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I'm Eoin Cunningham and this is my blog.


I'm a writer. You can find my work in the Irish Times from time to time, and my grubby fingers have been all over David McWilliams's last three books. We've got one out now, as it happens.
I've also written a novel (who hasn't?) called Ratcatcher. It's currently in a kind of purgatory, but I will shout about it when there is any news. Wish me luck?

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The old blog

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Posts tagged education

This, by US author John Green (@realjohngreen) is great. More here: http://is.gd/AzdYLp

Changes

I have to finish a draft by next week and I’m very far away from it right now. There’s also a ton of stuff that needs to be done around the house and on top of all that, real, paying work. Not forgetting, I need to try and see if I can take this master’s degree any further.  

Worst of all, the pie consumption level around here has reached crisis point, and unless I exercise restraint, there’s a very real danger I might have to exercise. 

I know. 

So, that’s part of the reason most of the posts have been videos and not text. But I’ve also been wondering what to do with this blog - I’m not interested in doing long confessional essays, and I don’t have the time to be a magpie, throwing up every meme, trailer and shiny new product that pops up online. There’s enough of both out there already, and I don’t think anyone needs me to add to it. Obviously, if you get me very, very drunk, all bets are off.

So, rather than can this blog, because I do enjoy shouting into caves, I’ve decided to start posting all the things I come across while researching and writing. Partly as a way of keeping track of everything, but I think there’s a fair amount of interesting stuff that other people might enjoy. I don’t know how regular this will be: I’ve been blogging in some form since 2006 or thereabouts, but nobody could accuse me of consistency. 

Certainly not my wife*

*Cymbal crash.

Right. Time to get down to work. Here’s something interesting to start with: a story on the diminishing value of education from the New York Times - something that fascinates me on loads of levels. 

NYT Education 

And because why not, here’s a video from an Irish/Malaysian band called Madu, who a student introduced to me last month. You can find their album here:


‘Sunshine’ by Madu from madu music on Vimeo.

 
I wrote an article in today’s Irish Times on art education in Ireland - how it’s done, what people (ideally) get from it, the differences between here and other countries, and so on.Writing about art as something worthy of study and necessary for education is a tricky thing, and I don’t think the article really comes close to covering it all, but hopefully it is some kind of beginning. For something so central to life and everyday experience, there are a lot of different ideas about how it ought to be taught, how practical it is or isn’t and why it should be taught at all. Whatever your views on the subject, I think it would be hard to credibly argue it shouldn’t be a central part of education.If anyone is interested in finding out more about the role of art and creativity in education - and its value, I’d recommend this TED talk from a few years ago:    But I’d also suggest you get along to IMMA, to the National Gallery, to any of the regional and private galleries - but also Collins’ Barracks, the Science Gallery; anywhere like that will be good for you. Plus most of these places either serve coffee or have a cafe nearby, so you can’t go wrong, really. But ideally, just go for a wander around your world, wherever that may be, doing the odd doodle if you feel up to it. And if you ever have children, and someone says ‘Art? What can the kid possibly do with that?”, tell them: “neurology, economics, sculpture, design, medicine, Latin, engineering, music, literature, social work, therapy, accountancy, law, acting… ” You can go on forever, so if you’re getting tired, just say “everything, really.” 

I wrote an article in today’s Irish Times on art education in Ireland - how it’s done, what people (ideally) get from it, the differences between here and other countries, and so on.

Writing about art as something worthy of study and necessary for education is a tricky thing, and I don’t think the article really comes close to covering it all, but hopefully it is some kind of beginning. For something so central to life and everyday experience, there are a lot of different ideas about how it ought to be taught, how practical it is or isn’t and why it should be taught at all. Whatever your views on the subject, I think it would be hard to credibly argue it shouldn’t be a central part of education.

If anyone is interested in finding out more about the role of art and creativity in education - and its value, I’d recommend this TED talk from a few years ago:

  

But I’d also suggest you get along to IMMA, to the National Gallery, to any of the regional and private galleries - but also Collins’ Barracks, the Science Gallery; anywhere like that will be good for you. Plus most of these places either serve coffee or have a cafe nearby, so you can’t go wrong, really. But ideally, just go for a wander around your world, wherever that may be, doing the odd doodle if you feel up to it. 

And if you ever have children, and someone says ‘Art? What can the kid possibly do with that?”, tell them: “neurology, economics, sculpture, design, medicine, Latin, engineering, music, literature, social work, therapy, accountancy, law, acting… ” You can go on forever, so if you’re getting tired, just say “everything, really.”

 

- new fundit project from the diseased minds of James Kelleher and the Brothers Judge, in which a hairy beast learns the value of literacy.

Not before time, let me tell you.