Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 26 September 2019
Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement
Business of Joint Committee
Integrated Education: Discussion
Ms Amanda McNamee:
I will pick up on the Chairman's point. Schools are essentially about helping children to learn about themselves, others and their future career paths and prospects. As has been mentioned, every school wishes to be a good school. The joy of working in an integrated school is we have children of all abilities. They will go into the workplace be that through university, apprenticeships, gap years or charity organisations. It is a joy to see one can make a difference to children aged between 11 and 18. As a principal and a mother of a child who attends an integrated school, I believe that integrated education is doing much more than that. It is our civic duty to encourage children to make sure we do not make the mistakes of the past by integrating them into understanding what peace looks and feels like. None of us knows what Brexit will feel like but as a principal, I must be optimistic that the children will go forward and, hopefully, make a difference in the world.
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