Junior Cycle "reform": waffle and box-ticking exercises everywhere.

gaiscioch

I've just spent two hours on a Sunday night changing and proofreading each of my student's OAL (Other Areas of Learning) from the 1st person, in which they were initially told to write them, to the third person because somebody read something else and changed the initial instruction. The majority of them also had to be rewritten to correctly articulate which one of the 'Key Skills' they fulfilled in each of their achievements. So, now all the boxes are ticked and the students will get something or other for achieving key skills they never knew about. "Success". What an inspired system. This is not a once off - this is the new culture of, eh, "learning" that permeates this "reform".

This, and so many other aspects of this so-called Junior Cycle reform, reminds me of the JCSP about 10 years ago where the teacher, under pressure to actually teach, would choose to teach rather than waste classes filling in the waffle "statements" and so on. It was a much smarter use of time to get students to write in set sentences in the 'Statements of Learning' and so on in as few class periods as possible. In fact, the parallel between the current "reforms" and the JCSP is painfully obvious and I'm surprised nobody else seems to be pointing it out. It's an unadulterated box-ticking exercise, in its truest sense. There is zero learning going on. Zero.

This dumbing down of learning is not merely going to end in tears; it's unequivocally starting in tears. Every time I think of the official silence on the faults of this "reform" that Danish story, The Emperor's New Clothes, recurrently springs to mind. Back in the 1960s the catchcry of John Healy's famous book on the death of a rural town, 'No one shouted stop!' could be just as easily applied here. Far too many silly, vacuous waffle "awards", not to mention the relentlessly expanding list of extracurricular activities interfering with our educating, and not enough learning, inspiring and enlightenment going on in our classrooms. As a teacher I feel that as a spiritual loss. God help the bright kids who are screaming for a challenge. They really are being sold a pup here and it's a pity we don't have any national parents' council worthy of the name to speak up for these kids.

"The Emperor's New Clothes" (Danish: Kejserens nye klæder) is a short tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, about two weavers who promise an emperor a new suit of clothes that they say is invisible to those who are unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent – while in reality, they make no clothes at all, making everyone believe the clothes are invisible to them. When the emperor parades before his subjects in his new "clothes", no one dares to say that they do not see any suit of clothes on him for fear that they will be seen as stupid. Finally a child cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!"

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What examples of waffle and blatant box-ticking exercises have you had to endure today? Let's start recording them in their inglorious superficiality and hope that somebody picks up on this thread and the backside-covering, educationally pointless rubbish that is being sold as "educational reform".

evolving_doors

gaiscioch wrote: »

In fact, the parallel between the current "reforms" and the JCSP is painfully obvious and I'm surprised nobody else seems to be pointing it out.

Twas pointed out about 3 years ago.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=95594639&postcount=264

Interestingly one of the main issues was that the JCSP isn't properly funded. So it's only logical they would try to switch from the JC to the JCSP... so they wouldn't have to fund it properly

Icsics

I don't know any Junior Cycle student interested in this Profile of Achievement...they got their JC last Sept as far as they're concerned & they're right!

maynooth_rules

This dumbing down of learning is not merely going to end in tears; it's unequivocally starting in tears.

Couldnt agree with this more. If only parents, on the whole, had taken more of an interest in just what was happening to JC. We are stuck with this plundering, dumbed down mess now, and it will soon fester in LC. But no worries, we will look forward to the 'reform' there too :rolleyes:

spurious

Anyone who thinks the JC 'Reform' had anything to do with improving education needs their head read, or they possibly already work for the Department.

Cost-cutting exercise, pure and simple. Watch the LCA get targetted soon. When the bean counters look at the cost per candidate, because each task has a face to face interview as part of the assessment, it is very expensive, so goodbye to the LCA, one of the few real innovations recently. I would put money on it, if I had money.

Alqua

gaiscioch wrote: »

Far too many silly, vacuous waffle "awards", not to mention the relentlessly expanding list of extracurricular activities interfering with our educating, and not enough learning, inspiring and enlightenment going on in our classrooms.

Watch this space - another impact of the "reform" hurtling down the tracks - the decimation of extracurricular, thanks to the school year filling up with CBAs and SLARs.

maynooth_rules

Alqua wrote: »

Watch this space - another impact of the "reform" hurtling down the tracks - the decimation of extracurricular, thanks to the school year filling up with CBAs and SLARs.

They don't need extra curricular, they have 400 hours of wellbeing.

joebloggs32

Now that each school can independently set dates for CBA's how are teachers who work on their own in small schools going to be able attend SLARS!

Cheminho

joebloggs32 wrote: »

Now that each school can independently set dates for CBA's how are teachers who work on their own in small schools going to be able attend SLARS!

As far as I'm aware you're supposed to meet with teachers of the same subject from other schools.

joebloggs32

Cheminho wrote: »

As far as I'm aware you're supposed to meet with teachers of the same subject from other schools.

Yes that is correct, but what if the school you link with has set different dates for their CBA than your school. It may not be possible to follow the same dates for different schools now. The SLAR in the bigger school may be already over.

mtoutlemonde

Cheminho wrote: »

As far as I'm aware you're supposed to meet with teachers of the same subject from other schools.

Had JCT day - it's one month after CBA.

man_no_plan

To be fair to JCSP it was supposed to support a cohort of pupils who weren't getting much out of school. By showing they were making progress along the pathway to the JC the idea was that they didn't need to wait three years for the gratification of results day that they might not value anyway. It is very successful in some schools and I think dismissing it in this was is unfair.

I think there is a way to go before the JC settles down and inevitably teachers will continue to teach decent content in a proper way just because the exam is changed it doesn't mean the students can't still be asked to learn stuff over the course of three years. There are positives in the JC, such as oral presentations etc., most teachers were at the for years, a tweak rather than an overhaul probably would have done the job.

That being said, the implementation has been very poorly thought out and even those who would have thought that a shake up of sorts was due are beginning to wonder if it will work.

happywithlife

joebloggs32 wrote: »

Cheminho wrote: »

As far as I'm aware you're supposed to meet with teachers of the same subject from other schools.

Yes that is correct, but what if the school you link with has set different dates for their CBA than your school. It may not be possible to follow the same dates for different schools now. The SLAR in the bigger school may be already over.

I'm in a single teacher dept. at my last jct cluster day I teamed up with other teachers who are also flying solo & we decided we'd do the slar between us. we then sat & provisionally agreed a timeframe for the cba & subsequent slar meeting. we are touching base early in the school yr next yr to confirm dates.
facilitator was very positive to this approach

joebloggs32

happywithlife wrote: »

I'm in a single teacher dept. at my last jct cluster day I teamed up with other teachers who are also flying solo & we decided we'd do the slar between us. we then sat & provisionally agreed a timeframe for the cba & subsequent slar meeting. we are touching base early in the school yr next yr to confirm dates.
facilitator was very positive to this approach

That's grand in theory, but it may not be that simple to implement if school management's dictate when you can/can't hold a CBA. For example school A may have a musical timed for February, so the principal says no CBAs until that's over, while school B may have 2nd year school tour planned for March and that rules out any CBAs then.
The devil is in the detail.

Cheminho

Realistically once you follow the features of quality as explained during the cluster day you can't go wrong when marking. The CBA's themselves aren't worth anything, it's only the assessment task after CBA 2 which is worth 10% (I think the descriptors for the CBA's are part of the JCPA).

I have spoken to teachers at workshops / CPD's who definitely are not marking their CBA's right at all,. The person marked most above expectations and had a few exceptionals for students who were apparently very poor but had tried their best. I'm all for building confidence in students and trying to boost their morale / motivate students where possible but the features of quality are there for a reason, so stick to them when marking. As far as I can remember we were told at the cluster day that 80% of students should be in line with expectations.

If there are clashes with schools around you and timetabling in a SLAR isn't possible, I'm sure you could just stand by your marking as you're a competent, qualified professional with more than enough training.

Best of luck with it.

Mardy Bum

Cheminho wrote: »

I have spoken to teachers at workshops / CPD's who definitely are not marking their CBA's right at all,. The person marked most above expectations and had a few exceptionals for students who were apparently very poor but had tried their best. I'm all for building confidence in students and trying to boost their morale / motivate students where possible but the features of quality are there for a reason, so stick to them when marking. As far as I can remember we were told at the cluster day that 80% of students should be in line with expectations.
it.

It is embarrassingly hard to convey this to teachers. Most schools shouldn't have more than 5 exceptional students. About 3 students in any subject will get a distinction in June yet some schools hand them out in the CBA like candy.

evolving_doors

Mardy Bum wrote: »

It is embarrassingly hard to convey this to teachers. Most schools shouldn't have more than 5 exceptional students. About 3 students in any subject will get a distinction in June yet some schools hand them out in the CBA like candy.

Try telling that to some parents!
We ran a program for exceptional students before and immediately got complaints that their dear son wasn't included as they were 'clearly' exceptional.

Icsics

evolving_doors wrote: »

Try telling that to some parents!
We ran a program for exceptional students before and immediately got complaints that their dear son wasn't included as they were 'clearly' exceptional.

And management. We were actively discouraged from awarding 'yet to meet exp' to the extent that teachers were told to give the students another chance & re do CBAs

amacca

Icsics wrote: »

And management. We were actively discouraged from awarding 'yet to meet exp' to the extent that teachers were told to give the students another chance & re do CBAs

ffs...and so it begins...

maynooth_rules

Tbf anyone could see this coming with the CBAs. They are a noncense and the grading of them even more so.

Cheminho

What's the point in marking a CBA when management isn't going to accept the grade? I'm in a DEIS school and had to give 6 of them yet to meet because they didn't care about it (I won't use they're exact words).

Also my thoughts on CBA 1 for science in particular is that it's an absolute joke to expect a class of 24 2nd year mixed ability students to come up with their own experiment, design it, carry it out efficiently and then write up a detailed report on it. You would have 12 completely different experiments going on all at the same time in the room. Maybe my view is bised because I'm in a DEIS school and have extremely mixed ability classes.

joebloggs32

The expression "Couldn't Be Arsed" is the most apt description I've heard of them!

amacca

Cheminho wrote: »

What's the point in marking a CBA when management isn't going to accept the grade? I'm in a DEIS school and had to give 6 of them yet to meet because they didn't care about it (I won't use they're exact words).

Also my thoughts on CBA 1 for science in particular is that it's an absolute joke to expect a class of 24 2nd year mixed ability students to come up with their own experiment, design it, carry it out efficiently and then write up a detailed report on it. You would have 12 completely different experiments going on all at the same time in the room. Maybe my view is bised because I'm in a DEIS school and have extremely mixed ability classes.

No thats fairly sensible/practical/pragmatic...it just doesn't fit with the current ideology so it will be ignored/brushed aside.

Tally ho and full steam ahead ....next stop falling educational standards followed by teachers being blamed in the media....could take years to get there but that imo is where the train is ultimately headed.

happywithlife

Icsics wrote: »

evolving_doors wrote: »

Try telling that to some parents!
We ran a program for exceptional students before and immediately got complaints that their dear son wasn't included as they were 'clearly' exceptional.

And management. We were actively discouraged from awarding 'yet to meet exp' to the extent that teachers were told to give the students another chance & re do CBAs

and to think RQ's initial plan was completly school assessed. Any fool could tell this would have - and obviously is- happening

evolving_doors

joebloggs32 wrote: »

The expression "Couldn't Be Arsed" is the most apt description I've heard of them!

Is that one of the new descriptors?

Icsics

evolving_doors wrote: »

Is that one of the new descriptors?

No that would be far too specific...vague & meaningless is the way to go!!!

evolving_doors

Icsics wrote: »

No that would be far too specific...vague & meaningless is the way to go!!!

"vague & meaningless"

Great descriptor:pac:

TheValeyard

Oh dear God what a waste of a day. Seriously and utterly pointless. Glad I got some mocks corrected sitting at the back of the room. Even the DP thought it was a load of sh1te.

Noveight

If these Junior Cert reforms are indicative of what's coming down the line for the LC then we're headed for absolute carnage.

Icsics

Murray TheDemonic TalkingSkull wrote: »

Oh dear God what a waste of a day. Seriously and utterly pointless. Glad I got some mocks corrected sitting at the back of the room. Even the DP thought it was a load of sh1te.

Was this the 'wellbeing' day...That's the worst of the lot & as we all know, that's saying something..!!

joebloggs32

Icsics wrote: »

Was this the 'wellbeing' day...That's the worst of the lot & as we all know, that's saying something..!!

I'd like to see the feedback comments they get after these days

Icsics

joebloggs32 wrote: »

I'd like to see the feedback comments they get after these days

Oh I bet the feedback is very 'positive'...the questions are designed only for positive responses & are very narrow in focus, no room to expand.

amacca

Icsics wrote: »

Oh I bet the feedback is very 'positive'...the questions are designed only for positive responses & are very narrow in focus, no room to expand.

Which sort of defeats the purpose of asking for feedback...all optics when really the last thing they want is real feedback in case they would have to engage with it.

Sort of goes against the supposed ethos of the new JC specification as well....very hypocritical.

maynooth_rules

Noveight wrote: »

If these Junior Cert reforms are indicative of what's coming down the line for the LC then we're headed for absolute carnage.

Its exactly what is coming down the line. Our education system is being dragged through the ditch for no gain. The simple solution IMO was to have a project/short exam in 2nd and 5th year, externally graded. This was the only change that was really needed to JC and LC (and tbf many LC subjects have elements like that now). Instead we have taken an utter sledge hammer to the JC, and it is failing at the moment, and the same will be done to the LC. Teachers concerns are not in anyway being listened to. You are almost looked at funny if you think there actually is not much wrong with the LC. I am really worried about the future of the education in the country. In service after in service selling us the merits of the bloody CBA, but dare ask a question about the actually exam in 3rd year (ie what actually matters) and you are fobbed off and told to wait to a sample paper that can only be seen a few months before the first group of students sit their new JC exam. Lunacy

Icsics

maynooth_rules wrote: »

Its exactly what is coming down the line. Our education system is being dragged through the ditch for no gain. The simple solution IMO was to have a project/short exam in 2nd and 5th year, externally graded. This was the only change that was really needed to JC and LC (and tbf many LC subjects have elements like that now). Instead we have taken an utter sledge hammer to the JC, and it is failing at the moment, and the same will be done to the LC. Teachers concerns are not in anyway being listened to. You are almost looked at funny if you think there actually is not much wrong with the LC. I am really worried about the future of the education in the country. In service after in service selling us the merits of the bloody CBA, but dare ask a question about the actually exam in 3rd year (ie what actually matters) and you are fobbed off and told to wait to a sample paper that can only be seen a few months before the first group of students sit their new JC exam. Lunacy

Very true Maynooth. I also think there are far too many quangos & vested interest groups in education. NAPD, JMB, NCCA & the rest will spin whatever suits their members. According the the NAPD 'research' 76 % of students favour 'continuous assessment' & this is what is presented to the public. The new JC has all the signs of a programme born out of spin & the LC will go the same route

SligoBrewer

Icsics wrote: »

According the the NAPD 'research' 76 % of students favour 'continuous assessment' & this is what is presented to the public.

'Cause teachers or parents will do it for the students.

Icsics

SligoBrewer wrote: »

'Cause teachers or parents will do it for the students.

Yes also they haven't a clue what it involves but see continuous assessment as the easy option. And this makes headline news!

amacca

Icsics wrote: »

Yes also they haven't a clue what it involves but see continuous assessment as the easy option. And this makes headline news!

As far as I can see its more like 76% of students who favour making as little effort as possible.....or don't know what making an effort actually involves.

Mardy Bum

Icsics wrote: »

Very true Maynooth. I also think there are far too many quangos & vested interest groups in education. NAPD, JMB, NCCA & the rest will spin whatever suits their members. According the the NAPD 'research' 76 % of students favour 'continuous assessment' & this is what is presented to the public. The new JC has all the signs of a programme born out of spin & the LC will go the same route

NAPD research is a glorified CSPE investigation.

spurious

I don't think anyone has listened to the NCCA in years, which is a pity, as whatever else they are, they are (or certainly were) educationally focussed.

My last involvement with them was about 7 years ago now, when we finished up on quite an extensive couple of years work, 'rebalancing' and updating some JC syllabi - and a bloody good job we did of it I think, only to have it all thrown in the bin for the current cost-saving measures.

Jane98

I was supervising students last week sitting their Junior Cycle Business Studies pre and couldnt help but feel after reading the exam that it had been completely dumbed down from the old Junior Cert course. Not only were the very weak but also the very best students finished after 1 hour.

Icsics

Jane98 wrote: »

I was supervising students last week sitting their Junior Cycle Business Studies pre and couldnt help but feel after reading the exam that it had been completely dumbed down from the old Junior Cert course. Not only were the very weak but also the very best students finished after 1 hour.

The notion of 'common' level papers is not going to work, too easy for the good student & too difficult for the less able. But look at all the money it's saving....

maynooth_rules

Jane98 wrote: »

I was supervising students last week sitting their Junior Cycle Business Studies pre and couldnt help but feel after reading the exam that it had been completely dumbed down from the old Junior Cert course. Not only were the very weak but also the very best students finished after 1 hour.

You will not get 5% of teachers who are in support of common level papers. The Jct are willfully ignoring our feedback on this regard. Once LC 'reform' enters, the whole secondary course will have been completly dumbed down, and for what?

anyaelacru

Brilliant, eloquent,articulate comment, thankyou for this

bobbyss

Mardy Bum wrote:

NAPD research is a glorified CSPE investigation.

Ah yes.
A good old CSPE investigation. Nothing like an opportunity to allow students to show off all the skills they have honed over the years.