I certainly won't vote for emibittered cynicism, nor unrealistic
illusions...
The history of the indigenous peoples in America and in Australia
includes chapters and chapters of domination and cultural genocides by
the newcomers...
But there are also some uplifting stories of how some individuals, who
stood against those forces and did whatever they needed to do to make
things better or less bad. I truly respect them, and these include those
you mentioned, the Irish brothers and sisters and teachers and judges...
and they stood as inspirational examples for us to be optimistic and to
work on and not to be cynical...
And that I think can tie back to our recent discussions here on xmca on
topics of "agency" and "social determinism". I do think individual
people make a difference, even under the most unfavorable constraints and
oppressive structures... but let's also not forget that those oppressive
structures and constraints are also important, and educational reforms
need to depend on both the agency of individuals and on those individuals
recognizing those systematic forces and trying to work towards changing
those systems.
Angel