Letter to the Editor of the Sunday Independent re Irish-medium Schools
March 5, 2015
Re: ‘Parents, not priests, driving segregation’
Dear Sir,
Sarah Carey’s column, ‘Parents, not priests, driving segregation’ (March 1st, 2015) claimed that the Irish language is “the most substantial barrier to entry for immigrants” and that “up at the Gaelscoil, free from the critical eye of the Irish Times or anyone else, you’ll struggle to find a black child”. Ms Carey’s claims are unfounded and serve only to reinforce biased stereotypes about Irish-medium education.
Irish-medium schools cater for incoming children of all levels of proficiency in Irish, and none. The schools practice immersion education, a system which helps pupils become fluent in the language naturally by giving them daily experience of an Irish-speaking environment. Immersion education is suitable for, and available to, all children, regardless of their linguistic and social background or their level of ability, including those with special educational needs.
Irish-medium schools are inclusive and open to all pupils, and welcome the wealth of diversity offered by children and their families of all cultural, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds. A minority of Irish-medium schools’ enrolment policies give preference to children who speak Irish at home, who would otherwise be denied education in their native language. This, as with any other criteria in a school’s enrolment policy, only applies when the demand for places in the school exceeds the spaces available. The Department of Education & Skills criteria for the establishment of new schools, in place since 2011, has stymied the growth of Irish-medium schools, leaving many oversubscribed and unable to accommodate all applicants. The sweeping changes proposed by Ms. Carey are unworkable and to blame Irish-medium schools for the unenviable position many of them find themselves in is irresponsible and shortsighted.
National and international research has proven that the benefits of immersion education include deeper multiculturalism, greater tolerance and less racism, a broader exposure to and appreciation of the value of other cultures and better communication skills. A child who speaks little or no English is at no disadvantage enrolling in an Irish-medium school, as Irish is the language of communication for all school activities.
It does a great disservice to the parents of the 45,000 children who are attending Irish-medium schools at present to imply that their decision to enrol their child in an Irish-medium school may have been made for elitist reasons. It does an even greater disservice to those parents who have chosen Irish-medium education for their children despite having neither Irish or English as a first language, parents who appreciate that their children will start school on an even footing with other pupils who will also be learning through a language that is new to most of them, in a school where diversity is truly valued.
Le meas,
Bláthnaid ní Ghréacháin, CEO, Gaelscoileanna Teo.
