I have made one deliberate assumption in all of this; that everyone wants what is the best for all students, not just those they know. As with any problem solving effort, the proposed solution should not create more problems than it solves. While the postponement of the LC 2020 examinations […]
Education Reform
Things that keep me up at night During the banking collapse we heard about the ‘golden circle’ of investors who attempted to shore up shares in Anglo-Irish Bank. The media was focused more on the fact that there was a ‘golden circle’ than on what they were trying to do. […]
Carl’s Curriculum Caper!
1 The Irish Times published an article on Tuesday 26th March which gave space to Mary O’Rourke and Dr. Gary Granville to present their respective view on whether history should be a compulsory subject. Dr Gary Granville is professor emeritus at the National College of Art and Design. He was formerly assistant chief executive […]
Good God Gary!
So, I was flitting through the tweets from the weekend trying to catch up on what was occurring. The first thing I noticed was the announcement by the Teaching Council that teachers would have to do mandatory ‘upskilling’ (http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/regular-upskilling-to-become- mandatory-for-teachers-1.1952456 ). A few things struck me about this. […]
What?
The recent case of a divorcing couple has garnered some attention because of an unusual ruling which a High Court judge had to make in the case. In his judgement, Justice Hogan ruled that a 12 year old boy should attend a private school. (disclaimer: I teach in a fee-charging school) […]
Are Gifted Children Better Off in Private Schools?
Let’s just start with this. Most teachers have an IQ in excess of 130. It is reasonable to assume, given genetic pre-disposition and given the nurturing environment of teachers’ homes, that often children of teachers are Exceptionally Able. In my experience of CTYI, in each of my classes, the single […]
An Appeal to Schools and Teachers; So you think you’re ...
It may seem somewhat odd to hear a teacher say they hate school. It just doesn’t sound right. After all, if one hated school, why become a teacher. I became a teacher because that is what I wanted to do. I’m not sure where it came from other than I […]
I hate School
This is time of year when everyone starts preparing for school, usually somewhat nervously in anticipation of what the year will bring. This is most true for those starting school – primary, secondary or third level. It applies to teachers as much as students, but particularly so to trainee teachers. […]
Must-haves for Teachers
This post is a little off topic for the site but as I am President of the Association of Geography Teachers of Ireland and given the current threat to remove Geography as a single, systematic course of study from the Core Curriculum of the Junior Cycle, it deserves an airing […]
Junior Cycle Reform
It’s fantastic to be able to report that another school has joined our Hall of Fame of schools that have adopted a policy to recognise and help their Exceptionally Able children. St. Joseph’s National School , Halverstown is a two teacher country school which is situated in Halverstown Co.Kildare. It […]