Musical Theatre Workshops - stop or keep trying

I am at the point now where I really need to decide about whether I should continue trying to get my musical theatre workshops underway or concentrate on my Identi-tee craft based workshops, I have had a lot of feedback on these from young people and those working with young people.  I have come up with numerous new exercises to help the young people really think about who they are and what that means.  I think I have to realise that this project is going to go past the end of my Masters course.  I think in the new year I could start working with a friend who is an actress who has expressed an interest in my project, and build those workshops up more slowly. 

Opinions of social commentators on the London riots

Tony Thompson in Time Out observes that historically, every controversial shooting of a black man at the hands of the police has been followed by a riot, yet the events of August seemed to take the Met by surprise.

Richard Wilkinson, Professor of Social Epidemiology at the University of Nottingham makes a comparison between banker’s bonuses and the MPs expense scandal, and the looting seen in the riots. Both are seen as stealing, both brought grief and ruin to families and businesses, yet the rioters were seen as much more of a threat to our way of life.

Politicians are talking about mindless violence to avoid discussion of the real cause. Wilkinson claims that Britain is more unequal now than it was in the 1920s.

Social commentators had many differing views on the causes of the riots.

The journalist of the ‘Bagehot’s notebook’ blog on The Economist online believed that there was no single explanation for the trouble, but one of the most plausible arguments is that of inner city gangs.

This is because gangs have been evolving recently, and are now based around geographical areas rather than ethnicity and have been recruiting younger members than before.

The Daily Mail’s Melanie Phillips believes that the violence was a predictable outcome of a “three decade liberal experiment which tore up virtually every basic social value”.

The Daily Mirror’s Paul Routledge blames the culture of rap music which he feels glorifies violence, lack of respect for authority and materialism.

An article in the print copy of The Economist (13/08/2011) expressed its opinions that the riots were caused by the frustration of an underclass that feels increasingly marginalised.

Budget cuts beginning to close youth centres and affect pupils and students.

These youths see expense claiming MPs and bonus fiddling bankers, and see no reason not to help themselves.

They feel they have no stake in society and nothing to lose.

However, some social commentators also focus on the issue as an opportunistic outbreak of thuggery and stupidity, evidencing the fact that the violence suddenly stopped when 10,000 extra police were drafted in, and, although this policing change happened only in London, national trouble stopped at the same time (copy-cat effect)

Many social commentators focus on the socio-economic background of the rioters. Bagehot’s notebook describes a bleaker sense of an underclass who think the ‘rich’ are local shopkeepers or the owners of Footlocker etc.

‘Smashing the rich’ = just attacking anyone with something they did not have, and wanted.

Despite the socio-economic background of the rioters being frequently discussed, commentators handle the issue of race much more tentatively. An article in the print copy of The Economist makes some comments, however.

The journalist says that it is hard to ignore the fact that the majority of the rioters were black which suggests that race played some part (even if politicians are unwilling to contemplate it.) The journalist makes two key links between race and certain aspects of the riot.

If you are of the opinion that the riots were just ‘mindless thuggery’, the assertion by Tony Sewell (of ‘Generating Genius’, an organisation promoting maths and science among black boys) that “black popular culture used to be based on spirituality and social justice…now we have a music that glorifies violence, materialism and sex”, could explain some of the violence in relation to race

If you come at it from the angle that the rioters are the disaffected youth, there could be a link between the riots and the fact that black youths are five times more likely to be stopped and searched than white youths by the Met.

Other social commentators lament on the ‘youth of today’, and the supposed decline in morals and family in recent years.

The historian David Starkey put forth the somewhat controversial opinion that the reason for the riots was that ‘the whites have become black…so many of us have this sense of literally a foreign country’

Allison Pearson in The Telegraph questions England’s ‘frighteningly moronic youngsters’, blaming bad parenting for the troubles, which she says would never have happened 30 or 40 years ago.

However, in an interesting blog by Bagehot, he highlights how Professor Geoffrey Pearson’s 1982 book ‘Hooligan: A History of Respectable Fears’ shows a long history of commentators lamenting the decline in morals, bad parenting, lack of respect for authority etc., as far back as 1751, which Bagehot believes teaches us to avoid moral panic and hasty judgements.

One of the major concerns of social commentators regarding the riots is the role of politicians and their reactions to the riots.

It is noted that whilst constituency MPs have come out of the crisis well, national leaders have done less well. 

Bagehot asks whether after a year in office, shouldn’t Cameron already know whether his government’s policies were likely to help or harm British families?

The blog ‘Blighty’ makes some political predictions of its own.

It says ‘Don’t expect any hoody-hugging from Mr Cameron’, as well as stating that the country doesn’t want to hear a ‘blame on all sides’ opinions. This, according to Blighty, will mean that in the short term he will condemn the rioters, whilst in the longer term he will make proposed reforms of police and welfare bigger parts of the government’s strategic measures.

Blighty also predicts that there may be a general hardening of public opinion not only towards crime, but also towards welfare and other social issues, the test of which will be the reactions to the proposed housing benefit cap.

Another key aspect of the riots explored by social commentators is that of the police.

The biggest accusation being thrown at the Met is that, when faced with civil disorder, the police stand by for fear of provoking further violence, attempting to catch culprits afterwards using CCTV footage.

However, commentators also acknowledge that the Met have been alternately accused of brutality and laxity in recent years so are in a difficult position.

Commentators believe that policing will become a more central topic of political discussion.

 

Politicians will question if successive attempts to check and soften the Met (such as the Scarman Reports of the 1980s and community support officers etc.) have resulted in an excessively tentative attitude to policing.

Sources:

Time Out Magazine 18-24 August 2011, no.2139:

• ‘Can the Met respond?’ by Tony Thompson (p22)
• ‘Is the problem welfare or warfare?’ by Richard Wilkinson (p23)

Collected articles from The Economist online:

• ‘Britain’s August Riots’, Bagehot’s notebook, 15/08/2011
• ‘London Burns’, Blighty blog, 09/08/2011
• ‘We have been here before’, Bagehot’s notebook, 16/08/2011
• ‘Race and the Riots: a reckoning’ from the print copy, 03/09/2011
• ‘The fire this time’ from the print copy (13/08/2011)

Police opinion on the London riots

(Harder to find police opinion as many want to remain anonymous, more reluctant to talk about their experiences or feelings towards the riots)

PC Lewis, a response team police officer in South East London, states that he was as shocked by the riots as anyone else.

He says that the riots in Tottenham were initially a protest, but in other areas it was opportunistic, taking advantage of the emergency services being stretched to get away with looting and stealing.

Said that there was ‘no excuse’ for the fires.

Alexandra Topping from The Guardian did a report with officers who were on the front line, none wished to be identified.

One sergeant was suffering with concussion after being hit in the head with a brick. Another had an injured foot from a block of concrete thrown at him.

An officer described how, when one policeman fell to the floor, paramedics who rushed to his aid had missiles thrown at them. He said “Being on the floor in a riot is not the best place to be.

Another officer tells how he had worked a 24 hour shift on the 7^th and was into the 15^th hour of his shift on the 8^th when interviewed.

Police had to fill in forms to justify any violence used.

There were worries for police dogs as well as officers- one dog got a blow to his face, another got glass in his paws.

Although some locals had offered words of support and cups of tea, others had shouted abuse from their windows.

The anonymous officer said: “It can all feel a bit thankless at the moment, to be honest”.

For the less experienced riot officers, “it is scary”

Some police had to use minivans instead of riot vans, leaving them vulnerable to missiles thrown by rioters.

Comparing the riots to the student demonstrations, the anonymous officer said: “It’s completely different. There was some violence then, but you didn’t have people basically wanting to murder you”

Sources:

‘London Riots: Police tell of their battles’ by Alexandra Topping in The Guardian, 09/08/2011

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/09/london-riots-police-officers-battle)

PC Lewis in Time Out (18-24 August) [p19]

Politicians opinions of the London riots

Universally condemned by the House of Commons

David Cameron takes a hard line towards the actions of the rioters: “We will not put up with this in our country”

Admits there are questions to be answered about the shooting of Mark Duggan

Cameron doesn’t feel there was any political motivation behind the riots- the peaceful protest over Duggan’s death was “used as an excuse by opportunist thugs in gangs”

Cameron admits that there were problems with policing during the riots

The issues with policing are brought up by several politicians. The main point made is that police treated the riots as a ‘public order issue’ rather than the serious criminality it actually was.

Nadine Dorries, Conservative MP for Bedfordshire, also brings up the issue of resources available to the police- if the police had had access (or easier access) to plastic bullets, tear guns and water cannons, would the situation have spiralled out of control so quickly?

Malcolm Wicks, the Labour MP for Croydon North highlighted the fact that for hours in Croydon, rioters were able to loot without any officers around.

Some MPs question whether the young age of some of the rioters caused the police to act with less force

Despite their condemnation of the riots, politicians admit that the crimes have causes that must be tackled. Need to find out why people felt that they had something to gain from looting and vandalism and nothing to lose, also why some of the rioters were so young.

Some MPs mention possible plans to try and reclaim those involved in the violence back into society, also questioning why they are going against the communities they live in.

Certain MPs (notably Andrew Bridgen, Conservative MP for North West Leicestershire) feel that “Those who seek to excuse that behaviour, putting it down to deprivation, poverty or current government policies, are themselves symptomatic of the no-blame, no-responsibility culture that has undermined our society and led us into this sorry state”

Like Bridgen, many MPs also focus on what is wrong with the younger generation. Ed Milliband wants an end to “a take-what-you-can culture”, whilst other MPs, including Cameron, also cite the rise of street gangs as a factor in the riots.

Some MPs also focus on the role of social media and the internet in the riots. The use of Twitter and Facebook to spread news about the riots and provide communications for rioters worries some politicians. Cameron mentions that there are plans to talk to social media companies to see what can be done about this danger.

Heidi Alexander, Labour MP for Lewisham East expresses her concerns about “the popularity and accessibility of internet footage glorifying gangs and knives”. Cameron also says that the younger generation glorify violence.

Although the actions of young people themselves are widely condemned, the majority of politicians make the point that parenting is just a big a factor in their actions as anything else. Want to make parents teach their children right and wrong, suggestions to hold parents responsible in court for the behaviour of their child, talks about broken families as a factor.

MPs also are concerned that people don’t try to racialise the issue, as people of all races and religions were involved. The Prime Minister agrees-“This was not about race, it was about crime”

Most MPs are also struck by how different the August riots were from notable riots of the past (specifically the 1981 riots in Brixton and Toxteth)- the Prime Minister highlights two key differences.

Firstly, he says how these riots were “not a political protest” and were simply “common of garden thieving, robbing and looting”.

He also mentions the timing and geography of the riots- “the same thing happening in different places with different people all doing it at the same time”

Source: House of Commons debate, Thursday 11^th August 2011, 11.30am (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110811/debtext/110811-001.htm#1108117000001)                                                                                                                                        

Psychologist opinion of the London riots

Criminologist Professor John Pitts asserts that looting makes “powerless people suddenly feel powerful” and that is “very intoxicating”

The riots provided a reversal of what young people have always been told- those in authority will punish them if they do something wrong. Then they rebel and nothing happens straight away, can ‘get away with it’

The numbers of looters and rioters is important- Dr James Thompson [honorary senior lecturer in psychology at UCL] asserts: “Morality is inversely proportional to the number of observers. When you have a large group that’s relatively anonymous, you can essentially do anything you like” This is down to “safety in numbers”.

Psychologist Dr Lance Workman says that some rioters may adopt an ad hoc moral philosophy on the lines of “these rich people have things I don’t have so it’s only right that I take it”

Also says that there is evidence that most gang leaders have psychopathic tendencies (i.e. lack of empathy, no feelings of guilt).

For most looters, the main motivation is the thrill, with the free goods as a bonus. However, ringleaders will manipulate the mob to target high-value shops.

The ‘mob mentality’ of the riots has been compared to football hooliganism.

Dr Paul Bagguley, a sociologist at the University of Leeds says that whilst looting occurs in most riots, it has dominated the August riots, and they could be called the ‘consumer society riots’.

He says that there is a context however- one being that high price goods are easier to loot now (such as phones), but also “for a lot of looters, it’s just opportunity but it also expresses a sense of, how else am I going to get all these things?”

The riots, according to most psychologists, cannot be seen as “just thuggery” and must be seen against a backdrop of “growing discontents” about youth unemployment, education opportunities and income disparities.

Most of the rioters are from poor estates and have no “stake in conformity” (Pitts) and who have nothing to lose.

Professor Pitts says: “They have no career to think about. They are not ‘us’. They live out there on the margins, enraged, disappointed, and capable of doing some awful things.”

Jason Nier, associate professor of psychology at Connecticut College highlighted two key aspects of social psychology found in the riots:

Deindividuation: Our behaviour is usually guided by our own identity and values which tells us not to do certain things, e.g. stealing. However, in some situations we may take on the values of a group, making our own internal norms and values less salient

Emergent norm theory: Most people involved had probably never been in a riot before, and were unaware of what the appropriate behaviour was. So if other people are looting it suggests it’s normal (and something they can get away with

Forensic psychologist Kay Nooney takes a slightly different stance on the riots, saying that “These people aren’t interested in tuition fees. In constituency, it’s most like a prison riot: what will happen is that…nobody will ever know exactly, but a rumour will emanate…there will be some form of moral outrage that takes its expression in self-interested revenge. There is no higher purpose; you just have a high volume of people with a history of impulsive behaviour, having a great adventure.”

Of course, the fact that young people who aren’t even in prison are behaving as if they have nothing to lose and can act as they want leads to some serious psychological questions (as asserted by Prof. Pitts).

Sources: ‘UK riots: what turns people into looters?’ by Tom de Castella and Caroline McClatchey 09/08/2011 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14463452)

‘The UK riots: the psychology of looting’ by Zoe Williams in The Guardian 09/08/2011

Youth worker opinion on the London riots

They condemn the riots, but say that there are several clear explanations as to why they happened, concerned with youth issues.

All agree that the very young age of some of the looters was shocking (younger than 10, in some cases)

Susana Giner of the Youth Media Agency believes that some of the blame should fall on the media for promoting an excessively harsh view of young people- she cites a survey from ‘Children and Young People

Now’ in 2009 stating that 76% of the stories about young people in the media were negative.

If young people are vilified by the media and therefore society, it is inevitable that they will attempt to rebel. If they are already seen as ‘criminals’ they will begin acting like them.

Giner also mentions that only 1 in 100 young people are ever involved in any crime.

Some youth workers also believe that some of the cuts imposed by the coalition are partly to blame- such as cutting EMA, tuition fee increases, and cuts to youth services in London. Feel that the youth has been disenfranchised.

Most of the rioters would feel hopeless, with no opportunities

Mediation worker Zoe doesn’t believe reports that gangs in south London got together during the riots as there is too much animosity between them.

The youth workers believe that one of the big problems is that many come from single-parent families where there is no authority in the home, so young people are free to run wild.

Camila Batmanghelidjh of Kids Company explains that the rioters were looting and going against the areas they lived in and their own communities because they feel they don’t actually belong to the community, and that the community has nothing to offer them.

For youth workers, the riots, whilst more violent than they expected, didn’t come as a surprise, after years of growing animosity.

Those working ‘at street level’ are aware of the worrying trend of large groups of teenagers “creating their own parallel antisocial communities with different rules” (gangs). These gangs are usually the only ‘support’ these young people receive- not a surprise that they have no respect for traditional authority

Mention the use of Twitter and Facebook to keep the momentum going.

Youth workers give their opinions on how to ‘heal the wound’; as to prevent the riots from happening again, have to help out the young people who feel they have nothing to lose.

Suggestions: a proper voice of the youth in the media, more positive representation of young people in the media, more coverage of positive youth projects, as well as more support for single-parent families.

Batmanghelidjh argues that the community has selected who is ‘worthy’ of help and who is not, and this needs to be combated in order to stop riots like the riots of August happening again.

Sources

 Time Out London 18-24 August 2011, no.2139:

• ‘Sticks and stones…?’ by Susana Giner, director of the Youth Media Agency, p14
• Opinion off Zoe, Mediation worker, North London, p21

‘Caring costs- but so do riots’ by Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of Kids Company, in The Independent, 09/08/2011

The riots data so far...

The BBC has produced some charts detailing data on the summer's riots.  

Chloe from Hatastic

Big thanks to Chloe from Hatastic, who has very kindly prepared a T-shirt for my project, a great example for the Girl Guides. 

Thandie Newton: Embracing otherness, embracing myself

A great video on TED from Thandie Newton talking about her identity and self of self growing up, coming from 2 very different cultural backgrounds. 

Levi's Go Forth

It's every person's legacy to make the world more to their liking. Now is our time. Go Forth!

Charles Bukowski -The Laughing Heart
"Your life is your life don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission. Be on the watch. There are ways out. There is a light somewhere. It may not be much light but it beats the darkness. Be on the watch. The gods will offer you chances. Know them. take them. You can’t beat death but you can beat death in life, Sometimes. And the more often you learn to do it, the more light there will be. Your life is your life. Know it while you have it. You are marvelous the gods wait to delight in you."

What can we do?

Matt Aslett has kindly agreed to let me use the image below for this project, I think its a wonderful, dramatic representation of the London riots, and makes us really think about what we need to do to change things, I would like to use it in the banner ads on Creative Review and on the exhibition website, with the message:

"What can we do?"

Top Drawer

Today I went to a buyer's fair in Olympia called Top Drawer, I thought it would be a very different type of exhibition to visit as inspiration for the grad show. I really enjoyed it, firstly, some beautiful designs, graphically, some great new innovative products, and finally, I saw a number of interesting ways to display items. 

I am still really struggling on how I will visually display the workshop process and my iteration for the exhibition, and most of my ideas involve hanging installations from the ceiling, which will not be possible in a double-height space, which i think is what we have got!

I am going to start sketching up the ideas I have got though, and go from there, only a few more weeks and we will be able to see the amazing new space we will be exhibiting in. 

Thames Festival

Today I helped out at The Thames Festival , on the Craft Trail, part of We Make London.  It was wonderfully inspirational, there were so many creative designer makers there.  Got some great advice from those around me, all great progress for my MADS journey. 

London Riots

Found this wonderful illustration on DeviantArt by Darkfeign, thinks its really great.

Who am I?

The Science Museum has a permanent exhibit on Who am I, which offers a number of useful tools for young people to discover themselves, it talks about genetics, their bodies and their brains:

"Visit the Who am I? gallery

What attracts you to someone? What is your first memory? What makes you, you?
Who am I? invites you to explore the science of who you are through intriguing objects, provocative artworks and hands-on exhibits.
Discover what your voice sounds like as a member of the opposite sex, morph your face to see what you’ll look like as you age, or put your emotional responses to the test in our brand-new interactive exhibits.
View thought-provoking object displays and investigate some of the characteristics that make humans such a successful species, such as personality, intelligence and language.
Reflect on the big questions that new techniques in science are raising, and explore how your genetics and brain combine to create your unique identity.
Visit now to discover yourself!"

Roger Highfield, Daily Telegraph: "It's all good fun, and guaranteed to draw in the crowds."

BBC Focus: "To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the completion of the Human Genome Project the gallery has crammed itself with new attractions."

Visit London Blog: "Of course it wouldn't be the Science Museum without some impressive interactive exhibits!"

 

 

Girl Guides

Tonight I met with the local guide leader in my area and have confirmation of the dates I will be carrying out the next phase of my workshops in October, so I have time to practice and iterate from the feedback I have received so far....

Sponsorship

Spoken to a colleague who has started her own PR and social issues agency, she is working with a number of entrepreneurs and investors, hopefully some of her clients will be interested in sponsoring our exhibition. 

Further feedback and iteration

Today I got some more feedback on my workshop plan from a secondary school teacher, some really great points to remember and some exercises I might tinker with further now I have read this: 

 

Great to have lots of good interactive activities to do.

a couple of bits of advice...

- ensure you explain the tasks very clearly and maybe do a demonstration

- the starter will prob go on for 10 minutes - esp if there is like 30 students in the class

- with the warm up - I think that's a great idea, make sure when you want to get the kids attention back you have a clear signal.

- always make sure everyone is quite when you are talking, don't talk over them - get them to be quite for you.

- the who am I discussion will prob go on a bit longer - I think when kids are expressing their views you don't want to stop them especially when they really get in to it and come up with good ideas

All in all you have lots of activities, be careful not to over exert yourself and also when you ask them questions, get them to think for a minute without writing anything then pick up their pen - gets them using their brain.

Watch out for the loud kids who don't want to shut up - if this is for kids u have never met - try to get sticky name labels so you can call their names. pick different students to get their points of view.

Give them an aim of the lesson, whats it for? Always go back to it at the end of the lesson.

Synopsis - re-draft

How can young people be encouraged to develop their personal identities through creative critical reflection?

WHAT

By developing creative, positive and enjoyable workshops, young people can discuss society, culture, values, hopes, dreams and aspirations and engage with their personal identities and communities in a constructive way. 

WHY

The physical, psychological and social changes experienced by adolescents are such that psychologists generally regard adolescence as a critical period for self and identity development (Erikson, 1968; Marcia, 1987).  These workshops could encourage young people to be confident individuals, enjoy learning, progress, achieve, and become responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society.  They could also be used to help reduce the youth gang culture mentality that can evolve from family breakdown (which leads to crisis in cultural and personal identity).  The looting in the UK in the summer of 2011 was a very real and graphic demonstration of the number of young people who are currently in crisis within our communities.  

Although there has been some recent interest in the development of social identity (e.g., Bennett & Sani, 2004), most research has been conducted with children, and researchers have assumed adolescents to be equivalent to adults (Ruble et al., 2004; Sani & Bennett, 2004). 

Personal wellbeing is currently a non-statutory part of the National Curriculum for 11-16 years olds, it includes elements such as personal identities, healthy lifestyles, relationships and diversity.  These are key to helping young people develop their personal identities, to feel confident, embrace change, recognize and manage risk, take responsibility for themselves and contribute in a positive nature to their communities.  We need to ensure that all young people in our society get the help and guidance they need to develop their personal wellbeing.

We must also consider that many students’ cultural, ethnic, linguistic, racial and social class backgrounds differ from their homogeneous teaching population (mostly white, female, and middle class), young people need to be provided with relevant social and cultural realities (Howard, 2003) to give them the tools to deal with the physical, psychological and social changes they are experiencing. 

Dewey (1933) talked about the value of reflection in education: critical reflection ‘gives attention to one’s experiences and behaviours, and meanings are interpreted from them to inform future decision-making.  Once cognitive processing is complete, reflective action is an extremely useful tool for addressing social and emotional issues, especially those relating to race and culture. 

HOW  

During the workshops, young people collaborate to discuss themselves, their relationship, their society and their environment, and how all these components affect sense of self.  The key themes of personal wellbeing are developed and explored through creativity and reflection:

CREATIVITY Producing artefacts, experimenting with ideas, materials, tools and techniques, taking risks and learning from mistakes.

REFLECTION Exploring the visual, tactile and other sensory qualities of their own and others’ work, identifying how values and meanings are conveyed, developing views and expressing reasoned judgment, analyzing and reflecting on their work and the work of others.

IF

These workshops could lead to developments in the field of personal identity in adolescences, its importance, and change it from a non-statutory component of the national curriculum, which could lead to widespread use of the workshops in schools and youth groups.