Half-day holds valuable lessons for children
I remember fondly the hustle and bustle in preparing classrooms, dusting out cupboards, and trimming the verges of the concrete playground. Then there were the obligatory poems, songs and stories to be learned and performed. The culmination of all this effort was the dreaded inspection, with each of us warned to be on our best behaviour.
Rather than an ordeal, this was a grand occasion. Local dignitaries, be it the bishop, a local Oireachtas member, or the most coveted of all the Liam McCarthy or Sam Maguire cups broadened our minds and pointed to a world beyond the narrow confines of our own.
The arrival of a dignitary taught us a number of important things.
Firstly is that even as "smallies" we were valued members of society. Secondly is that fearful and respectful though we may be of our teacher in our world, there is a bigger world out there in which there are people of whom our teacher is respectful. Thirdly, from the fact that dignitaries would generally talk of their own often humble roots, we learned that with application and dedication we too could achieve. Finally and crucially, our efforts in preparation earned not merely the reward of our teachers' satisfaction and a compliment from our guest but the holy grail of a half-day.
Though too young to comprehend the process fully, the arrival of a dignitary was a message that we were important citizens whose work would be rewarded now and in the future as adults.
Where there are schools, there are minimum working hours and attendance requirements. There is nothing new in regulating minimum attendance yet now the Minister for Education is revoking the right to award half-days because the social partnership agreement prescribes standardisation.
There are many other things in society worthy of attention, like homelessness and poverty, housing prices and environmental issues. But what is the point in putting our tax money to work on these problems, to build a better nation, if our children are to be taught that to survive and prosper one can expect no reward?
Minister, show some forward thinking, and sanction the Lord Mayor of Cork, Colm Burke, and his counterparts throughout the country, to continue a fine tradition.
Richard Hammond,
Templeogue Road,
Templeogue,
Dublin 6W.
