Programme 349, Wild Teaching with Paul O'Donnell (16-1-19)

Presented and produced by Seán Delaney Theme tune by David Vesey On this week's programme I speak to Paul O'Donnell who is principal of St. Patrick's National School in Slane, Co. Meath. He is the author of Wild Teaching: Cross-curricular Lessons Outdoors for Agoraphobic Teachers which is published by Meath County Council. Among the topics we discussed are: How his upbringing fostered a love of the outdoors The influence of Paddy Madden on his work as a teacher How tempting it is to teach indoors all the time Having students gather resources for lessons Specific lessons in Wild Teaching Making the transition from teaching to being principal Challenges of principalship Eliciting voices of children in running the school Learning about life and death through keeping hens in school The school garden Minimising rubbish in the school Earning six green flags for the school