Social Media. What could possibly go wrong? The Teaching Council has recently issued advice to teachers on their use of social media. I am going to try and argue that if I were the Minister for Education, I would Allow Teachers to use Social Media as They See Fit. A brief history of Social Media … Read more
Teachers often tell me that they aren’t great on technology. I never understand this because in all aspects of their life, they use technology all the time. In this episode, I want to explore how we can change the way we look at technology as a tool and focus on it as a methodology. I … Read more
In this episode, we look at all the things we lost in the recession then examine one thing we gained – Croke Park Hours! This leads into a conversation on non-contact time in schools before asking whether we should work a 40 hour week.
On this week’s news show: More calls to remove sacramental preparation from schools Surprise, surprise – standardised testing causes stress The prinicpal who encouraged his parish to vote Fianna Fail This and tonnes of other stories including Sheila Nunan’s prospects in the European Elections.
In this 13th episode of If I were the Minister for Education, I try to unravel the complex web of our pay scale. I also have a go at the union, rightly or wrongly, about their role in the two-tier pay scale. Finally, I find out that you can get an allowance for teaching on … Read more
On this week’s news show: The principal who robbed over €200k from his school Tusla wrecks another School Completion Programme Project Why the Catholic Church wants to take back Communion The INTO has forgotten about pay equality Climate Change and we need to listen to young people A square peg in a round hole – … Read more
Ireland is the only secular country in the world where more then 2% of their primary schools are single-sex. How did this happen? The answer won’t surprise you. Also, is there any truth to the notion that children perform better in single-sex schools?
I’ve decided to separate the podcast into 2 – one for the weekly news (this podcast) and one for the “If I were the Minister for Education” bit. This week I: say goodbye to Paul Rowe as he announces his retirement, get cross about voluntary contributions, get even more cross about abuse victims receiving no … Read more
The School Completion Programme is a scheme to prevent children from leaving school early. Up until recently, it was preventative in nature, but since Tusla have taken over it, you’ve guessed it, it’s a mess. I have renamed it the Form Completion Programme. I also answer the question of which teacher influenced my life the … Read more
This is one of the shorter episodes of If I were the Minister for Education so I also take time to review the INTO Congress in 2019. News: 0:40 Minor Works Grant: 12:26 Congress 2019 Review: 22:57