Call to make religion for teachers optional [IrishTimes]
- Published: 03 June 2010
LABOUR EDUCATION spokesman Ruairi Quinn called for the ending of the requirement on students in teacher-training colleges to participate in religious studies.
He called on Minister for Education Mary Coughlan to request the colleges, which were in receipt of €50 million in taxpayers’ money, to explicitly provide a freedom of conscience option for student-teachers. He said this should be done by way of a formal letter.
When Ms Coughlan replied that it was not an issue which had arisen, Mr Quinn replied: “You cannot say that.” She said she did not believe that she should issue a diktat to the colleges on the issue. “I think it is a matter of working together and seeing if there are certain procedures that need to be set up to allow this to happen.”
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Staff only: Why we're just moving targets for angry kids [Independent.ie]
- Published: 02 June 2010
In other countries if a kid doesn't manage a strictly prescribed decent average across his yearly exams then he doesn't move on to the next year. He stays back and does the year again. In Irish schools a pupil can learn as little as he or she likes.
He can disrupt the learning of other kids to his heart's content and we not only allow this but we facilitate it and, before you know it, he and the rest of the gang are parading around the school hall in their best designer gear on graduation night carrying a huge drawing of a pencil and other hackneyed symbols of how wonderful their years in school have been.
What do teachers make of this? They know that sometimes they're little better than the slaves of a handful of kids who thrive on negative behaviour like worms in a compost heap.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Jobs embargo threatens cutting-edge libraries [Independent.ie]
- Published: 02 June 2010
TWENTY two state-of-the-art school libraries are in danger of closing because of the public-sector jobs embargo.
The libraries are designed to boost literacy standards among the country's most disadvantaged students, and research has shown that they are achieving this aim.
Around €9m has been spent to date on the high-quality libraries, which are stocked with an extensive range of reading materials and computers to enhance numeracy, reading and writing skills.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Tánaiste announces signing of contract for six new schools [education.ie]
- Published: 02 June 2010
School places to be provided for 4,700 pupils under PPP programme
Tánaiste & Minister for Education and Skills Mary Coughlan T.D. today announced that the contract for the provision of six new schools had been signed with Macquarie Partnerships for Ireland (MPFI). These six schools will provide places for over 4,700 pupils and make up the second bundle of PPP schools projects to be delivered under the Department's Public Private Partnership (PPP) Programme.
Under the PPP model, the schools will be designed, built, financed and maintained for 25 years by MPFI.
"I am conscious of the importance of this project to the schools and to the construction industry at this particular time and I am delighted to announce that the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) has today signed the contract with MPFI and that construction will commence immediately.The six new schools will be available by the end of 2011," said the Tánaiste.
Full Story: www.education.ie
Children at special schools miss twice as many days [news.eircom.net]
- Published: 01 June 2010
An analysis of attendance at the country's 4,000 primary and second-level schools shows that 11% – or one-in-nine – of all school days in 100 special schools was lost through absences in the 2007/2008 school year. The absence rate compares to just 5.7% of days lost at 2,435 mainstream primary schools whose attendances were also analysed for the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB).
While a higher absenteeism rate may be expected because of the high numbers of pupils in special schools who have complex medical needs, the Irish Association of Teachers in Special Education (IATSE) feels other issues may also be at play.
Full Story: news.eircom.net
