A group of fourteen eager and enthusiastic teachers have just completed the five-day Extended Skills in CREDIT course. The course is one of several professional development courses organized by Stranmillis University College in partnership with St Mary’s University College. It is funded by the International Fund for Ireland under the Sharing in Education Programme, which is managed within the Department of Education. This course is designed for teachers who currently are involved in community relations and community cohesion work in their schools.
The teachers spent a busy and emotional two days together at the end of October in both Stranmillis and St Mary's University Colleges, where the focus was on the influence of the community upon education. The teachers experienced the ‘Divided Belfast Bus Tour’ and visited some of the community relations organisations located in the South Belfast area. Professor Tony Gallagher shared his vision on shared education in Northern Ireland with the teachers, who were challenged and encouraged to think about the future of education.
Following an interim period of three weeks, a bright fresh day set a positive tone for an energised group of teachers embarking on a thought-provoking two day residential in Corrymeela, Ballycastle. Teachers were provided with the opportunity to facilitate and engage with a panel of experts on the topic of education and community. The panel comprised Gavin Boyd (The Rainbow Project), Joe O’Donnell (Strategic Director of the Belfast Interface Project) and Inderjit Bhogal (Leader of the Corrymeela Community).
Panelists provided interesting insights into their backgrounds, and they were challenged to present a strong case in a Dragon’s Den scenario for the teachers to invest in their company or project. Teachers had the opportunity to hear from the pupils from Cross and Passion College, Ballycastle, and Ballycastle High School who are involved in some inspiring collaborative work. They were encouraged and heartened by the pupils’ mature outlook and positive experiences of collaboration.
The residential provides the teachers with some time away from the formal school setting to reflect, discuss and share ideas with others and to begin to make plans to deal further with the issues of community relations upon their return to school. The feedback was very positive, and one teacher commented:
"I think the learning from the course will stay with me for many years to come and it will positively affect my teaching."Another affirmed,
"I don’t know what is ahead in the journey. I’ll take it in small steps – but I want to make a change in hearts and minds."
The teachers were required to put into practice some of the ideas that had come to them as a result of the course and to take the next step forward for their schools. They returned to Stranmillis University College earlier this week to present an assessment of the collaborative projects they had undertaken. A very useful session ensued as teachers outlined some of the ongoing, innovative projects devised to address the important issue of developing good community relations in schools throughout the province. Well done to everyone involved!