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Give us a choice of two Irish subjects

March 31, 2011

I AM writing to you to express my opinion on the way I feel Irish should be taught in schools.

A recent report has suggested that the teaching of Irish in the education system be split into two different subjects – Irish language and Irish literature. What a brilliant idea. The language itself can be a fun and interesting subject to do. This interest is dampened by the fact that students have to learn ancient stories and poems, in Irish, to pass their exams. This burden makes the subject unenjoyable and stressful, which puts many students off liking the subject. I’m all for learning the “cúpla focail”, but having to learn a poem about jam – for instance – really does seem ridiculous. By all means, keep Irish on the curriculum, but I think students should have a choice as to whether to do the language, the literature, or both.  This would maintain a healthy interest in the subject and prevent it from dying out.

Daisy May Pemble (14)
Kinsale
Co Cork

Irish Examiner

Ashbourne and Ratoath to get merged Gaelscoil

March 31, 2011

Ashbourne is to get a second Gaelscoil, and parents in Ratoath who were hoping to have their Irish school recognised by the Department of Education, are to merge this school with the new Ashbourne establishment.

The announcement that An Foras Pátrúnachta is to oversee the setting up of a new school in Ashbourne comes just weeks after an Educate Together school was earmarked for the town. Ashbourne already has a long-established Irish school, Gaelscoil na Cille. The new Gaelscoil and Gaelscoil Ráth Tó will merge to form an additional gaelscoil for the area which will be called Gaelscoil na Mí, according to Seán Ó Buachalla, of the board of management of the Ratoath school. Mr Ó Buachalla said that the board, the school’s supporters and all the Irish-language organisations involved in the ‘Aitheantas’ campaign were pleased that the Department had finally acknowledged the need for additional provision for Irish-language primary education in the area and hoped that this would lead to quicker recognition of new gaelscoileanna in the future. “The final location of the school has not been confirmed as of yet, but all those involved are committed to getting a choice location that will service both Ratoath and Ashbourne equally,” he said.

“The founders and local supporters of Gaelscoil Ráth Tó would like to express our deep appreciation to our patron body, Foras Pátrúnachta na Scoileanna Lán-Ghaeilge, and to all the Irish language organisations who provided us with invaluable support through the ‘Aitheantas’ campaign, both financially and in terms of lobbying the state on our behalf as well as to our first establishing teacher, Tricia Ní Mhaolagáin. Their support has helped a great deal to bring this solution about and we are delighted to have finally filled an educational gap in our area,” he added. Meath East Labour TD, Dominic Hannigan, said: “The opening of the new gaelscoil in September is welcome news but the Department of Education is still working on finding a suitable location. Among the options currently being considered are temporary classrooms in a local GAA club and a site on the Ratoath side of Ashbourne. I will be keeping up the pressure on the Minister for Education to tell me where Ashbourne’s new Gaelscoil will be located and when we can expect work to start.”

The Meath East TD is also keen to reassure parents that they will have a choice in what language their children are taught in.  “The Department maintains the opening of the Gaelscoil will free up enough places in local national schools to cater for the student demand in both languages,” said Deputy Hannigan. He recently published a report, ‘Education in Meath’ which revealed that, as one of Meath’s fastest-growing urban areas, Ashbourne has a significant problem with school capacity. Since 2005, there has been a 17 per cent increase in enrolments in Ashbourne primary schools. One primary school in Ashbourne had an over-subscription of some 60 applicants in September 2010. Parents interested in enrolling their children in Ashbourne’s new Gaelscoil should contact An Foras Pátrúnachta, on (01) 805 7740 or email eolas@foras.ie
Parents who wish to enrol children in Ashbourne’s new Educate Together school in opening 2012 should contact Marie Ronan on (086) 387 3994 or email her at ashbourneeducatetogether@gmail.com

The Meath Chronicle – John Donohoe

Dowds to raise issue of suitable teachers for Gaelscoileanna

March 31, 2011

Dublin Mid-West Labour TD Robert Dowds is set to highlight the problems which Gaelscoileanna  are facing in finding suitable teachers to fill vacant posts.

After meeting with representatives from the Gaelscoileanna sector, Deputy Dowds has become very concerned that some teachers in Gaelscoileanna may not have a sufficiently high standard of Irish to be able to teach exclusively through the language, and primary school children in Gaelscoileanna may be suffering as a result.

Under current arrangements, no teaching panel exists for Gaelscoileanna under the patronage of An Fóras Patrúnachta, the patronage body for most Gaelscoileanna.

As a result, Gaelscoileanna with teaching vacancies are forced into hiring from the standard teaching panel, which is comprised of teachers who may not have a sufficient standard of Irish to teach in an all-Irish speaking environment.

Deputy Robert Dowds, Labour Party TD for Dublin Mid-West, said:

“Having met with representatives from the Gaelscoil sector, it is clear that the current arrangements which are in place for the hiring of teachers in Gaelscoileanna are unsuitable. Gaelscoileanna are being forced into hiring teachers who may have a standard of Irish which may make them unsuitable for teaching exclusively through the language and working in an all-Irish speaking environment.

“Unlike Catholic schools or Church of Ireland schools, there is currently no specific panel of teachers for filling vacancies in Gaelscoileanna. I have submitted a parliamentary question on the issue and I am calling on the Minister for Education to establish a panel specifically for Gaelscoileanna, or failing that, to give Gaelscoileanna the authority to interview teachers from other panels to ensure that teachers appointed to Gaelscoileanna have an acceptable standard of Irish.

“If a situation arises, as is likely under current arrangements, that a Gaelscoil is forced into hiring a teacher with a standard of Irish which is not sufficient for teaching exclusively through the language, then it is the pupils who will lose out through lower education outcomes and language skills than a suitable teacher would otherwise provide.

“That is not an acceptable outcome, and I am urging the Minister for education to establish a specific teaching panel for Gaelscoileanna as soon as possible.”

National Consultation with children and young people on the new National Children’s Strategy (2012-2017)

March 30, 2011

Work has commenced in the Department of Children on the development of a new National Children’s Strategy. The new Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald, TD, would like to find out the issues of real importance to children and young people all over the country in order to inform the strategy. The national consultation will give them the opportunity to have their voices heard in relation to matters that directly affect their lives.
Children and young people are invited to complete questionnaires in all schools and Youthreach Centres throughout the country from Monday, 4th April – Friday, 8th April 2011. The questions were designed in consultation with children and young people themselves and ask about what’s good, what’s not good and what they would change about being a child or young person in Ireland today.
All data collected will be analysed by a consultation team at Trinity College, Dublin and fed into the development of the new National Children’s Strategy. A report of the children’s consultation process will be published online later this year.
This exciting project represents the Government’s commitment to the goals of the current National Children’s Strategy (2000-2010) and to the continued implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. By helping promote this consultation, you are ensuring that children and young people in Ireland will have their voices heard on issues of importance to them.

Regional Network – Meeting in Bandon, April 7th

March 30, 2011

Sorry, this entry is only available in Irish.

Regional Network – Meeting in Coláiste Eoin, Dublin, April 6th

March 30, 2011

Sorry, this entry is only available in Irish.

Folúntais do Mhúinteoirí

March 30, 2011

Sorry, this entry is only available in Irish.

Cúrsa do mhúinteoirí ionchais

March 30, 2011

Sorry, this entry is only available in Irish.

Change how Irish is taught at primary level

March 30, 2011

I REFER to Ross Watchorn’s letter (March 25). I agree that the teaching of Irish should be overhauled.

The Government says it is going to increase the number of points for the oral in the Leaving Certificate from 40% of the exam to 50%. This will be a welcome move, although is not even currently challenging for native Irish speakers and others with good Irish, so we should have a second Irish language subject for the Leaving Cert.  Conradh na Gaeilge and the Oireachtas Joint-Committee, who published recommendations on the 20-year strategy for the Irish language, are both in favour of this. But we need to go further and overhaul the way Irish is taught in primary school and for the Junior Certificate. Oral Irish should be focused on throughout school with grammar only being taught when a child reaches at least fifth class. The decision agreed by the two government parties in the Programme for Government to postpone looking at whether Irish should be optional for the Leaving Cert until reforms have been carried out is, I believe, the correct one. I would welcome a bigger debate in the next general election on the question of Irish being compulsory or not for the Leaving Cert, in the context of a radical overall having taken place.  The question has been parked but will be revisited.

Darren Mac an Phríora
Caisleán Cnucha
Baile Átha Cliath 15

Irish Examiner

Students of irish relying on memorising answers

March 30, 2011

TOO many Junior Cert candidates sitting last year’s Irish higher level paper relied heavily on answers they had learned “off by heart”.

The problem was identified in a report by the Chief Examiner for the State Examinations Commission. The report is one of a series done every year on different subjects reviewing the performance of candidates in the State exams. The examiner highlighted a widespread concern about second-level students depending on rote learning. “It is evident that an excessive number of students are using pre-prepared answers in the composition, prose, poetry and the letter,” the report states. And it advises that candidates would perform better if more emphasis was put on imagination, and a positive, creative and original approach. Government education advisors, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), are drawing up plans for a major revamp of the Junior Cert, partly triggered by the concerns about rote learning.

Irish Independent – Katherine Donnelly

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