Archbishop warns against 'new polarisation' between schools with different ethos #edchatie

The Archbishop is right in many ways in his assessment. However, I do think the major problem isn't actually anything to do with religion. (Yes, for once I'm not blaming religion!) The major problem is the fact that all schools are private institutions and parents can choose to send their child to any school they like. This sets up a "polarisation" between all schools, not just those of a different ethos. The more I think about the embarrassing situation in Malahide a couple of weeks ago, the more I think the reason for not wanting to be the one to divest was not about saving the Catholic ethos but saving enrollments. The fear is that if one divests, families will leave.

There seems to be a fallacy that all schools are in a strong network, all getting on together, and all there for each other. The truth is that, in reality, there is little in the way of collegiality between schools unless another school is of no threat. We saw this during the SET allocations where schools had zero thought for each other while they scrambled together to try and make up 25-hour posts rather than allowing a computerised system to do the job for them. Principals openly admitted to me that while they knew it was a good idea to leave the allocating to the DES, their sole interest was looking after themselves.

The sooner we admit this, then we can move to a solution. The solution, of course, is to eradicate "choice" in education. Children should just go to their nearest school. Yes, there are some issues with this but they are far outweighed by the benefits.

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Archbishop warns against 'new polarisation' between schools with different ethos

independent.ie

Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin has hit out at the "alarmist" claims made about the proposed divestment of schools in north Dublin, warning there was "a danger of a new polarisa

8 hours ago

When schools go rogue: The accountability gap #edchatie

This article is very one-sided but does raise an important point about how schools are run. There are so many problems with our system that it's impossible to know where to point the finger at times. Schools are under-resourced but expectations are beyond what is reasonable. Boards of management are made up of well meaning volunteers mostly without the required skills. The Department of Education is made up of bureaucrats that haven't an iota about how schools work. Parents unconditionally love their children which sometimes leads to over expectations of what schools can do.
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When schools go rogue: The accountability gap

irishtimes.com

Parents face tough battles with boards of management over their children’s wellbeing

1 day ago

Where are the primary school stories?
Secondary teachers 'don't have enough training or planning time' to give SEN students support they deserve #edchatie

In the last few days, I have seen about half a dozen articles from second level unions focusing on SEN, lost teacher pay, Junior Cert reform, and the case for history as a compulsory subject. I have yet to read a single article focusing on primary Union issues. With less than 3 days to go before Congress, something needs to happen or primary education will be forgotten about again.
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Secondary teachers 'don't have enough training or planning time' to give SEN students support they deserve

independent.ie

Secondary teachers say they don’t have enough training or planning time to give students with special educational needs (SEN) the support they deserve.

2 days ago