(Gaeilge) Imní san Iarthar faoin bpolasaí oideachais Gaeltachta
February 15, 2017
New Principal appointed for Dunamase College
February 10, 2017
The newest post primary school in Portlaoise, Dunamase College, has announced the appointment of its first principal, Aoife Elster. Ms. Elster will take up her new role in March at the temporary school premises in Railway Street.
Speaking about the appointment, Paul Fields, Director of Schools at Laois Offaly ETB, stated that, “the appointment of the principal is a significant step in establishing the school within the community.
“The fact that the principal will be in place from March onwards will ensure that all of the necessary preparations for the opening of Dunamase College will be in place before the school opens its doors to students in September”, he said.
The new principal, Aoife Elster is originally from Dublin but has been living in the Midlands for almost three decades.
Her background is in science and she worked for several years in the oil industry in London before moving to Laois. She has been involved in education for over two decades and has worked in both Irish and English medium schools.
She has extensive experience in the setting up and development of new schools, having been involved with Gael-Choláiste Chill Dara in Naas from its inception in 2004 and most recently she has been the founding principal of Choláiste Ghlór na Mara, a 1000 pupil second level school in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin.
Science and mathematics are a lifelong passion, and this has been reflected in her own learning and teaching.
She has recent postgraduate qualifications in Mathematics and Education from NUIM, in association with the University of Cambridge. She also developed distance learning strategies, teaching physics in two counties simultaneously over the internet.
Her vision for education involves the widespread use of appropriate technologies and modern teaching methods. She is particularly interested in using technology to increase accessibility to additional subjects and learners. She also has a strong interest in culture and music.
She is a keen walker and walks in the Sliabh Blooms most weekends and has walked several parts of the Camino de Santiago in recent years. Aoife is married to Stephen, and has two adult children; Naomi, a cancer researcher and writer, and Ciarán, a musician and teacher, both of whom are working abroad at the moment.
Chief Executive at Laois Offaly ETB, Joe Cunningham expressed his belief that, “the appointment of the new principal is another practical step in establishing Dunamase College as a significant provider of post primary education within Portlaoise”.
He took the opportunity to remind parents that an information meeting will take place on Thursday 16th. February @ 7.30, Railway Street, for any interested parents.
http://www.leinsterexpress.ie/news/home/234636/new-principal-appointed-for-dunamase-college.html
Speaking Irish to my baby son in London is creating a special bond
February 8, 2017
The first word I said to my newborn son was “Fáilte”, and eight months later, I’ve spoken to him almost entirely in Irish.
Up to that point, as is the case for many Irish people, my Leaving Certificate oral exam was the longest conversation in Irish I’d ever had, in all it’s ten minutes of nervous banality.
When I decided to speak to my first child in Irish, I had no idea the adventure that was about to begin. His mother didn’t speak a word, and we live in London, but I hoped our child would have a stronger sense of his Irish identity – and a unique connection with me – if we could communicate through my second language, Irish.
It’s been a huge learning curve, but no more than every other aspect of becoming a parent. I’ve learned to change nappies, while also learning the Irish word for nappy (clúidín). I’ve realised the most fundamental gaps in my Irish – from what to say when he sneezes (Dia leat) to all the verses of Baidín Fheilimí (though with the names of the Donegal islands sometimes exchanged for East London neighbourhoods).
The reaction from other people have been the biggest surprise, with friends and family using their cúpla focail with our son from time to time. Even his mamaí George has picked up a few words, and can ask him if his bainne is blasta and to say slán with him when I leave for work in the morning. When we’re out and about, people don’t bat an eyelid, as it’s nothing unusual to hear just one of the hundreds of languages in London.
The repetitive nature of speaking to a baby turns out to be perfect way for a learner like me to increase their vobabulary, and it certainly helps prevent the mundane things such as feeding, clothing and bathing getting tedious.
After a few months though, I was feeling a bit isolated as the only person properly speaking Irish to my son. I knew that if he was to speak as well as understand Irish properly, he’d need to hear other people speaking it too, so I started making enquiries to find any Irish speaking playgroups or naoinraí in London. It turned out that there hadn’t been one in London for over ten years, but with the support of the London Irish Centre and the wider Irish community, a few of us parents have now started an Irish playgroup for a new generation.
The London Irish Playgroup has since attracted dozens of families from across London and neighbouring counties, with children from newborn up to eight years old. We meet monthly at the London Irish Centre in Camden to sing songs, read stories, and use the bit of Irish we have with our children.
Research suggests this bilingual upbringing has numerous benefits for mental development, not only connecting children to the language of some of their ancestors, but also giving them a headstart in learning other languages so they can connect with the wider world.
In the meantime, it’s a great source of fun for my son and I, and a special way I have chosen to communicate my love to him.
For more information, join the London Irish Playgroup on Facebook, or email shanakee@gmail.com.
(Gaeilge) Polasaí na Roinne Oideachais maidir le bunú Gaelscoileanna á imscrúdú ag an gCoimisinéir Teanga
February 3, 2017
A letter to the editor of the Irish Independent
February 2, 2017
Dear Sir/Madam,
In her recent opinion article Language a bigger barrier than baptism (Irish Independent, 21 January 2017), Sarah Carey tells readers that she often quotes the example of Finland in addressing “nationalistic Irish language nonsense”, which, as far as she is concerned, is “the ultimate barrier in the Irish education system.”
Acknowledging many of Finland’s enviable achievements in education, she proceeds to use that country’s example to attack Irish-medium education in Gaelscoileanna as a “ruthless obstacle to foreigners.”
Assured of her understanding of Finnish education, Ms Carey regrets that “alas space prevents me from elucidating”.
Ms Carey has previous form in the matter. In Parents, not priests, driving segregation. The Irish Times blames religion for segregating Irish children. What about Gaelscoileanna (sic) (Irish Independent, 1 March 2015) she made much the same claim with “alas, space prevents me from elaborating”.
When recently considering the net effect of Gaelscoileanna on Irish society, Ms Carey couldn’t “help thinking of the World War II arguments of George Orwell that pacifists were objectively pro-Nazi”. Why? “Gaelscoileanna,” she argues, “with their almost 100pc native Irish demographic, are objectively segregationist.”
Ms Carey was just as big into the whole war theme in her 2015 missive. “If you’re going to fight a war over segregation in schools, identifying the real problem is a good start.” In her eyes, Irish-medium education is the enemy as aided and abetted by “families in the Gaelscoileanna (who) sail along blissfully free of moral challenge.” She thus paints many Irish families less as morally-driven pacifists and more like amoral Vichy-style profiteers I think.
Whenever Nazi comparisons are inappropriate, we may question the validity of arguments proposed.
Ms Carey argues that Finland’s educational reforms have succeeded because “everyone did better when there was no choice” because all children in a given locality went to the same school.
Pasi Sahlberg, the renowned Finnish educator, can help Ms Carey with her poor grasp of choice in Finland’s education success.
In Finland, the elimination of consumerist choice was targeted at the way education can be packaged as a market-driven product where an increasing number of profit-motivated private operators compete with different ‘value propositions’ in different customer segments based on differing incomes and social status. (Although not a fan of private schooling as a matter of general principle, Mr Sahlberg differentiates between mission-driven schools charging fees such as those in Ireland and profit-and-greed-driven academies more recently introduced by “competition raises standards” ideologies in other countries.)
Mr Sahlberg puts it this way: “The question is not, however, choice or no choice. It is about whether we have a good school for all children or just for some. In the end we need to work out how we manage parental choice so that it doesn’t harm equity.”
While Finland has indeed achieved remarkable reforms of its education system in a way that Ireland most clearly hasn’t, there is in fact a very significant element of choice in Finnish education that will likely shock Ms Carey. Not only is this matter of choice immensely significant in the context of a modern and open Finnish society, it is of course immediately relevant to debate here about the role of Irish-medium education and the Irish language in Ireland.
For all her readiness to elaborate and elucidate on Finland’s education reforms, it seems clear that Ms Carey doesn’t know that Finland’s education policymakers are strongly committed to the provision of choice in schools’ language medium for instruction and learning. Mr Sahlberg again: “It is noteworthy that Finland is a trilingual country, where Finnish, Swedish, and Sami are all official languages.”
Finland’s constitution and its parliamentary legislation protect the language rights of the country’s different language communities and heritages. There is a very substantive offering of choice between Finnish-medium education and Swedish-medium education extending from pre-school all the way to postgraduate studies at doctoral level. Demographics dictate that the opportunity to learn through the medium of Swedish is not fully nationwide but Folktinget (a lobby group for the rights of Swedish-speaking Finns) suggest that up to 99pc of students who want to learn through Swedish can do so within the state-school system. Resources are also committed to Sami-language education provision in the far north of the country.
Finland’s education policymakers and world-renowned experts are not exhorting citizens to “look at who’s doing the excluding” or how Swedish-speaking Finns are “objectively segregationist.” Finland does respect and tolerance much better than Ms Carey.
Finland is not only a world leader in the quality of state-school education, it is also recognised as a leader in language education and plurilingualism. Monta rautaa tulessa (many irons in the fire) sums up how Finns regard, value and take pride in their language skills.
Not all is perfect but there is much to learn from Finland if we pay attention to its real lessons instead of Ms Carey’s alternative facts.
Some facts will be clear. Ms Carey will not be able to “elucidate” how Finnish-speaking, Swedish-speaking or Sami-speaking Finns regard their language heritage as nationalistic nonsense. Nor will she be able to “elaborate” on how Finns regard choice of language medium for education as a ruthless obstacle to foreigners wishing to integrate into Finnish society.
There is concern in Finland about uneven concentration of immigrant learners across the education system. Sahlberg once more: “For example, in the city of Espoo, there are schools with more than 40% immigrant student populations, while some schools have practically no immigrants.” Immigrants unsurprisingly tend to choose the Finnish-speaking schools of the majority demographic rather than Swedish-speaking ones. Sahlberg nevertheless believes that “Finland has been able to enhance equity in education while schools and classroom have become more diverse”.
Interestingly, Sahlberg notes research showing that immigrant students in Finland performed significantly better in PISA tests than their peers in other countries. Based on the same studies, he also believes there is a threshold of about 20% “in the proportion of immigrant students per class after which the learning achievement of all students in that class begins to decline”.
Alas, space prevents further discussion of Finland’s and Ireland’s shared characteristics and different experiences. However, I would like to add that the success of Gaelscoileanna and the Irish-medium education movement clearly mirrors aspects of what has worked so successfully in Finland. With special regard to the development of language skills in both Irish and in foreign languages, Finland offers important lessons for policymakers and other stakeholders in Irish education.
Equally, the success of Gaelscoileanna and the Irish-medium education movement also offer key lessons for policymakers and stakeholders interested in the development of language skills for living and prospering in a global world. Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin.
In summing up, I will paraphrase Ms Carey from 2015: Since her analysis is flawed, so is her suggested solution. Her real problem is her obsession with Irish parents who choose to enrich their children’s lives with an education in the language of their national heritage. It is she who would have heart failure if she were presented with a system that was even more like Finland’s.
Mark Reynolds,
Artane
Dublin 5
Scoil Naithí Dublin school closed after ‘extensive’ fire damage
January 23, 2017
A primary school in south Dublin has been “extensively damaged” in an overnight fire.
Four units of Dublin Fire Brigade were called to Scoil Naithí primary school on Stone Mason’s Way in Ballinteer after a fire was reported at around 4am.
The fire brigade fought the fire for more than three hours and left the scene at 7.15am. There were no injuries in the incident.
A tweet from Dublin Fire Brigade said part of the school had been “extensively damaged” in the blaze.
A text was sent out to parents with children in the school informing them the school would be closed on Monday and that further updates on the situation would be provided later in the day.
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross posted on his Facebook page that he planned to contact Minister for Education Richard Bruton to establish what funds could be made available to reopen the school.
He wrote: “Absolutely devastating news about Scoil Naithí in Ballinteer. Thankfully, no one was hurt. I am going to get in contact with Minister Bruton today to establish what funds can be made available to ensure the school is reopened as quickly as possible.”
Local Rathdown TD and Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin also called on the Department of Education to support the school community of Scoil Naithí following the fire.
In a statement on Monday, Ms Martin said: “This is a terrible blow to the entire school community of Scoil Naithí in Ballinteer. The school was being examined and assessed when I called down to the site this morning. The Department of Education and Skills must do everything they can to support the school in every feasible way.”
The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage is unknown. However, according to a Dublin Fire Brigade spokesman, the period of time spent battling the blaze indicates there could be significant damage. It is understood the fire broke out in the office of the school building but is unclear how far into the building it spread.
Gardaí at Dundrum are investigating the incident and the scene has been preserved pending a garda technical examination. A garda forensics team is also at the scene.
There are no road closures in the area.
There are 250 students in the southside Dublin gaelscoil plus an additional forty students in the Naíonra (pre-school). The school was founded in 1973 and was officially opened in 1980 by former taoiseach Charlie Haughey.
Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir hoping to boost school numbers as demand for places grows
January 23, 2017
An Irish school in Derry is seeking to increase the number of pupils it can accept after the demand for Primary 1 places has trebled over the past four years.
A public meeting was held at the Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir Irish school last night, where it emerged that a draft development proposal will be submitted to the Department of Education in the coming weeks.
There are currently 147 pupils at the Lecky Road school, which is made up of 121 children at the primary school and 26 at the Naíscoil, which is the nursery school.
The proposal, if approved, will allow the school the school to increase the number of children it can accept into its Primary 1 classes, which it said is necessary to meet the demand.
Speaking at the meeting, the school’s principal, Mary Nic Ailín, said that boosting enrolment at the school was vital given that the demand for applications for Primary One places at the school had trebled over the past four years.
“The increase in demand for places in recent years shows the increasing growth of Irish medium education in the city,” she said.
“Children travel from all areas of the city and the Waterside to attend our school.
“Irish medium education is flourishing in the city and going from strength to strength, where we have children leaving our primary school with a GCSE and continuing on with languages at secondary and Third Level.
“We really feel that Irish medium education is opening doors for future generations.”
Ms Nic Ailín added that the school is also seeking to enhance its physical offering, with the hope being that it will be able to secure a new building.
“We’re currently working with the Gasyard Development Trust and the Urban Villages project, where we hope to enhance the space at the school, with the hope being that we can get a new build in the future.”
Eighty children to miss out on Gaelscoil as waiting list soars
January 23, 2017
A Gaelscoil in Co Kildare will be unable to provide school places for almost 80 children next September, due to huge numbers enrolling at the school.
Scoil Ui Riada in Kilcock, Co Kildare, has approximately 56 places for next September; however, 52 of those places have already been reserved by siblings of current pupils.
This leaves just four places for new families in the school, as the waiting list hits 130 children. The school has been oversubscribed since 2013, with parents fighting each year for extra places.
In previous years, the school has been granted extra places to accommodate as many children as possible.
However, this year the Department of Education and the school’s patron, the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, are insisting that there should only be two streams rather than three. There are four other schools in the area for families to choose from, but parents are adamant that they should have the right to educate their children through the Irish language.
Brendan Shalvey has had his daughter on the waiting list to attend Scoil Ui Riada since she was nine months old but fears that she will not get a place in September.
“It turns out that there are people who have been there from about three months old.
“We want Irish to survive, we want Irish to thrive and we want it to be a living language.”
Parents’ Committee member Eimear de Faoite says the fight for extra places at the school is lasting from spring to September each year. “At this stage, there is a precedent that parents here wish for their children to be educated through Gaeilge,” she added.
Seamus O Muirithe, principal of Scoil Ui Riada, told the Sunday Independent that he supported the parents.
“Unfortunately, at the moment, we are bound by other decisions made by the Department of Education.
”These decisions do not allow us to give parents what they would like in relation to education through the medium of Irish.”
The school’s patron, Bishop Denis Nulty, declined to comment. Last week, Minister for Education Richard Bruton revealed that he intends to tackle school admission policies that give preference to Catholic children. The changes will prevent Catholic schools from exclusively selecting children who have been baptised for admission.
Meanwhile, the Education (Admissions to School) Bill is currently making its way through the Oireachtas.
The bill will mean that waiting lists for schools will be banned, which is intended to alleviate pressure on parents with children attending oversubscribed schools.
Minister Bruton sets out plans to reform the school admission system in relation to religion
January 16, 2017
Minister for Education Richard Bruton today (Monday) announced his intention to reform the school admissions system in relation to the role that religion can play in that process.
In a speech this morning at a seminar organised by Equate, a campaign group in this area, Minister Bruton stated that he believes that it is unfair that preference is given by publicly-funded religious schools to children of their own religion who might live some distance away, ahead of children of a different religion or of no religion who live close to the school. The Minister also stated his belief that it is unfair that parents, who might otherwise not do so, feel pressure to baptise their children in order to gain admission to the local school.
The Minister set out four possible approaches for dealing with the issue, in primary schools in the first instance, including:
· A catchment area approach, prohibiting religious schools from giving preference to children of their own religion who live outside the catchment area ahead of non-religious children who live inside the catchment
· A ‘nearest school rule’, allowing religious schools to give preference to a religious child only where it is that child’s nearest school of that particular religion
· A quota system, which would allow a religious school give preference to children of its own religion in respect of only a certain proportion of places, meaning that the remaining places would be allocated based on other admissions criteria – proximity to the school, lottery etc.
· An outright prohibition on religious schools using religion as a factor in admissions, meaning that all places would be allocated based on other factors. Within this approach, there is capacity to allow religious schools to require parents or students to indicate some support or respect for the ethos of the school.
The Minister also set out the need to avoid possible pitfalls and unintended consequences with each of these approaches, including most importantly possible impacts on minority religions and on the wishes of Protestant, Jewish, Islamic and other communities to be able to run schools in accordance with their ethos and admit children from their communities to attend those schools. Other possible consequences to be avoided include possible breaches of the constitution, technical and administrative difficulties impacting on the capacity to effectively run the system of over 4000 schools and the possibility of creating ‘postcode lotteries’, such as other countries have experienced, resulting in pronounced divergence in quality of schools in more advantaged compared to less advantaged areas.
Minister Bruton also announced that he will be commencing a short, 10-12-week process of consultation, and will be interested in hearing the views of the groups who stand to be impacted by changes as well as any members of the public with views on the issue.
The Minister also reiterated his position that these issues should be dealt with on a separate track to the Admissions Bill, shortly to progress to Committee Stage. This view was passed by a large majority of the Dáil in a motion last June. The Admissions Bill includes a series of practical common-sense reforms to the process of admissions to schools, commands broad support across the Dáil, and is on target to be enacted ahead in the coming months. The issues involved here are complex and potentially controversial, and by linking them in with the Admissions Bill the danger is that that Bill gets substantially delayed as these issues are worked out.
The Minister said:
“My basic aim as education Minister is to achieve in Ireland the best education service in Europe within the next decade. There are many aspects to this – the best at supporting children with special needs or disadvantages, the best at educating the skilled workers needed to support a growing economy, but also the best at dealing with the complex issues around ethics, religion and integration of minorities that our rapidly-changing world is throwing up.
“The patronage and ethos of our schools is not something which this generation of politicians, public servants, school managers or teachers have created. It is something we have inherited, and reflects a very different era in Ireland, and change is needed to meet the needs of today’s families. 96% of our primary schools are under the patronage of Christian religious organisations. In particular, 90% are of Roman Catholic ethos. However, over a third of couples who are getting married are choosing to do so in a non-religious ceremony, and all the evidence points to a population in which very significantly fewer than 90% of young families are religious.
“Parents are recognised by our Constitution as the primary educators of their children. I believe that a desire on behalf of religious parents to educate their children in their faith is welcome and should be respected. This principle is reflected in the Programme for Government. Equally, however, I believe that non-religious parents or parents of minority religions should not be unfairly disadvantaged in seeking to admit their children to their local publicly-funded school.
“I believe it is unfair that, under the current system, a non-religious child can be refused entry to the local school, because preference is given to a religious child living some distance away. I believe it is unfair that, under the current system, some parents who might not otherwise do so feel pressure to baptise their children because they feel it gives them more chance of getting into their local school.
“I believe we must address these unfairnesses. However, no one should pretend that these issues are simple, or that there is an easy fix which solves everything and leaves no possible unintended consequences. In particular, as we develop reforms we must strive to avoid impacts on the rights of minority religions. We should live and let live, and aim for the greatest good for the greatest number.
“I urge all people and groups who have views on these issues and who have concerns about possible impacts to make their views known so that we can take them into account as we develop proposals in this highly complex and contested area”.
Bruton to announce school admission reform options
January 16, 2017
Possible options to reform school admissions to limit or remove the role that a child’s religion plays in the process will be announced today by the Minister for Education.
Richard Bruton will outline four options and announce a consultation process on the issue.
Highlights of his speech, to be delivered at a seminar later today, were sent to education journalists.
Mr Bruton says he believes it is unfair that publicly-funded religious schools can give preference to children of their own religion who might live some distance away, ahead of other children who live close by.
The Minister says while 96% of primary schools here are Christian – the vast majority Catholic – over a third of couples getting married here are choosing civil non-religious ceremonies.
The options include allowing schools to favour children of their own religion only when those children live within the school’s catchment area, or when that school is their nearest one.
A third option is the introduction of quotas, allowing preference on religious grounds for a limited proportion of places.
The fourth is an outright ban on using religion as a factor in admissions.
Under this last option, the Minister says, religious schools could require parents or students to indicate support for the school’s religious ethos.
Mr Bruton will say there is a most important need to avoid possible impacts on the wishes of minority religions – such as Protestants – to run schools in accordance with their ethos and admit children from their communities.
Other possible consequences, he says, are breaches of the constitution, or the creation of so-called ‘postcode lotteries’ where schools in less advantaged areas could suffer.
The Minister says he will be commencing a process of consultation, and is interested in hearing the views of groups who are affected, as well as members of the public.
Mr Bruton will say the desire of religious parents to educate their children in their faith is welcome and should be respected.
But he says that non-religious parents or parents of minority religions should not be unfairly disadvantaged.
The Minister says while this unfairness must be addressed, he believes that there is “no easy fix” to what he calls a “highly complex and contested area”.
He will deliver his speech later at a seminar organised by Equate, an organisation that is campaigning for equal access to publicly-funded schools for all children.
Atheist Ireland said three of the options “would just fine-tune the religious discrimination in access, and indeed would result in some Catholic families being discriminated against.”
Fianna Fáil education spokesperson Thomas Byrne has said the Minister was “floating ideas” and not “taking any real action”.
He added that the Oireachtas Education Committee is “in the middle of carrying out a consultation on this issue and has held hearings before Christmas and will have further hearings shortly. Then it is envisaged that we will legislate.”
http://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0116/845185-school-admissions-plan/
