Exempt Irish students doing other languages

topper75

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0413/exams.html

Figures for the last three years show that more than one in two students who have been granted exemption from learning Irish for the Leaving Certificate have sat other European language exams, such as French, German, Spanish.
In the 2008-2009 school year, 2,119 were granted an exemption due to learning disabilities. Of those students, 1,210 studied another European language.
In the 2007-2008 school year, 1,772 students got an exemption due to learning disabilities. Of those, 1,210 studied another European language.
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Provisional figures for 2009-2010 show that 2,297 students will not sit the Irish exam due to an exemption due to learning disabilities, but 1,326 of those will sit an exam in another European language.
Provisional figures show that 39 schools in the State have ten or more pupils with exemptions due to learning disabilities.
The figures were obtained from the Department of Education under the Freedom of Information Act.
To obtain an exemption, students must be assessed by Department of Education psychologists or private psychologists paid for by parents to prove they have a learning disability.
The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals claims parents and students may be using this as a tool to avoid Irish in the Leaving Certificate, which is seen by many as a difficult subject.

Clearly a loophole to be closed there.

I wasn't aware myself that people got exemptions on the basis of learning ability.

I thought most exemptions were for people who received primary education, or a great part thereof, in another state. Even so, there should be a 'Gaeilge 101' available to them at second level, that includes a JC and LC exam as appropriate (ideally with focus on speaking and not written!:)).

conor.hogan.2

close the loophole - but then it would eventually blow up in our faces.

earwax_man

Why not just ban English...

It's been done before with other languages, why not here? :rolleyes:

Krusader

We need a totalitarian dictatorship for that to work, wouldn't work in a free country - freedom of speech and all that

topper75

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

close the loophole - but then it would eventually blow up in our faces.

I don't get you here with 'blow up in our faces'. Can you elaborate?

Crosáidí wrote: »

We need a totalitarian dictatorship for that to work, wouldn't work in a free country - freedom of speech and all that

You need a dictatorship to add another basic level Gaeilge into the secondary curriculum for beginners?
I don't get your ref to free speech. Who is stopping anyone saying what they want to say with this?
A democratically elected government in a sovereign state has a mandate to set the curriculum in its eduction system, does it not?

digme

topper75 wrote: »

I don't get you here with 'blow up in our faces'. Can you elaborate?



You need a dictatorship to add another basic level Gaeilge into the secondary curriculum for beginners?
I don't get your ref to free speech. Who is stopping anyone saying what they want to say with this?
A democratically elected government in a sovereign state has a mandate to set the curriculum in its eduction system, does it not?

We are a corporatocracy. :cool:

Krusader

topper75 wrote: »

You need a dictatorship to add another basic level Gaeilge into the secondary curriculum for beginners?
I don't get your ref to free speech. Who is stopping anyone saying what they want to say with this?
A democratically elected government in a sovereign state has a mandate to set the curriculum in its eduction system, does it not?

I thought , he meant ban it totally from Irish life

topper75

Crosáidí wrote: »

I thought , he meant ban it totally from Irish life

Oh sorry, you were responding to Earwax man's post. Forget my question then!

All I am proposing is a 'teenagified' version of the primary curriculum, so that people who would normally be just thrown an exemption can instead leave second level educ with some Irish language ability/appreciation as opposed to none.

Micilin Muc

Joe Duffy is "discussing" it now.

Tá Joe Duffy "á phlé" anois.

frisbee!

i think the reason for this is tho is that due to learning disabilities or various other reasons they get an exemption from studying irish. however for most college courses 6 subjects are required so if they dropped the european languaue( that most schools require you to study) then they would be putting themselves at a disadvantage

kiffer

... If irish was handled better then exemptions would not be needed ...
How can someone learn French or German but not Irish?
Look at the exams and see if there is a difference.

Is there? I can't remember...
But even in pass irish I remember covering poems and the sort stuff that just wasn't on the German leaving cert...

I could be wrong... but I always felt that Irish was covered as if we secretly spoke it but didn't want to admit it.

An gal gréine

If only they would listen, kiffer, the national attitude to learning it would be transformed. As you mentioned, the poetry can be put on hold and concentration put on the spoken. Appreciation would follow and poetry could then find it's place.

conor.hogan.2

It would blow up because the thousands not showing up - surprisingly enough - don't want to do the language.

Me personally I learned neither French nor Irish well in secondary or primary - did complete a joint honors in irish as my degree tho (but would fail if it was based on grammar, translation, spoken it was pure hard work not much from school helped me it mostly had to be unlearned).

Fuinseog

topper75 wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0413/exams.html




Clearly a loophole to be closed there.

I wasn't aware myself that people got exemptions on the basis of learning ability.

I thought most exemptions were for people who received primary education, or a great part thereof, in another state. Even so, there should be a 'Gaeilge 101' available to them at second level, that includes a JC and LC exam as appropriate (ideally with focus on speaking and not written!:)).

its a farce that makes a mockery of learning Irish.
it depends very much on the school or how much influence the parents have. they just have to slip a physchologist a few bob and their child is saved from what appears to be the national trauma.
it is not unusual for a teenager to be exempt from Irish but to do French.

TequilaMockingBird

Fuinseog wrote: »

...how much influence the parents have. they just have to slip a physchologist a few bob..

Nonsense.

Fuinseog

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

Nonsense.

why do you believe that this is nonsense? I have seen this in operation.

LimeFruitGum

Sure, even if someone was completely ****e at Irish, there's always foundation level and the majority of students do Pass anyway.