'Celebrate achievement, not celebrity'

Published on Thursday 15 May 2008 22:07

CELEBRITY culture, which has turned baggage handler John Smeaton into an international star, is failing to recognise Scotland's real academic achievements, according to a senior educationist.

David Eaglesham, the general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA), is calling on the Scottish Government to set up a task force to find more appropriate ways to "showcase" talent.

The SSTA annual conference in Peebles today will hear the union chief say that Mr Smeaton had worldwide celebrity thrust upon him by a culture with an "over-zealous approach to fame".

Mr Smeaton became a household name after being interviewed by news organisations from around the world in the wake of the foiled terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport last summer. He was hailed a hero for jumping to the defence of a police officer by tackling one of the alleged terrorists.

Mr Eaglesham will tell his SSTA audience: "What we have done is impose the cult of celebrity on him instead of the badge of honour."

He is also expected to criticise teacher awards ceremonies as subjective. "Such contests play no part in celebrating success in Scottish education," he will say.

Mr Eaglesham will also call on the Scottish Government to find ways of celebrating success instead of simply imposing fame on people. "If we do not, then we will have failed to bring that element of genius, for which our nation is rightly famed, to bear on the creation of a meaningful and effective presentation of the success of our education system," he will say.

However, experts said last night that the veneration of celebrity was human nature. Paddy O'Donnell, professor of psychology at Glasgow University, said: "Within groups, there have always been people with high status for one reason or another. Individuals have always been attracted to those who are successful and in the peak of adulthood, because they are aspirational for young people."

Dr Anthea Irwin, a lecturer in media and communications at Glasgow Caledonian University, said reality TV had replaced ambition with fame-seeking.

She said: "When you speak to children about what they want to be when they grow up, the answers have changed from 20 years ago.

"Now, you will hear them say they want to be a celebrity. It has become vacuous aspiration rather than wanting to excel at a particular ability or make the world a better place."

John Smeaton agreed that Mr Eaglesham had a point. He told The Scotsman: "What I did wasn't just myself. A lot of people did that. But it went round the world in a flash on the internet.

"I didn't expect the attention. I didn't ask for it and I don't see myself as anything special."