The value of sharing stories

The budget cuts are soon to be confirmed.

But a leaked report today suggests £4.2 bn will be cut from Higher Education of which teaching will be hit by 79%. I am feeling genuinely shocked by this. With fees set to rise to £10,000+ a year, what kind of message is this sending to the next generation of school leavers?

The BBC have presented a collection of stories from citizens up and down the UK being asked what should be saved from the budget axe, and surprise surprise, people chose the welfare area that they would most directly benefit from; a gentleman approaching retirement was concerned about pensions and welfare for the elderly, a full-time stay at home Mum wanted her pocket protected instead of the money she currently get “going to someone else”, a lady using accessibility technology mentioning disabled funding. And of course they are all right to voice their concern and I agree that all of these areas warrant state-sponsored welfare.

My research has shown in observations so far that when you bring heterogeneous groups of people together and ask them to share considered stories, and give them the opportunity to discuss fractured perceptions of social realities, you can generate really positive dialogue. The CDS and many other organisations have been doing this for years, not least of which the BBC in their Capture Wales project. So why focus on an individualistic narrative? Surely that is going to perpetuate tunnel vision for citizens as we are plunging head first into uncharted territory of a public funding crisis.

This dog-eat-dog scenario unfolding is not going to be countered by Cameron’s “Big Society” if the value of education is stripped away, and I mean at every single level. A 93 year old should be able to access learning events as much as an 18 year old should be able to study to degree level without being saddled with such stomach-churning debts. Big Society can’t function if people lose the will to care.

Right back to my sociology chapter, now late, but having my head in this theory is really a life changing experience and making me feel increasingly more angry with certain political approaches….