Will you send your children to a gaelscoil?

mise_me_fein

When I get older I think I will....Could there be any drawbacks?

I think this is the only way we're goin to win back the language.

They're building more and more schools every year and to tell you the truth I would love if every school in Ireland taught in Irish.

We have English anyway.

Múinteoir

Yes and if there is none in the area I settle down in, I will see to setting one up myself. There are only drawbacks if you still adhere to this 19th century fallacy that a person can only speak one language properly. That attitude is a historical relic and it is no accident that people in the English speaking world are the worst at learning languages and promoting multi-lingualism. I have no doubt that in 100 years time, people will look back at the idea of speaking only one language in the way that we now look back at a time when practically now one except the elite could read.

Certainly it is essential to have good English, but all the scientific evidence and indeed international practice in many countries around the world shows that a child can be raised fully fluent in two languages without any danger to their overall education and indeed it is common on the European continent for children to achieve a fluency in at least two languages if not more by the end of their schooling. Bilingual children have been found to be better at picking up additional languages in addition to their first two, than children who are pure monoglots until their are adults.

English is certainly becoming the world lingua franca, but the attitude of 'English only please' is an attitude of the past, not the future.

BoozyBabe

Well, tbh, this has been on my mind quite a bit lately.
I can't speak Irish that well, but I'm currently learning so I can resit my LC next June.
I'm struggling BIG time, & I can't help but think 'if only I'd went to a gaelscoil', 'my children will never have to go through this', etc...

I think it's a beautiful language. I've found a new love & appreciation for it & as a result, really want it to be a big part of my future & of my families life.

BUT:- I know my partner doesn't feel as strongly about it.
We're setting up home in his local area, beside all his neighbours, beside his local school, where he went to school, which he has a great fondness for, where all the neighbours children go (& in the future where our childrens friends will go)

The nearest gaelscoil is 10 minutes drive away in the main town. I'm not so much concerned with the inconvience to us, but more of the possible isolation of our children in their local area.

It hasn't been discussed with my partner yet, but I can see these being his issues, & I believe because of that, our children will not go to a gaelscoil, even though I'd really love it!!!

I'm planning on becoming a primary teacher myself, so I may just have to settle for involving Irish a lot in the home instead.

mise_me_fein

My brother went to a different school to the people in my area and he's made friends with both people in school and his local area.

If it's only 10 mins away I'd give it a try.....you're more or less giving your child an A or at worst a strong B in honours Irish in the leaving if you do.

cold_filter

I will be. My mam was going to send me when i was younger but she then changed her mind at the last minute, oh how i hate her for it!

My irish isnt great but when i go to my gf's village i speak it as much as possible!

uch

My daughter goes to Gaelscoil Phádraig in Ballybrack, I changed her after 1st class in an English speaking school, within six weeks she was more or less fluent, which proves that immersion is the best was. I have no regrets, and have not noticed any disadvantages in her or her development she is now going into fifth class and because of her I too am now reasonably fluent at speaking (grammer & Spelling still ufásach) and I was exempt in school and hadn't a word as I'm Dyslexic. So i'd say definitely go for it.

gaeilgegrinds

I feel guilty saying yes. A friend of mine gave me a right hiding recently when I said I had my bub down to go to one cos she claimed it was selfish as I speak Irish 90% of the time anyway & was therefore taking up a valued place another child could have... There are very few negatives, the only one I see is that rarely is a child given the change to see poverty or those on a lower socio-economic band...something I had never considered until recently but I feel as I work a lotwith such students my children will never have that issue. So yes in answer to your question, yes. However get booking them! I'm 3 months pregnant (only announced it last week!) and have my bub enrolled! Secretary says many do so pre-conception...one question asked on his.her fluency... I can only assume it's quite good!

BoozyBabe

mise_me_fein wrote:

My brother went to a different school to the people in my area and he's made friends with both people in school and his local area.

If it's only 10 mins away I'd give it a try.....you're more or less giving your child an A or at worst a strong B in honours Irish in the leaving if you do.

Well it's not my decision alone to make.
I'd have to take my partners views into consideration, & if he felt very strongly against it then that's the way it'd have to be.

gaeilgegrinds

I doubt your partner would have an issue with it. My partnre always liked Irish but had none & now he's quite good! He has fluent Spanish so we speak Irish & Spanish most of the time, God help our baba!

Múinteoir

gaeilgegrinds wrote:

A friend of mine gave me a right hiding recently when I said I had my bub down to go to one cos she claimed it was selfish as I speak Irish 90% of the time anyway & was therefore taking up a valued place another child could have..

What kind of ridiculous logic is that! On that basis you shouldn't send your kids to any school if you speak English at home, in case you deprive some poor immigrant child of a place in school to improve their English.
Send your kid to the school that you think is best for their education and to hell with the begrudgers.

gaeilgegrinds

Maybe it's just my hormones but I felt really guilty. She kept harking on about how hard places are to come by here, I felt terrible! I'm fluent in Irish & basically Spanish now, as is my partner & I lectured in English so her logic that our children did not need to go really hit home! So glad I thought to rush to our local school as soon as I found out! Relief! Thanks for the support, I'll definitely be taking the place, or rather he/she will!

mise_me_fein

You guys think this will make much difference?

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0726/education.html

gaeilgegrinds

Not a bit! Honestly can not see most teachers doing it or if they do it'll be very little!

Rosita

Definitely will send children to a Gaelscoil.

Múinteoir

gaeilgegrinds wrote:

Maybe it's just my hormones but I felt really guilty. She kept harking on about how hard places are to come by here, I felt terrible! I'm fluent in Irish & basically Spanish now, as is my partner & I lectured in English so her logic that our children did not need to go really hit home!

If places are hard to come by, parents should have had the foresight to put her kids on a waiting list well in advance. Lots of parents do that for English language schools that are in demand as well. Or if they feel so utterly deprived of having a gaelscoil place for their kids, they should go about setting up an additional gaelscoil themselves and not bitch against people who have a bit of vision and foresight for their own children's future. Seriously, if this person feels so passionately about the lack of gaelscoil places for kids, she should be out setting one up herself. That's how most gaelscoileanna came about; from dedicated parents who were determined to create the opportunity for their kids.

The idea that someone should guilt-trip you over your desire to have the best eduational opportunity for your children, just because other parents aren't organised/bothered enough and have probably contributed nothing to the setting up of said Gaelscoil, is utterly ridiculous and selfish of them.

flogen

Yes, I'd hope to.

My partner of 7 years is on her way to being fluent and I hope to get there too some day; hopefully by the time we have a kid we'll both be speaking Irish as our first language and will raise the child as such.

I just wish Mary Hanafin cops onto herself and ditches this moronic assault on Gaelscoileanna, which I think is based on ignorant complaints and the fears of English speaking schools.

Either that or she should produce the evidence she cited which she claims shows a poorer quality of English amongst children in Gaelscoileanna.

gaeilgegrinds wrote:

I feel guilty saying yes. A friend of mine gave me a right hiding recently when I said I had my bub down to go to one cos she claimed it was selfish as I speak Irish 90% of the time anyway & was therefore taking up a valued place another child could have...

As Muinteor pointed out, that's a stupid argument - tell your friend to cop onto herself and don't dare feel guilty because you want your child to be taught in Irish. If the world worked on that logic I wouldn't have gone to an English school because my mother spoke English 100% of the time!
As far as I'm aware most Gaelscoileanna urge parents to learn and speak Irish at home anyway, you're just one step ahead!

gaeilgegrinds

I know loads of teachers in Gaelscoileanna & none are prepared to teach through English, even for the short time suggested. So that's not going to change! There's enough English out there for children without being taught it. This has only come about as a result of fears from other schools, their problem not ours!

randomname2005

I hopefully will, but then I will have to work on my Irish before then!

Múinteoir

randomname2005 wrote:

I hopefully will, but then I will have to work on my Irish before then!

It's an advantage, but not a prerequisite. Plenty of people with no Irish send their kids to a gaelscoil.

dame

We'll be sending our daughter to the local Gaelscoil next year. I do hope she'll be fluent in it but I'll be speaking to her in Irish at home too hoping she'll pick up the blas and not just speak with the book-learned "Dublin-Irish" I hear a lot of the kids speaking. It's not their fault. Some of the teachers have fairly simple Irish and no blas at all. Again, it's not their fault, it's the teacher-training colleges fault.

Then again, maybe she'll be able to spell perfectly as gaeilge whereas I have to think about every second word as I write it even though I'm fluent.

gaeilgegrinds

Dame your daughter will be really lucky. That's what my baby will have, book Irish at school & the blas at home. My partner speaks French & Italian, I speak Irish & English. He/she will go to a Gaelscoil. I can't see any disadvantages to this upbringing & have decided any begrudgers msut only be jealous. We'll do our best.

dame

gaeilgegrinds wrote:

Dame your daughter will be really lucky. That's what my baby will have, book Irish at school & the blas at home. My partner speaks French & Italian, I speak Irish & English. He/she will go to a Gaelscoil. I can't see any disadvantages to this upbringing & have decided any begrudgers msut only be jealous. We'll do our best.

Thank you! You're child will be a real linguist! I have cousins brought up by Irish & English parents (speaking English), French speaking child-minder as smallies, primary school through French (learning Flemish) and then international secondary learning through English, French & German. Guess what? They're basically fluent in all those languages now - what a fantastic skill to have!

gaeilgegrinds

Here's hoping!

Múinteoir

gaeilgegrinds wrote:

Dame your daughter will be really lucky. That's what my baby will have, book Irish at school & the blas at home. My partner speaks French & Italian, I speak Irish & English. He/she will go to a Gaelscoil. I can't see any disadvantages to this upbringing & have decided any begrudgers msut only be jealous. We'll do our best.

More than likely. Bíodh an diabhal acu! (To hell with them!)

gaeilgegrinds

Tá an ceart agat, is cuma liom i ndáiríre, tá suim agam agus mar sin de tá mé ag iarraidh an tús is fearr (i mo thuairim) a thabhairt do mo leanbh!

Harrybelafonte

I'm going to be devils advocate and burst the love bubble here.

My experience of children who have attended Gaelscoileanna is that many (not the majority) have difficulties with both languages and fall behind as a result. Secondly, the Irish I have heard spoken by many Gaelscoil students is a bastard mixture of English and Irish, almost 50/50, which makes it sort of pointless. Though, I believe the use of English in Irish is inevitable as it develops I'm not sure this is the best way forward.

Might I suggest that parents out there who wish their children to speak Irish go out and learn it for themselves as well, it's not total immersion if the home isn't included and it'll probably help them as well as add a bit more quality time to family life. ahhhhh