‘Why is this Labour Minister for Education trying to force us to send our kids to the same dire [non-fee paying] schools?” asked a fee-paying parent on these pages a couple of weeks ago. Is he? Are they? The writer then says: “We chose them because we wanted our children to be educated with other children who aspire to attend university and because we wanted them to reach their full potential.” Right then, so you wanted a certain social mix.
And that was the nub of the article I read here on the issue of public and private schools. It seemed as much about the “network” as it was about a decent education. I can live with that. I can even understand it. But paying for it privately does not guarantee the education sought.
For what it’s worth, I too am a south-Dublin parent. My spouse and I both have so-called “decent” incomes and fees are not an issue for us. We chose to send our children to non-fee-paying local schools. Why? Those schools provide our children with an education at least as good as, and in parts better, than the education on offer to their friends in fee-paying schools. They may not have many frills, but in truth we’d prefer the school to concentrate on educating our children. Most of their classmates, like them, aspire to university, although some will struggle financially to do that. Most will make it. The school’s record is one of the best in the country. As it happens it outpaces many of the fee-paying schools.
Our teenagers are exposed to a variety of lives and lifestyles within their classrooms. They experience social justice every day. Mine appreciate that life is not always cosy for some of their classmates and they learn to appreciate what they have. They need to know how to relate to the wider world beyond their immediate neighbourhoods. That education cannot be bought. It motivates our eldest in particular to ensure he gets good results to cushion him against financial struggles as an adult. I suspect he’s not the only one to draw on that as a source of motivation.
The school he attends raises buckets of money each year for local charities and causes. It’s done quietly and under the radar. The students are encouraged to reach out to the broader community. It’s admirable and it works. It fosters a sense of community spirit and the kids experience social justice locally and without going to Africa for it on the proceeds. The biggest contributors are those who try the hardest, not those who have the most. We like that: they learn more and they compete better.
A fee-paying school is just that – fee-paying. I'm uncomfortable with the message that such schools give a child, that you're with us as long as your parents can afford it, but you're out if they can't. It's the harsh reality of the fee-paying ethos that I wouldn't want my children exposed to.
This column gives a voice to those within the education system. Contributions welcome to educationdesk@irishtimes.com
