When I reported progress on the last occasion I had just given a brief summary of the general trend in education through the various levels of formal education here. I want to develop that point in somewhat greater detail this afternoon. Before doing so, I think I should start by making some general observations in case anything I would omit or anything I would say would appear to give either a special priority to what I am saying or, in fact, appear to overlook what I might not mention. It has to be remembered that above all else education is fundamentally concerned with the development of the human personality so that if today or on any other occasion I make special references to technological education, or any other aspect of it, I hope it will be clearly understood that one can never overlook or forget the most fundamental aim of education in every sphere.
It is, in fact, a principle of education that it must concern itself, in whatever area it is dealing with, with the development of man's capacity to think and to make rational and informed judgments in whatever area he happens to be involved. It is important to say this at this time when, perhaps, we have clearly spelled out in every area of our education, and of our education programme, this most fundamental priority. There may have been signs at other times that education was as much concerned, particularly at some levels, with learning by rota, with developing the powers of retention and memory sometimes to the detriment of the development of the intellectual capacity. These signs have now been obliterated.
It is becoming more and more evident that at no time can you say that you have achieved the ultimate, that there is no more to be done either in the programme itself or in the development of the philosophy, and anyone who is in any contact with education at any level now will recognise that it is the hope and the determination of all concerned to develop this most important aspect, the capacity of the subject in education to think and to make these rational and informed judgments.
Before I come back to the general observations I was making on the last day I would like to say that education is obviously a continuous process almost from the moment of the first observations of the young child to the end of man's life. It does not end with the formal schooling period. It is particularly important to note this in view of the importance of the concept of continuous education which is being promoted very much at this time and which can only lead to a greater awareness in the community, at every level, of the function everyone must play in the community and the opportunity he has to make community life happier and more meaningful.
I referred the last day to the five areas of education broadly so defined. There may be other areas as well and that is why I do not want to be taken as making a final definition or limiting by anything I may say the possibility of qualifications on these distinctions I intend to make here. I mentioned the pre-school aspect and I spoke of post-primary, higher institutional and continuous education. I want broadly to summarise the special emphasis in each of these areas having regard to the fundamental priority and principle of education in every area.
If there is a special emphasis in the primary education section over that of any other it is, as has already been mentioned in this debate, that it is particularly child-centred. It must at that time concentrate on developing the inquiring capacity of the child and the child's mind, and of helping him to understand the environment in which he lives and, in fact, developing his personality in relation to that environment and the place he will eventually fill in society.
As one passes from that into the post-primary sector a slight change of emphasis occurs. I want to mention in particular the fact that some years ago the primary certificate of education, as we knew it then, was abolished thereby clearly indicating that the emphasis on learning by rota at that level in primary schools was being changed. Henceforth the pupil's achievement and record in the primary sector is noted by the teacher and communicated to the parents each year in the report. Equally important as that notification is the notification at the end of the period of primary education of the child's progress and aptitudes to the management and staff of the school he will enter in the post-primary sector. This flow of information is very important. So is the flow of information between the different sectors. As the child moves from one school to another the emphasis changes slightly but the system of communication as between schools operates definitely to the advantage of the child.
In the post-primary sector the obvious significance is the acceptance of the principle of equal opportunity for all children in so far as that can be brought about within the resources of the State. This involves equality in the range of subjects and facilities for study plus the same range in pass and honours courses. The curriculum will have to be geared in such fashion as to enable the child to find his or her appropriate place for the purpose of realising to the fullest extent his or her particular capacity. It goes without saying that pupils attending schools which are limited in courses of study are clearly at a disadvantage by comparison with those students attending schools in which the curriculum covers a wider range of subjects and, if the object is equal opportunity for all, then the child must be fully protected and, despite whatever reluctance there may be to introduce change, where a school is unable to provide children with that prospect of equal opportunity certain steps will have to be taken. I shall come back to this later.
Before one can provide full guidance within the school system and apply that guidance in the most effective way one must have the widest possible curriculum and the best possible standards. When we come to university education, the institutes of technology and other third level institutions a new dimension comes into consideration. Into the picture at this level the economic and social circumstances of the community enter. If there is, for instance, a scarcity of graduates in some areas and a surplus in other areas that would be a matter of concern for the community. For that reason it must also be a matter of concern for the Government, the Minister and the Department of Education and for the actual institutions themselves. I have referred to this on some occasions in the last year. I have referred to the desirability of universities having regard to their responsibilities to the community. There is a desirable development in that the demand for third-level education is growing all the time. We must remember, however, that this cannot be provided merely in accordance with the accommodation or the scope of studies existing in a particular institution at a particular time. These will have to be reviewed continuously from the point of view of the outlets available for graduates, the needs of the community and the economic and social needs of the country. Here, again, guidance in all its aspects must play a very important part.
A new development is that of continuous and continuing adult education. It is recognised now that people must always be enabled to make the proper choice to accommodate themselves to changing conditions and to the potential they have to achieve something meaningful not just for themselves but for society as a whole. There is, as I said, an increase in adult education.
There are common strands in our educational policy and programme. Some may argue that these common strands have not as yet been knit into a strong, unbreakable rope, but it is clear that very definite progress is being made in knitting these strands together and in strengthening them. In the last ten years and, particularly, in the last five years there has been a marked increase in the development of educational facilities for every level.
There is a new social awareness by the people that they have the capacity to achieve much more for themselves and for the community. However, people sometimes forget, when making demands, be they for more school transport, better facilities, retention of small schools, or something else, that we, like every other country, have to work within limited resources. Our earning capacity is limited and our pupil population is high in relation to our earning capacity and so we have to work within very limited resources indeed. When I speak of equal opportunity for all, I am speaking of the ladder which we must climb. We have not reached the top of it yet. We have shown the direction in which we are going. In some areas in the primary sector there are obvious social disadvantages in the environment in which the children spend their pre-school years. Young people must not be penalised for this. This is a matter which must be of concern to us. The children must be compensated in the first instance for the disadvantages of their environment. This applies particularly in certain highly-populated areas, in places like Dublin.
In recent times there has been special concern about a class that was not necessarily recognised as underprivileged ten years ago. I speak of the slow-learners. We all remember the slow-learners of our schooldays. They were not looked upon as needing special attention. Perhaps they were chastised for their failure to keep up with the standards prevailing in their classes. Sometimes a boy or a girl did not return to school with a home exercise done as tidily or as effectively as the children coming from a home environment where there was concern for their education and an awareness of the benefits accruing from it. The problems of such children may not have been fully recognised. I do not blame anybody for this, but just mention the fact. That is certainly not a characteristic in our primary education today. The traditional home exercises have been greatly modified, so that no child has an advantage over another in its performance and in the results which he produces to the teacher the following morning. Home exercises will always be an appropriate part of the educational system.
Special attention has been paid to the pupil-teacher ratio in the classes for slow-learners. We have seen impatience in the course of this debate about the pupil-teacher ratio in schools around Dublin. There is clear evidence of the determination of the Minister and of the Department to improve the situation. It is fairly evident that a programme of recruitment of new teachers and of the retraining of teachers who are not fully qualified is a constant characteristic of the Department's programme in order to provide as many qualified teachers as possible. We cannot cut down the number of children, so far as possible we must increase the number of teachers. This cannot be achieved overnight. In the meantime the problems of slow-learners and such special cases are receiving particular consideration. Many teachers in the Dublin area will recognise that special consideration has been given to the pupil-teacher ratio problem as it affects such children. Special aids have been provided for such pupils. I hope that Deputies will recognise what is being done as a first priority and will not be so unreasonable in their demands. Extra teachers are needed to alleviate problems but few problems are of this pressing order.
I referred previously to the child-centred curriculum. I do not need to repeat what I have already said about education in the post-primary sector. We are concerned about the provision of the broadest possible range of studies in post-primary schools and the full development of the child and his capacity to go on to further education.
Sometimes in dealing with primary and post-primary education, one comes across the inevitability of the rationalisation of the schools structure in a particular area. In the primary sector in some cases this has meant the closing of some small schools and the opening of a bigger school in a rural area or the extension of a school, with better facilities. I recall the emotional reaction of many parents in an area immediately adjoining a school that was to be closed. This was a primary school. I recall particularly their fears that the closing of the school was another step in the deprivation of rural Ireland. Statements were made by representatives of this House at meetings. Sometimes such people had not given much thought to the educational criteria concerned but were more concerned about the electoral advantages which might accrue to themselves if they took a determined stand against the attitude of the Department of Education which, the people felt, had deprived them of their rights.
That can happen in politics and may be one of the hazards which the Minister for Education has to face. It was presented to the people as if it was the job of the Minister to deprive and of others to protect their rights. It is now clear that no areas claim that their community has been in any way deprived by the rationalisation of the primary school programme and by the provision of better units of education with better facilities for study. In particular, it is recognised that the important thing is not whether the children go to a particular school in a particular area, or that the area still has a school, or that a particular part of a parish still retains its own identity, because it has its own school and its own creamery. No, far from it. The parents have now recognised that to talk in terms of retaining the integrity and identification of a part of a parish, or a parish, to the detriment of the educational opportunities of the children was certainly a totally confusing and misinformed approach to the whole question.
I think the same can fairly be translated to the post-primary sector as well. I am quite satisfied, and I think every Deputy must be, that there are no areas now where this rationalisation programme may be undertaken because, for instance, the free transport scheme was brought in, free transport to what one might call the integrated school or the new centre pupils from an area where schools have been closed, but, over and above that, it is fairly evident that the old schools in these areas have as much as possible, and probably more than ever, played a significant part in community activity, and still do. They may not be used as places of formal schooling now but more and more they are being used as community centres. I have been very anxious to see an extension of this general trend and the Department have been very ready to make these old schools available to the community organisations for appropriate community activities, so that any question of the community being disadvantaged by the closing of the formal school as such is more than compensated for by increased educational opportunity for the child and the provision of community facilities in these schools.
If that is true in the primary sector, it is even more true in the post-primary sector, and I think we are going to meet a fair bit of this, not just next year but in the course of the next ten years, recognising, as we must, the limits of our resources and the right of every child, wherever he happens to be, to have the same type of education, the same range of studies, the same range of standards in pass and honours so that his capacity and potential will be fully realised. We must recognise that some units as they exist at present are not in themselves viable units of education. I am not suggesting for a moment that the teachers, the managers and the principals of these schools have not done a trojan job within the limitations of the situation in which they find themselves and I am certainly not suggesting that the communities in which these schools operate do not appreciate what has been done, and I go quite a long way to recognise that the community in which these schools operate are reluctant, and probably very reluctant, to see any change, particularly if that change involved the closure of any of these schools, for probably reasons of traditional loyalty, of traditional respect for the teachers in the school whom they know so well and for the feeling of identification they have with the school and the school with them. For all these good and valid reasons, they have this fear and this feeling but, once again, if the proper consultations can be had and if everybody can open up his mind particularly to considering the most important thing, the right of the pupil, which is what the whole question of education is about, to giving the best possible scope for education, we would look at this in a more rational and probably less emotional way.
I would hope that in the further development of this debate—the debate in that area and not merely the physical debate here, the debate over the next ten years—we would look at that aspect of it and we would not fool the people of the small towns or big villages by saying: "We will keep that school for you—have no fear; you will get the full range of subjects up to leaving certificate. Maybe there are only 100 of you there, but you are still going to get them." There is no point in fooling people on that basis because you cannot give these things to them on the same basis as that on which you can give them to the pupils attending a viable unit of education, and I would hope that Deputies would recognise that, as, indeed, I had to recognise it in my constituency and I would not try to seek the short term popularity for the sake of the long term right of the children.
Obviously, this must be done after the fullest consultation, but be it said, after all that, that somebody is charged with the duty of making a decision and that somebody in the final analysis is the Minister. The Minister when he makes a decision that is acceptable entirely to the local community, in the light of their attitude at the particular time, he is a fine fellow, but if he makes a decision which seems to differ from their immediate wishes, he is not such a fine felow. I want to say also that the actual saving in money as a result of this rationalisation scheme is very small. If anything, it may involve in many cases a net loss to the Exchequer and the Department because when you start to provide bus services over a new area and start providing an extension of facilities in the new schools, you find that it is not being done just for the sake of cutting or clipping the allocation of financial resources to this sector of education.
Another clear characteristic of the modern educational development is the involvement of the community in total education. Here, again, I know there is impatience and criticism because it is not being achieved overnight. It is well that there should be criticism and possibly it is well that these views should be expressed, particularly in relation to parents' rights and matters of that sort, but probably you might be moving from a time when community involvement in the whole educational process was very limited. The formal involvement, apart from the informal which is always there, the informal consultation particularly as between teachers and school managers, is certainly a new development and obviously is not something which is going to be achieved overnight and certainly not without some inhibitions and even opposition from various sources.
Instances of this are particularly the development of the parent-teacher associations. This, as everybody will recognise, is greatly encouraged by the Minister and the Department and the provision in this Estimate to which the Minister referred for teacher centres will even further facilitate that very desirable development. Over and above that, there is in the new proposals for community schools a provision for parents on the management boards. I do not want to go into further detail on that at the moment.
It is part of the total principle — there are those who say that in Tallaght particularly, it should operate despite what the Minister has said about the difficulties of implementing it immediately — and the principle is and must be totally accepted. The practical difficulties in implementing it in places where there is no existing school structure covering the total number of pupils, or, indeed, the parents of pupils attending the new unit, must be obvious to everyone who considers the matter and it is a very important aspect of the whole programme and particularly the programme for new schools, for comprehensive schools and, indeed, the new technical colleges which are very much a part of the new development in education, but I will come back to them later.
Everyone is aware of the general satisfaction there is with the management boards of these technical colleges and of the manner in which these boards pay particular attention, as, indeed, they are charged to do and as they are so effectively doing, to the social and economic environment of the particular area. Here is a clear example of how the community can direct and advise the educational programme in a school. This is one of the most significant developments and we should not have any doubts about it. In the rather heated atmosphere sometimes generated when this subject is discussed here I hope it will not be implied that this is being done reluctantly, in the teeth of the opposition of the Minister or of the Government. That is not so and anyone who considers the matter will appreciate that this is a desirable development.
Hand-in-hand with that goes the integration of the school in the community and this has been one of the most satisfactory developments. The school is no longer a place that closes down at 4 o'clock or closes for the summer and Christmas holidays. Nowadays its facilities, halls and playing fields are made available to responsible community organisations; it is only fair to say that they must be made available only to responsible organisations. I should like to repeat what I said with regard to recreational facilities. I have been more than encouraged by the reaction of the Sports Council, the National Youth Council and I have got from the various managers and principals with whom we have consulted with regard to their readiness to involve themselves in community activities. This is reflected in the way the community involves itself in the school programme. For the school to be meaningful it must be an essential unit for the community and, in turn, the community can derive benefit and advantage from having a close association with the school. This is an area in which we will see more significant developments.
There is an important matter to which I should like to refer and I hope my remarks will not be interpreted as criticism. It is becoming evident that anyone who involves himself in education, either as a teacher, a parent, as a member of a vocational committee, or a representative of the Department of Education, must be fully and adequately informed on educational criteria. A person who has not the opportunity or capacity fully and adequately to inform himself in order to make a meaningful contribution to the development of education would do a great service to all if he channelled his talents in another direction. This is the wish of all involved in education and this fact must be stated.
I am not making any comment on what has happened up to the present or on the contributions that have been made. However, the provision of schools by any organisation, committee, or by the Department is not the end of the story. The provision of schools and buildings is but a steppingstone towards the development of the educational programme. There must be an understanding of the child's place in education, of the teacher's place in communication with the child, of the parent's and the community's place in the school and vice versa. The developments in education in this and other countries, having regard to our probable association with the EEC countries, are matters about which any person involved in education must inform himself. It is a fundamental and moral obligation on that person to do so to the best of his capacity. If he has not that opportunity he is hardly in a position to make reasoned and objective judgments on the educational programme and he may not be adding to the status and standing of the school in the community. Parents and pupils will be influenced by the attitudes of people concerned with education. If some people make “off-the-cuff” remarks or ill-informed criticisms which may be printed in the local papers the attitude of the parent may be: “That is not the kind of school that will give my child the education I want.”
I have said on many occasions at the opening of schools that it is the obligation of all concerned with education to ensure that they are well informed. One must recognise the experience and commitment that can be given by many people in the various educational and advisory committees and I say this having regard to the great contributions that have been made. I know we cannot all be fundamental philosophers in this area, much less experts in pedagogic training, but within the limits of our contribution we must be informed.
The late President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, has been quoted to such an extent that what he has said may be regarded now as "old hat". However, some of his remarks regarding education have hardly been noted before. One of his remarks was: "We must educate people today for a future in which the choices to be faced cannot be anticipated by even the wisest now among us." It must be recognised that the future of those being educated may involve conditions that we cannot anticipate. Accordingly, we must give special attention to developing the pupil's capacity to make decisions for himself in the changing environment he will meet in his adult life, even in his future educational life.
Even when the pupil leaves school to take up study at university he is not making the final decision. He is never making the once-for-all decision that some people regard as being the business of guidance. Some people consider that it is the job of those involved in guidance to tell the child: "This is your job; here you will be happy and will stay for the rest of your life." Experience has shown that in other, more developed societies, as society improves both socially and economically, and having regard to man's quest for change and his determination to fulfil himself, these factors impel him to make new choices quite frequently regarding his place and role in life. Old jobs disappear with the rate of technological change and new jobs emerge. Training organisations such as AnCO and continuous education may be of assistance but the most significant contribution must be made by the person himself. For that reason, the decision should be made on prudent and rational grounds. This process must start at an early stage, particularly in post-primary education, in order to inform the child about the options open to him at any time. He should be told that he may have inclinations in a certain direction and, if so, he should consult with his parents and with his teachers. He should probably give special attention to studies in Continental languages, not forgetting the necessity to take account of commercial subjects or whatever it might be. I am thinking about such a notional situation here that I may not be making very helpful comments.
We must inform the child that life will not be so easy that, when he makes one decision, he has made his last decision, but that he will be making decisions regularly. I am sure many of us have had to make decisions about changing jobs. We have had to weigh up the situation: "Do we change or do we stay?" If we want to have a happy and contented and, above all, a fruitful involvement in society for the product of education we must give special attention to the guidance programme. I am glad to say that, in this sphere, very significant progress is being made and particularly in the post-primary sector. There is great scope for further progress in many other sectors and I will deal with that later at greater length.
Within the post-primary sector in the Department of Education there are at present 17 full-time psychologists who are operating throughout the country on a regional basis. I know that number is only a beginning and the people who are most conscious of this are the 17 themselves. These psychologists operate in very close consultation and liaison with the teachers, and especially with the teachers who have been given special training in this area during the summer courses. Last summer for two weeks in Bolton Street—and I was present at the opening of this course—over 100 principals of primary schools attended a course in pupil guidance. Subsequently 120 other teachers attended a similar course and this was the third year they did so.
Initially the question arose as to whether particular teachers should be trained to be particular specialists in this area and whether their sole function in the school would be the giving of advice and guidance to the pupils, and advice and assistance to the other teachers. When this matter was considered with the teachers' organisation, and when an objective assessment was made, it was decided that this would not be the best way to approach it and that it would be much better to involve the greatest possible number of teachers in this development.
The first condition one would require for a fruitful development in this area would be the full-time and ready co-operation of the total teaching staff. If one more or less imposed a deus ex machina on a teaching staff and said: “Here is your expert. He will advise you in every direction. He was one of you before but now he belongs to a rather different species”, the question of human reaction would come into play. The teachers would say: “That may be his view of how that young boy or girl is shaping up but I know better. I am with that pupil every day. I see the pupil's involvement with other pupils and his reaction to the subjects he is learning. I am the expert.”
Therefore, it was decided wisely that the teachers, who are the experts, should be given the opportunity of availing of these courses of study. I am glad to say that this decision has been fully justified by the success of the programme. Within each major unit — and it is our hope to extend this as much as possible to all school units at post-primary level—the teacher who is especially concerned with guidance, among his other teaching duties, plays a very important part in the staff/pupil relationship in the school in advising both staff and pupils with regard to potential and with regard to the problems of the pupil.
This is one of the most significant developments that has emerged and, obviously, further progress will have to be made in that area. Last term, from September until December, courses in remedial education for post-primary teachers were held in Dublin for all who could avail of them. This is an area in which all of us are impatient for further development and I can only say that our impatience will not be a permanent condition.
I am glad to see that there are two Mayo representatives in the House because I had a very encouraging experience in Castlebar last year. Careers exhibitions have become very much a characteristic of the scene throughout the country with the involvement of trade unions, chambers of commerce, local authorities, et cetera, in the whole question and the whole programme of careers opportunities, they have become a very significant part of the development in this whole area. These careers exhibitions have been organised very widely. One of the most successful I attended last year was held in Castlebar. They involve a very meaningful contact between the community at work and the child at school. They also involve — and this is very important — a clear indication and proof to the child at school of the concern which the community at work have for him, for his present condition and for his future.
Anyone who has had the opportunity of visiting any of these careers exhibitions will have seen that they have bridged the gap, if gap there be now, between the formal school and the community, the gap we are all anxious to see finally and ultimately bridged. This is one aspect only of guidance. In fact, it is a very limited and special aspect of it—the actual choice of career. It shows that we can integrate the guidance programme with the environment in a particular area and the job opportunities that exist. Teachers, and particularly teachers who have special responsibility for guidance, were consulted about the planning of these exhibitions and also about the advice made available to the industrialists concerned and the pupils who consulted with the experts in attendance at these exhibitions.
These careers exhibitions serve to remind the leaders in the community that they have a responsibility to the children at school in that community, a responsibility which until a comparatively recent time, was not accepted. In part this may have been due to what I might call the specialised disciplines of study which were particularly a characteristic of our university institutions. To train a doctor of medicine to be a doctor simpliciter is hardly a fulfilment of the fundamental purpose of education. The same could apply to an engineer, to a veterinary surgeon or to a dentist.
It has to be stated that there might have been times when people who had a standing in a community by virtue of their professional responsibilities and status might not have been playing a fully effective part in a community — and I do not blame them individually for this. People would look up to them because of the education that they understood them to have while not recognising that that education might not have been as educational as it might have been. It may have been limited by specialisation. For that reason, before I became involved in the Department of Education, I made special reference to this very urgent need for professional people to recognise that they have an obligation to avail themselves of the programme of continuous or continuing education; that education is not ended for them on the day they graduate or proceed to post-graduate studies; that if they want to be meaningful and to have a full part to play in the community and to be fully developed personalities, which is the essential function of education, they, too, will have to continue their education and will have to give back to the community what the community has given to them.
Here I am glad to say that the trend has changed and is continuously changing. Nowhere is that more evident than in the careers exhibitions being provided and developed throughout the country in recent times. I would hope that this development would continue and that our institutions of higher education would take account of the fact that to develop the full person one does not just limit his course of study to a particular area but that one must always have regard to the need to develop the full man. The institutions of higher education could also play a bigger part in the whole programme of pupil guidance than they have been able to do up to the present time. It is very clear that the flame has been set alight in the post-primary sector. It is not so clear that the flame has caught on at third level. This may be because of limited resources or because of pressure of time or accommodation. It may be due to the traditional attitudes of some university professors who are concerned with special aspects of the classics or certain aspects of medicine. Whatever the reason, there is an urgent need for the institutions of higher education to involve themselves more fully in this whole area, particularly if one accepts the premise I started with, that they above all other sectors in education have a responsibility to the community and to have regard to the community needs. Then one immediately recognises that they should be the leaders rather than the followers in this regard.
I made this point when addressing a newly formed society of technological teachers recently in Kevin Street. I did suggest to them that I thought a council or committee representative of the various institutions and universities in this area would be well worthwhile considering so that they could in the first instance advise pupils as to the appropriate directions in which they might pursue their studies and thereby fulfil the obligations to which I have referred of their place in the community and, as in the post-primary sector, they could watch the developments of the undergraduates and — this is often a very important matter as I am sure most people with university experience would recognise — if necessary, help at an early stage in their course of studies to channel them into a new area.
Too many graduates or undergraduates in Arts tend to think that the end of the line for them is as teachers. The teaching profession demands a personality, a character and a discipline that may not be demanded in other areas. It demands also an ability to project oneself, to command attention and respect without appearing to be trying. There are many very gifted people who do not have any, much less all, of these characteristics.
How many people have been directed into teaching because of their intellectual capacity and academic curiosity and capacity as scholars but who had very little of the essential makeup of the teacher who can project and communicate. How many of them have been unfulfilled as a result and would have been better fulfilled in other areas? That is one illustration that comes to mind immediately from the association which I have had with so many undergraduates and graduates who found themselves so misplaced. This illustrates quite clearly the need for development in this area on the part of the institutions of higher education.
One of the questions posed in the course of this debate — Deputy FitzGerald made reference to it — was what the consequences of our becoming a member of the European Community would be in education and what planning we should be undertaking in that area. I hope I do not in any way misinterpret him but I think Deputy FitzGerald said that it does not necessarily have the consequences that so many people think it would have. He probably expressed it much better than that but I think it is a fair enough statement as to what the consequences may be.
When one looks at the structure of education or, in fact, the various types of education provided, for instance, at post-primary level, roughly so called, throughout Europe, one sees immediately that the first thing that will not be required of us will be to conform to a pattern of education in any other country, much less in Europe. I might just illustrate this. Take, for instance, France, where there is a centralised system of education operating through something equivalent to the Department of Education here. In Germany, on the other hand, there are 11 individual Länder operating almost independently one of the other, each in its own area, with a certain co-ordination. In Switzerland there is almost total independence and autonomy in the educational programme in the various cantons — 29 of them — throughout the country. So that, in the first instance, there is no uniform system in operation out there any more than here, or each of us has its own system. There is no European system operating throughout the whole of Europe. Therefore, we will not be required to conform to uniformity. That does not exist. There are certain priorities which are applied and it can be stated that these priorities are not in any way inconsistent with our priorities at this time in this country. It is worth quoting again, although I am sure it is familiar to many in the House, that the objectives of the Council of Europe as stated in educational matters are:
To help to create conditions in which the right educational opportunities are available to young Europeans whatever their background or level of academic accomplishment and to facilitate their adjustment to changing political and social conditions.
That sums up very precisely all that I have been endeavouring to say in the last half hour, that the same principles and objectives are there, to give the maximum opportunity to all subjects of education and to facilitate their adjustment to changing political and social conditions.
I suppose there will evolve in time, as the European countries come closer to each other, a certain harmonisation of the complex educational processes which have developed rather differently in each European country and probably there will be also a concentration on those factors which make for unity rather than on those which encourage the reverse. It must be remembered that there is no question of us needing to tailor our educational programme or philosophy to do anything other than meet the needs here at home but that is not to say that the position here will not be influenced by our association with other countries. I sincerely hope it will be; there is a great need that it should be. We have been sheltered from too many positive influences in Europe and saturated with too many AngloAmerican influences at a certain level. I hope that one other benefit resulting from our EEC membership will be an opening of the door to the influences of the cultural awareness of Europe.
At the same time, our European association holds some precise priorities for us and one in particular is the study and use of languages. If we suffer from any disadvantage compared with the existing Six in the EEC and the other applicant countries, with the exception of our great neighbour — we have an advantage over them — it is that we have not the experience of what one might describe as being conversant with the way of life in other countries. Particularly, we have not had the experience of being reasonably fluent in the languages of these other countries. I do not want to stress what I may have said before beyond stating that students in France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark or Switzerland, countries many of which are noted for linguistic ability, by the time they reach the end of their post-primary education—to identify it by relating it to our own position—have acquired fluency in at least two languages which may or may not include their own and many will have acquired fluency in even more.
This gives them an obvious advantage over us at this stage. We have the advantage over our monoglot neighbours, many of whom still seem to cling to the notion — this is changing possibly in recent times—that beyond Hyde Park all is desert and if you do not speak my language you are deprived and I am not. Generally, in view of the fact that we have a second idiom here already, a second language, we should encourage students, particularly at school and also at home and at play to express themselves in these languages. Anybody will recognise that the first problem is to overcome the almost natural embarrassment of listening to oneself expressing oneself in an idiom which is not natural to one's environment and experience. Some of us, unfortunately, have known that embarrassment in relation to our own language, Irish. We found it difficult to respond at some stages when the teacher may have said: "Why do you not talk Irish outside school?" We found it a little strange and sometimes almost inconsistent with incipient manhood— this would be at an early stage—to speak any language other than the one in which we could effectively express ourselves. This is simply a psychological block which can be overcome.
I am glad to say that it is readily being overcome every day here in regard to the Irish language and I am particularly pleased to note that students of post-primary schools especially and also primary schools are now expressing themselves more freely in their own language than we had the opportunity to do in our day. This is due to the fact that they are being encouraged to express themselves in a natural way about matters which they regard as priorities in their lives, anything from pop songs to football games, et cetera.
Irish is not the medium of expression of purely Irish views but if it is a meaningful and colourful language, as, indeed, it is, not only can it be but it must be used to express one's experience throughout the whole spectrum of one's life. Therefore, I am glad to hear it more frequently spoken in pubs, in playing fields and particularly by children going to and coming from school. That is very important for the Irish language but it is also important as being a great base of development for the further study and use of other languages. Let nobody tell you that the use and study of one language cuts across the use and study of other languages. Far from it. I think the European experience has been, and the experience of all linguists has been, that fluency in two languages leads to fluency in three or four or more.
Once the initial psychological embarrassment, if that is what it is, of breaking out of one's vernacular has been overcome the difficulty of launching into others assumes less significance. For that reason, all of us will be glad to note that the development of language laboratories in our post-primary schools has been a very significant aspect of that sector recently. So has the development and provision of teaching aids with refresher courses for teachers in French, Italian, German or whatever the language may be. What is important is that each of them is being treated in the same way. The Irish language, too, is being regarded as a modern language but a language having a great past. A language is a medium of day-to-day expression and if ever it ceases to become that, it becomes simply a medium of literary expression—such as happened, for example, to the Latin language many years ago.
I think we can rest assured that the practical fluency which is being encouraged in all languages and, particularly, in our own, will be of immense benefit to pupils not only as pupils but as potential Europeans, as people who will have to consult with and communicate with continental businessmen who, while they may speak to us socially in English, switch to their own language when they talk of business. We cannot afford to be at a disadvantage in that respect. While it may be possible to provide interpreters for delegations from the Dáil, for instance, the average businessman may not be able to afford such a luxury. Therefore, it will be of vital consequence that a skilled and fluent team of linguists in the various Continental languages will be available in this country so as to ensure that we can exploit fully the opportunities that exist in Europe, particularly in regard to marketing.
Another important aspect of this matter is that, if one wishes to know people, one must be able to converse with them in their mother tongue. Also, in order to get to know people well, one must be able to read their literature as it was written in their own language. In that way we can indicate our real concern at becoming Europeans. Has it ever occurred to us that some of the great scholars in Irish literature have been German? May be we, too, could return the compliment and prove that we have the same awareness of their great culture as, indeed, we did have so many centuries ago. A last point I wish to make in this connection is that the significant fact emerges that at the post-primary level we have a higher percentage rate than the average West European participation rate. There may be some countries with a higher rate and others with a lower rate. This is a very important development which probably reflects development during the past four or five years in particular.
