Hands Off Poetry!

To:  Assessment and Qualifications Alliance

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.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Hands Off Poetry! Petition to Assessment and Qualifications Alliance was created by Manifesto Club and written by Michele Ledda (michele.ledda1@tiscali.co.uk).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.