ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO THE BALLYMUN INITIATIVE
ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO THE BALLYMUN INITIATIVE FOR THIRD LEVEL EDUCATION ON WEDNESD
Let me say how delighted I am to have been invited here today to pay tribute to all those involved in the Ballymun Initiative for Third-level Education – to meet with the students and teachers - and to have the honour of presenting these scholarships to twenty very deserving students. I would particularly like to thank Paula Heenan – not just for giving for giving me this privilege – but also for her very welcome advice and assistance when I was looking to set up a similar initiative from ‘Queens’. And so much has happened in the last five months – that it seems an awful long time since I was at ‘Queens’.
As you progress through your secondary education, you will naturally concentrate on what you will be doing later. Some of you will be entering the labour market for the first time. Others will go on to further education. Whichever path you choose, you are starting on a journey which has the capacity to take you to unforeseen destinations.
Examination results are, however, only one aspect of education today. A person’s working life is part of a wider, life-long learning experience where change is really the only constant. Advances in modern communications and the advent of the information superhighway have added to the pace of change and are profoundly impacting on all our lives. But it is often better to see change as an opportunity to be seized with both hands. John Henry Newman put it nicely when he said, “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often”. That ability to change is essential to your continued success.
The focus of the BITE initiative is you - the children of Ballymun – and your education. It is about promoting inclusion and participation in education – about equipping you to play a full part in society in later life. The importance of these early years cannot be over-stressed – the years when first impressions are indelibly etched onto your consciousness – when “what is learned in childhood is engraved on stone” – the years when your direction in later life is largely determined by the seeds that are sown in childhood.
Those of you who have read Frank McCourt’s best seller - ‘Angela’s Ashes’ - know how as a child in a deprived family - the window of learning was opened for him when by chance he discovered books and libraries. That happy chance opened the gates of appreciation for literature and learning – it started a process that was to see him leave his native Limerick partly educated - and eventually, carve out a successful career in the United States through adult education. It’s worth remembering that in Frank McCourt’s case – where his father wasn’t the best provider – where his family suffered because of his father’s alcoholism and desertion – that it was that same father who introduced him to poetry and songs – that even the worst parent is capable of giving a good legacy to a child. The point of course is that books in the home – that parents talking to children – telling them stories – teaching them songs – that all these things matter.
This initiative – involving students and parents in valuing education - is about opening windows onto the world of learning – giving young people a greater chance of access to what is rightfully theirs. While much of our current national success is largely because of our pool of talented and educated young people, there is a wealth of talent still untapped – there are many more ‘Frank McCourts’ out there waiting to be discovered.
The BITE committee is yet another successful example of the many ‘local partnerships’ that are springing up all over Ireland. It aims to increase educational aspirations in the wider Ballymun community – to make it possible for more of the young people to participate in all levels of education – and to remain in education. I want to commend all those who are participating in the committee – the community – the schools – DCU – St. Patrick’s College – and, importantly, the representatives of business and industry. It is important for all of you to remember that the scope of this Initiative - embracing the children, the educators, the parents - and the communities – and involving the many constructive initiatives and courses – such as the parent courses – or the Homework/Activity Clubs – or those that deal with the ‘economics of staying at school’ – all of these are instrumental in converting “patterns of failure” to “patterns of success”.
You are very fortunate to be involved in this initiative. I wish you all well for the future - in your education – and in your future careers.
ENDS