Cork teacher elected to chair Adult Education Ireland

The director of adult education in Bishopstown Community School has been appointed chairperson of Adult Education Ireland.

Rebecca Milner, who had been in her current position at Bishopstown for the past year, took on the national role at the start of the year.

“It means I will be in charge of adult education that is taught in community schools across Ireland, and representing those adult education officers who are double jobbing in their school as best they can,” Ms Milner said.

“If they have any queries, or if there are difficulties going on in their school, they will come to me.

“We will be doing a lot of applications for funding and grants to Solas and different government bodies as well, and we would have different conferences throughout the year that I will be hoping to host and organise.”

There are 18 schools nationwide that offer adult education in the evenings from community schools and Ms Milner’s role will be to represent those schools.

A secondary schoolteacher at Bishopstown Community School for the past 17 years, teaching English and history, Ms Milner decided three years ago to do a postgraduate course in French, so that she could teach all three subjects to Leaving Cert.

Lectures

“I had to go back as a day student and do it part-time.

“I would cycle into UCC from Bishopstown on my lunch breaks to make tutorials, and then go back there after school and make my lectures in the evening.”

A hectic schedule of juggling work and education gave her the confidence to last year take up the position of director of adult education in Bishopstown.

A native of Ballincarriga in Dunmanway parish, she was elected three weeks ago to the role of chairperson of Adult Education Ireland, which has responsibility for schools offering adult education in Connaught, Leinster, and Munster.

Ms Milner said she has received a lot of support from Adult Education Ireland members, who share her passion for adult learning.

“What’s very important for adult education is that it’s not just about the academic aspect.

“It’s about personal growth. It’s about social interactions, and we offer all of that as well with the evening school,”

she said.

“We don’t just focus on courses that will bridge the gap academically, it’s about being able to get people out, being able to meet, being able to exercise their creativity, their talents, their interests, and we really focus on that in adult education.

“It’s something that [then education minister] Norma Foley actually raised last year, that schools should be open to the community after 4pm, and that is something that we’re proud that we’re doing in Bishopstown Community Schools with adult education,” Ms Milner added.