An open mind is the only way to tackle this [Herald.ie]
- Published: 27 September 2011
I don't know how many parenting magazines I've picked up which tell me that the surefire way to make sure the kids don't access dodgy stuff on the internet is to keep the family PC in a downstairs room, like the kitchen, so I can spot potential paedophiles lurking online while they're doing their homework amid the cacophony of the day.
Yes, well, as parents we know, real life isn't always that simple. Most older teenagers have their own laptop -- indeed, if you're in one of those lucky schools that don't use books any more, you have to have one.
And what self-respecting 15-year-old is going anywhere without a touchscreen mobile that we're constantly reminded has more technology on it than sent man to the moon.
The truth is that the ordinary rules to keeping your child safe have gone out the window. They're being overtaken by a stream of new technology arriving at an ever faster pace and there are now hundreds more opportunities for our children to see sexual imagery, violent acts and vicious crime than ever before.
Full Story: www.herald.ie
Bullying of children 'prevalent' [IrishTimes]
- Published: 26 September 2011
Bullying is prevalent in the lives of nine-year-olds growing up in Ireland, according to a new report.
And parental separation has a considerable impact on children's routines, making it difficult for children to sustain a relationship with a non-resident parent.
New research from Growing Up in Ireland - The National Longitudinal Study of Children was launched this morning.
The latest research, which involved in-depth studies of 120 nine-year-olds and their families, found some children had troubled attitudes to food and to their own weight. Some children worried about moving into secondary school and others were concerned about the future including climate change and war.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Quinn set to back 'radical' plan for new Junior Cert [IrishTimes]
- Published: 26 September 2011
PROPOSALS TO change how the Junior Cert is assessed – billed as a “radical departure” for Irish education – are set to be backed by Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn.
Under the plan, the written Junior Cert exam in June will account for only 60 per cent of the marks. The remaining 40 per cent will be allocated to portfolio work over the entire three years of the Junior Cert cycle.
In the most controversial proposed change, this portfolio work will be assessed in the student’s own school, although samples of the corrected projects will be checked by the State Exams Commission.
The written exams will also change radically. With the exception of Irish, English and maths, all subjects will be examined at a common level. Exams will be shorter (90 to 180 minutes) and students will take a maximum of eight subjects. At present, it is not unusual for students to take 12 subjects or more.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Autism and education [IrishTimes]
- Published: 26 September 2011
Sir, – I understand that Victoria White (September 21st) is the wife of former minister Eamon Ryan and might feel a strong sense of party loyalty when she states that the Green Party, when in government, negotiated permanent funding for Applied Behaviour Analysis schools for children with autism. However, I must point out that there is no truth in her assertion and her statement that “Twelve ABA schools are not only open, but fully State funded”.
A condition for the former ABA schools of being “fully State funded” was that they could no longer practise as ABA schools but instead had to adopt the Department of Education’s (DES) preferred “eclectic model”, a model that has no basis in research.
Ms White mentions visiting ABACAS Kilbarrack. Perhaps she should ask to read the letter that the school received from the DES on July 2nd, 2010, a letter which expressly states that “the school is not an exclusively ABA specific school” and that it cannot advertise itself as such. The other former ABA schools received similar letters.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
Class sizes second largest in EU [Independent.ie]
- Published: 26 September 2011
MORE than eight in 10 primary school children are in classes that are bigger than the EU average.
And it is expected to get worse after the next Budget.
Latest figures show that 86pc of primary pupils are in classes of 20 or more, with one in five in classes of more than 30.
Most of the overcrowded classes are in urban areas and in commuter counties adjoining the main cities.
Counties worst affected are Wicklow, Limerick, Kilkenny, Meath, Cork, Kildare, Carlow, Waterford, and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown in Dublin, where the number of pupils in classes of 30-plus is above the national average.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
