Leaving the last word to the wise
February 16, 2011
May I be so bold as to say I am one of the few people who strongly agrees with and supports Fine Gael’s policy on the Irish language.
From my understanding, Irish will still be compulsory up until Junior Cert level. After this, students will be allowed to choose Irish as an optional subject for the Leaving Cert as they would with other subjects. Given the influence of the Leaving Cert on third-level entry and in preparation for work, the least we owe our students is for them to decide what subjects will best suit their abilities, interests and suitability for their future career/education after the Leaving Cert. The policy is not about removing Irish from the curriculum, it is simply about allowing these 16-year-old students to decide whether or not they wish to study Irish for their Leaving Cert.
If they haven’t developed a grasp or love of the Irish language at this stage, another two years of compulsory Irish certainly isn’t going to change anything. Irish teachers wouldn’t have the task of teaching the Leaving Cert Irish course, while simultaneously supervising the students who have Irish exemptions. Instead, they would have interested and motivated students wishing to learn Irish rather than a plethora of students who detest being there because they have to be. The irony of it is that most people I know who have had 14 years of tuition in Irish still cannot speak Irish fluently. Bar gaining entry into university, I have never needed the Irish language since, so what purpose has it served me?
I am as patriotic as any other Irish person, I just don’t believe that language is the only expression of patriotism. If we are to presume that the argument for maintaining compulsory Leaving Cert Irish is to preserve our culture, then we can duly make the argument for inclusion of compulsory Irish history, Irish music, Irish dance, Irish folklore and Celtic art in our Leaving Cert curriculum.
School teacher
Name and address with editor
Irish Independent – Litir chuig an Eagarthóir
