Irish must come first in our country’s Gaelscoils
February 3, 2010
In my opinion: Irish must come first in our country’s gaelscoils.
The first time I saw Circular 44/07 I reacted with horror and disbelief in common with other gaelscoil principals and their school communities. I knew from the onset that I was prepared to do almost anything to have the circular withdrawn. This is because I firmly believe that early total immersion (ETI) education is the right approach having experienced it first hand as a pupil in Tallaght and later as an infant teacher and principal in Gaelscoil Nás na Ríogh. Although I do admit to a few sleepless nights, seeking a judicial review in the High Court seemed the most logical step to take by our Board of Management in order to safeguard the current practice and characteristic spirit of our school.
The announcement last month that the Minister for Education was to withdraw Circular 44/07 just a week before the hearing was met with widespread delight by all involved in the Gaelscoil and Irish language movement. I shared in this delight, of course, but was also cautious. I was not surprised when a statement was issued by the department announcing that the curriculum was to be proscribed. Our legal team had had discussions with the other side in the case and an agreement document had been forwarded to us. Whilst this document recognised ETI education favourably, one of the conditions of allowing schools to practice ETI education was that the schools would have to provide instruction in English for an infant pupil if a parent requested it. It would seem that this document will form the basis for the regulation and yet this document was rejected by all applicants in the case. I am still vehemently opposed to such a condition and see no resolution to the question if this condition remains.
It seems contradictory that the minister will, on one hand, support ETI and then allow a parent who has chosen a gaelscoil for their child not to do the same. Practically, does the minister intend to provide extra teachers and resources to teach English if a parent requests it in every gaelscoil in the country? More importantly, ETI is part of the characteristic spirit and ethos of Gaelscoil Nás na Ríogh. It is what we do and it is our responsibility and honour to uphold the same. If a parent wishes a child to learn English and Irish from the outset, he/she is free to enrol them in any of the excellent English medium national schools but if they enrol their child in a gaelscoil they must trust that the internationally proven and researched practice of delaying teaching in the non-target language is to the benefit of their child. In any case, all strands of the English curriculum, except for oral language, are met by the Department’s own excellent Irish language programme ‘Seideán Sí’.
I also believe that if this condition is included, a precedent is being set which should send shivers down the spine of the whole education system where the whims of one parent can result in a kowtowing by the department and schools being forced to change their characteristic spirit. For example, if the tables were to be reversed, would parents on my waiting list for junior infants who cannot be accommodated be justified in demanding that another local school provide ETI for their child?
Irish Independent
03 Feabhra 2010
Site aims to help improve Irish
February 2, 2010
An interactive website to improve teaching and learning of spoken Irish in post-primary schools was launched today. Abair Leat! is a virtual online language laboratory in which students can improve their Irish by interacting over the internet with native Irish speakers.
Students can use the website to listen to native Irish speakers, record their own material in Irish and undertake self-correcting exercises. Teachers can assess students’ work on the website and give spoken feedback online or written feedback by email. Oral skills are set to become still more important in the Leaving Cert exam. From 2012, the percentage of marks for the oral component of Leaving Cert Irish will increase from 25 to 40 per cent.
The pilot phase of Abair Leat!, which will be rolled out in 14 post-primary schools initially, is aimed at supporting the oral syllabus in first year of post primary school. Launching the site, Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe said its mix of audio-visual material, vocabulary and grammar lessons, and self-correcting exercises makes it an innovative, flexible and modern online tool to improve learning and teaching in Irish.
The launch was also attended by the comedian Des Bishop, whose documentary In The Name Of The Fada recalled his experience learning Irish in the Connemara Gaeltacht. He said the site was an important step in the ongoing efforts to make the learning and teaching of Irish more enjoyable and interactive by focusing on the primacy of the spoken word.
The Irish Times – Seán Flynn
2 Feabhra 2010
Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh is to move to the next stage of planning
January 28, 2010
Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh is to move to the next stage of architectural planning which will eventually see pupils no longer having to take classes in portacabins.
Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe has approved the school to go towards Stage 2A, the developed sketch scheme, which will allow it to plan for increasing its accommodation. The current school building can only cater for a maximum of 240 children but there are 414 pupils enrolled. This means that seven classes are held in portacabins and the two resource rooms are also housed in portacabins.
Pupil numbers at the school are expected to increase in September and so another portacabin will be required. This could result in exactly half of the pupils in portacabins and half in the main school building. Independent Galway West TD Noel Grealish has welcomed Minister O’Keeffe’s decision. “I am delighted the Minister has recognised the importance of providing new accommodation for the school in Knocknacarra,” he said. “I will be working closely with the Minister and the Board of Management to ensure the school progresses through the system as quickly as possible.”
Galway Advertiser – Kernan Andrews
28 Eanáir 2010
A Victory for Gaelscoileanna
January 28, 2010
Irish speakers a social and educational elite – report
January 9, 2010
IRISH IS the language of the elite in Ireland with speakers of the language enjoying higher incomes than the rest of the population, according to a controversial new report.
The report, compiled by researchers at the University of Ulster and the University of Limerick (UL), concludes Irish speakers are educated to a higher level and are less likely to be unemployed than people who have no Irish.
The main findings of the research published in the Economic and Social Review include;
– Non-speakers of Irish are twice as likely to be unemployed as their Irish-speaking counterparts;
– 42 per cent of Irish speakers worked in senior professional, managerial or technical jobs, compared to 27 per cent of non-speakers;
– Just 12 per cent of Irish speakers are in semi or unskilled jobs, compared to 20 per cent of non-speakers.
– Irish speakers were also seen to enjoy the advantage of a network of social contacts and all of the perks that go with such a network.
Prof Vani K Borooah of the University of Ulster said: “The strange thing about Irish speakers in Ireland is that many of them never speak Irish and of those that do, only a few speak it with any regularity.
“However, we found that they have a considerable advantage in the labour market.”
The research team used data from the 2006 Census to examine whether Irish conferred any advantage on those who spoke it.
Surprisingly, for a language that is rarely spoken outside of the Gaeltacht, the report found these benefits were significant.
Those who spoke Irish frequently were even more likely to secure a well-paid job , according to the report.
On education, some 25 per cent of Irish speakers hold a degree or a higher qualification, compared to 14 per cent of non-speakers.
Only 9 per cent of Irish speakers had primary or no qualifications, compared to 22 per cent of their non-Irish speaking counterparts.
The report says Gaelscoileanna have played a key role in raising educational attainment among Irish speakers.
It cites the 2009 Irish Times Feeder Schools List where 22 per cent of Gaelscoileanna sent all their Leaving Cert students to third level, compared to a progression average of 7 per cent.
Prof Borooah said Irish speakers in the Republic enjoy considerable social advantages as the language has been embraced by the middle and upper classes in the Republic.
Researchers found Irish speakers in Northern Ireland enjoyed similar employment benefits to their counterparts in the Republic.
In Northern Ireland, he said, learning Irish would generally be an opportunity enjoyed by Catholics at the upper end of the socio-economic scale in Northern Ireland.
He said the study was the first systematic investigation of any advantage enjoyed by Irish speakers on the island of Ireland.
Read the report in full here.
Gráinne Faller & Seán Flynn, The Irish Times 9th January 2010
Fostering Excellence in Irish-medium Education at GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. Annual Conference
November 22, 2009
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. welcomed Assistant Chief Inspector with the Department of Education and Science, Éamonn Murtagh, who opened this year’s annual education conference.
Speaking this morning, Murtagh said “The Department of Education and Science supports the principle aim of the all-island policy on immersion education which will be officially launched this evening”.
President of GAELSCOILEANNA TEO., Mícheál Ó Broin welcomed Murtagh’s statement along with the recommendation that all the models of immersion education listed in the policy be investigated with a view to implementaion.
In referring to the current economic climate, Ó Broin stated,”We understand very well the appauling state of our economy and the subsequent pressure on the Department of Education and Science, but we ask of the Department and of this Government to develop a mechanism that will safeguard our schools against future threats”. Ó Broin expressed the strong support of the sector and of the schools for COGG and the vital work undertaken by COGG. He demanded accordingly that recommendations made by Mc Carthy are not implemented, but instead that the appropriate resources and supports are made available for the development of COGG.
The Conference keynote address, delivered by Dr. Muiris Ó Laoire, focused on the importance of developing language awareness in the Irish-medium classroom. Ó Laoire illustrated how language awareness fosters curiosity in learners, which in turn fosters a desire to learn and consequently grammatical accuracy is heightened. He referred to recent research findings which confirm that levels of language awareness are higher in Irish-medium schools than in English-medium schools.
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. launched the all-island Policy on immersion education today which will become a very useful resource for schools in developing their school policies. “We are delighted to have reached this historical point where we are celebrating the development of an all-island policy on immersion education and we are confident that it will act as an impetus for increased collaboration on the development of the Irish-medium education sector between organisations on an all-island basis, ” said Bláthnaid ní Ghréacháin, Chief Executive of the organisation.
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO.’s Annual Conference was hosted in Kilkenny City where the strong representation of Irish-medium schools and the Irish-speaking community added greatly to the success of the conference.
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. is the national co-ordinating body for schools teaching through the medium of Irish. It helps parents and local groups to set up new schools and supports the established all-Irish schools.
Open Day at Marino Institute of Education
November 18, 2009
Interested in becoming a Primary School Teacher?
Places available on B. Ed Degree & Higher Diploma in Education (Primary) courses
Coláiste Mhuire, Marino Institute of Education, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9.
Open day
Saturday, 21st November 2009
11 a.m – 4.00 pm.
For more information: Contact Irene Kelly at 01-8057730 or Irene.kelly@mie.ie
An Bord Snip Nua ignore recommendations of the Department of Education and Science
October 8, 2009
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. expressed disbelief at the decision of the Special Group to ignore the Department of Education and Science’s recommendations in relation to An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG).
Information brought to light by an application by TG4 under freedom of information to the Department of Education and Science revealed that the department objected to the Special Group’s recommendation that COGG be absorbed into the department itself or into the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment at a saving of €1.2 million to the state coffers.
The Department of Education and Science advised that COGG’s good work should continue in its present format. Despite this recommendation, the department’s concern that pupil and teacher rights in the Irish-medium and Gaeltacht sectors would be discriminated against and that supports for Irish-medium education would suffer, went unheeded. The integrity of the Group’s report must therefore be called into question.
Not only has the department exposed an infringement upon the rights of the citizens of Ireland, they have also illustrated how difficult and challenging in practical terms it would be to dissolve COGG. They have shown that no money would be saved by doing this, as the service would need to be continued and staff would have to be recruited to provide this service. The Department of Education and Science’s recognition and support for COGG’s statutory functions and for its effectiveness is a huge source of relief to GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. and to the Irish-medium sector in general.
Bláthnaid ní Ghréacháin, Chief Executive Officer with GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. commented “It’s difficult to believe that the Special Group would go against the recommendations of the department responsible for Irish-medium education. This new information which has come to light proves that the Irish-speaking public is justified in its lack of confidence in the recommendations of this report regarding Irish and Irish-medium education. It is clear that they are based on ignorance and a lack of awareness of rights and of governmental promises as well a total lack of awareness of basic requirements to protect our culture and heritage”.
Referring to the lobbying campaign against the proposals to discontinue COGG, she said “GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. would like to thank every school and every individual who helped with this campaign. The feedback received shows that schools and parents believe that this move would prove disastrous. We urge you to continue lobbying and we are confident that the Taoiseach will instruct that full support be provided to the Irish-medium education sector”.
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. is the national co-ordinating body for schools teaching through the medium of Irish. It helps parents and local groups to set up new schools and supports the established all-Irish schools. There are 170 primary schools and 39 secondary schools currently providing education through the medium of Irish.
Free School Furniture Available!
September 8, 2009
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. have free school furniture available. Don’t miss this opportunity as the furniture cannot be stored for much longer. It’s available to collect in Dublin. Here’s the list of what’s available:
- Lockers
- Desks
- 3-Drawer pedestals for a desk
- Computer trolleys
- Chairs
- Bookshelves
- Presses
- Folders
- Coat hangers
If you are interested in anything on the list or for more information, contact us in the office on 01-8535195.
Seminar on Early Childhood Education through Irish
September 2, 2009
