Professor Diarmuid Hegarty:

Throughout the 50 years I talked about earlier, I believe a teacher's job is not to give knowledge but to ask questions. If the process that the student goes through in being taught is constantly asking and answering questions and constantly being brought through the thinking process in order to work things out for themselves, I think it will be found that that itself will develop the critical thinking facilities the Senator mentioned. That is a matter of teaching technique. That is a personal view.

I loved the Senator's description of school as a transition. It was so apt and so eloquent. It is exactly that. It is a transition from childhood to adult life and one that should occur not in one year but in 12 years.

I think what the Senator was saying - I ask her to correct me if I am wrong - is that the transitional experience should not be concentrated in just one year of a student's education but should be there throughout. I am in complete agreement with her. The question, and Dr. Ryan's challenge, is to get the balance between giving students the specific technical skills they need along with the transitional experience. A lot of that is in the teaching style and how they are taught. Whatever subject they are taught, they can still be taught to think. That is probably the big challenge we as a country face. I hope that answers the Senator's question.