How could anyone hate school, ask Carrie Crowley

My primary school - St John of God's School, Passage Road, Waterford - was a lovely little school. It had a wonderful homely feel to it. The school, which was run by the St John of God nuns, had only one class in each year. After sixth class we all split up and went to different schools. It was the end of an era for a lot of us.

The Ursuline Convent, Waterford, which I attended for second-level was a much bigger school - there were six streams in each year - but I had no difficulty settling in. I loved the variety of the place and the fact that you had a different teacher for each subject.

I adored school and find it hard to understand people who say they hated school. I suppose I loved school for the company as much as anything else. My sister, who is three or so years older than I am, left school at 16 and went to UCC. I was alone at home, so I enjoyed the buzz of school.

I liked maths - particularly mental arithmetic and problem solving - but I hated to have to learn things like theorems off by heart. I didn't have the discipline. Although I wasn't a great studier, I did enjoy learning things that were stimulating. I adored poetry in both Irish and English.

I enjoyed subjects as much for the teachers as for the subjects themselves. There were no teachers that I disliked, but I particularly remember our English teacher Eleanor Jones, Nora Donovan who taught us accountancy and Mick Cahillane who taught bus.org and economics.

At school I was less focused than I am now and I had no particular ambitions. I was heavily involved in extracurricular activities and in the school choir in particular. We travelled around the country a lot and even attended the National Eisteddfod in Wales.

In fifth year we joined forces with the De La Salle and Mercy schools and put on shows at the Theatre Royal - Oliver in 1981 and Fiddler on the Roof in 1982. During those years drama was my biggest interest and took up most of my time. It didn't dawn on me to do something like communications at third level.

Instead I enrolled on a B Ed course at St Patrick's, Drumcondra. I always regret that in our first two years we lived on campus rather than having to go out and find digs or flats for ourselves. We lived in a cocoon and had little interaction with city life.

I enjoyed the course because it grounded you in so many things - in sociology and psychology, for example. Having said that, if I had my time over again I probably wouldn't do education. I'd be more likely to opt for arts or communications.

I enjoyed teaching, but after three years decided to take a year out and explore the possibility of working with drama and music. I got a job in a pizzaria and did some singing and theatre. I joined a three-piece band and later worked for five years in local radio with WLR FM. I moved up to Dublin last year.

Carrie Crowley is copresenter with Gary O'Toole of on RTE on Wednesdays at 8.30 p.m. She was in conversation with Yvonne Healy.