Attendance at night classes is increasing, as is the variety of subjects on offer - from make-up to Mandarin, writes Anna Carey
Years after leaving school, many of us find ourselves still thinking in terms of, well, school terms. Just as Sunday evenings can bring back memories of undone homework, 20 years after saying goodbye to homework forever, so can September feel like a time for book lists and new timetables. But for many adults all over the country, the beginning of a new school year really does mean packing up a schoolbag and heading for a classroom - for one evening a week, at least.
Evening classes and part-time education courses are more popular than ever before. Kevin Branigan of Learning Ireland, whose website, nightcourses.com is a comprehensive list of evening classes all over the country, says that there are tens of thousands of classes on offer - and the numbers are rising. "We've got about 30,000 different courses in our database," he says. "Everything from business degrees in UCD to courses in basket weaving. There's an evening class for everyone."
Branigan believes that Ireland's economic prosperity has fuelled the demand for adult education. "There's been a rise in people's economic fortunes, which fuels education," he says. "There's been greater government support, too. As the number of skills required by the work force increases, the Government has realised that people can upscale while still working their current job."
It's not surprising that career-minded courses, from statistics to IT, are hugely popular. But the biggest surge of interest has been in courses connected to alternative medicine and well-being. Unsurprisingly, yoga is particularly popular; so are angels - there are several venues in Dublin offering classes such as Angel Therapy, Angels in Your Life and, simply, Angels. (Course description: They Do Exist.) Traditional courses in crafts or languages are also still popular.
There are also more academic courses, aimed at people who are interested in learning more about a certain subject. For many years, Trinity College's School of Religions and Theology has been offering evening classes in a variety of subjects, from the history of Judaism to the relationship between religion and science. Recently, the department hit the headlines when it was announced that one of this autumn's evening courses, "Decoding Da Vinci", uses Dan Brown's bestseller as its inspiration. But as David Edgar, who is administering the course as well as taking some of the lectures, explains, the course is not based on the book itself, or its far-fetched theories. Instead, it will use the issues raised in Brown's novel as the basis for lectures giving the real facts.
"We'll start with the historical Jesus and putting Jesus in context, then address women in early Christianity, then relationships between heretical groups, looking at impact of Constantine - that's my topic," says Edgar. "We could have just called the course Unity and Diversity in early Christianity, but that wouldn't have sounded quite so attractive."
The forums on nightcourses.com indicate public interest in a broad range of subjects, with posters looking for information on classes in everything from make-up to Mandarin. Who are these would-be students? "From the visitors to our website, it seems that there are slightly more women than men," says Kevin Branigan. "It's probably about 60:40 women to men. There are a lot of people in their twenties and thirties, but there has also been a surge of people in their fifties. People used to think that it was 30-somethings who had the disposable incomes, but these days it seems to be older people whose kids have left home who have more money and time."
David Edgar says that while older people make up a certain proportion of his department's extra-mural courses, there's no such thing as a typical student. "Maybe one thing that's typical is that they're people who don't want to take a full time degree course, but are interested in the topic," he says. "That covers all age groups from secondary school students to pensioners."
While some decide to take an evening class to boost their career or their social life, for many people an evening class is simply a chance to rekindle an interest. Polly Byrne had always been interested in art and design, but hadn't picked up a brush in years. She decided to take an evening painting class. "I realised that some of the interests I had when I was younger had fallen by the wayside when I was at college," she says. "So I wanted to revisit some of those interests, such as painting. And as revisiting this during the day wasn't an option, an evening class gave me the opportunity."
However, Byrne discovered that painting wasn't really for her. "I realised that to get the most from a class it would help to absolutely adore the subject at hand." But she still wanted to keep up her artistic interests. "I decided to do a course in pattern-cutting and dressmaking. I had always done this when I was younger, but usually with bought patterns from shops," she says. "This was an opportunity to make patterns from scratch - to learn a craft." She chose a course that allowed each would-be designer to work at her or his own pace. "I find it's a good idea to use an upcoming event as a deadline," she says. "Then I'm more likely to attend on dark and rainy evenings. If I've told absolutely everybody that I'll be wearing a homemade creation to an upcoming wedding, then the pressure is there to complete something."
Byrne admits that it's not always easy to drag herself along to a class after a long day's work. "I'm not taking any class this coming winter because I find I am more productive in the brighter, longer evenings," she says. "But I'll go back after Christmas."
While Dublin still offers the biggest variety of courses to would-be evening class students, there are many courses all over the country. The aforemention company, Learning Ireland, produces guides for each region, and the guides are expanding by the year. And increasingly, even those who live in remote parts of the country can take part in a course. More and more colleges are offering "distance learning" classes, in which students can do the course from their own homes. Dublin-based Kilroy's College (www.kilroyscollege.ie) offers courses in everything from Spanish to dressmaking, each of which allows students to correspond with a personal tutor. This sort of course also suits those who are housebound, or can't find a class that fits into their schedules.
With so much choice, it seems that there's never been a better time to go back to school - whatever your age, or wherever you are. "I think there was a perception in past that adult education was something dreary that took place in a local school on Tuesday night," says Kevin Branigan. "But it's all changed now."