Programme 352, Adam Harris & Patrick O'Shea at IPPN (6-2-19)

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney.

Theme tune by David Vesey.

On this week's programme, the guests were two of the keynote speakers from the 2019 annual conference of the Irish Primary Principals' Network, the IPPN, Adam Harris and Patrick O'Shea. Adam Harris is the Chief Executive Officer of AsIAm, an organisation set up to give people with autism a voice. My conversation with Adam included the following topics:

His message for primary school principals
The importance of school culture
The “scattered skill sets” of people with autism
The value of focusing on a student’s strengths
Disclosing the having of autism
Support for students with autism
A student’s relationship with their SNA
The work of As I Am
Awareness of versus Understanding People with autism
Coping mechanisms for difficult situations and places
Being diagnosed as having autism

Professor Patrick O'Shea was appointed President of University College Cork in 2017 following a three-decade career in academia in the United States. My conversation with Patrick included the topics below:

Why he sees Brexit as a tremendous opportunity for Ireland and Irish education
Why he emigrated to the United States and how Ireland changed while he was away
His impression of University culture in the United States
The mission of University College Cork
How learning will happen without teaching
Educating explorers rather than training tourists
Motivation of Students
The role of a School of Education in a University
Comparing leadership of a university with leading a primary school
A typical day
Junior Conferring
Why history is what’s left when the noise and the news are gone