Guiding Principle 2: Autonomy.
All people have the right to meet the world in their own, unordinary ways, with time and space to discover, play, be curious and make sense of how they experience the world, from their own unique view point.From here, each can authentically find out how they want to be in the world and in relationship with their kin and communities.
We care about the erosion of children’s rights in our education system and the lack of autonomy and agency young people experience. Young people are often subject to rules and expectations that do not meet their capacity, are made to conform through systems of punishment and rewards, and are not afforded the support or opportunity to voice their needs or have a say in decisions that can profoundly affect them.
The following was written by the folk at The Cabin and the Lodge, and is whole heartedly agreed with, by the folk at Bramblewood.
What are children’s rights?
Children have human rights. This is laid out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed by the UK in 1990. Included in this are the rights to have a voice that is taken seriously. Under 18s have participation rights, including rights to influence their lives and have their say in matters that affect them. They have the right to access information, to play, and to have dignity in their experience of education – a process enabling them to grow to their fullest expression. They have the right to know their own human rights, and the human rights of others. They have the rights to privacy, to be free from discrimination, and to have their own thoughts and opinions. They have the right to be treated as real people, not people ‘in the making’, or the property of anyone else, but as real whole people in the here and now.