Stuck in Lá Groundhog?
March 7, 2012
A chara,
The fact that Ann Marie Hourihane does not encounter Irish as a living language does not mean that the language is “non-spoken” (Opinion, March 5th).
There is a significant minority of Irish people who use Irish on an everyday basis, both inside and outside the Gaeltacht, as evidenced by the success of TG4 and the demand for Irish language education. The working-class community of Cabra in central Dublin has established in recent years a thriving pre-school, primary and secondary school, through the medium of Irish, where the children continue to improve their educational standards. There are hundreds of similar projects throughout the country, which Ms Hourihane should research before labelling it “a charade”.
Her words are highly insulting for the thousands of children who use Irish as an everyday tongue, which their parents believe is central to their self-identity and self- esteem.
– Is mise,
SEAN Ó DONAILE,
Priomhoide,
Gaelscoil Bharra,
Cabrach, Baile Átha Cliath 7.
IRISH TIMES
Clár Tacaíochta Teaghlaigh nua le fógairt ag McGinley
March 7, 2012
Educate Together to open seven schools
March 7, 2012
EDUCATE TOGETHER has been named as patron of seven new primary schools by Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn.
The decision confirms the multidenominational group’s status as the fastest growing patron in Irish education.
In a further reflection of changing trends, there was no school under the patronage of the Catholic Church among the primary schools announced yesterday.
The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference said the church did not apply for patronage of the new schools as there was already adequate Catholic provision in the relevant areas. The bishops added that they welcomed “additional forms of patronage where there was parental demand for such”.
Educate Together will run new schools in Stepaside, Ballinteer, and Tallaght West in Dublin, and in Kildare town and Ashbourne, Co Meath; all of them will open later this year.
It will also be patron of schools in Firhouse/Oldbawn and Carpenterstown in Dublin and at Douglas/Rochestown in Cork which will open next year.
In all, Educate Together will be patron of five of the seven new primary schools opening this year.
Since its first school opened in 1978, Educate Together has grown to become the main provider of multidenominational primary education. The group opened 19 schools in the last five years; 12 in 2008 alone. There is are 60 Educate Together primary schools in the Republic; this compares with over 3,000 under the control of the Catholic Church.
Educate Together also plans to provide schools at second level, and earlier this year Mr Quinn officially recognised the group as a second-level patron.
Mr Quinn said: “The decisions taken by me on patronage of the new schools place a particular emphasis on providing for demonstrated parental demand for plurality and diversity of patronage. These new schools will optimise parental choice and strengthen diversity of provision.”
It was also announced yesterday that An Foras Pátrúnachta will run schools in west Dublin at Mulhuddart, Firhouse/Oldbawn and Stepaside.
Mr Quinn has also agreed to establish community national schools, run by the local VECs, in Fortunestown, Tallaght West and Lucan in Dublin and in Mallow, Co Cork. The Minister will publish a report on the operation of community national schools in the coming weeks.
Separately yesterday, Mr Quinn said Ireland had been shaken out of its “complacency” and the view that it had “the best education system in the world” by an OECD study that showed educational outcomes had declined in a decade.
He was speaking in Dublin to mark the publication, by children’s charity Barnardos, of the book Early Literacy and Numeracy Matters by Dr Geraldine French.
The OECD Pisa education rankings in literacy and maths published in December 2010 showed Ireland had slipped from fifth to 17th place in reading levels since 2000.
Mr Quinn – then in opposition – said that what had “shattered and angered” him most was that, after 30 years and with increasing resources put into education, reading outcomes, particularly for a cohort of working-class boys, had deteriorated.
IRISH TIMES
Teacher’s Pet
March 6, 2012
Good news for small schools?
The forthcoming referendum on what has been called the “Austerity Treaty” could be good news for small schools and others worried about education cuts. Any final decision on the future of these schools is likely to be delayed until after the summer referendum.
And that’s the only factor working to delay decision-making in education.
Minister Ruairí Quinn would like to publish Prof John Coolahan’s report on the forum on school patronage – but the Government is reluctant to pick another fight with the Catholic church after that row about the Vatican embassy.
Quinn is also due to publish new rules on school admissions. Will this also be delayed for fear of antagonising people in the run-up to the referendum?
New obstacles for DEIS schools?
There is growing unease among Labour backbenchers about the plan which would force all trainee primary teachers to have higher level maths – as well as higher level Irish – in their Leaving Cert results.
There are some grumbles that these tough entry requirements will make it even more difficult for kids from disadvantaged schools to enter teaching. Our view? The whole issue needs revisiting. Insisting on higher-level maths and indeed Irish for those teaching young children makes for good PR – but it makes no practical sense. It’s unfair on pupils – who for all sorts of reasons – may not be up to honours Irish . And it’s unfair on pupils in many schools where higher-level maths is not always available.
And speaking of Irish
With oral Irish now accounting for 40 per cent of Leaving Cert marks, Raidió na Gaeltachta is rolling out a timely new series. Síle Ní Scanláin will present A Rá and the show will include a new radio soap-opera, An Baile Beag, based on teenage life and featuring young Connemara actors.
It is hoped that this will be a fun and creative way to help students with building vocabulary, correct use of tenses and grammar, without feeling like a lesson. Broadcast on Mondays at 10.15am, and rebroadcast on Saturdays at 11.30am. It’s also available on the RTÉ Radio Player.
IRISH TIMES
Irish language endangered by austerity measures
March 6, 2012
The vibrant Seachtain na Gaeilge festival runs nationally until March 17th, with tomorrow a Lá Gaeilge in the Dáil. At the same time, Irish language groups are campaigning against the effects of funding cuts on the language. So what is the state of the language and how might the current recession affect it?
Efforts to revive the language date from the founding by Douglas Hyde of the Gaelic League in 1893. Hyde’s view of the language as a vehicle for national identity led to the league becoming a mass movement and inspired many in the independence movement, including Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera.
Since independence, all governments have supported the language and, 90 years on, the evidence suggests these policies have had mixed results.
The main policy focus (perhaps to an unbalanced extent) has been the education system. In many ways, achievements here are disappointing compared to inputs. Despite the time spent between ages four and 18, it is shocking how few young people finish school able to speak Irish fluently. Such poor outcomes would be unacceptable in most subjects (the exceptions perhaps being other languages). Reasons for the poor outcomes include a traditional over-emphasis on grammar, a continuing lack of creativity in how the language is taught, and a strikingly high number of teachers who cannot themselves speak the language.
On the other hand, the work of the schools has led to the number of people who say they can speak Irish rising from 20 per cent of the population in the 1920s to more than 40 per cent today.
The 2006 census showed that 1.66 million people have an ability to speak Irish, with more than half a million people using Irish every day. This included more than 72,000 people who spoke Irish daily outside the education system.
As such, there has been some movement towards a bilingual society, although Ireland is clearly no Canada or Belgium. But with high-quality television and radio channels in Irish, print and online media, a lively cultural scene and a right for citizens to obtain State services through the language, there have been real achievements.
Opinion polls consistently show that strong public support for Irish (despite a minority who don’t seem to “get” the language) and the vibrant Gaelscoil movement, as well as growth in the use of Irish in Northern Ireland, represent strong sources of optimism. (Research suggests one in four parents would send their child to a Gaelscoil if available.)
While many languages around the world died in the 20th century, Irish is very much alive.
A crucial exception to this optimism is the decline in the use of Irish in Gaeltacht areas. This is primarily due to these communities being largely rural and remote (why the language survived in the first place), and so having the economic tide against them. While the value of the language in these areas is firstly to those who live there, who tap directly into a rich Gaelic heritage, these communities provide inspiration for all who speak Irish.
However, the sad truth is that we may be living through the last years of Irish as a community language in most Gaeltacht areas.
Drawing on all-party support, a 20-year strategy for the language was published in December 2010. It has two central targets: to increase the number in the State who use Irish daily outside the education system to 250,000 by 2030, and to increase the number of daily speakers in Gaeltacht areas by 25 per cent. The 250,000 figure represents 5-7 per cent of the expected 2030 population. Given general positive views on the language and the numbers learning Irish in Gaelscoileanna and other schools, this objective should be achievable, if there is a will to achieve it.
Unfortunately, the strategy entered the world in a time of austerity. So how is the Fine Gael/Labour Coalition performing on the language?
On the positive side, the recent Gaeltacht Bill suggests commitment to the strategy. As well as focusing on the urgent challenges facing Gaeltacht areas in keeping the language alive, an innovative part of the Bill will allow any area where large numberS of Irish language speakers live or work to become a “Gaeltacht network” (groups in both Clondalkin and Co Clare are already looking at this). New “Gaeltacht” areas, with a range of outlets for people to use Irish, could generate local pride and create virtuous circles of language visibility and use.
On the other hand, the national austerity is having detrimental effects and particularly negative decisions include:
The proposal to merge the Office of the Irish Language Commissioner with the Office of the Ombudsman, which will lead to almost no savings, but may well affect the rights of Irish speakers;
The cutting of grants to trainee teachers to spend time in the Gaeltacht. This is particularly illogical as trainee teachers need more and not less time in the Gaeltacht;
Reduced funding for small Gaeltacht schools.
The risk is that spending cuts from different Government departments could, taken together, undermine the “horizontal” Government objective of supporting the language.
There is an urgent need for the Cabinet committee on the Irish language to take a “joined-up” view to ensure the 20-year strategy is given high-level leadership and oversight.
Otherwise, personal support from Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore may not prevent the recession doing considerable damage to Irish.
Indeed, drawing on the ideas of Douglas Hyde, the deeper European integration being driven by the economic crisis suggests a need for new ways to assert national identity. In this context, there is now an opportunity for the language to become part of a wider national rejuvenation, a confident assertion of who we are in an integrated global economy.
Bainigí sult as imeachtaí Seachtain na Gaeilge!
Finbar McDonnell is a public policy analyst and an Irish language speaker.
IRISH TIMES
Controversy over new school plan
February 21, 2012
Sir, –
In north Kildare, the decision by the parents of more than 1,600 students attending Gaelscoileanna, that their children should continue their education through the medium of Irish, has been dismissed by the Department of Education.
The founding committee or an Coiste Bunaithe has applied twice to the Department of Education in the last five years to establish a Gaelcholáiste or Irish medium secondary school. The application has been rejected on both occasions.
On announcing plans to build a new school in Maynooth in June 2012, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn said the criteria used in deciding on patronage would place a particular emphasis on: “parental demand for plurality and diversity”.
“Parental preferences should be at the centre of considerations about the type of school to be recognised.” Expressions of interest in the new school by patronage bodies was accepted by the department up until February 17th, 2012 and the closing date for applications is February 24th.
An Foras Pátrúnachta submitted an expression of interest on behalf of the parents to the department before the due date.
Expressions of interest currently posted on the department website consist of Co Kildare VEC and the Loreto Education Trust.
The reason given by the department for the exclusion of An Foras application for a Gaelcholáiste was that a third application would confuse the people of north Kildare.
The parents of children attending Gaelscoil Uí Fhiaich, Maynooth, Scoil Uí Dhálaigh, Leixlip, Scoil Uí Riada, Kilcock and Gaelscoil na nÓg, Dunboyne are furious that their wish to have their children continue their education through the medium of Irish should be dismissed in such an unjust manner.
We demand that the Minister for Education explain why the department is so dismissive of parental rights and why is he opposed to a Gaelcholáiste in Maynooth.
– Is mise,
COLM Ó CEARÚIL,
Oifigeach Caidrimh Phoiblí,
An Coiste Bunaithe,
Gael-Choláiste,
Chill Dara Thuaidh,
Maigh Nuad,
Co Chill Dara.
IRISH TIMES
FF criticises motion to ‘downgrade’ Irish
February 21, 2012
FF criticises motion to ‘downgrade’ Irish
A resolution passed at the 2012 Young Fine Gael national conference in Tullamore calling for the removal of Irish as a compulsory subject in the Leaving Certificate has been criticised by Fianna Fáil.
The motion, proposed by Young Fine Gael’s Wexford branch, called on Fine Gael “to live up to its election promise and remove Irish as a compulsory subject”.
Fianna Fáil spokesman on justice Dara Calleary said the policy “to downgrade Irish was not helpful”.
IRISH TIMES
A simple formula for education
February 21, 2012
A chara, –
In correctly praising Finland’s education system, Ivan Yates (Opinion February 2012) neglects to mention that “compulsory” Finnish and Swedish are central to primary and post-primary education there. Students are also expected to, and do, learn two additional languages.
He also gets into trouble when he asserts “the critical competitive advantage of having a natural English-speaking workforce”. What we need is the critical competitive advantage of having a multi-lingual workforce in order to forge economic, diplomatic and cultural links with the rest of the world. Multinational companies here often cannot fill vacancies with Irish people because of an “English only” mentality, which has become a hallmark of the Department of Education.
A people with little regard for their own language are unlikely to respect the languages of others. Irish people, according to the European Commission, are the lowest achievers in second and third language acquisition.
Irish medium schools buck this trend.
If we are to follow the Finnish model, a model born out of post war austerity, we need to reverse decades of neglect and invest in language teaching and learning. The Finns after centuries of foreign rule have revived their language and their economy and we can do the same.
– Is mise,
DÁITHÍ Mac CÁRTHAIGH BL,
An Leabharlann Dlí,
Na Ceithre Cúirteanna,
Baile Átha Cliath 7.
IRISH TIMES
A simple formula for education
February 16, 2012
A chara,
There is, of course, merit in some of the 10 changes recommended by Ivan Yates for Irish education (Education Today, February 14th) but unfortunately whatever merit there is, is undermined by the author’s underlying view that the role of education is to serve the needs of the so-called free market.
He writes about rationalisation, as in the consolidation of small rural schools. He talks about incentivising good teaching with financial reward — as if good teachers could be bought. He mentions the critical competitive advantage we have with a natural English-speaking workforce but uses this, not to support, but to undermine the teaching of Irish as our own unique second national language.
According to Mr Yates, “If both Irish and religious studies were replaced by computer studies/information technology learning, we could greatly enhance economic performance”. So there you have it, the solution to our economic woes, from one of the erstwhile heroes of the Celtic Tiger era!
The Irish education system certainly has loads of issues to deal with, but I really do think that Mr Yates should stick to his bookmaking and leave the book learning and teaching to the educationalists. The great majority of teachers can still take pride in belonging to what has always been one of the noblest of all professions, teaching. – Is mise,
JOHN GLENNON,
Cillín Chaoimhín,
Co Chill Mhantáin.
A chara, – While I somewhat agree with Aonghus Ó hAlmhain’s assertion (February 15th) that mastery of one’s native language is a vital asset of a competent programmer, I disagree that the native language of today’s Ireland is An Ghaeilge.
As both a holder of a degree in Irish and a technology professional, I agree with Ivan Yates’s assertion that technology and Irish should at least be optional subjects in our schools. Both were options for me at school in the North over 25 years ago and I find it regrettable that such models are resisted here still. Exposure to basic programming logic at secondary level stood me in good stead in my later career.
I would prefer to have composed this letter in Irish, but the reality is that most of my fellow readers would not understand or bother to translate it. The current education system has failed to revive the language, but we irrationally persist.
Meantime, incredibly in today’s climate, my IT colleagues still find it difficult to recruit capable IT professionals from our nation’s talent pool. – Is mise,
STIOFÁN MacCLÉIRIGH,
An Machaire,
Domhnach Bat,
Co Átha Cliath.
Irish Times
Government not serious about 20 year strategy?
February 14, 2012
Government does for the independence of Language Commissioner – and there has still been no satisfactory explanation for that – then cuts grants to help student teachers spend a bit of time in the Gaeltacht to learn the language they are supposed to teach, lets Foras na Gaeilge and Irish-language voluntary groups drift without leadership, is in no great rush to save the Gaeltacht and has a Minister of State in charge of the language. Does anyone think this Government is serious about the 20-year strategy?
Ultach, IRISH TIMES
