Episode Thirteen: Ms Chrisdina O’Neill “Dedication for Education”

My guest in this episode is Ms. Chrisdina O’Neill. Chrisdina is a Newly Qualified Teacher, a graduate of the Professional Master of Education (PME) initial teacher education (ITE) programme in the School of Education, University College Cork and she is very proud of her identity as a member of the Travelling community. Chrisdina has been teaching as a newly qualified teacher in her induction year in Doncaster in England. Chrisdina also completed her undergraduate degree in University College Cork, graduating with a honours degree in English and History. She has a very special affinity with University College Cork and in particular with the UCC Access Team and Chrisdina hopes to return to UCC at some point to complete a PhD in Education. Chrisdina recently featured on the RTÉ/IUA My University Life Television documentary where she described her experiences of becoming a teacher, battling stereo-types , breaking down barriers and stigma around university within marginalised communities and pursuing her dream to become a teacher. In this episode we discuss Chrisdina’s pathway through education from her primary and post-primary school experiences, the influence of her family and her parents on her engagement with education and how as a member of the Travelling community that there were expectations that she would not remain in education but would instead leave school after Junior Cert because within the Travelling community “ we were kind of expected to be housewives and get married, have kids everything..” and arising from this expectation Chrisdina was “all geared up on leaving [after] Junior cert, this will be great.. “[leaving after Junior Cert]. However when Chrisdina started first year in post primary school she really liked it and “found I absolutely loved education, had wonderful teachers.. Because they were there for me. They helped me. They helped me fall in love with learning, especially with History and English, which are my two subjects now that I teach. I just found that this was where I was meant to be. And I really had those teachers push me along”. Chrisdina attributes her strong work ethic to her mother and describes her as a very hard working lady, “I can honestly say my Mam was my inspiration. And she might have gone to university. But by God, I got my work ethic from her. So I always saw her going out working hard and earning enough to support our family, and my Dad as well”. Having completed her Junior Cert she recalls how she had “an awful battle to stay in school, had teachers called the house, made sure that I was coming back went into fifth year, and then University came off the idea”. “Of course they'd (her parents) known that I was gonna be a problem from the start when I stayed on school. So that conversation came up. And it lasted definitely for about six months. In my Leaving Cert year, going back and forth, “you're not going I am going you're not going””. She recounts how it really was a huge challenge “trying to get around them to let me go to University”, because for them it was something very new. She says that her parents’ idea was that “they thought to be happy, you get your own money, and you can get what you want”. She says that none of her family had ever gone to University because “it's not for the likes of my family”. Chrisdina talks about how because she attended a DEIS school that was linked to UCC that she was fortunate to secure a place on an Easter taster programme that afforded her an opportunity to experience College life, attend lectures and sample the University experience. She recalls how when she “walked onto the Quad and I just looked out, saw the West Wing building, and I was just like, Well, you know, who would have thought that I would get to even like experience Easter school in this place. And it was just at that moment that I knew that like, I need to go here. Like I need, to I need to be here. And then I went back and it was kind of discussing a bit teachers going back and forth. What do I need to do to be able to go to University College Cork, like what things do I need to be able to do? Like, what courses can I do?” She was successful in her application and secured an undergraduate place in UCC but had many battles with her family to actually go to College but her dedication and commitment enabled her to take her place and pursue her dream. She says that the common ground she found with her parents was that “I'll travel down and I've come home every night.” She talks about how as a member of the travelling community, “we are very restricted about like travelling and where we can go that there was not a hope in hell that I could stay over and any traveller that I've spoken to, could never stay over. But try to attend University. So it's very much if you want to go, you need to be dedicated. And you're not, you're not just going to get handed on a silver platter to, like, we need to be so dedicated, you need to stick it out. And you need to keep going”. She continued to travel to and from her home to UCC throughout her undergraduate (4 years) and postgraduate ITE course (2 years) and graduated in 2020 with a Professional Master’s in Education. She has moved to England for her induction year and in her episode she compares her experience and the school system in England to her experiences and the school system in Ireland. Chrisdina describes how she regularly challenges the stereotypes associated with the Travelling community including “the stereotype that people have that we do live in caravans that we rob and steal, we don't get jobs, we live off benefits, like it's not true. My Mother has always been hard working from when I was young, my Dad has always tried his best and done his work. Now I’m a qualified teacher, like my sister, you know, like, we've all worked”. She goes on to say how she wants to be a role model for her sisters and for other women in the Travelling community, “I have two younger sisters and I when I went to college, it was very much I wanted them to look up it up to me, I want to be a role model. And it's about empowering women early in our community that they can do, that you can go out and work that we're not housewives, we're not just there to have babies and rear children, you know, because that is a stereotype that people have as well and that the men go out and work the men support us”. Chrisdina concludes by talking about her future plans as a teacher, a role model, an advocate and inspiring students to achieve their potential. She intends returning to Ireland at some stage and hopefully undertaking her Doctorate in UCC where she “felt at home the most”. “So I feel if I do decide and want to do it I will be coming back to Cork. Finally, topping it off there, because I had my journey, I started there. And if I had to go the whole way, I'd love to finish it there as well. The support in there, and the staff in there are phenomenal”. She says that she couldn’t imagine herself as a qualified teacher if it hadn’t been for “who I had in my corner in UCC”. This is a really motivational episode, Chrisdina is inspirational, encouraging and grounded all at the same time. She epitomises a positive, can-do approach and is a super role model for members of the Travelling community and for potential student-teachers everywhere. Her interview reveals and identifies so many aspects of Sociology of Education that are really useful in constructing meaning for student-teachers, newly qualified teachers, teacher educators, principals, teachers, school management and anyone interested in education. Tune in and hear more!