I remember one of my teachers, Margaret McCurley, with particular affection, writes Carmel McConnell. I was at the Sacred Heart Convent in Dagenham, East London, a lively school with pupils from around the world – families drawn by the Ford Motor Company works. I wasn’t the best behaved child, but my behaviour, and to some extent my whole life, was improved by the presence of Mrs McCurley.When I was 14, we debated new subjects based on our own views. That might not sound radical, but it was. Especially as Mrs McCurley, a no-nonsense teacher with a reputation for strictness, taught sociology. We learned about the class system, the reasons for poverty and the role of government and we were encouraged to form opinions. What kind of society did we want to create? What was the purp