2022 awardees part 2.Ep 5, Ruairi Farrell

Louise:
Hello, and welcome to the Teachers Inspire Podcast. I'm Louise O'Neill and I curate Teachers Inspire which is organised and run by Dublin City University.

We want to hear about the teacher who has made a difference in your life or in your child's life. So remember you can nominate them now for an award at teachersinspire.ie

On the podcast I talk to some of the amazing teachers and the people who nominated them. I also chat to other people who share their fascinating stories about teaching and teachers with me.

Every year Teachers Inspire presents awards to four teachers as part of celebrating the lasting impact a teacher can have in a student.

Now, if you're a regular listener to the podcast, you will know that the impact and the difference a teacher makes frequently has very little to do with the curriculum or exam preparation. In 2022 one of those awardees was Ruairi Farrell.

At the time he was a teacher in a secondary school in County Wicklow but now he is principal at Greystones Community College. Congratulations!

He joins me now. So welcome to the podcast Ruairi.

Ruairi:
Thanks Louise. Delighted to be here.

Louise:
Ruairi you were nominated by a former student, Ciara Nolan. And you were her year head for fifth and sixth year. And she told us that you were ‘always looking and making sure everyone was okay but when he realised I was suffering, which was probably before I even realised I had a problem, he had called me out of class one day and asked me to speak to the counsellor.’

So, like, what that is referring to is that Ciara had developed an eating disorder. And she says that looking back, you really saved her, both mentally and physically. I mean, what's it like to hear that? Is it a bit overwhelming?

Ruairi:
Yeah, absolutely. Look, they're very powerful words. And I suppose, you know, if we, if we focus on the passing of time, it's probably 15 or 16 years since I worked with Ciara. I was her year head.

And, you know, for someone to, I suppose, put pen to paper and write such a personal account of a time in their lives in order to nominate you for an award like this is something very special.

I think we're doing our job day in day out and that's what we see it, we see it as - doing our job and doing our best for our students in front of us.

You don't realise, I suppose, that you're having an impact, and you don't realise that you're making a difference. So it's certainly very nice to hear Ciara’s account of her time in school, and the impact that, I suppose one good adult had on her in her life.

Louise:
Yeah. And I think that is really what the Teachers Inspire awards are about -that I think it's both acknowledging, you know, it was the importance that a teacher can have, but also like, the huge responsibility, I mean, like in a situation like that, where it's a very serious mental health issue, it can be a life-or-death situation.

And I think one of the recurring themes that we've seen in the nominations actually, is that teachers are so often, like, in a really prime position to notice, you know, I suppose things like changes in behaviour, that you know might go unnoticed elsewhere, you know, parents are very busy and, you know, like family life can be, you know, like, there's a lot going on…

So I think that your intervention with Ciara is a very good example of that. And I'd love to hear you talk a little bit about what other kinds of situations do teachers notice and like, are there programs or initiatives to help them and the students?

Ruairi:
Yeah, I think, I think times are changing and changing very quickly. And I think schools are really at the coalface of coming across issues and we see the myriad of things that are going on in students’ lives and they're very different to when we were in school.

And teachers are very well placed. And I suppose you never know what mile anyone is walking, and you don't know how it feels to be in their shoes. So it's really important that, you know, teachers do an awful lot more than just teach their curriculum in different subjects to students that they work with.

They are that, you know, really important person in a student’s life and take that extra interest to make sure they're okay and to check in with them. They are well placed to notice it and on the whole it's much more personal issues, mental health issues that students are struggling with.

Louise:
Do you think that's more prevalent now or has it always been the case?

Ruairi:
Absolutely it’s certainly more prevalent now. I think, you know, we talk about the COVID years, we talk about social media and the impact that that has on students.

And students are always, I suppose, dealing with these challenges in their head and they're often not able to articulate it and not able to deal with it and process it.

You asked there Louise (i.e. earlier on) about certain interventions or initiatives that are in place.

Louise:
Yes.

Ruairi:
I'm a big believer in, and I know our school is a big believer in the whole One Good Adult piece so that outside of the family home there's one person that every young person can reach out to or talk to.

And that person's role is very much around listening. It's around, I suppose, challenging, it's around supporting young people and providing a safe space for them to talk about any issues that they have.

And I think that probably wasn't talked about as much, maybe 15 or 16 years ago when Ciara was in school but it's certainly very prevalent now and teachers are upskilling in these areas to ensure that they're properly equipped to support students no matter what issue they come to a classroom door or an office door with.

Louise:
And that's hard because, you know, if you're a teacher, who has trained to become a maths teacher, you know and then all of a sudden, you have to nearly have a student counsellor/guidance counsellor role as well, like that is a very difficult thing to navigate, I would imagine.

Ruairi:
Yeah and look, it's the referral on process from there… So you know, you might have to have a difficult conversation with a parent first to alert them to an issue. But equally, you know, look, I'm a business teacher, I'm not equipped, I suppose, to support students with a myriad of issues that they come to school with. So look we're in a fortunate position in our school that we have a counsellor and a psychotherapist working with us.

Louise:
(That’s) so amazing.

Ruairi:
They're so busy with appointments with students, both in small groups and one-to-one. But as a school principal, I very much rely on the support and the advice of both counsellor and psychotherapist in dealing with different issues and the best approach that we can take to support the student.

Louise:
I think it's great that that is in place because like, I had an eating disorder in school, and I remember, like, I think it was around seventeen when my parents said, okay, you have to start seeing a therapist.

And I had to leave school early, I think it was like on a Thursday and I said that I had, like anemia and I needed (to go early) you know I was making - because, you know I mean, this was 2002/2003 and no one was going to see a therapist.

So, I just think it's really, I don't know, I just feel like it's really promising to think that there's someone in school and that they (students) have that access.

Ruairi:
And it's changing the narrative around it which is so important as well, you know, it's not the big deal of going to see a therapist it's much more, ‘there's somebody in the school here, who cares, who wants to have a chat with you to see how you're getting on to support you.’

And I think that's, that's the key to kind of changing this. You know, if a student has a physical injury, they come in with a cast on their arm and they're very proud of it and tell everybody how it happened. But if a student has, I suppose, thoughts in their head that they're not sure how to express them or how to deal with them.

Louise:
Yeah

Ruairi:
they're often afraid to do it.

Louise:
Yeah.

Ruairi:
But it's the exact same thing and it's just giving students the language and the skills to be able to talk about it and to be able to seek support that they need.

Louise:
you can't get your friends to like sign the cast on your brain.

[laughter]

Ruairi:
That’s exactly it!

Louise:
Now you mentioned there that you were (a business teacher) but presumably you're not a teaching principal… how have you found that, like that transition? Do you miss teaching?

Ruairi:
Yeah, look, it's, it's a big change, I miss the impact with the students. You know, I think everyone, everyone who’s a teacher becomes a teacher to close the classroom door and to get in there with 30 students and to make your subject come alive. And it's something I really, really enjoyed.

As I progressed and moved into deputy principal role and now into a principal role, I'm probably becoming more and more removed from that. I have less contact with the students on a daily basis which is something that upsets me greatly I have to say.

Louise:
Obviously the students in your school are very well behaved that they're not having to be sent to the principal on a daily basis!

Ruairi:
Absolutely and look it's something that I need to keep trying to find the time to make time to go and spend with the students as much as, as much as I can because, you know, in the job that I'm doing at the moment, it's never the students that will put you in bad form, you know, and sometimes when you're having a tough day, you have to go and, you know sit down with a group of transition years or a group of first years and just have a chat with them about how school is going and that reminds you why you're doing the job that you do.

I have very little impact, I suppose over, you know, over a child's educational success in school now but the one thing I can do, I suppose is is try and get great teachers and great staff into our school and to support them to do the jobs that they do and hope that they help the students along the way.

Louise:
and it sounds it sounds like they are. When did you start teaching?

Ruairi:
So I qualified as a teacher back in 2006.

Louise:
Okay. And like what would you say are the changes that you've seen in those 20 years?

Ruairi:
the pace has changed.

Louise:
I thought you were going to say the pay!

[laughter from both]

Ruairi:
You can’t sort out a few extra bob for all the great teachers up and down the country?!

Louise:
We won't talk about that! Sorry my hands are tied there!

Ruairi:
you know, the pace, the pace of the work, it's all encompassing. You know, this isn't your nine to four job anymore and it probably never was but, you know, when I started teaching, you can go home in the evening and you could bring home a pile of copy books or to do your corrections or whatever you needed or plan your classes.

But now, you know, it's, it's always on your mind, you know, you're thinking of that poor student who you saw today and you noticed that was a bit out of sorts, you're thinking what interventions you can put in place. You're seeing how you dealt with something, you're reflecting on it and I think there's so much coming across the table in schools now.

And schools are, I suppose it comes across in the media, that schools are, you know, painted out as being the solution to all of, you know the country's problems in terms of, oh let the schools tackle it.

You know, there's students or there's young people jumping off the pier and Greystones (so) schools need to follow and deal with that issue and I think everything is becoming a school issue.

Louise:
Yeah.

Ruairi:
It's very hard for us to achieve everything and to do everything. And look, we're relying on the few champions on our staff to drive different initiatives, you know, for someone to take a particular personal interest in a topic or an area and to work with groups of students to progress change in those areas, too.

Louise:
It's just I keep saying this, but like, it is a vocation, like you could not go into this career without really loving it and without really I think, I don't know just understanding the importance of it and the responsibility and how wide-ranging sort of your, your job, like the job description can be is, is just incredible.

So why do you think like, when you think back to yourself filling out your CAO form like why do you think you decided to become a teacher? Was there like a particular teacher in your life that was, you know, inspirational? Are you going to nominate them for Teachers Inspire?!

[laughter from both]

Ruairi:
I must think about it in fairness! I suppose I was very fortunate growing up and to have my father, actually my father was a teacher and, and I suppose my memory is kind of shady on it but all I remember is him loving what he did, and he never came home in the evenings giving out about it.

He was very well respected in the communities in which he worked and I think I obviously got, you know, a great buzz from that.

And I think it's probably not easy to… you know I obviously went to school in the same town, I didn't go to the school that he teaches in, but you know, when your your son is, is probably getting up to all sorts at the weekends or whatever, for him to hear that back in his own school mustn't have been very easy for him to hear but equally look, he took it all in his stride as well.

Louise:
Yeah.

Ruairi:
But look, as a young boy, myself, and I was reflecting on this, I was very fortunate to have lots of young male teachers and I think that's very important for young lads today, that they have, you know, good male role models that inspire them.

Louise:
particularly in primary -

Ruairi:
I'm talking about primary - I had four particular male teachers,

Louise:
I don’t think you would get that today, it is really a problem actually..

Ruairi:
And, you know, I think I look back on them so fondly, and one of them was a Gaeilgeoir and, you know, I improved my cúpla focail from that and I still have very good memories there.

One was a historian and a writer and I gained so much there and I suppose, above all, they were just young male teachers who were passionate about what they did and without me even thinking about it at the time, they were role models for me.

And one in particular, he was actually went on to be the principal of the school. Jos Furlong was his name and I just wanted to be like him when I grew up. You know, there's, you know, things that he'd spend time talking to us about, you know, he was an avid blood donor and because of that, I think I badgered my parents into going to give blood

Louise:
Oh wow

Ruairi:
And now I'm, you know, religiously every three months I give blood myself.

Louise:
That’s amazing.

Ruairi
So it's, you know, it's the value of having those role models yourself as you're growing up and I think that instills in you what it takes to be a good teacher. And I suppose we try very hard to be that good role model and that inspiration for other students that we work with as well.

Louise:
Okay Ruairi well I think you have mentioned five people there that you're going to nominate! You're gonna go to teachers inspire.ie!

It would be really funny if your dad won one as well - another generation of Farrell, you know, like winning this award!

Thank you so much for coming in today that it was just so great to hear you speak and you know, as you said, just you know, thank you again for your intervention with Ciara like it obviously, you know, really changed her life

Ruairi:
great and Louise, just to thank the team at Teachers Inspire for us, I suppose to be recognised in this way and to you know, to have a special day out with your family and for them to see the impact of the work that you do; you know, they see you the worst of times when you're having a bad day in school or whatever, but it's lovely for them to be able to share in a positive experience as well. So, thank you.

Louise:
Now remember, you can find out more about Teachers Inspire, you can nominate a teacher for the award and you can find links to other episodes of the podcast at teachersinspire.ie. Or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Until next time.