mikenesbitt.co.uk

Speech to Educationalists

When it comes to post-primary transfer, what local political control has done is make matters worse, by adding uncertainty to unfairness. What we need to do seems pretty clear to me, and that is start again, putting the focus back where it belongs, on our children.

Inside every child – and I mean every one – there is a spark of ability, creativity and talent, and it is our duty to find that spark and foster it, so that young people can discover who they are and what they are supposed to become.

How do we do that? By giving them the opportunity to try things – things which let them find out if they are academic, sporting, musical, or any glorious combination of all. These categories are not mutually exclusive, but they do lead to people making choices, which is another way of saying, there will be selection. Of course there has to be selection! Does St Michael’s College Enniskillen pick its MacCrory Cup winning team by sticking a pin in the school roll? Does Methodist College Belfast win School Choir of the Year by rounding up the first fifty pupils to turn up for classes on a Monday morning?

One of our great inspirational teachers is Andy McMorran, the principal of Ashfield Boys’ High School in east Belfast. He runs a secondary school, not a grammar school, yet he believes in selection.

I studied at Cambridge University with some incredibly bright people, academically. But you wouldn’t have trusted them with your weekly shopping at the supermarket!

So, lets stop putting artificial values on a child’s spark of ability. Lets stop equating academic with success and non-academic with failure. Lets start respecting that there is a valid and worthwhile role in society for everybody, and our education system should open doors for thinkers and doers alike.

Social Issues

I persuaded my colleagues at the Commission for Victims and Survivors that we should conduct a public opinion poll about the legacy of the Troubles. One of the most interesting findings was that the desire for truth and justice played second fiddle to what I call societal issues – education, health, the economy.

Something that struck me very hard as a victims’ commissioner was how so many victims and survivors felt doubly disadvantaged. First, there was the catastrophic event which made them a victim. But then, there was the way they feel the state, its services and we as a society have ignored and abused them ever since – and that is a common reaction whether you are protestant or catholic, unionist or nationalist.

Professor Ruth Levitas from the University of Bristol puts it like this: it is about ensuring everyone has the ability to participate in what society considers normal relationships and activities, be they social, cultural, economic or political. It’s about having access to resources, goods, rights and services. It’s about a culture that is not just “me, me, me!” And that applies to far to many people, victims or not.

Health

I have a particular interest in mental health and well-being, and the reason is that my wife, Lynda Bryans, is no stranger to clinical depression. I very much admire the way she speaks out publicly about her experiences, because our society still attaches a heavy stigma to people with mental health issues, even though one in four of us can expect to suffer a form of mental health issue at some stage in our lives.

We can tackle good mental health in two ways. Firstly, we can destroy the stigma, so that society makes no distinction between someone with an issue like depression than someone with a broken arm. Secondly, we can recognise how big this problem is, and make sure we prioritise resources accordingly.

We can also acknowledge that health is not an issue to be tackled in isolation, any more than education is, or social issues – they all overlap and inter-connect.

Economy

Sometimes, we talk down our economy as if it’s a basket case, which would collapse without the support of the Exchequer and Europe. I look at it the other way around; the support of the Exchequer and Europe offers us a measure of stability from which we can build opportunity.

Opportunity is the key. If we are to build a future based on social justice, everyone needs equal access to opportunity, in education, training, and employment.

We produce business geniuses like the late Sir Allen McClay from Cookstown, who founded not one, but two globally competitive companies, in Galen and Almac. To some extent, the Sir Allen’s will flourish no matter what the economic environment.

What we need is a flexible support framework to offer opportunity for all. We have many who start successful small companies, but do not want to push on to the next level. Fine! Lets encourage some to sell the business on to those who will make it grow, and let the original owner start again with another successful small enterprise, and another, and another….

Section 75

Section 75 and Schedule 9 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 came into force on the 01 January 2000 and placed a statutory obligation on public authorities in carrying out their various functions relating to Northern Ireland, to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity –
• between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group, age, marital status or sexual orientation;
• between men and women generally;
• between persons with a disability and persons without; and
• between persons with dependants and persons without.

I have no problem with any of that, but it is now 2010, so ten years after Section 75 became law, you might well ask how well Northern Ireland has promoted equality of opportunity. It is time to strengthen the legislation by turning the duty to “promote” equality to a duty to “advance” it. That way, public authorities will have to do more, and prove they are doing more to make equality of opportunity a reality. That means actions we can all monitor and measure.

Loyal Orders

I have never been a member of the Orange, or any of the other Orders. In fact, I probably do not know enough about them, beyond the obvious, and I am willing to listen and learn.

What I do know is this: I am no threat to anyone who wants to cherish and celebrate their tradition, in the context of what is legal, peaceful and respectful.