This is a really interesting talk on Education by Ken Robinson at a TED conference.   TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading.  It was started in 1984  as a conference bringing different sectors together.  Today thanks to technology they record and broadcast talks from people such as Bill Clinton, Alain de Button, Bill Gates to name but a few.

In this talk Ken Robinson discuss’s how are education systems around the world are structured and what it means for future generations.  He has some interesting thoughts on how we might do things differently

On our recent trip to Leitrim Ruairi discovered oranges and more importantly that they roll.  As with everything however it does end up in the mouth at some stage.  I find this journey of discovery so extraordinary.  I think it is this that parents are trying to get across when they describe how wonderful it is to be a parent.  It is being apart of this discovery almost every single day.

Sure there are times when you don’t get any sleep and you wish you could remember what a lie in on a Sunday morning even felt like or your romantic dinner is interrupted by screaming (the baby that is).  All of these things and more simply disappear when you are witness to your childs first time doing or finding something new in the world.

Its 11:30 on Sunday morning and I can hear our little man chatting away to himself upstairs so it must be almost Wheatabix time.  For many of my friends this might not sound like a fun way to spend your Sunday morning but you never know we might just discover something new today.

Fins Graduation

I was never big into the idea of college. I liked it and I always knew I’d give it a go but deep down from the age of 5 my greatest desire was to own and run my own business.   So after a year at UCD that’s exactly what I did, took a “year out” and setup Damson, best thing I ever did. Education didn’t seem important until one day when we decided to go on a training course “Growing Your Business” run by Dublin County Enterprise Board.  It was 8 weeks long and told us all we needed to know about business, finance, marketing, sales etc.

The course had two affects, the first was for us to rethink the strategy and plan for our business.  It gave us the knowledge we needed to bring about the changes necessary to move our business to the next level.  The second affect it had was on ourselves.  We realised that education was key to our success and as they say knowledge is power.  So a new area of the Damson business plan was born, education.

So what has happened since then, well we have done alot more training:  from business training to Business Analysis to technology.  All have benefited ourselves and our organisation. Donal has been studying hard through Open University to complete a degree.  I went to the National College of Ireland and completed my Diploma in Business Analysis and Consultancy.

So now almost a year later we attended my Graduation, it was exciting to finally have a piece of paper to my name and the sense of achievement was great.

I think overall this year has been eventful between finishing my diploma and getting used to being a parent it has been tough but rewarding.

I really enjoyed my short time at the National College of Ireland, the facilities were world class and the staff go above and beyond to ensure you have the best educational experience possible. I would recommend the NCI to anyone considering further education.

I now believe in life long learning and although this is my first academic achievement at third level I can say without hesitation it will not be my last

I am a huge supporter of Educate Together having gone through their education system and come out the other side a better person for it.  Educate Together offers a real alternative to parents who do not wish to send their children to a religious school.  My days at ET were spent learning about many religions, cultures and ethical backgrounds.  My classmates were Christians, protestants, Quakers, Hindus, humanists and much more.  It was here I learnt to accept people for who they were.  It was a school where bullying didn’t happen, parents were actively involved and we called all the teachers by their first name. In short it was a school that respected you even though you were a kid and because of that simple fact I respected my school.

So this is to all past pupils of ANY Educate Together School, any ET supporters, please give generously to these brave women who will be fighting the cold hard tarmac of Dublin for their cause.

All Proceeds go towards the “Learn Together” Ethical Curriculum Training.

http://short.ie/floramini

http://short.ie/learntogether
—”Learn together to live together” Educate Together—