Fóram do Phátrúnacht agus Iolrachas le bunú
March 29, 2011
Ní bheidh an Roinn Oideachais ag tarraingt siar ar cheist an chóimheasa- Quinn
March 29, 2011
Dhá Ghaelscoil i measc na gcúig bhunscoil nua atá faofa ag an Roinn
March 29, 2011
Cuairt Scoile – Bun Scoil Cholmcille agus Gaelscoil Adhamhnáin
March 28, 2011
Child not read to at bedtime is ‘abused’, says Quinn
March 28, 2011
A CHILD not read to when going to bed at night was an abused child, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn told the Dáil.
“If a home does not cherish literacy, it is a form of abuse,” he said. Mr Quinn said literacy started in the home. “By the time a four-year-old arrives in junior infants, outcomes in literacy have already been significantly determined by the commitment of parents, no matter what class or socio-economic group,2 he added. The Minister said he had raised concerns in the past about the State’s “wonderful” education system not delivering. He added that party colleague Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, a primary school principal in Dublin’s inner city, was the first to highlight the need for a right-to-read programme.
“I will be looking at that not to scapegoat teachers or schools, because we are all failing, as parents, society and families, and we must find a way collectively to deal with the issue,”said Mr Quinn. Mr Quinn said a middle-class child from a committed family arrived in school at four years of age with a vocabulary that was twice that of a child from a disadvantaged family. A working-class boy who left school at 15 years of age, unable to read or write, was destined for a future of intermittent employment and, possibly, crime. He said the electronic media had reduced the necessity for reading as a form of entertainment. He intended, he said, to devolve back to school principals more autonomy and independence to do what they considered to be best. “It is wrong that we have 3,200 primary schools, stretching from the Aran Islands to the inner city of Dublin, or disadvantaged rural areas in Border counties, with a one-size-fits-all curriculum and little discretion for the principal.”
The Minister said a key commitment of the programme for government was the development and implementation of a national literacy strategy, which included the production of action plans by schools, with school-level targets linked to national targets. There had been more than 460 written submissions to a public consultation process on a draft national strategy on literacy and numeracy covering the period up to 2020, he said. In parallel, focused consultation meetings were being held with groups of key stakeholders with a deadline of early May. “Implementation will require a sustained commitment from schools and other stakeholders and I want to ensure their input is considered in finalising the strategy.” Mr Quinn said he intended that the literacy and numeracy skills of students would be improved very significantly so that the decline of recent years could be reversed and Irish students would again be among the best-performing groups internationally.
Brendan Smith (FF) said the Minister might have pre-empted him when he said a revision of the curriculum was necessary to ensure literacy and numeracy skills were adequate for children in primary schools. Seán Crowe (SF) said a family with a literacy problem would not have any books or magazines in the house, so if a parent went back to education and was supported, the children’s literacy standard would increase. Mr Quinn told Peadar Tóibín (SF) that the status of Irish as a compulsory examination subject would remain.
The Irish Times – Michael O’Regan
Time to drop Irish as core subject
March 28, 2011
I AM writing concerning the discussion of making Irish an optional subject for the Leaving Certificate.
As a second-year student, I study Irish in school every day, and find it a chore to have to learn the extensive amount of grammar that accompanies it. The emphasis is never on speaking the language and the teachers seem reluctant to encourage this. The recent introduction of an oral exam for the Junior Cert, is an attempt to try and change this attitude. I don’t think this will have the desired effect, unless the monotonous teaching methods are changed. I think it is time to drop Irish as a core subject, and feel it is very unfair to have it as a requirement for college entry. The truth is, after 14 years of learning Irish in school, the majority of students leave unable to hold a basic conversation. While I think it is time to move on, I recognise that the patriotic fluent Irish speakers will most likely win the day.
Ross Watchorn
Lucan
Co Dublin
Irish Examiner – Litir chuig an Eagarthóir
Ag triall ar chraobhchomórtas Siansa Gael Linn sa Cheoláras Náisiúnta!
March 28, 2011
Direct method is the best way to teach Irish
March 24, 2011
THE mind boggles in relation to Felicity Scott’s letter (‘Teach Irish as a foreign language — because it is one,’ March 22).
It is indeed similar to a foreign language for a lot of people, but Ms Scott seems to be somewhat confused between how to teach a native language and how to teach a foreign one. The direct method has time and again been proven as the best method for teaching a foreign language. One could argue there is too much English used in Irish language classes and more of the direct method should be used. Isn’t it through this complete immersion that we see concrete results such as in the Gaelscoileanna and Summer Colleges?
Ms Scott then turns around and contradicts herself, vaunting the success of the Buntus cainte of old, which was a communicative method of immersion using no English. Don’t you think a little continuity should be introduced to the Irish language question if we are to make any progress?
CIARAN O CEALLAIGH,
AUDERGHEM, BRUXELLES
Irish Independent – Litir chuig an Eagarthóir
Tuarascáil an Choimisinéara Teanga
March 24, 2011
An Chéad Chomhdháil Idirnáisiúnta ar Litríocht na nÓg (sa Ghaeilge)
March 24, 2011
