Irish Teacher: So, what is the purpose of education? It's much more than jobs or money

Jennifer Horgan, Diary of an Irish Schoolteacher.

It’s mid-term, a time for students and teachers to sit back, reflect and regroup. To honour the down time, I’ve developed a game.

Answer this question in one sentence: what is the purpose of education?

Purpose is important, right? You brush your teeth to protect them. You exercise to stay fit. You send your children to school to…to…

Exactly how many would mention the Leaving Cert? How many would mention reading, writing and arithmetic? Preparing young people for the world of work?

In part, I agree with all these things. But for me, my reply is this: The purpose of education is to develop the self in society.

I’m less interested in a prescriptive system and far more passionate about a responsive one. A big issue for me is that our education system isn’t responsive enough to changes in our society, changes that will drastically alter the lived experiences of young people attending school right now.

There is one thing about our society that is never really discussed in schools. Game number two. Can you guess what? What stage of life, what generation is always left out?

You’ve most likely guessed it. Old age. And it makes no sense whatsoever, considering that people in school now are going to end up supporting, knowing, and caring for more old people than ever before in our history.

Schools should develop the self in society. This is what I mean. Job, yes. Money, sure. Literacy, of course. Yes, we cover puberty, and sex. But what about the rest of it? And when it comes to societal fairness and equality why are we are hanging up flags against every kind of discrimination, except one of the biggest ones.

Ageism is now recognised as one of the most widespread prejudices in the world. The WHO has launched a global campaign to combat ageism and has issued a comprehensive report on the issue. This report shows that age stereotypes are internalised by children as young as four. It’s no wonder! In Ireland, we don’t talk about the elderly until they appear in our lives as if out of nowhere!

I listen to people my age for example, complaining that their in-laws or parents aren’t doing enough to help with their young kids. Is this what we now expect of our elderly? Since when? And what about an adult child’s responsibility to their elderly parents? How far does that go? Should I as a parent expect my children to care for me in my old age? We simply don’t have these conversations, in schools or anywhere else in the country.

We should.

What will Ireland be like for my three children when they are my age, 30years into the future? Well, the population of those over 65 in Ireland has grown by 35% in the past 10 years – a faster rate than the rest of Europe. This age group is expected to double over the next 20 years, projected to hit a ratio of more than one-third of the working population, compared to one-fifth currently.

How preposterous that we have idiots screaming at immigrants to get out of our country. We need more people to build our workforce and sustain our economy; we need more immigration, not less, people bringing their education and their desire to contribute.

Other countries are responding to their ageing populations by re-connecting the young and elderly.

Aoi Care, in Fujisawa, 50 km south of Tokyo, is a service for older adults, which celebrates intergenerational relationships.

Children going and coming home from school come into daily contact with the older people in Aoi Care. Intergenerational care began in Japan in 1976 and has since spread to the US, Canada and the Netherlands.

A thinktank in the UK, United for All Ages, finds that children who regularly mix with older people see improvements to their language development, reading and social skills. The elderly reportedly feel less lonely, less forgotten.

A programme in Italy sees young boys suffering from anxiety finding great relief in learning the old ways of pasta-making with older women in their communities.

This is not just about adjusting to an ageing population; it is about discovering the mutual benefits of working, learning, and living intergenerationally.

So, what is the purpose of education? Jobs? Money?

The CAO? Well as life would have it, all of these relate to the realities of our population. The deeper purpose of education is about developing the self in society.

Our society is changing faster than any other society in Europe when it comes to ageing. Our schools need to catch up with that.