Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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I thank the witnesses for their presentation. I agreed with everything they said but there was one point that triggered a thought of my own struggles in schools with teachers and the experience of my daughters. She can correct me if I have picked this up wrongly but I believe Ms Kate Lehane referred to a conflict with teachers when students try to explain, to contribute or to question. Can Ms Lehane speak a little bit more about that question and what it is about? In a school system it is usually frustrating when teachers are too afraid to leave the curriculum, even for a moment, to have dialogue and conversation. I know how I learn. It is through participation and conversation and there was never much room for that in school. This always caused great conflict, with teachers telling students to be quiet or perceiving them to be disruptive because they wanted to engage in a conversation. The witnesses might speak a little more about the issue of conflict.