Talkback [IrishTimes]
- Published: 23 March 2010
More needs to be done for science and maths, says BRIAN MOONEY
CONCERN ABOUT the small number of students taking higher level maths and science subjects – particularly chemistry and physics – continues to grow.
But here are some questions to ponder. Firstly: why is junior cycle science not a compulsory subject in our schools?
Because, if the Department of Education made it compulsory to teach science to all students, they would be obliged to provide the science laboratories in which to teach it. And Ireland still has a seriously underfunded education system.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
New Minister for Education and Skills [educationmatters.ie]
- Published: 23 March 2010
Today’s Cabinet reshuffle saw Tánaiste Mary Coughlan switched to Education and Batt O’Keeffe moved to Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
Ms Coughlan will remain as Tánaiste, while the Department of Education and Science will be renamed the Department of Education and Skills.
ASTI General Secretary John White welcomed Ms Coughlan's appointment as Minister for Education and Skills.
Education plays a pivotal role in economic and social progress, Mr White said, and he looks forward to meeting the new Minister to discuss the importance of second-level education at this time.
Full Story: www.educationmatters.ie
Online ostracism harms kids' self-esteem [irishhealth.com]
- Published: 22 March 2010
Being ostracised online may threaten a child’s self-esteem, a new study has found.
This is the first time the effect of online ostracism has been investigated. UK researchers looked at how children, adolescents and adults reacted to being ostracised by other players during an online computer game.
"Research into cyber-bullying usually focuses on direct abuse and insults. However, a more indirect and perhaps common form of bullying is ostracism - when people are purposefully ignored by others.
“Online ostracism affects adults by threatening their basic needs for self-esteem, sense of belonging, sense of meaning and sense of control. We wanted to discover whether children and adolescents have similar reactions,” explained lead researcher, Prof Dominic Abrams of the University of Kent.
Full Story: www.irishhealth.com
'pupils do better when parents remain involved' [Independent.ie]
- Published: 22 March 2010
"Parents can approach the school at any time to discuss problems or issues, but as few make those appointments, it's more usual for teachers to hear about marital or other difficulties affecting the child at the parent-teacher meeting.
"In our school 95pc of parents make it to these meetings, while the rest are seen some other time. We don't rest until we've seen them all."
"The parent-teacher meeting is an important time for parents to meet teachers in a one-to-one setting to discuss their child's progress, and for teachers to learn more about their students. They play an important part in the school/parent partnership to deliver a quality education for children.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
Limits to keeping students safe [leadermagazine.co.uk]
- Published: 22 March 2010
How much responsibility can schools take for students' safety? A recent case (Webster v Ridgeway Foundation School) suggests that the courts, at least, do understand the difficulties schools face in real life.
The case, which involved a rural school, as ever turned on its facts. The school had, in a relatively short time, received an intake of pupils of Asian heritage.
There had been some ugly events outside and inside the school, some white pupils felt that the staff were not prepared to tackle the aggressive behaviour of some of the Asian boys. The staff did not perceive the situation in the same way.
Full Story: www.leadermagazine.co.uk
