Foreign Policy Needs To Be Integrated In Schools Curriculum
Foreign Secretary William Hague recently announced he is reviewing the UK’s foreign policy to develop new strategic partners overseas. These medium to long-term objectives need to be integrated in the educational policies and teaching resources of the national curriculum. After all, those responsible for the effective follow through of foreign policy are probably in school at the moment.
The political and economic map of the world is changing. The UK’s status has moved from a world leader in the industrial revolution to become a potential follower. But this may not be the disaster it sounds. It makes greater sense to take the lower risk option and develop a structure based on a rear guard movement. Learning from infrastructure faults will allow us to introduce a more refined mark II version.
We inherited many weaknesses from the industrial revolution. Not least being the first to introduce a new infrastructure. Our railway network is logistical fraught. A combination of Engineering brilliance and innovation mixed with old thinking and compromise. Whilst the rest of the world delights in modern railways able to travel at twice the average UK speed, updating the original and ageing London underground and national rail network is now a gargantuan task and economically unviable. Concorde was technically brilliant but commercially a disaster. Supersonic passenger flight followed travel by hovercraft have come and gone. Yet innovation is the very soul of the UK.
William Hague has flagged up potential realignment with developing countries. China, India and Brazil are showing distinct signs of emerging economies. Some pundits consider the UK, Europe and North America as aging economies. History reveals huge swings in the economic fortunes of leading countries. Portugal, Spain, Greece, Italy, the Roman Empire, even Venice once made fortunes as international trading nations. Ironically the current economic situation now reveals massive debt and ailing economies in this same group of “ex” world leaders.
To secure a future economic position for the UK the foreign policy, determined by the Foreign Secretary, has to be integrated in the educational curriculum by the educational secretary Michael Gove. This requires considerable long term strategic planning. Modern foreign languages in schools currently focusing on French, German and Spanish would need to switch to Mandarin, Hindi and Portuguese. Cultural awareness, customs and religion become essential if we are to capture any meaningful role in the new world market. No more can we assume empire status as we will be on the back foot.
We are not alone in this situation. Recent forecasts indicate the progressive assimilation of the Hispanic worker as essential in the economy of the U.S.A. Years of political stability in South America where national leaders have outlived their western counterpart is leading to a growing presence and a critical mass in world economies. If we fail to open this economic door we could slip up badly. We and more importantly our children need an educational curriculum that is matched to this objective, and the process needs to start right now.
