‘To see real educational apartheid, look no farther than your local Gaelscoil’
Deireadh Fómhair 23, 2012
A PARENT WRITES: It’s far from certain whether any move to withdraw State funding from private schools will address the problem of educational inequality, but it seems there is now the political appetite to rattle a system that has enjoyed the best of both worlds for too long.
I suspect the move, if it happens, will be a financial manoeuvre rather than an attempt to redistribute privilege in Irish society. If policymakers were genuinely interested in democratising State-funded education they would do well to take a cool look at the Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcoláistí. Irish language schools are getting away with worse levels of educational apartheid than any private schools. These schools may purport to welcome children of all nationalities, classes and intellectual abilities but the language throws up a natural forcefield that deflects students from various constituencies.
Living as I do in a middle-class area of south Dublin, I know many parents who have opted to send their children to Gaelscoileanna. Not one of these parents is a Gaelgóir – all complain that they are not equipped to help their children with homework or even to engage in the mildest level of Irish conversation at home. There is no grá for the language here – these parents are choosing these schools because their children will be educated among Irish citizens from well-to-do backgrounds.
These are well-informed people with the cop-on to get their child’s name on a list at birth. They have the comfort of knowing that their child will not have to muck in with students whose second language is English, with Travellers or with others who would simply never consider a Gaelscoil for a slew of socioeconomic reasons. This exclusivity is naturally reproduced into second-level Gaelcoláistí, which tend to give first preference to children from the Gaelscoil sector.
As for special education, I’m willing to bet that, if anyone cared to review the situation, there are fewer children with special needs in Irish-language schools than in others. Socioeconomic profiling would account for this in the large part, but there’s more to it. Why are children with learning disabilities in English language schools entitled to apply for an exemption from Irish? Because it’s very hard to learn if you have dyslexia or other learning disabilities. Another natural barrier at the gate of the Gaelscoil.
It is the right of every citizen to choose the type of education they want for their child. If a parent wants an exclusively Irish education for their child then they should have to pay for it. Like the private schools, I don’t believe the Irish taxpayer should be forced to stump up for schools that can only ever accommodate a very narrow layer of Irish society.
This column is designed to give a voice to those within the education system who wish to speak out anonymously. Contributions are welcome; email sflynn@irishtimes.com
www.irishtimes.com
Teachers reaffirm opposition to Junior Cert changes
Deireadh Fómhair 22, 2012
Second-level teachers have reaffirmed their opposition to the proposed changes in the Junior Cert.
The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) is to begin “a comprehensive programme of consultation with teachers in second-level schools all over Ireland” on the new plans.
The decision follows a meeting of the ASTI standing committee or executive yesterday which reaffirmed the union’s view that junior cycle reform must be educationally sound and workable.
The consultation initiative will include meetings with teachers in schools and a national conference in April 2013. Findings will be communicated to the Minister and other stakeholders.
www.irishtimes.com
Evidence points to holding low stakes exams, Quinn says
Deireadh Fómhair 5, 2012
Minister broadly accepted NCAA proposals
THERE IS compelling international evidence that students will perform better by moving away from “high stakes” exams like the Junior Cert, according to the Minister for Education and Skills.
The Junior Cert exam is to be replaced with a school- based model of assessment with an emphasis on the quality of students’ learning experience. The new system is modelled on current practice in Scotland, Finland, New Zealand and other high- performing education systems.
Ruairí Quinn said the new “lower stakes” Junior Cert would deliver a programme which would allow students to develop a wide range of skills, including critical thinking skills and basic skills such as numeracy and literacy.
It would, he added, “liberate teachers to do what they do best – teach effectively in the classroom”.
The Minister described his plan as “the most radical shake-up of the junior cycle programme since the ending of the Inter Cert in 1991”. Mr Quinn has broadly accepted proposals put forward by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to introduce a new junior cycle programme.
The most controversial plan is the proposal for teachers to assess their own students, which is vehemently opposed by the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI).
Other features of the plan include:
Most students will generally take no fewer than eight subjects and no more than 10 full subjects for certification purposes in the new junior cycle;
Students will be able to substitute two short courses for one full subject, allowing options such as Chinese or physical education or digital media literacy to be taken;
Schools will also be able to offer their own short courses in accordance with specifications provided by the NCCA. This will give schools the flexibility to tailor the programme to the needs of students i n their locality – for example, a short course might focus on an aspect of l ocal industry, agriculture or heritage;
Standardised testing will be i ntroduced in literacy and numeracy (from 2014) and in science (from 2016);
Parents will get a fuller picture of how their child is progressing at every stage of their first three years at second level, and
External supports will be available to schools who underperform in relation to national averages.
Mr Quinn said the current Junior Cert exam had dominated teaching and learning.
“The Junior Certificate is no longer a high stakes exam, yet we continue to treat it as if it were a ‘dry run’ for the Leaving Cert – to the detriment of many of our students.”
In the new exam, the State Examinations Commission (SEC) will be involved in the assessment of English, Irish and Mathematics in the initial years as recognition of the central role these subjects play in literacy and numeracy.
These subjects will be examined at higher and ordinary level, while all other subjects will be assessed at common level.
The SEC and the NCCA will also provide materials to schools to assist in ongoing assessment of students’ progress and achievement.
Explaining the changes, Mr Quinn pointed out that significant numbers of first-years did not make progress in English and maths – the key building blocks of learning. “Too many students switch off in second year and never reconnect to learning … It is high time we changed this, for the good of our students and our teachers.”
www.irishtimes.com
Junior Cert changes will be most radical reform of exam system
Deireadh Fómhair 4, 2012
Proposals will aim to tackle the problem of male students disengaging from school during the Junior Cert cycle and lift standards in literacy
TRENCHANT CRITICISM of the Junior Cert exam has been a feature of the education debate for over a decade.
The exam – designed in 1989 to be radical and different – quickly became a mirror image of the Leaving Cert, with the same, familiar failings. It was too high stakes, too dominated by rote learning and it forced teachers to teach to the test.
The progressive new proposals tabled by Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn have the potential to liberate both students and their teachers. They are arguably the most radical reform of the exam system in the history of the State.
In essence, the Junior Cert is being transformed from a high-stakes exam to essentially a “house exam’’ run by the schools themselves.
Schools and their students can mix and match from a menu of traditional subjects and new “short courses” ( in areas like digital technology and Chinese culture).
They can be chosen from a new syllabus designed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.
The State Exams Commission will still set exam papers in traditional subjects but schools will be free to mix these with their own choice of short courses.
The plan is that the junior cycle will move out of the current straitjacket – schools and teachers will have the elbow room to encourage critical thinking and to provide more creative teaching.
The new Junior Cert is broadly in line with the practice in high performing education systems like Finland and New Zealand.
There is widespread agreement in education circles that the Junior Cert needs radical change.
Last year, Mr Quinn told a conference on exam reform: “It is clear that the Junior Certificate examination has a serious, negative backwash effect on students’ learning and is out of line with international practice.”
Research by the Economic and Social Research Institute indicates that high numbers of male students – particularly those from a disadvantaged background – tend to disengage from school during the Junior Cert cycle. Many teenagers, it concluded, are ill-suited to an education system built around one terminal exam.
The Department of Education hopes the new exam will also help to lift standards in literacy and numeracy.
The most recent OECD/Pisa study in 2009 reported an alarming fall in the performance of Irish 15 year olds in reading and maths. The ranking of Irish teenagers slumped from 5th to 17th since 2000, the sharpest decline among any developed country. In maths, Ireland dropped from 16th to 25th, below the average.
Junior Cert results in the past decade have failed to reflect this worrying drop in standards. Last year, an Irish Times analysis of Junior Cert results indicated persistent grade inflation in both maths and English over the past decade. It also shows grade inflation in science – even though the OECD reported no major change in overall standards.
The most controversial feature of the new exam is the proposals for teachers to assess their own pupils. This could be opposed by the ASTI, although the low-stakes nature of the new exam may soften opposition .
In a significant move last month, Clive Byrne, director of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals suggested teachers should be willing to correct their own students’ Junior Cert exam papers.
“If we’re in the middle of reforming it to ensure it’s not a high-stakes exam any more, why not be a bit more courageous?”
http://www.irishtimes.com/
Eagrais na Gaeilge ag iomrascáil le múnla nua maoinithe
Deireadh Fómhair 3, 2012
Tá Foras na Gaeilge agus na heagrais dheonacha ag iomrascáil le múnla nua maoinithe – agus ní fada an t-achrann ina ndiaidh. Ó chuir an foras deireadh leis an Scéim Nua Mhaoinithe, tá an t-eagras thuaidh/theas agus na heagraíochtaí ag iarraidh teacht ar chóras nua le cás na teanga a fhorbairt.
Tuigtear don cholún seo go bhfuil moladh anois ann go mbeidh sé “cheanneagraíocht” freagrach as an teanga i réimsí éagsúla – Gaeloideachas; Oideachas trí mheán an Bhéarla agus d’aosaigh; ardú feasachta teanga agus cosaint teanga; imeachtaí tacaithe agus úsáide Gaeilge; forbairt pobail agus forbairt gréasáin úsáide Gaeilge don óige.
Eagraíochtaí atá lonnaithe sa Phoblacht atá chun cinn mar phríomheagraíochtaí ag an phointe seo – An tOireachtas, Gaelscoileanna, Gael Linn, Glór na nGael, Cumann na bhFiann agus Conradh na Gaeilge nó Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge – agus gan eagraíocht ar bith sa Tuaisceart i measc na gceanneagraíochtaí.
Bíodh is nach bhfuil deireadh leis an chur agus leis an chúiteamh go fóill, is é an moladh atá ann go mbeidh na ceanneagraíochtaí freagrach as eagraíochtaí deonacha eile atá ag obair sa chuibhreann céanna agus “comhordú” agus “comhdhlúthú” a dhéanamh ar a gcuid oibre.
Moltar go gcuirfear maoiniú ar fáil don dá stáisiún raidió – Raidió Fáilte i mBéal Feirste agus Raidió na Life i mBaile Átha Cliath – agus seans go ndéanfar socrú ar leith do thionscnamh oideachais amháin in iarthar Bhéal Feirste.
Chuir 15 eagras faoin ainm An Fóram litir chuig comhaltaí boird an fhorais seachtain go leith ó shin inar cháin siad cur chuige nua an fhorais.
Níor thaitin an moladh leo go mbeadh sé phríomheagraíocht ann agus gurbh iad a bhronnfadh “conradh seirbhíse” ar eagrais dheonacha eile chun obair a dhéanamh idir Iúil 2013 agus Nollaig 2014.
Chreid siad nach raibh rún ag an fhoras ach maoiniú a chur ar fáil do gach príomheagras go dtí Eanáir, 2015: “Maítear gur cur chuige ar bhonn na comhpháirtíochta atá i gceist ach ní mar sin a fheictear dúinn an scéal. Feictear don fhóram go gciallódh an múnla nua maoinithe go mbeifí ag iarraidh ar sé eagraíocht deireadh a chur leis na heagrais eile san earnáil dheonach bhunmhaoinithe.
“Feictear dúinn gur córas iomaíoch eile a bheadh i gceist anseo, cur chuige a cáineadh go láidir sa tuarascáil ón gComhchoiste um Chomhshaol, Iompar, Cultúr agus Gaeltacht (Meitheamh 2012).”
Tá fianaise na hiomaíochta sin le feiceáil cheana féin. Tá Conradh na Gaeilge agus Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge beirt luaite sa rannóg “ardú feasachta teanga”.
Is scátheagraíocht í an chomhdháil agus is balleagras dá cuid é Conradh na Gaeilge agus iad ar lorg an stádais chéanna. Tá cainteanna faoin chur chuige is fearr ar siúl faoi láthair.
Bhí cruinniú boird ag an fhoras Dé hAoine. Dúirt urlabhraí gur “pléadh rogha féidearthachtaí agus cuirfear moladh chuig na ranna urraíochta go luath”.
Le cois na mímhuiníne atá ag mórán san earnáil dheonach as an fhoras agus an iomaíocht idir na heagrais féin, tá teannas thuaidh/theas ann.
Dúirt Deisceartach amháin go raibh cuid de na heagraíochtaí deonacha sa Stát “réasúnta” sásta lena gcás ach go raibh na Tuaisceartaigh “ar mire” leis na moltaí.
Dúirt Tuaisceartach amháin go raibh an chontúirt ann go mbeadh earnáil na Gaeilge ar fad “lonnaithe i mBaile Átha Cliath agus go mbeadh deireadh le hearnáil nach bhfuil ach ina tús ó thuaidh. Cén tionchar a bheidh aige sin ar an teanga?”
IRISH TIMES
Bí ag léamh
Meán Fómhair 19, 2012
CRUINNEOIDH foilsitheoirí, feidhmeannaigh, léachtóirí agus scríbhneoirí le chéile Dé hAoine agus Dé Sathairn in Ionad Comhdhála Marino, Baile Átha Cliath, le ceist na léitheoireachta a phlé.
Labhróidh na rannpháirtithe ar an dóigh le daoine óga a spreagadh le leabhair a léamh agus an léitheoireacht a chothú i measc an phobail trí imeachtaí éagsúla
Eolas: comhdhail2012@gmail.com
‘You could have…’
LEANANN na hiarrachtaí ar aghaidh na páistí a thógáil le Gaeilge. An duine is óige agam, 7, sa chistin agus í ar lorg briosca: “How many am I allowed, daddy?” “Ceann amháin.” “What does that mean? One?” “Sin é.” “You could have just said a haon.”
PÓL Ó MUIRÍ, Eagarthóir Gaeilge, Irish Times
Young teachers take the pain
Meán Fómhair 18, 2012
Small island schools facing cuts
Meán Fómhair 12, 2012
Quinn backs cut in teacher training colleges
Meán Fómhair 6, 2012
The empty wallet
Meán Fómhair 3, 2012
