IPPN

Bad manners have become the norm

Published: 11 November 2008

Source : Irish Independent
By Shane Hickey
Tuesday November 11 2008

THERE is a deficit of good behaviour and courtesy in Irish society today and some people see the idea of good manners as outdated, a leading academic said yesterday

The president of Dublin City University (DCU) called for social spaces and youth clubs to be provided where young people can mix, which in turn allow for manners and etiquette.

"It has become common to see groups of people -- often young men -- gathering in groups and terrorising local communities," said Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski.

"We see people driving cars who, while they are polite and considerate in their normal lives, become maniacs behind the wheel, showing aggression and recklessness. And we see people's behaviour with mobile phones in public places, clearly unconcerned about the disturbance or irritation caused to others.

"Manners are an important element in the idea of a community -- concern for and solidarity with others, and showing mutual respect," said Prof von Prondzynski

"But we now treat the concept of manners as outdated, and maybe even vaguely embarrassing. Real manners are about respect and empathy, and support for community building.

"A study carried out recently in America also shows that people living in an environment where they do not practise or experience courtesy have greater health problems and a lower life expectancy," he said.

- Shane Hickey

Irish pupils bottom of the Euro class for languages

Published: 11 November 2008

Source : Irish Independent

By John Walshe Education Editor
Tuesday November 11 2008

Irish primary pupils are at the bottom of the Euro class when it comes to learning foreign languages.

Only one in every 28 pupils (3.5pc) is studying a foreign language, compared with one in every two throughout Europe, a confidential report reveals.

It also shows that fewer Irish adults can conduct a conversation in a foreign language than people from any other European country.

Two-thirds of Irish people, who took part in a Eurobarometer study, said they did not have the competence to hold a basic conversation in any language other than English or Irish.

The report, from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, the State's advisory body, says that English speaking countries, including Ireland, lag behind the rest of Europe in provision of modern languages in primary schools.

Ireland is one of four countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that does not have have a compulsory curriculum for modern languages for 9 to 11-year-olds.

In other European countries, pupils are offered a foreign language at the senior stages of primary schooling. For instance, Finnish is taught in Finland from the start of primary education, and Swedish during the third grade when the pupils are about nine years old. Other languages, such as English and German, are introduced when children are in sixth or seventh grade, at 12 or 13.

Resources

The report, entitled 'Modern Languages in the Primary School Curriculum', says teachers identified the lack of resources as of great importance, including lack of adequate computing facilities and material appropriate for the primary-school age group.

The lack of time was named as one of the greatest impediments. Many teachers felt there was not enough time to cover all the objectives of the curriculum subjects and to meet the needs of all learners.

This view was supported last night by INTO, whose general secretary, John Carr, said plans to introduce a modern language component into the primary school curriculum would come to nothing as long as the Government continued to deprive schools of resources.

The report calls for a unified approach to the teaching and learning of languages. This could take account of the many languages and cultures present in schools -- it is estimated that 167 languages can now be heard in classrooms in Ireland.

The report recommends promoting greater language awareness, such as drawing pupils' attention to similarities and differences between Irish, English and additional languages.

Research has shown that raising awareness about the links between languages helps to improve overall literacy skills.

Children's attention should also be drawn to the sounds of languages, and they should be encouraged to become young linguists who have a greater awareness of language, how it works and how it is put together.

- John Walshe Education Editor

Protest Against Education Cuts

Published: 11 November 2008

Source : INTO P.R.

Statement by Irish National Teachers' Organisation ; Protest Against Education Cuts Galway 8th November 2008

More than 8,000 turn out to oppose education cuts.

More than 8,000 teachers, parents and members of boards of management turned out in Galway today to protest against the education cutbacks in last month's budget. The protest, organised by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, drew protesters mainly from Galway, Clare, Mayo and Roscommon. Braving driving rain the protesters marched from Eyre Square to the Cathedral carpark for a rally.

Speaking to the crowd, Declan Kelleher, President of the INTO said the huge turnout showed the strength of the alliance between parents, teachers and management in primary schools. "We are united in our opposition to these totally unjustified attacks on an already under-funded primary education service," said Mr Kelleher. "Government must be persuaded to change its views on these cuts."

John Carr, General Secretary of the INTO called on the public to let every public representative know of their opposition to the budget cuts. He said every TD would have to get the message that they would not be re-elected at the next election if the cuts were not reversed.

Other speakers at the conference included representatives of management, parents and principals. The protest meeting was also addressed by representatives of political parties.

Mr Kelleher said the Green Party had allowed its education policy to be genetically modified by Fianna Fail. He told the crowd that hundreds of people in Ennis last year had heard the leader of the Green Party Mr. Gormley say that under no circumstances would he ever participate in a government that failed to prioritise primary education.

"Mr Gormley has allowed his education policy to become genetically modified. The Greens and Fianna Fail have put the interests of big business before the interests of small children," he said. In 2002, the government promised class sizes of under 20 for all children under nine. In 2007 classes of 24 children or less were promised by 2010.

Mr Carr told the crowd that if additional resources were required to deliver public services then they had to be found by fair and equitable means. "Education is a public right which must be funded through taxation. Unlike some, teachers have never been shy about paying their fair share and will continue to do so." The rally was the first of several regional protests organised by the INTO to campaign against the education cuts announced in the budget. More than 5,000 people attended. Further protests will be held in Tullamore, Cork, Donegal leading to a national rally in Dublin on 6th December.

DCU head hits out at 'out-of-date' O'Keeffe

Published: 11 November 2008

Source : Irish Independent

By Shane Hickey
Tuesday November 11 2008

THE head of one of the country's largest universities has criticised the education minister's views on the third level sector as "out of date".

Today Minister Batt O'Keeffe will begin a series of meetings with schools' and teachers' representatives amid demands that drastic cuts across the education sector be reversed.

But the president of Dublin City University (DCU) Prof Ferdinand von Prondzynski yesterday called for colleges and universities to be administered by a new and separate government department, away from Mr O'Keeffe's brief.

"There is a tension between the traditional expectation that universities will primarily teach students, and the more recent requirement for universities to underpin economic development and attract corporate research and development into Ireland . . . not to mention the role of universities as agencies of cultural regeneration and of tackling disadvantage and structural poverty," said Prof von Prondzynski.

"There is some evidence that politicians do not understand some of these national requirements, and treat universities as if they are slightly more advanced secondary schools.

"This is an unsustainable position and will cost Ireland dearly in terms of lost research and development opportunities. It also again raises the question as to whether the Department of Education and Science is the right home in government for higher education. The answer is, probably not."

He defended the amount of research carried out by universities, saying that knowledge-intensive industry would be where investment will go in the future.

"I think he (Batt O'Keeffe) has a view of how universities should operate which is fairly far removed from what my view would be. For example, he raised the issue of whether we do too much research," said Prof von Prondzynski.

"The wide remit of universities is not always understood," he said.

"We have a wide ambit of things that we do, and I don't think that is often understood and appreciated sufficiently by politicians, and I think that includes particularly the current Minister for Education," said Prof von Prondzynski.

Last night a spokesman for the minister said almost €2bn was being invested in the third-level sector this year, a one-third increase on 2004.

A programme for research in third-level institutions has invested €865m to date, aimed at strengthening research capabilities, he said.

- Shane Hickey

Ministers launch scheme for high-tech classrooms in disadvantaged areas

Published: 11 November 2008

Source : DES P.R.

11 November, 2008 - Ministers launch scheme for high-tech classrooms in disadvantaged areas

DEIS schools to get €1m for new computers and digital equipment

A new scheme jointly launched today by the Minister for Education and Science, Batt O'Keeffe TD, and the Minister for Social Inclusion, Seán Haughey TD, will grant-aid schools in the most disadvantaged areas in improving their communications and information technology capacity in the classroom.

Under the Government's dormant accounts fund, which takes long-unclaimed money out of financial institutions and invests it in disadvantaged communities, €1 million is being made available to schools in the most disadvantaged areas for equipment such as computers and other communications hardware and software.

While grant awards will vary for schools, the maximum grant awarded to any individual school will not exceed €20,000.

The DEIS initiative, short for Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, is designed to ensure that disadvantaged schools benefit from a comprehensive package of Government supports.

Minister O'Keeffe said: 'The scheme I am launching today invites the 100 most disadvantaged schools to apply for ICT grants to help them to progress towards achieving Digital School Status.

'The Digital Schools Award, co-ordinated by the National Centre for Technology in Education, recognises excellence in a school's approach to integrating information and communications technology (ICT) in learning and teaching.

'Funding will be devolved to individual school authorities to buy ICT resources which may include computer hardware, software, peripherals, digital equipment and networking infrastructure.

'I believe that this funding will help schools in the most disadvantaged communities to build an enhanced ICT component into everyday teaching and learning.

'This extra money will add to the wide range of existing Government programmes designed to tackle educational disadvantage and it will make a significant contribution towards bridging the digital divide.'

The NCTE has issued invitations to the 100 high-priority primary DEIS schools serving the most disadvantaged communities to apply under the scheme.

Minister O'Keeffe said: 'Continuing to prioritise investment in tackling educational disadvantage remains a key priority for the Government.

'Despite the very challenging global economic environment in which we find ourselves, we targeted significant resources at our most disadvantaged schools in Budget 2009, with a range of additional financial and staffing resources provided to about a quarter of our primary schools and a third of our post-primary schools.

'As Minister, I will continue to prioritise investment in tackling educational disadvantage and I am determined to enhance educational opportunities for those most in need.

'Last week, for example, I concluded a new memorandum of understanding with Microsoft which extends its Partners In Learning licensing agreement to all disadvantaged schools in the DEIS programme.

'That agreement will enable these schools to access very low-cost desktop software and operating systems.

'The NCTE will be contacting all DEIS schools to advise them on how they can benefit from this agreement.

'As well as that, I will continue to meet other operators in the information and communications technology sector to explore cost-effective and innovative ways in which my Department could work with private industry in providing computers and other hardware to schools.

'Instilling an early appreciation of information communications technology will give our young people the best possible chance to pursue science, engineering and technology courses in the future so that, together, we can build Ireland?s knowledge economy.'

The Minister of State in Department of Education and Science, Seán Haughey TD, who is responsible for social inclusion, said the funding is a clear signal that the Government is intent on tackling educational disadvantage.

'This level of investment shows that those most in need of funding in our disadvantaged communities will receive it.

'It also demonstrates the importance the Government attaches to ICT in the classroom and the need to make computer literacy and high-tech awareness an integral part of the learning process for our young people,? said Minister Haughey.

ENDS

Note on digital school status
The fund is to support DEIS schools to achieve Digital Schools Award status. The Digital Schools Award is an initiative which recognises excellence in a school's approach to the integration of ICT in teaching and learning across the following five key areas:

Leadership and vision
ICT in the curriculum
School ICT culture
ICT professional development
Resources and Infrastructure

One hundred schools will be invited to apply for the funding. Grants awarded will enable schools to upgrade ICT equipment and purchase new computers, laptops, printers, digital cameras or enhance their network capacity. The application invites schools to complete an ICT self-evaluation and to identify how the funding sought will facilitate the school in meeting the criteria for a digital schools award. The number of schools that will receive grant aid will depend on the applications received.

About a quarter of our 3,284 primary schools and a third of our 732 post-primary schools are in the DEIS programme.