Open Minds -- David Puttnam on Technology, education and Ireland: How new ways of learning can assist economic recovery
Hosted by John Bowman, Science Gallery and McCann FitzGerald return with the next speaker in our Open Minds Series: Lord David Puttnam, speaking on "Technology, education and Ireland: How new ways of learning can assist economic recovery".
Feb 27th, 6:30pm.
David Puttnam spent thirty years as an independent producer of award-winning films including The Mission, The Killing Fields, Local Hero, Chariots of Fire, Midnight Express, Bugsy Malone and Memphis Belle. His films have won ten Oscar's, 25 Bafta's and the Palme D'Or at Cannes.
From 1994 to 2004 he was Vice President and Chair of Trustees at the British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA) and was awarded a BAFTA Fellowship in 2006.
He retired from film production in 1998 to focus on his work in public policy as it relates to education, the environment, and the 'creative and communications' industries. In 1998 he founded the National Teaching Awards, which he chaired until 2008, also serving as the first Chair of the General Teaching Council from 2000 to 2002. From July 2002 to July 2009 he was president of UNICEF UK, playing a key role in promoting UNICEF’s key advocacy and awareness objectives.
David is the present Chancellor of the Open University, following ten years as Chancellor of The University of Sunderland. He is President of the Film Distributors’ Association, Chairman of The Sage Gateshead, Deputy Chairman of Channel Four, Deputy Chairman of Profero and a trustee of the Eden Project.
He was founding Chair of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) and for ten years chaired the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television. He has also served as a trustee of the Tate Gallery and the Science Museum.
In 2007 he served as Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Draft Climate Change Bill, having performed the same role on the 2002 Communications Bill. He has also been Chairman of two Hansard Society Commission Reports on the relationship between Parliament and the Public; he serves as Senior Non-Executive Director on two public companies.
David was awarded a CBE in 1982, a knighthood in 1995 and was appointed to the House of Lords in 1997. In France he was made a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1985, becoming an Officer in 1992, and a Commander in 2006. He has been the recipient of more than 40 honorary degrees from Universities in the UK and overseas.
SCIENCE CIRCLE 
Comments
David Puttnam Open Minds presentation
I really enjoyed the Open Minds event this evening. I was struck however by the fact that the majority of the audience was male, and all of the questions/comments made during the event were made by males - this in a society where teaching as a profession is dominated by females!
The presentation left me with the feeling that we need to make significant changes across all levels of education in this country, and wondering exactly what are the blockages to change? I cannot answer this question right now, as it would take too long, and be inappropriately speculative. but I do want to make a few points:
We still have a deeply unequal education system, which is perpetuated by teacher behaviour and parental choice (a tendency to choose the familiar).
We have a history of putting in place small-scale responses to difficulties in the system( Leaving Certificate Applied; School Completion Programme; Junior Certificate Schools Programme; Youthreach), instead of taking a global look at what we want for Ireland as a society, and thinking about what is the best kind of education for ALL of our young people, and then striving to achieve equality of provision for all of our young people. Ideally, this would mean that any child in any part of the country experiences the opportunity to develop/progress into a career that suits them, without prejudice.
I agree with Lord Puttnam's call for a more rigorous approach to research in education, but question whether our education professionals are motivated to become practitioner-researchers and wonder what we can do to address this -( a shift in employment terms, giving more access to one another as peers could be one approach).
In Ontario a state similar in scale to Ireland, and with a similar number of schools at primary and secondary level, the Premier of the state took the initiative to lead educational reform, and, working closely with universities and teachers who acted as practitioner-researchers and peer educators, implemented a programme of educational reform. While I am not familiar with the detailed outcome of this initiative, it would appear that the choice and decision for a Premier to take leadership in educational reform is the least that can be expected in order to achieve such reform. The question facing us is - who is going to take on leadership at this level, in the interest of the future of our children, and our nation?
Finally, I agree with Lord Puttnam's contention that the education system has to be turned on its head in order to create more agile thinkers; confident people; kind people and creative people. Technology can aid this, and open the door to countless opportunities, but the seriously slow pace of change is deeply worrying. It is also the case that the late adoption of ICT by some Irish teachers, and indeed schools, as referred to by one speaker tonight, is becoming a bit of a joke
Thank you.