Bonus points for Irish
February 10, 2012
Sir, –
I agree with your correspondent that there is something “bogus” about bonus points for those that do Leaving Cert subjects through Irish (To Be Honest, Education Today, February 7th).
However, what is bogus is not that these points are granted. It is why they are granted.
Your correspondent acknowledges that completing an exam such as history in Irish is challenging. It is.
My children still have to use textbooks in English for many subjects. And much auxiliary information — library books, newspaper articles, and so on – is also only available in English.
Rather than systematically addressing the lack of schoolbooks in Irish, the Department of Education avoids its responsibility towards Irish-language education by offering these bonus points. – Yours, etc,
AONGHUS Ó hALMHAIN,
Páirc na Seilbhe,
Baile an Chinnéidigh,
Co Chill Mhantáin.
A chara, –
In school I learnt about oidhreachtúil aonfhachtóireach and single-factor inheritance, about the interauricular septum and an fochra idirchluaisíneach, and about liontán ionphlasmach and endoplasmic reticulum.
Anybody who thinks bonus points for sitting Leaving Cert subjects as Gaeilge are “bogus”, might try studying Bitheolaíocht with a textbook as Béarla.
– Is mise,
AINDRIÚ Ó FAOLÁIN,
Bóthar Simmonscourt,
Baile Átha Cliath 4.
IRISH TIMES LETTERS
1,550 children in North Kildare denied the option of Irish-medium post-primary education
February 10, 2012
According to a recent statement from the Department of Education and Skills, an application for a new gaelcholáiste will not be included for consideration along with other applications for the patronage of the new school due to open in Maynooth in 2014. This decision means that Irish-medium education at post-primary level will not be available to more than 1,550 children attending Irish-medium primary schools in Maynooth, Kilcock, Leixlip and Dunboyne.
In July 2011 the Department of Education and Skills announced that a new post-primary school to cater for 1000 pupils is to open in Maynooth, and that prospective patrons might apply for patronage of that school. The criteria the Department will use to assess the applications were also published, and diversity of provision and parental choice were specifically mentioned.
It is clear that the campaign being run by the local community since 2005 to demand a gaelcholáiste for the area is being ignored. Co. Kildare VEC have made two previous applications for a gaelcholáiste in Maynooth (in 2007 and 2010) and more than 430 expressions of interest from parents have been collected by An Foras Pátrúnachta, the prospective patron chosen by the school’s founding committee for this new application. Despite the very strong evidence of parental demand, the Department is not taking diversity of provision or the preference of the people of North Kildare into account in the assessment of applications for patronage of the new school.
The founding committee for Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara Thuaidh surveyed local parents in 2010 on their preferences for post-primary provision in the area, and the results showed that a local gaelcholáiste was the first preference for 88% of those who responded. The demand for a new gaelcholáiste has been recognised by parents and the education community in North Kildare, by the patrons and by the wider Irish-medium education community, and it would be negligent of the Department to ignore it.
The Department does not appear to be following the criteria set out in the New Arrangements for the Patronage of New Schools or respecting the expressed wishes of parents in North Kildare. GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. demands that the application by An Foras Pátrúnachta for the patronage of the new school be given due consideration, and we ask that the Department of Education support Irish-medium education and the will of the community in Maynooth.
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. is the national coordinating organisation for Irish-medium schools at primary and post-primary level. It provides assistance and support to parents and local communities who wish to found a school and it supports existing Irish-medium schools in their development.
Further information:
Clare Spáinneach, Development Officer, GAELSCOILEANNA TEO.
Phone: 01 8535193 Email: cspainneach@gaelscoileanna.ie
Máirín Ní Chéileachair, Chairperson, Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara Thuaidh Founding Committee
Phone: 01 6290667 Email: mairinnicheileachair@gmail.com
Clondalkin could be Dublin’s first official Gaeltacht
February 10, 2012
A SPRAWLING SUBURB of Dublin could become Ireland’s newest Gaeltacht area thanks to a bill which will create a new definition of what it is to be an official Irish-speaking region.
Labour TD Robert Dowds said that the approval of the draft bill gives Clondalkin a great opportunity to be designated as a Gaeltacht area “at a certain level”.
“One of the main aims of this bill is to create a new definition of what constitutes a Gaeltacht,” explains Dowds. “This will give areas outside of traditional gaeltachts a chance to be recognised should they fulfill certain criteria.”
Under the proposed legislation, the Gaeltacht will be based on linguistic criteria instead of on geographic areas. During last year’s presidential election, Michael D Higgins said that Clondalkin had a case to be recognised due to the number of Irish speakers living there.
Joe MacSuibhne has been principal of the local Irish-speaking secondary school Coláiste Chillian for the past eight years and strongly supports the idea of designating Clondalkin as a Gaeltacht area.
“We have been looking for something like this for years. Currently, there are about 1,500 students receiving their education through Irish in the area and are, therefore, fluent in the language,” he told TheJournal.ie this morning.
Language planning at community level will also be central to the new definition of the Gaeltacht. As well as MacSuibhne’s school, Clondalkin boasts two all-Irish primary schools, Áras Chrónáin Irish Cultural Centre and a host of naíonraí (pre-schools).
“The benefits of being designated as a Gaeltacht area would greatly help here,” continued MacSuibhne. “I think it would help us in the promotion of the language in the school, as well as the town.”
Coláiste Chillian currently serves students from Clondalkin, Rathcoole, Inchicore and Ballyfermot.
“There are endless possibilities for the area if it is given the recognition for the number of Irish speakers here,” added MacSuibhne who has been teaching in Clondalkin for more than 20 years.
Even simple ideas around language development could create employment for students when they graduate, according to MacSuibhne.
Being designated as a Gaeltacht would encourage more local businesses to use Irish and to take on people who are fluent. An Irish-speaking till at local shops would be just one example.”
The decision to prioritise the drafting of the bill was welcomed by Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs Dinny McGinley yesterday.
The bill will also make amendments to the role and functions of Údarás na Gaeltachta.
Gaeltacht areas are currently restricted to parts of Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Kerry, Cork, Waterford and two small villages in Meath.
THE JOURNAL.IE
Bonus points for Irish? That’s bogus
February 8, 2012
A parent writes: Leaving Cert students who do their exams through Irish get grade boosts that add up to extra CAO points. This has been the case for so long it has been overlooked as a very serious inequality in our system.
The Leaving Cert is supposed to be a “level playing field”. That’s the phrase that supporters of this exam love to use.
Bonus points for Irish queer the pitch.
Take two students, equally able, going for the same course in university. The student from the Irish language school has a better chance of getting that course, even if Irish is not required to study it. It doesn’t make academic sense at all.
If, for example, a student gets 65 per cent in history, he will be awarded an extra 10 per cent of that mark because he did the exam in Irish. That will push him from a C to a B grade. Any student who gets a mark of 75 per cent or less in a range of subjects gets this 10 per cent boost.
I accept that completing an exam such as history through the Irish language is challenging, but not for a child that has had the benefit of 14 years of Irish language education. This option is just not available to the majority of students in the country. In my own locality there is one gaelscoil (Irish language primary school) and it is oversubscribed. The nearest gaelcholáiste (Irish language post-primary school) is miles away.
I absolutely support the right of parents to choose an all-Irish education for their children. I also realise that the bonus system is designed to encourage more parents to choose Irish language schooling. As we have seen, however, demand exceeds supply so the interest is being stoked by the bonus points system without a corresponding increase in provision.
Meanwhile, awarding bonus points for Irish continues to discriminate against those outside this limited Irish language school system. When a large pool of students are going for a small number of high point courses in university, is it really fair that those whose parents had access to a gaelscoil and gaelcholáiste should find themselves at such an advantage?
Bonus points for maths are open to all with the ability – there’s scarcely a school in the country that doesn’t offer higher level maths. However, a minority of students have a realistic chance of completing the Leaving Cert through Irish, regardless of ability.
Supporters of the Leaving Cert always say that, blunt as it may be, at least it’s fair. This is not fair.
The Irish Times
Rialtas faoi ionsaí as ‘droch-chinneadh’ eile teanga a dhéanamh
February 8, 2012
“Le Chéile Arís” – dlúthdhiosca nua Ghaelscoil na Bóinne
February 8, 2012
Report on Gaelscoileanna
February 7, 2012
Children attending Gaelscoileanna are more likely to read for pleasure and participate in cultural activities than children who attend English-medium schools.
That is according to the latest Growing Up in Ireland survey from the Economic and Social Research Institute and Trinity College.
The report’s findings, published by the ESRI on 26th January, are based on a nationwide survey carried out to assess the educational and recreational activities of nine-year-old children.
According to the report, children who attend Gaelscoileanna are the most likely to participate in cultural after-school activities as opposed to focusing on sport alone or watching television. Nine-year-olds who attend Gaelscoileanna, particularly girls, were also found to have a more positive attitude to reading and tend to read for pleasure more frequently than children in English-medium and Gaeltacht schools.
Gaelscoileanna were found to provide a broader curriculum than English-medium and Gaeltacht schools, with more time spent on subjects such as Drama, Music and PE. The report went on to explain that these subjects are used as a method of teaching the language.
Children in Gaelscoileanna were also found to be more positive about the Irish language with 45% of those surveyed saying that they ‘always’ like Irish. The results in Gaeltacht schools were similar with almost 40% of children saying they ‘always’ like Irish. However, only 20% of children attending English-medium schools said they ‘always’ like Irish with 30% saying they ‘never ‘ liked Irish.
GAELPORT
Irish language teaching resources on iTunes
February 7, 2012
Last Wednesday Director of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta launched a new channel of multimedia learning resources on iTunes called iTunes U in Áras Shorcha Ní Ghuairim in Carna, Co Galway.
This joint venture between an Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) and Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, which they have being working on in recent years, produced a wonderful resource for teachers and parents alike.
This excellent collection of sound, visual, songs, stories, poems and historic stories was carefully chosen from the archives of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh archives as a research project which is compiled by Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge in Carna.
This new resource which was funded by COGG is aimed at primary school and post-primary schools teaching through the medium of Irish and schools located in Gaeltacht areas.
With over 300 items to choose from, this is a wonderful new resource for children and teenagers with stories from An Gúm, and a science video presented by teacher Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin which is aimed at students at junior cert level.
The stories and various historic segments can be heard in Ulster, Munster and Connaught dialects.
As well as being an educational resource the main aim of this newly launched resource is to attract youngsters back to how life was over thirty years ago and get a better understanding of their heritage, culture and language. It is available at: itunes.cogg.ie
GAELPORT
Gaeltacht grants for student teachers abolished
February 7, 2012
A Department of Education decision to abolish grants awarded to trainee teachers attending Irish-language courses in the Gaeltacht has been slammed by Conradh na Gaeilge and Guth na Gaeltachta.
At present, the 3-week courses in the Gaeltacht summer colleges are paid for on behalf of the student teachers that attend them to improve their Irish-language skills as an essential part of their education degree, but it was announced at a briefing session in Marlboro Street on 05 December 2011 that the grants towards the cost of these courses would be abolished to save money.
Speaking about the proposed cuts, Julian de Spáinn, General Secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge said that the cuts fly in the face of the Government’s 20 Year strategy for the Irish language which recommended that student teachers should follow a defined programme of language teaching in the Gaeltacht and that tuition time and attendance of student teachers who attend such Gaeltacht courses should be increased.
They also negate recommendations made by the Teaching Council for the teacher training colleges which called for an extended and reconceptualised Gaeltacht residency which would form part of the overall programme and be under the direct jurisdiction of the teacher education providers.
“These two recommendations to foster better language awareness and Irish-language skills in our teachers were a huge step forward, but the Department of Education and Skills will take two steps backwards again if they abolish the grant for students attending Gaeltacht courses,” he added.
GAELPORT
Information Meeting – Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara Thuaidh
February 7, 2012
An Foras Pátrúnachta is holding an Information Meeting this Wednesday, 8th February 2012, to update parents, guardians and the general public regarding An Foras Pátrúnachta’s application for Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara Thuaidh. We would like to inform the community locally and nationally that The Department of Education and Skills is rejecting the area for a potential Gaelcholáiste, where some 1,600 pupils currently receive Irish-medium education, by refusing to recognise our application. We firmly believe this is conveying blatant inequality to parents’ and childrens’ rights. We are proposing to stand against the decision of The Department of Education and Skills on behalf of North Kildare community.
We have collected more than 350 names on pre-enrolment forms for the proposed Gaelcholáiste in Maynooth. This shows the high demand in the area for Irish-medium education at second level. However, The Department of Education of Skills are still rejecting this demand. This is a significant number of names but, to put more pressure on the Department, we need your help to collect as many names as possible. Here are some ways that you can help:
- Ask a friend to complete a pre-enrolment form online at www.foras.ie
- Write to the local media expressing your views on the current treatment from the Department of this campaign for a Gaelcholáiste
- Write to or call your local politicians to tell them of the current situation
We are asking anyone who wishes to see a new Gaelcholáiste in this area to attend this important meeting. We will have speakers from An Foras Pátrúnachta and An Coiste Bunaithe (founding committee) to inform everyone of our current situation and we will further discuss how you can help with this campaign on behalf of Irish-medium education for the area. The deadline for applications from school patrons for the new secondary school in Maynooth is Friday, February 24th 2012. The Information Meeting will be held on Wednesday, 8th February at 20:00 in the Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. We look forward to welcoming you.
