Prejudice hinders progression for Travellers [Independent.ie]
- Published: 23 June 2010
In 2009, An Bord Snip Nua recommended the phasing out of the 33 Traveller Training Centres nationally.
Apart from the cost-cutting issues, the rationale given for this decision was the low rate of 'progression' from the Centres to the workforce and mainstream further education.
The object of the TEACH Report (Traveller Education and Adults: Crisis, Challenge and Change published today) is to investigate why progession rates for Travellers are so low.
We found from the perspective of Travellers interviewed, the main obstacle to progression was prejudice within the settled community. Fear of losing welfare payments, particularly medical cards, was also a constraint on their willingness to take up full-time work.
However, we also found a number of cultural elements were clashing directly with the settled model of progression. These factors included nomadism, Traveller gender roles and extended family obligations.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Listen up: we can all learn from Principal Cameron [Independent.ie]
- Published: 23 June 2010
With the oil pouring out of a hole under the Caribbean, it's been a nicely simple matter of turning to my CSPE class and telling them that it's all the fault of the power-mad, Right-wing nutters in the US Republican Party, such as the Bushes.
US politics are reassuringly distant and black and white for the teacher who is given the brief of teaching kids about the threats to the environment on one hand, and the dirty business of politics on the other.
Put simply, I can point to George W Bush and say 'bad' and to Obama and say 'good'. What I'm tempted to tell them, but can't, is that I have always put the Republicans, the UK Conservative Party and our own Fianna Fail in the same bracket -- under the heading of big clubs for the rich and greedy that use the razzmatazz of flag-waving and self-adoration that accompanies patriotism to protect their gang's interests.
That was until the outcome of the UK general election last month.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
'The job has become more demanding' [Independent.ie]
- Published: 23 June 2010
Gerry Murphy, principal of St Joseph's National School in Dundalk, has seen changes to the job since he first became a head 30 years ago.
"I have found it a very rewarding job, but I am not sure I would advise my children to go into education.
"The job of a principal has become more demanding. When I was first appointed there was nowhere near the same level of accountability.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Wising up to the web [Independent.ie]
- Published: 22 June 2010
OFFERING instant access to vast amounts of information and entertainment and enabling quick and easy communications, the internet and mobile phones have obvious appeal for increasingly tech-savvy kids. Despite the benefits, however, many parents have understandable concerns about the risks these technologies present in terms of bringing their children into contact with inappropriate material and people, and making them more open to the threat of cyberbullying.
Áine Lynch, CEO of the National Parents Council Primary and a member of the Internet Safety Advisory Council, which advises Ireland's Office of Internet Safety (OIS), recommends that parents communicate their concerns, engage with what their children are doing on the internet, negotiate ground rules and establish levels of trust around internet use. "It's about letting your child explain to you what they do on the internet," she continues. " That can be the start of the communication.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Further education numbers for 16 to 18-year-olds rise to record high [guardian.co.uk]
- Published: 22 June 2010
The proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds at school, college or in training reached its highest ever level last year, according to figures released today.
The figure stood at 82.7%, up more than three percentage points, but among those not in education or training, unemployment also peaked, with more than half out of work for the first time in at least 15 years. Only 47% of them had a job, compared with 50% the year before and 58% in 2007.
The education department's figures also showed a slight fall last year in the number of those classed as "neets" – not in education, employment or training. It rose to 10.3% in 2008 but fell back to 9.2%.
Full Story: www.guardian.co.uk
