RESPECT Initiative - Kennedy College
Each year Kennedy College hold a RESPECT week where they highlight the need for respect - respect for ourselves, respect for others, respect in school, in our homes and in our communities. This years RESPECT week involved talks from Cyrill McGarr (Fire Station Officer), Niall O'Donnell (Junior Liaison Officer, An Garda Siochána) and Michael Sheehan (Councillor and Past Pupil) about RESPECT in their roles, for authority, it's importance in sport, on social media and in every day life.
John Lonergan was also invited to attend and his acceptance and participation was invaluable.The former Governor of Mountjoy Jail entertained parents, students, teachers and guests alike. He delivered an impromptu, relaxed, thought provoking and highly humorous talk on the importance of RESPECT in each of our lives. John shared his experiences with us in a very entertaining way. After introducing himself as a Bansha man, John shared with us what RESPECT has meant for him. He began by saying that everyone needed to feel heard, not just listened to but really heard. Although we listen all the time, we may not always actually hear what another person is saying. To be respectful of someone is to hear what they are really saying. To people in authority, John emphasised the importance of RESPECT in dealing with others. Recalling his time as Governor, he spoke of not making things any more difficult on people than they already were. He also made the point that, how we, as people in authority, react to situations determines what will happen next.
John asked that people not be judgemental, either of others or themselves saying that everyone has the right to be who they are and to be respected for who they are. He recalled a story about a youngster coming home from school to tell his parents how he got 19 out of 20 in his spelling test only to be asked which spelling did he get wrong!! He also reminded us of our habit of, on hearing about the birth of a new baby, asking “what weight was she?” ready immediately to make a comparison!
Positivity and praise, John told us was far more beneficial and helpful as a motivator. Being nice and kind in our dealings with others has joint benefits. We can feel better about ourselves. John suggested that being nice all the time can be hard work and that people who are nice all the time are trying hard!
Speaking specifically to our students, John asked that they, above all, do nothing that they themselves, do not want to do. Peer pressure to get involved in drugs and alcohol can be strong and our students need to be careful to always make the right decision for themselves. John' s talk was so clear and simple. He spoke of things that we all already know. We have always known them. They are obvious. The thing is that, as human beings, we need constant, every day reminders, all of us!
A very warm and special thank you to John Lonergan, Cllr. Michael Sheehan, Cyril McGarr, Niall O'Donnell and the staff of Kennedy College for keeping the RESPECT initiative alive.