To bring back national service?

[Joogle]

I don't mean in the military sense, more something along the lines of community work. I know in Norway they have compulsory national servicewhich does involve military service but the option of non-militray service as well.

I just feel with the recent riots something needs to be done to stop a bored generation within a doom and gloom era feeling alienated from the rest of the population and that working within their local community therefore feeling more part of it and giving them a wider sense of social responsibility could be the answer, AIBU?

Abs- i am just pointing out that it wouldn't be as simple to implement as people think. In some areas it would cause further trouble, as the gangs are made up of different ethnic backgrounds (i am not going to name them), i work and have friends who work in this 'spectrum' so i am not getting my facts from the DM, before anyone suggests it.

Coming up with new ideas is a good thing - we need to change something and so all suggestions should be considered.

I don't think this one will work though. It sounds good, but once you start working out the details it gets messy.

If you have them do something worthwhile then they will be replacing people who do that now as a job.

If you invent stuff to keep them busy that has no value then it will be no different to a community service sentence.

As others have pointed out you'd have to prevent people who were making something of their life from going to university/starting work. Or worse still it would become a scheme just for the ones who didn't have university or a career to step into and would indeed be just for the poor and underprivileged

THEPIPER- was that meant to be ironic?

I don't think there's anything wrong with it being just for people who aren't going to college or university.

It could be anything: parenting classes, helping with the elderly, etc, etc. I had two friends who went to Americorps and learned to be bricklayers.

Maybe put pressure on businesspeople to offer more apprenticeships, if possible?

I think all these supposedly warring 'gangs' could benefit hugely from a year or two of being woken up at 6am, running long distances with a heavy backpack and beasted by an irate seargeant-major. Who knows, it might even foster some team spirit and break down all the 'ends and colour wars' they waste their time on otherwise. And it'd be phenomenally useful for the middle-class youth that currently floats straight from independent education via gap yah to Russell Group uni and then jobs in the City to see how crappy it is to grow up as an underprivileged nobody from Luton. I think it'd be beneficial all round.

OP, YANBU.

Onagar I don't see why it would mean taking jobs away from people who already do them - the idea would be it would be a fixed-term thing - say 12 mths - and so there would constantly be a new flow of untrained people needing "shepherding" and support from skilled trained personnel. It might also help people who don't know what they want to do in life sort things out in their heads and get an idea of where they might be headed.

And if it were across the board, and universities/colleges had to wait a year to get all their students, not just some, then it would become part of the system, not something that prevented people making something of their lives. I had a gap year that turned into two and my university place was still waiting for me when I got back.

As for it only being for UK-born citizens, would it have to be? COuld the obligation not apply to anyone who has taken advantage of the UK education system, for instance?

And one last thing: like any other, it wouldn't be a measure that would wipe out rioting, social unrest, etc. Riven asks how it will stop looters like the 31-yo teacher. Well it might not, indeed probably won't. Nothing is a cure-all. And there will always be nasty pieces of work everywhere. But the idea would be to improve the sense of belonging to a place, to society, and to be a way of opening people's eyes to what goes on elsewhere than outside their own front door - whether that's only in the community cenre down the road, or somewhere at the other end of the country in an army base.

I certainly agree with some kind of national "community" service for teenagers after school. But it would have to be thought through.

abeautifulbutterfly - That was extremely well put

The problem is that it sound very equalising. All youth will do national service.
The fact is that it wasn't equalising. The platoon goes out for a muddy exercise and is told to be back smartenned up first thing in the morning. Little rich boy just gets out his spare uniform and has a relaxing evening. The kids that couldn't afford to buy spare uniform spend the evening washing/polishing etc. Little things like that.
And however carefully it was done some kids will have the better deal because they will have money, and/or potentially the support to get out/get a better deal. This in turn produces resentment....

Good idea! It would bring young people a sense of responsibility, and discipline, if they don't yet have it. And instill good life skills.

So what then, DeWe? I agree with what you're saying, but without NS/CS is it any fairer? The resentment is there anyway. And perhaps by throwing loads of different people together you are bringing all of them into contact with ideas they might not otherwise have had to consider.
Yes at university there were people with cars, the rest of us had to walk. There were people (living in the same flat as me) who got cheques from Daddy every month and could afford food and beer and go clothes shopping etc etc etc every month , and then there were those of us who had to make ends meet on a loan and an overdraft and get jobs... Obviously this is a far different question but you get the gist.
The old military-only version did throw everyone together I guess, but this would surely be a lot more diversified in every respect.