stay the way it is now where you can buy cigarettes at 16? Here?’s where to tell us what you think?….
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The school-leaving age in England and Wales is due to be raised to 18 in 2013. Over 16s will have the option of staying at school, going to college or working in certain types of job where training is provided (for example, an apprenticeship). This move is designed to reduce the number of young people who leave school at 16 with few or no qualifications ?– as they can find it more difficult to find a job. Some people won?’t have to stay on at school if they don?’t want to, though, including young carers and teenage mums. Do you think this is something that should happen here in Scotland? What advantages/disadvantages do you think there would be in raising the school age to 18? Here?’s where you have your say?….
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Imagine you are a member of the United Nations and you have a chance to ask our government tough questions about what they are doing for children and young people. What would you ask? Next year this will actually be happening and SCCYP has a chance to help the UN decide what to ask. So we want your help! What would YOU want the UN to ask our government? HERE'S SOME BACKGROUND INFO TO HELP YOU: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out the basic rights young people living in countries that have signed up to the Convention should enjoy. These rights include the right to have a say and be listened to, the right to education and the right to play. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is the body that checks to see if the promises governments have made through the Convention are being kept. The Committee members meet with representatives from each country every 5 years or so to check that they?’re following the Convention properly. Every time they meet ?– they make a set of recommendations about how governments could give children and young people in their country a better deal. Next year, it will be the UK?’s turn to talk to the Committee ?– and the Committee is likely to be posing some difficult questions to the UK Government about what they?’ve managed to achieve since they last spoke to the Committee. Before this happens, the four UK Children?’s Commissioners will be submitting a report to the Committee, highlighting some of the issues children and young people have raised with us. So that's why we need your help. Let us know what you think we should be asking ?– and we?’ll do our best to put your views across.
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Pupils at some schools are being asked to put together a "wish list" of what they would want to see included in a new school. What designs and facilities would you ask for in your new school?
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SCCYP?’s been contacted by Katy from the charity, Enquire, as she needs your help! She?’s interviewing someone called Adil Latif for their young persons?’ blog this weekend ?– and she?’s looking for some great/unusual questions to ask him. You might not have heard of Adil before ?– but his claim to fame is jumping out of a helicopter onto a glacier and snowboarding down it to raise cash for the charity, Action Aid. (By the way, Adil is blind). Enquire are hoping Adil?’s story will inspire other young people to push themselves to the limit. So what would you like to ask him? You can ask him about his snowboarding experiences ?– or about anything else you think would be interesting. Let us know your questions as soon as possible and we?’ll pass them on to Katy in time for the interview on Sunday. You can find out more about what Adil has been up to by clicking here: http://www.enquire.org.uk/youngpeople/wordpress/?p=87 We'll let you know next week which questions Katy asked Adil!
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In the past we?’ve asked for your views about what you think your ideal school should be like and which facilities should be on offer to pupils. This month, though, we?’re keen to know more about how you?’re actually treated at school ?– in particular when you need to go to the toilet during class. So can you go when you need to go ?– or do your teachers say you?’ll have to wait? Let us know what happens ?– and what you think about it!
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