It was one of those things in the diary which I might have persuaded myself to treat as disposable at the beginning of a busy week. But it turned out to be a very interesting day.
We turned up at STV at Pacific Quay in Glasgow and very hospitable they were. We were given a chat and a tour – and introduced to the STV Local network of websites which at this point seems to cover much of Scotland but not yet Perthshire.
Then we got involved in a discussion with young people. Some of them came from Holyrood School Glasgow and were with us in STV. Others joined in through the Glow Programme of Education Scotland’s intra-net facility. And that’s when it got really interesting – for two reasons. Firstly most of us are used to dealing with journalists who ask questions. But young people who ask, ‘Why is religion and spirituality important in Scotland today?’ expect answers which make sense to them. And then the discussion which followed created more animation in the religious leaders than I have seen in a long time – I think because we actually began talking about faith and its importance.
So a good day and I was glad that I went!
Reminds me of one of the best periods I ever had as an English teacher: the day the present Pope was being elected, a 15 year old boy in a so-s0 class asked about the process of choosing a pope. “Miss,” he said, “what do thae auld guys think they’re dain’ when they pray about it?” The English lesson became a group discussion instead – you can justify a great deal in an English class – in which every single boy joined. It was brilliant.