In brief: Union addresses discrimination [Independent.ie]
- Published: 28 April 2011
TEACHERS have voted in favour of the repeal of a "draconian" piece of legislation, which they claim allows for discrimination against homosexual teachers.
At their annual congress in Tralee, the Teachers' Union ofIreland (TUI) members called on the Government to remove the right of certain schools to discriminate against gay or lesbian teachers on religious grounds when hiring. Education Minister Ruairi Quinn said: "I can't anticipate what final action the Government will take but, look, the country has moved on considerably, people are more tolerant and inclusive."
INTO appoints full female leadership
For the first time the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) has an all-female leadership.
General secretary Sheila Nunan, the first woman to hold that job, has been joined by new president Noreen Flynn and vice-president Ann Fay at the union's helm.
Teachers demand ratio be restored
The Government has been warned that changes to the education sector are dependent on restoring the crucial pupil-teacher ratio.
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) issued the demand as the union adopted a motion demanding that the pupil-teacher ratio be restored to an 18:1 margin. Delegates warned that bigger class sizes will impact on young people's educational experience.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Nicola Anderson: Deja vu all over again as Quinn sticks to the script [Independent.ie]
- Published: 28 April 2011
ANOTHER day, another conference -- but the same speech. Teachers at the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) conference in Tralee, Co Kerry, yesterday asked one another if they noticed how the Education Minister kept repeating "the same phrase" over and over, to the point that it "was driving them mad".
Try listening to the repetition of the thing in its entirety -- three times.
Not alone that, but he even delivered what was pretty much the same speech to school principals at the JMB/AMCSS conference in Killarney last month. Four times, then.
So nobody can accuse Ruairi Quinn of failing to drive home the message that we're broke, we've lost our economic sovereignty and that our education system isn't as good as we've led ourselves to believe.
Yes, we get it, and, yes, we also know that repetition is an effective learning method used in all the best classrooms. It's just that the news doesn't get any easier to swallow the more often you hear it. In fact, it's a little worse.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Industrial action bid thwarted by Croker pact ban [Independent.ie]
- Published: 28 April 2011
UNION leaders have told teachers how the Croke Parkagreement has tied their hands on taking industrial action.
Demands from delegates at the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) conference to be allowed to use such action -- as a weapon against job cuts affecting the most disadvantaged pupils -- were overruled.
Although voted down on two occasions, up to one-third of the delegates supported industrial action.
INTO general secretary Sheila Nunn -- who is also a member of the Croke Park Agreement implementation body -- said industrial peace was part of the trade-off for protecting pay and jobs.
"We have to be truthful and honest: industrial action puts us in direct conflict with the agreement to protect the pay of teachers," she warned.
There was outrage among delegates over the cap on special needs assistant (SNA) numbers and reductions in resource staff who provide support to disadvantaged pupils.
Drogheda branch delegate Mary Conneely said teachers needed to dispel the myth that they could meet the demands of children with special needs without proper support systems.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Ban on filling posts 'puts pupils at risk of dropout' [Independent.ie]
- Published: 28 April 2011
MORE pupils will be in danger of "falling through the cracks" and leaving education unless a ban on filling posts of responsibility is lifted, teachers warned yesterday.
Vulnerable students who are being bullied are also in danger of not getting the attention they need, according to a survey of school principals carried out by the Teachers Union of Ireland.
The results of the survey, which were unveiled at the TUI congress in Tralee, Co Kerry yesterday, show that often there is no longer anybody in a position in schools to intervene in a timely manner in cases of bullying or absenteeism.
But Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has said there will be no reversal of decisions already taken to cut services and that further cuts could be expected.
"It's an understandable request but the provisions that were communicated to the schools, including the decision regarding the moratorium, will not be changed," he said.
Under the moratorium, which has been in place since April 2009, any assistant principals or holders of posts of responsibility who retire are not being replaced. Some schools have lost up to five posts of responsibility since then.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Fury at downgrade of charges in Phoebe Prince bullying case [Independent.ie]
- Published: 28 April 2011
Antibullying activists and Bostonparents have expressed outrage at the proposed downgrading of charges against five of the six defendants charged in connection with the Phoebe Prince case.
Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan issued a statement saying that "there may be significant developments in one or more of the cases" next week, when the five are due to appear in court.
The proposed settlement would allow the five teenagers to plead guilty to the lesser charge of criminal harassment, a misdemeanour. In return, prosecutors would drop the more serious charges levelled against them.
The settlement has yet to be given the stamp of approval by a judge. If convicted, the defendants could expect sentences ranging from probation to two and a half years in jail.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
