'It wasn't a happy time for me and I was glad to get away'

MY LEAVING CERT: MICK WALLACE, Independent TD for Wexford:IT WAS a few years ago, but I remember there was a huge amount of pressure doing my Leaving. It wasn't a happy time for me and I was glad to get away. I'm not in touch with anyone from my class any more. I didn't enjoy it particularly, and I was glad to get out and into the world.

I hadn’t a clue. I was 17 and went hitchhiking in America. It gave me a chance to think. I didn’t go to university until I was 19. I did history, English and philosophy in UCD, but I didn’t go there for job preparation, I went to get an education.

I went away so I would learn something. I was heading for South America but I went to North America first to earn the money to do it.

I enjoyed college a lot; I liked third level. I thought the whole nature of the curriculum at second level left a lot to be desired. Things haven’t changed much since I was there.

A big problem at second level is that we should be preparing people for life. The whole emphasis in education has gone astray. The Greeks invented education to teach us about ourselves – the world we live in and the people we live with.

It doesn’t prepare people for life as far as I’m concerned. It could offer a lot more, but there’s been a very conservative approach to it. The Government has been very reluctant to do something positive. It’s very unfortunate. A serious look has to be taken at the curriculum – there has to be a far greater emphasis on preparing people for the world they are living in.

It’s obvious most young people coming out of secondary school are learning from their peer group rather than the system. In secondary school, 90 per cent is learned from your peer group and about 10 per cent from the curriculum. That’s one reason I think parents are crazy to send their kids to fee-paying schools.

They do so with the perception that it’s all about academics, giving your kids the best opportunity, but it’s about socialising. If you go to a private school you’re only going to meet kids from one social background, whereas if you go to a State school you’ll meet all types. It’s a far better preparation. My school was like that and my four kids all went to State schools.

I was always interested in politics because my parents were, but when I went to South America I could see what the US was doing first-hand and the manner in which it exploited the people down there for financial gain. It opened my eyes and led me to question how things were working on the planet.

My daughter Gráinne started her Leaving Cert on Wednesday. I told her last night that one of the most important things to remember was it wasn’t going to be worth the paper it was written on and I didn’t give a damn what she got. It’s important she worked hard and did her best; the result is insignificant.

My maxim is “pressure is for car tyres”. What secondary school did for me has absolutely nothing to do with what I got up to in life or have been up to in the last 20 years!