Drop Irish to claw back lost school time [Independent.ie]
- Published: 24 December 2010
I wholeheartedly agreed with Kevin Myers' piece on December 7 ('Teachers have given us all a harsh lesson -- in laziness').
Katherine Donnelly stated that 15 or more days' tuition have already been lost this month, with, apparently, no hope of recovering these.
But I have an idea that may salvage those lost hours.
Today's schoolchildren are being trained, not for jobs at home, but rather for emigration.
So the obvious solution would be to waste less time on subjects that would be of no use to our future diaspora.
May I suggest starting with the Irish language?
D K Henderson
Clontarf, Dublin 3
At the time of writing, the Department of Education and Skills has issued a statement to the effect that it is not possible to reopen the schools before January 10, 2011, to claw back time lost by the snow. The highly questionable explanation offered to parents and students is that department officials could not possibly contact the schools, pupils and teachers concerned in time to make the necessary arrangements.
I live with a primary school teacher. He is dedicated and hardworking and can often be found correcting school work late into the evenings and on the weekend.
I am familiar with the process followed by his school when informing staff and parents of school closures due to the snow. It is quite simple. The evening before, or, in some cases on the day of the closure, all parents and staff receive a text message informing them that the school is to close. In some cases the notice period is as little as an hour-and-a-half.
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