An unusual teacher who loved the French classics shaped John Coolahan for life

The institution that had the greatest formative influence on me was my secondary school, which I attended locally in Tarbert, Co Kerry. In the 1950s Ireland had a large number of small secondary schools and the area in which I lived - North Kerry and South Limerick - was peppered with such schools. Tarbert had a long tradition of hedge schools and as a result there was never any problem persuading people of the importance of education. St Ita's Secondary School stood on the hill at the entrance to the village overlooking the Shannon Estuary. The principal Jane A McKenna, about whom a former pupil - Brendan Kennelly - has written extensively, rented the building from my father. St Ita's was unusual for its time. It was lay, co-educational and interdenominational. There were never more than 150 pupils and as a result we received a good deal of individual attention.

McKenna was way ahead of her time. She had a tremendous feel for literature and made the classics come alive for us. French and English were her two key subjects. We were introduced to great French writers, including Racine, Corneille and Baudelaire at an early stage. Shakespeare became a real person to us. We did a lot of memory work and many of the lines I learned then have stayed with me. It gives me great pleasure to pick up a book and still find echoes of those times. Her classes were never a bore and an appreciation of literature became part of your mental outlook. I believe that it's one of the most important things you can do as a teacher - to mediate valuable material in such a way that youngsters make it their own. Although it was a small school we were offered a relatively wide range of subjects, including history, geography, commerce, English, Latin, French, Irish, maths and music. The only thing we missed out on was science - but that was true of most small schools in Ireland at that time. Another significant aspect of the school was the importance laid on relationships and the dignity of the individual person. Good interpersonal relationships were encouraged as was respect for people who maybe were less well off than yourself.

True Christian values were constantly articulated, but in a non-preachy way. The fact that a number of pupils were Protestant was a great help. We learned to respect different religious beliefs and that was very useful and healthy.

Our teachers worked very hard. School took place six days per week and many students stayed behind at night for supervised study. We had a fantastic library - something which many other schools lacked. We could borrow books whenever we wanted to. Going to the library was regarded as natural and you weren't considered a swot for using it.

Because I had always been taught by very good teachers, I was in no doubt about what I wanted to be when I left school : a teacher. I believe very much in the power of the teacher - they can have a huge influence on young people. It's now a standing joke at home, but I often tell my own children and their friends that teaching is a glamorous profession. The privilege of opening up young minds to science, maths and literature is one of the world's great jobs. I have taught at all levels and I have never regretted a day of it.

Dr John Coolahan is professor of education at St Patrick's College, Maynooth. He was in conversation with Yvonne Healy.