Opinion: Europe should excite our young

Just as American politics was in the spotlight in 2008, so Europe will be this year. It will not be as compelling as the Obama experience but it will have its moments - the elections to the European parliament in June, the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in October and various debates on economic matters. But will "Europe" connect at all with Britain's young people? Probably not.

There are three reasons for this. First, we have largely given up on the political education of the young. It does not seem important to ensure that all young people grow up to be democratic citizens, informed about issues and processes and able to take action on matters that concern them. Too much reliance is placed on the school curriculum, where citizenship education remains one of the weakest aspects. Meanwhile, the only European history most pupils learn focuses on the causes of the First World War and the rise and fall of Hitler - topics that do not even do justice to the history of Germany in the 20th century, never mind that of Europe as a whole.