This week I read two books, both of which have implications for every child in this country. The first (OK, I just browsed this one) is a 376-page OECD report, Education at a Glance 2002, which looks at education at the macro level, analysing and interpreting data on education from some 27 countries.
This generated headlines and comment, because it feeds into our societal obsession with tables and comparisons.
I wish I could generate the same level of debate about the second book. It is A Mind at a Time, by a professor of paediatrics, Mel Levine. His life's mission is to put an end to the kind of education which fails to see every child as an individual, and which causes many children to be labelled as failures when the reality is that their brains are wired differently. These children often have strengths which are never developed, because they do not process information in the way in which the education system expects.
Obviously, Dr Levine's writing, which is suffused with compassion, humour and a passionate ethical quest to humanise education, makes for an easier read.
However, I am not dismissing the drier statistical fare provided by the OECD. Its report reflects favourably on pupils and teachers in Irish education.
Teachers appear to be doing a fine job in spite of overcrowded classrooms, an appallingly low level of expenditure by the exchequer, and poor facilities. Yet as a teacher I could not help wondering whether the report would do much to restore the battered morale in the education profession.
It might help if some myths which are regularly used to beat teachers around the head with were laid to rest. For example, the often-touted shortest teaching year in Europe proves to be a deceptive half-truth, because the number of weeks spent in school by Irish pupils may be slightly shorter, but in terms of hours spent teaching, Ireland is above the average.
If the OECD report underlines anything, it is the centrality of education to almost every facet of culture in a country. For example, "civic knowledge and engagement" is presumed to be a measurable educational outcome, as are "links between human capital and economic growth". That is why it is so dangerous to have low morale among teachers. They have so much impact on the lives of young people, that it seems utterly self-defeating to treat them with contempt.
There is abundant anecdotal evidence that teachers were shocked at the virulence of much that was written and said about them during the ASTI industrial action last year. Few teachers feel that the ASTI covered itself in glory during that period, but they were still left feeling undermined and shaky by the lack of public support.
In spite of teachers feeling under-valued, 83 per cent of Irish 15- year-olds describe school as a "place where I feel I belong". They also rate teacher support quite highly. Sadly, 60 per cent of them also report that they are often bored. This may be linked to the nature of the Irish educational system, which leans heavily on one-size fits all state exams. This forces teachers into methods which are more akin to drilling pupils than to educating them. Many teachers still manage to inject enthusiasm and creativity into their teaching - but they do so in spite of the system, not because of it.
Of course we need reports which tabulate statistics about, for example, levels of literacy and which show the link between educational attainment and employment prospects. However, all forms of league tables and comparisons neglect the reason why education is so important, and why most people were drawn to work in the area in the first place - the possibility of effecting positive change in young people and of helping them to develop a feel for and a love of learning.
Which brings me neatly back to Mel Levine's book. I often wonder about the enormous burdens which we put on children. As Levine puts it, "Every day they are expected to shine at maths, reading, writing, speaking, spelling, memorisation, comprehension, problem solving, socialisation, athletics and verbal directions. Few if any children can master all of these 'trades'. And none of we adults can." And as an American, Levine has probably never heard of the Leaving Cert, a kind of advanced torture where thousands of children with different needs and abilities try to fit themselves into the constraints of a system which suits very few of them.
Levine writes with compassion about those children who fail more conspicuously than others, whose brains are wired differently. He looks at crucial neuro-developmental functions, and how, when they fail to work in the expected fashion, they can lead to school being a nightmare for a child. To give just a few examples, some children have problems with specific aspects of memory.
They may simply not be wired to deal with large quantities of information and to process and recall it accurately. Their other strengths may be overlooked because of their memory difficulties. Others may have problems with handwriting, or with impulsivity, or directing their energy. All of these very different problems lead to labelling of children as difficult, or as failures, sometimes before they are eight years old. Then those who do survive are expected to work at second level in a system which emphasises organisational skills which their brains have not matured enough to have in adolescence. The wonderful thing about Levine's book is that it is suffused with hope for those children who have learning differences. Parents and teachers are the key players in implementing positive change.
Yet at the moment we have pupil-teacher ratios which make it difficult even to learn children's names, much less their learning styles. What is the probability that that we will develop an education system where each child is known so well that subtle dysfunctions can be spotted, and helpful interventions made?
The OECD report makes it clear that education affects every aspect of how we live together as a society. Levine reminds us that the process begins with every individual child. We need to move beyond statistics to valuing all the minds who make up our education system, and yes, that includes those much-despised teachers.