Getting ready to whip up a storm [IrishTimes]
- Published: 26 April 2011
THE EDUCATION PROFILE THE TEACHING CONFERENCE DELEGATE: On TV, it always looks like a right old moan-fest, so why do 1,500 teachers elect to spend Easter in windowless conference halls? And do they portray the teaching profession in a good light, asks LOUISE HOLDEN
THIS IS THE WEEK when over a thousand teachers will traverse Ireland to attend ‘congress’. The teachers’ conferences are an Easter staple – they attract pages of news coverage and generate plenty of heat but do they actually achieve anything? Why do so many teachers give up their Easter holidays to incubate themselves in a carpeted, sunless atmosphere of unrest?
Regardless of the economic backdrop, there is always an air of dissatisfaction at congress; at least during the official hours of motions and counter-motions, votes and debates. Delegates spend days in convention rooms sucking Fox’s glacier mints and consulting glossy guides featuring motions, union business and lists upon lists of names.
Over the course of three days, it’s possible to become completely enwombed in the windowless rooms, the hotel coffee and the endless march of complaints from various members of the teaching profession. These range from moderate individuals calling for syllabus reform to tub-thumping radicals calling for industrial action.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
