Philip King goes back to school
Musician and Other Voices creator Philip King has highlighted the story of a teacher who inspired him as a child in Cork city.
Philip is one of a number of famous faces sharing their stories as part of the Teachers Inspire initiative established by Dublin City University to celebrate the enormous contribution made by teachers in Irish society. Reflecting on his time at school in Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh in Bishopstown, Philip credited one teacher who had the strongest influence on him.
“Many teachers made positive differences in my life, but there was one particular teacher, named Tom Dunne. He was a history teacher and an English teacher, and I was a dyslexic boy.
“At that time, if you couldn’t spell, you were probably dismissed as being foolish, or a clown, and that was very, very difficult. And he set me free from that. With him, if you had an idea, that was the thing that mattered.
“Without those inspirational moments, in a small classroom in Cork city; without the influence and inspiration of a teacher like Tom Dunne – I think my pathway in life would have been very, very different.”
However it was not only the teachers of his childhood that inspired him, but the place.
“I was born in Cork city and I went to national school, secondary school and to university in Cork before I set out on what became a musical expedition around the world and back. Education, related to the Latin ‘educo’, to lead out, was a central and key part of my life and every aspect of my life growing up in Cork city.”
Teachers have a much more important role than just preparing students for exams, said Philip.
“A great teacher enables you to engage in lifelong learning. It stimulates that inquisitive gene that will want you to explore and develop consistently through the rest of your life. Teachers are at the coalface, enabling a young person to develop into a fully rounded human being.”
Over the past month, people across the country have been urged to share their stories of how a teacher transformed their lives or their community.
“It's a fantastic thing for people to be able to come out and bear witness to those individual teachers and those individual relationships between student and teacher that have enriched and enhanced their lives. And I think every single person that I know has an instance of that happening. You always hear ‘school was very difficult but there was one teacher who was just fantastic’.”
Stories of inspiring teachers can be submitted on teachersinspire.ie before the deadline on Sunday 30 June.
After the closing date, a shortlist will be selected and profiled on the website before a number of teachers will be celebrated at the inaugural Teachers Inspire Ireland gala dinner on 27 September.