The Education of a Wanderer

The narrator’s successive schools and mentors shape his movement from fear toward intellectual independence.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

Lessons on the Lane

Lessons on the Lane Informal Learning Susan McGahern names wildflowers as she walks with her young son to Lisacarn School. The natural world and maternal attention become his first education. Memory Before Knowledge He later doubts that he learned school lessons there. What remains is a feeling of security that formal schooling rarely gives him again.

Canes at Augharan

Canes at Augharan Discipline Through Fear Mrs McCann punishes errors and disorder with canes. The narrator’s attempts to please her, including bringing thistles, only deepen his humiliation. A Change of School His First Communion allows him to leave Augharan School and rejoin his mother at Beaghmore. Relief comes through a religious milestone rather than any reform of the school.

The Scholarship School

The Scholarship School A New Invitation Brother Placid discovers the narrator’s promise and encourages him to sit for a scholarship. The narrator wins a half-scholarship to Presentation College. A Wider World The school supplies books, teachers, and serious academic expectations. Its help arrives when his father is considering removing him from education.

A Return to the Classroom

A Return to the Classroom Work Versus Study Brother Placid finds the narrator working in a potato field and warns his father that continued absences will squander his ability. The conversation takes place during exhausting farm labor. An Unexpected Permission Francis (Frank) McGahern tells his son to return to school, saying he will manage alone. The decision allows the narrator to complete his education.

Reading Beyond the Course

Reading Beyond the Course Conformity and Books The college emphasizes attendance, devotion, and obedience more than intellectual independence. Students pass books among themselves and discuss them quietly. Self-Directed Formation The narrator continues reading beyond the prescribed curriculum. This private education sustains a vocation the institution does not intend to cultivate.

early childhood

early school years

1948

during the potato harvest, late in college

at St Patrick’s Training College