038. Reduce the number of stakeholders in primary education
Have you ever wondered what happens when the Department of Education has a meeting with all education partners? I always did and wondered what it would look like. When I was invited to represent a body regarding a new Department of Education initiative, I could see exactly why the education system is so messy. I […]
017. Remove all Union Involvement from Teaching Council
The Teaching Council is made up of several union representatives, which make decisions on teaching conditions. The union therefore becomes both the decision maker and gatekeeper of the Teaching Council, which makes little sense. The union needs to take on the role of a strong gatekeeper from the Teaching Council. Droichead was an example of […]
INTO Congress: A Lesson in how to do Congress
The INTO congress was on this week. You might have missed it because you probably didn’t hear much about it in the media. This was probably because it was a massive success on all fronts. One could almost hear Katherine Donnelly’s disappointment that she couldn’t use words like “whinging.” Sometimes, we have to look at […]
Two Line Tuesday: INTO and Pay Inequality
A few months ago, the INTO encouraged their members to vote in favour of the Lansdowne Road Agreement despite the fact that pay inequality for post-2011 teachers was to remain as part of the deal. Today at the congress, they are calling for pay inequality to be stopped as if this had always been their mantra.
Two Line Tuesday
The Minister for Education has refused an invitation to our union congress. While her apologists will excuse this, I think it’s a massive reflection on her disappointing term in education and the least she could have done was show up to thank teachers for cutting her so much slack.
Ten Things to Keep in Mind at INTO Congress
Every year, during the spring holidays, the media takes an interest in education as the various teaching unions hold their annual congresses. Ever since I became a teacher, my experience of the media is that teachers are portrayed as moaners and whingers. We are judged against the pupils we teach – example: if the pupils in their schools behaved […]
INTO uses Social Media during Congress
It’s good to see leadership in education. An example of this is in the INTO’s use of social media to report on the happenings at their annual congress in Killarney. I have been following the updates from the congress on Twitter and Facebook and both have proved very valuable in keeping up with things. I […]
What have the Teaching Council ever done for us?
Have recently discovered Inside Education on 103.2 Dublin City FM. Simon introduced me to it via twitter. I have enjoyed the shows that I managed to listen to including the recent one where Simon was interviewed! A couple of weeks ago, they interviewed Aine Lawlor, the Director of the Teaching Council. You can find this […]
The power of online petitions
Rage Against the Machine were the first non X-Factor Christmas number one in the UK charts for years thanks to an online petition on Facebook. Millions of people are being petitioned to help the victims of the Haitian disaster this week through the use of social media. In a much smaller and local way, an […]