What is going on in our schools?

Oldtrope · 18-10-2016 07:10PM #1

I live in a very rural part of Ireland as many of you know, the village I live in can have no more than 500 homes in the surrounding area.

This morning I took my Granddaughter to school, its her first year and she is junior Infants. What I witnessed was shocking and upsetting.

The classroom was nicely laid out but everywhere I looked foreign words were displayed all over the walls with pictures of flags and their name in their language. For Ireland the words were wrote in English, no Gaelige anywhere.

I enjoy talking to some of the other parents as I have done in the past when I took one of my grandsons to the school in the past, today was much different. Nearly every mother I spoke too were foreign, I encountered a lot of Eastern Europeans, a few Brazilians, and some English. If I had to put a number on it I would say the majority of the classroom had foreign children with only a small percentage of Irish children.

I waited to speak to the teacher, I wanted to know why Ireland was represented in English and not Gaelige. When she arrived she was welcoming and appeared almost happy someone had finally asked her the question. She told me that because the majority of the classroom could speak very little English they had to use their own languages to welcome them and make them feel at home, English was the 2nd language that all children must learn and so even Irish has to be represented in English. They do still teach Irish as part of the curriculum, but it is only taught at the bare minimum acceptance level as it was no use to the classroom because the majority of the children had been exempted by the school governors and the department of Education.

I asked her why were there so many non Irish children, she replied to me that if I thought this was bad then I should look at the bigger towns and Cities where the problem was far worse.

This is madness, we are losing our cultural heritage and now our children are minorities in their own schools and suffering because of it.

corner of hells · 18-10-2016 07:13PM

Popcorn, where's the fcukin' popcorn , this is gonna be a good one.

Mr. Incognito · 18-10-2016 07:14PM

"Our children"?

My son goes to school with children of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds.

I am very happy that he gets to experience this and will not grow up bigoted where children are divided into "our children" and "their children".

As for Irish being a second class language- It's been like that since the foundation of the school system because they dont use immersion but ram grammar down childrens throats May with so many of "them" they might bring some fresh ideas to teaching it.

Permabear · 18-10-2016 07:14PM

This post has been deleted.

nullzero · 18-10-2016 07:16PM

That's my third monocle this week, I must simply stop being so horrified.

cnoc · 18-10-2016 07:18PM

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

"Our children"?

My son goes to school with children of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds.

I am very happy that he gets to experience this and will not grow up bigoted where children are divided into "our children" and "their children".

As for Irish being a second class language- It's been like that since the foundation of the school system because they dont use immersion but ram grammer down childrens throats

Grammar and spelling is very important.

18-10-2016 07:19PM

Oldtrope wrote: »

I asked her why were there so many non Irish children, she replied to me that if I thought this was bad then I should look at the bigger towns and Cities where the problem was far worse.

This is madness, we are losing our cultural heritage and now our children are minorities in their own schools and suffering because of it.

I bet you're not racist OP

darlett · 18-10-2016 07:19PM

What you've described is not the fault of schools. What are they to do if those are truly the ratio of Irish to non-Irish students?

Can you clarify if you were in the school classroom wandering around without the teachers knowledge? That in itself seems fairly unorthodox.

Day Lewin · 18-10-2016 07:19PM

If they are now "minorities" then the schools aren't their schools.

But it seem to me that children of foreign nationals, born or reared here, ARE "our children" and 'twas ever so.

We've absorbed Norman children, before that Viking children, more recently Huguenot children, English and Scots -- the movement of peoples is as natural as the wind and tides around the globe and the Irish have always done, it, too.

Irish children turned up in American, Canadian, British and Australian schools: and got an education, and settled in...even now, all over the EU, in assorted languages.

The door is open, as it should be.

cml387 · 18-10-2016 07:19PM

Oldtrope wrote: »

I live in a very rural part of Ireland as many of you know,

Don't know you from Adam.

mloc123 · 18-10-2016 07:20PM

Shocking and upsetting? Really?

Edit: single post user... Almost like they registered to troll.

18-10-2016 07:21PM

Clearly, I'm a bit slow this evening, actually answering this!!
Obviously not true at all

SuperGrover · 18-10-2016 07:22PM

Cultural heritage? Like learning Báidín Fheilimí under threat of a beating from a bitter old nun? That type of thing? Good riddance. May it burn to the ground.

My kids go to a school with others from various backgrounds, where the emphasis is on education in a happy and supportive atmosphere.

They'll never know what a miserable schooling a lot of us had and that's fine by me.

milltown · 18-10-2016 07:22PM

Oldtrope wrote: »

I live in a very rural part of Ireland as many of you know.

Post count = 1

byhookorbycrook · 18-10-2016 07:22PM

Deleted- made a mess of quoting.

gosplan · 18-10-2016 07:23PM

Oldtrope wrote: »

I live in a very rural part of Ireland as many of you know, the village I live in can have no more than 500 homes in the surrounding area.

This morning I took my Granddaughter to school, its her first year and she is junior Infants. What I witnessed was shocking and upsetting.

The classroom was nicely laid out but everywhere I looked foreign words were displayed all over the walls with pictures of flags and their name in their language. For Ireland the words were wrote in English, no Gaelige anywhere.

I enjoy talking to some of the other parents as I have done in the past when I took one of my grandsons to the school in the past, today was much different. Nearly every mother I spoke too were foreign, I encountered a lot of Eastern Europeans, a few Brazilians, and some English. If I had to put a number on it I would say the majority of the classroom had foreign children with only a small percentage of Irish children.

I waited to speak to the teacher, I wanted to know why Ireland was represented in English and not Gaelige. When she arrived she was welcoming and appeared almost happy someone had finally asked her the question. She told me that because the majority of the classroom could speak very little English they had to use their own languages to welcome them and make them feel at home, English was the 2nd language that all children must learn and so even Irish has to be represented in English. They do still teach Irish as part of the curriculum, but it is only taught at the bare minimum acceptance level as it was no use to the classroom because the majority of the children had been exempted by the school governors and the department of Education.

I asked her why were there so many non Irish children, she replied to me that if I thought this was bad then I should look at the bigger towns and Cities where the problem was far worse.

This is madness, we are losing our cultural heritage and now our children are minorities in their own schools and suffering because of it.

Talking out your hoop.

No child in junior infants or anywhere before 5th class are exempt from studying Irish.

hatrickpatrick · 18-10-2016 07:23PM

Oldtrope wrote: »

This is madness, we are losing our cultural heritage and now our children are minorities in their own schools and suffering because of it.

It takes a strange mind indeed to describe being spared the death rattle of the Irish language curriculum as "suffering".

PixelTrawler · 18-10-2016 07:24PM

milltown wrote: »

Post count = 1

Looks like OP thought they were logged into their other account

runawaybishop · 18-10-2016 07:25PM

gosplan wrote: »

Talking out your hoop.

No child in junior infants or anywhere before 5th class are exempt from studying Irish.

They have one post. Clear troll thread.

gosplan · 18-10-2016 07:26PM

runawaybishop wrote: »

They have one post. Clear troll thread.

The could at least work on the facts though

Surely with our education system, we're getting a higher standard of troll

Harvey Normal · 18-10-2016 07:26PM

katemarch wrote: »

If they are now "minorities" then the schools aren't their schools.

But it seem to me that children of foreign nationals, born or reared here, ARE "our children" and 'twas ever so.

We've absorbed Norman children, before that Viking children, more recently Huguenot children, English and Scots -- the movement of peoples is as natural as the wind and tides around the globe and the Irish have always done, it, too.

Irish children turned up in American, Canadian, British and Australian schools: and got an education, and settled in...even now, all over the EU, in assorted languages.

The door is open, as it should be.

the Normans, Vikings and most English were,you know, invaders. Arguably the English absorbed us.

Harvey Normal · 18-10-2016 07:27PM

milltown wrote: »

Post count = 1

She had a different name a few minutes ago.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 18-10-2016 07:29PM

Oldtrope wrote: »

I live in a very rural part of Ireland as many of you know, the village I live in can have no more than 500 homes in the surrounding area.

This morning I took my Granddaughter to school, its her first year and she is junior Infants. What I witnessed was shocking and upsetting.

The classroom was nicely laid out but everywhere I looked foreign words were displayed all over the walls with pictures of flags and their name in their language. For Ireland the words were wrote in English, no Gaelige anywhere.

I enjoy talking to some of the other parents as I have done in the past when I took one of my grandsons to the school in the past, today was much different. Nearly every mother I spoke too were foreign, I encountered a lot of Eastern Europeans, a few Brazilians, and some English. If I had to put a number on it I would say the majority of the classroom had foreign children with only a small percentage of Irish children.

I waited to speak to the teacher, I wanted to know why Ireland was represented in English and not Gaelige. When she arrived she was welcoming and appeared almost happy someone had finally asked her the question. She told me that because the majority of the classroom could speak very little English they had to use their own languages to welcome them and make them feel at home, English was the 2nd language that all children must learn and so even Irish has to be represented in English. They do still teach Irish as part of the curriculum, but it is only taught at the bare minimum acceptance level as it was no use to the classroom because the majority of the children had been exempted by the school governors and the department of Education.

I asked her why were there so many non Irish children, she replied to me that if I thought this was bad then I should look at the bigger towns and Cities where the problem was far worse.

This is madness, we are losing our cultural heritage and now our children are minorities in their own schools and suffering because of it.

Calling bullsht on this one: where are we talkign about that has 500 houses, with a majority of kids not speaking English or Irish?

byhookorbycrook · 18-10-2016 07:31PM

This is madness, we are losing our cultural heritage and now our children are minorities in their own schools and suffering because of it.
I work in a Gaelscoil where we have several different nationalities, our school is enriched not impoverished by this.

I think you need to define what you mean as "cultural heritage" - the Irish language is constantly evolving as all living languages do. Our pupils play handball, hurling, camogie, Gaelic football but also tag rugby and soccer. This reflects the world that they live in. Every child from senior infants up learns traditional music on a variety of instruments- the sky hasn't fallen in since one child has used a keyboard.

I think you must hanker for the Dev days.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 18-10-2016 07:33PM

All children are entitled to an education. It's only right a child is made feel welcome and like they belong. Being forigen isn't a contagious disease and if parents are worried about their child learning about their natural heritage then they should put the effort in to teach them at home, instead of leaving it to a stranger.

If God forbid the child was in an accident would you refuse to let a doctor from abroad save her life on the basis he didn't understand the Irish heritage?

I'm certainly not the most tolerant of people but even im shocked at this.

dav3 · 18-10-2016 07:33PM

Won't somebody please think of the imaginary children.

Wilberto · 18-10-2016 07:36PM

SuperGrover wrote: »

Cultural heritage? Like learning Báidín Fheilimí under threat of a beating from a bitter old nun? That type of thing? Good riddance. May it burn to the ground.

Yes, because that's entirely the fault of the language. No blame can be placed on the instigator at all. :rolleyes:

SuperGrover wrote: »

They'll never know what a miserable schooling a lot of us had and that's fine by me.

That could be down to the fact that corporal punishment was banned in 1982 however, and made a criminal offence in 1996, but go on, continue to infer that your "miserable schooling" experience is due to learning a language. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

18-10-2016 07:36PM

Oldtrope wrote: »

..no Gaelige anywhere...I wanted to know why Ireland was represented in English and not Gaelige...

What's Gaelige, is it not Gaeilge?

BabyE · 18-10-2016 07:37PM

We do need to keep our heritage in the wake of an increasingly global world. The richness of our worldwide future culture depends on it.

endacl · 18-10-2016 07:38PM

Oldtrope wrote: »

I live in a very rural part of Ireland as many of you know, the village I live in can have no more than 500 homes in the surrounding area.

How would many of us know that, unless we were familiar with you and your posting history. As of that post, your posting history was that post. Could it be that you're a rereg? Who managed to forget, before making post 1 as a rereg, that they had reregged? Surely nobody could be that..... No.... Wait....

... I can think of one or two all right...

Harvey Normal · 18-10-2016 07:40PM

BabyE wrote: »

We do need to keep our heritage in the wake of an increasingly global world. The richness of our worldwide future culture depends on it.

As the gaelgoir teacher showed we are doing that. Ethnicity != culture. In fact I bet we will have Brazilian lovers of Irish pretty soon putting the haters to shame.

But not all immigration is equal. We've lucked out because our immigration is benign.

What is going on in our schools?

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