Strange irony of bishops' multiculturalism [IrishTimes]
- Published: 22 December 2009
IF YOU live long enough, you will encounter the most unlikely ironies. What makes me feel very old indeed is the emergence of the Roman Catholic hierarchy as the champions of (a) pluralism and (b) an ultra-leftist notion of multiculturalism, writes FINTAN O’TOOLE
For most of my life, the Catholic hierarchy defended its dominance of the primary education system on the simple ground that the overwhelming majority of the population of the Republic of Ireland was actively Catholic. It followed that the education system should reflect this weight of numbers. Minorities – essentially Protestants or Jews – could be fobbed off with their own schools. Those with naive belief in the importance of children of different religious and ethical traditions growing up together were probably communists, perverts or idiots and could count themselves lucky to have their children accepted on sufferance in any school.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Parents urged not to buy gifts for teachers [IrishTimes]
- Published: 22 December 2009
PRESENTS: PRIMARY SCHOOL principals are urging parents and pupils not to buy gifts for teachers this Christmas.
The Irish Primary Principals’ Network says the practice of buying expensive gifts for teachers, common during the boom years, was continuing, despite the economic downturn.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Taking a leap of faith [IrishTimes]
- Published: 22 December 2009
NEW LIFE: After a career spanning 20 years as a clinical psychologist, Dr Deirdre MacIntyre decided to set up an organisation to help children with learning difficulties, writes LORNA SIGGINS
YOU ARE A specialist in your field, you can see the opportunities before you, but there’s little or nothing that you can do. If this place sounds vaguely familiar, it is where Dr Deirdre MacIntyre found herself almost a decade ago.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
A real assault on children's happiness [IrishTimes]
- Published: 22 December 2009
HEALTH PLUS: Bullying at school must be tackled in a co-ordinated national approach, writes MARIE MURRAY
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS are but a reprieve from being bullied at school for many primary school children. It has been so since the pioneering Scandinavian research of the 1980s into school bullying first revealed the extent of bullying that children suffer. It continues to be a blight on children’s lives – on their confidence, self-esteem, physical safety, emotional development, psychological wellbeing and even their future mental health.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Give Your Teacher’s Gift to Charity
- Published: 21 December 2009
There has been an unprecedented response to the statement issued by IPPN yesterday which recommended that parents should not give into their children’s requests to buy presents for the class teacher.
This recommendation has clearly touched a nerve with many hard-pressed parents who were thrilled to hear the Principals’ Network stating that ‘gift-giving to teachers and Principals while well-intended are completely unnecessary and are not expected’.
IPPN Director, Seán Cottrell said ‘Today, IPPN goes further in saying that if parents really want to show their appreciation for the quality of education that their school provides, they can do so by making a donation to a children’s charity such as ISPCC or Barnardos’.
Pat Goff, IPPN President, said that ‘most parents are making a voluntary contributory to schools to help with operating costs and it is important to separate this from the recent fashion of personal gifts’.
ENDS
