Hands Off Poetry!
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HANDS OFF POETRY!
We strongly oppose the censoring of Carol Ann Duffy's poem Education for Leisure by the examination board AQA, which has removed it from its anthology because it deals with the contentious issue of knife crime. AQA's decision is an arbitrary and cowardly action, a token gesture to show that it is a responsible and sensitive organisation, from a body that has neither the authority nor the nerve to exclude much more violent works from its syllabus, such as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
The English curriculum should not be used to score cheap political points, to advance corporate interests or for a back-covering exercise by an unaccountable organisation. Poems should be studied for their literary and therefore educational value, not because they carry the correct political message.
With its decision to ban Education for Leisure, AQA has shown the country that it is blatantly indifferent to the literary merits of the works it selects. Such a philistine and bureaucratic organisation does not deserve to be entrusted with the important task of shaping the English curriculum and deciding which poems our children will study. Literature is a public good, and AQA has no business banning it. We demand that AQA reverse its decision immediately.
We strongly oppose the censoring of Carol Ann Duffy's poem Education for Leisure by the examination board AQA, which has removed it from its anthology because it deals with the contentious issue of knife crime. AQA's decision is an arbitrary and cowardly action, a token gesture to show that it is a responsible and sensitive organisation, from a body that has neither the authority nor the nerve to exclude much more violent works from its syllabus, such as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
The English curriculum should not be used to score cheap political points, to advance corporate interests or for a back-covering exercise by an unaccountable organisation. Poems should be studied for their literary and therefore educational value, not because they carry the correct political message.
With its decision to ban Education for Leisure, AQA has shown the country that it is blatantly indifferent to the literary merits of the works it selects. Such a philistine and bureaucratic organisation does not deserve to be entrusted with the important task of shaping the English curriculum and deciding which poems our children will study. Literature is a public good, and AQA has no business banning it. We demand that AQA reverse its decision immediately.
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Goal
750 signatures
Goal: 1,000
Latest Signatures
27 December 2015
21 December 2015
9 December 2015
9 December 2015
747.
Isabel Adomakohy
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I studied this poem last year and felt no desire to commit a knife crime! I merely marvelled at her literary ability and savoured the composition of the poem, as I hope many more students will have the chance to do in later years.
5 December 2015
28 November 2015
26 November 2015
15 November 2015
12 November 2015
12 November 2015
4 November 2015
3 November 2015
27 October 2015
738.
Dominic S
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poetry should be the final line of defence against infringements on free speech. Bravo, Michele
22 October 2015
13 October 2015
2 October 2015
26 September 2015
22 September 2015
733.
Bobbie A
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I fully support the reinstatement of the poem "Education for Leisure". Taking it out of the Anthology does not make sense, especially as other, more violent poems remain.
20 September 2015
3 September 2015
2 September 2015
30 August 2015
19 August 2015
728.
Andrea Lohmannm
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As an English teacher, I found the decision to remove the poem farsical. As a Y10 form tutor, annoying, as the poem provided points for serious discussions.
18 August 2015
18 August 2015
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