At an event in the Dublin city centre yesterday, a panel of industry people chaired by Prof Ferdinand von Prondzynski, discussed the need for reform in Irish education, with particular focus on second level.
The event was hosted by Mason Hayes and Curran, the legal representation for the Educate Together organisation, organisers of the event. This organisation runs 40 odd primary level schools with a very different ethos to most religious or state run schools. With learner centric policies and methods, Educate Together schools have won acclaim in education circles and with west Dublin in particular having several primary schools run by the organisation, the argument is that it is high time a second level educate together school was established.
The Re-Imagining Learning event then was aimed at opening up debate for the ICT industry on the need for reform in Irish education at second level, to better prepare students for a life of third level and to make them more aware of how business works, from the entrepreneurial to the multinational.
It was very good to see that the event was well attended, showing that the ICT industry is aware of the need for reform and strong views were expressed, both by the panel and by the attendees.
It was somewhat auspicious that as the event took place, new Taoiseach, Enda Kenny was appointing his new cabinet, and Ruairi Quinn TD was appointed as minister for Education and Skills. Indeed, the Labour Party had already pledged to recognise Educate Together as a patron at second level.
While this would be a major step forward for the Irish system, having competition for second level schools outside of the church and the VEC, the more important point was that irrespective of the organisation that runs the schools, at any level, the Irish education system needs to change and change significantly to serve the needs of pupils who will go out into the twenty first century work place. Whether to found their own companies, as one panellist (and Educate Together alumni) did, or to go into the public or private sector, our current system is ill-equipped to provide the necessary blend of skills and knowledge required for tomorrow’s workplace.
However, my overriding concern as I listened to the excellent discussion was this: the education system needs to be wary of falling into the trap that mired business for so long and that is technology for technology’s sake. It is not enough to ensure that every child has a laptop, or PC or tablet or internet access, these are merely tools. It is more important that the technology is used as an enabler for learning, ensuring that children mature and grow knowing that today’s tablet is merely the paper and pen of yesteryear, it is the process of constant development that is the real lesson. As Henry Ford famously said, one grows old when one stops learning, whether that is at eight or 80.
Ltd
