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Child Item

What is going on in our schools?

Oldtrope

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.

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_Kaiser_

Moo Moo Land wrote: »

Yeah but to be fair, you would be amazed how quick the children with poor English skills come up to speed with the common language (I don't care about "sectarian" Irish).

We live in a new world. People need to adapt or wallow in resentment.

Oh agreed.. and as a child we moved to Holland for a few years where the classroom was exactly like what the OP is describing.. although the difference there was that most of the kids already had decent English (local TV had subtitles for UK/US shows rather than dubbing), as well as 2+ other languages as well in many cases (and this was the mid-80s)

Maybe the answer is some sort of dedicated after-school English classes for those who are new to it rather than potentially holding back the whole class?

[Deleted User]

If you're sending a five year old to school for the first time and you haven't taught them to read and write by then it's not the foreigners' fault.

_Kaiser_

BrokenArrows wrote: »

This does have an effect on schools but at the end of the day your granddaughter will grow up to be a better person because of it.

In some ways yes, but I personally have concerns about how the Irish Government's/establishment approach to these things seems to be to accommodate everyone else's needs first before our own - because we're terrified of being seen as "racist" or not part of the glorious EU team.

You see that with the country's response to things like the "refugee" crisis, talk of our adopting things like "gender neutral" bathrooms in schools - all so we can show how "right on" and "progressive" we are. "We" seem to have a need for validation and approval in this country,

It's bad enough now that kids have to contend with things like an ever-present social media where every step/misstep they make may be recorded, as well as cyberbullying over IM apps.. but I for one worry about some of the things my son will be told in this new, sanitised and "approved" world we live in... you only need to read threads like this or some of the other more "controversial" topics to see what I mean.

_Kaiser_

Deleted User wrote: »

If you're sending a five year old to school for the first time and you haven't taught them to read and write by then it's not the foreigners' fault.

You're missing the point. It's not their fault for sure, but it IS an issue if your literate child is being forced to proceed at a slower pace because his non-national classmates don't speak the local language (well enough).

There's only so many hours in the school day and the first few years are probably the most important from a developmental standpoint.

RayCun

My daughter's school has "gender-neutral" "bathrooms" in her "school".

There's a cubicle, and there is no sign saying "boys" or "girls" on the outside, so anyone can use it :eek:

blueb

i was going to reply to address some of the points you made in the post.
But i actually cant be arsed. your clearly set in your bigotry ways.
Good look with fighting that loosing battle.

turbowolfed

RayCun wrote: »

My daughter's school has "gender-neutral" "bathrooms" in her "school".

There's a cubicle, and there is no sign saying "boys" or "girls" on the outside, so anyone can use it :eek:

......and? it's not like unisex bathrooms are a new invention??

sjw_central

hawthorne wrote: »

Just take a look at this :

http://www.politicalirish.com/threads/mein-kampf-multiculturalism-will-fail.10858/

Typical post for that site. This "Tadgh Gaelach" looks like a massive fascist moron.
The moderators seem to tolerate all that nazi propaganda.

The world has become very polarised nowadays.

This site, Boards.ie, is also known to have a bias. This site tends to be leftist and liberal, and to identify with issues such as gay marraige and civil obedience.

The Political Irish site seems very rough by comparison, but I don't think it's fair to discount their members views simply because of that.

Politicians seem unable to bring the entire population with them into their brave new world. Many people are feeling left out and are feeling like their life is getting worse, not better.

On several major issues the population is split approx 50-50.

I think politicians are wrong to force unwelcome changes onto people who don't want the changes. It will lead to unrest and perhaps even to civil war. We can see the process has already begun.

Our government should seek to provide a safe and sustainable society, rather than a violent multicultural hodgepodge.

The simple question is; where has multiculturalism worked?

If it doesn't work, why are politicians bullying people into accepting it?

[Deleted User]

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

You're missing the point. It's not their fault for sure, but it IS an issue if your literate child is being forced to proceed at a slower pace because his non-national classmates don't speak the local language (well enough).

There's only so many hours in the school day and the first few years are probably the most important from a developmental standpoint.

Please, primary school is 8 years of the same thing every year with 10-20% difference. If a kid can read and do maths before they start then how far they progress will be down to them and their parents, not the slow, meandering curriculum to be covered.

sjw_central

Moo Moo Land wrote: »

...
We live in a new world. People need to adapt or wallow in resentment.

You are simply dictating that we are living in a new world.

What gives you the right?

People who want fundamental changes in society should be able to argue for the changes, rather than simply dictating that the changes are good and that the changes must take place.

Comsumerism and globalism are destroying societies and the environment. We should have a national conversation about that.

We shouldn't allow bullies like Enda Kenny, Merkel, Geldof, Bono or Peter Sutherland to dictate to us that we nust destroy our societies as it's 'the right thing to do'.

dav3

sjw_central wrote: »

I think politicians are wrong to force unwelcome changes onto people who don't want the changes. It will lead to unrest and perhaps even to civil war. We can see the process has already begun.

How have we made the jump from a fairytale the OP imagined in his head to civil war?

Who will be fighting in this imaginary civil war that will never happen? What will the sides be?

It's good to see so many re-regs take an interest in this fabricated piece by the OP.

Shenshen

sjw_central wrote: »

You are simply dictating that we are living in a new world.

What gives you the right?

People who want fundamental changes in society should be able to argue for the changes, rather than simply dictating that the changes are good and that the changes must take place.

Comsumerism and globalism are destroying societies and the environment. We should have a national conversation about that.

We shouldn't allow bullies like Enda Kenny, Merkel, Geldof, Bono or Peter Sutherland to dictate to us that we nust destroy our societies as it's 'the right thing to do'.

I think consumerism and globalism in particular are prime examples of what the majority of people really actually want.
Neither would exist if the masses weren't demanding it.

If there was a majority that actually objected to consumerism and globalism, the concept would collapse from lack of funding. As long as people prefer buying as cheap as possible rather than as local as possible, or as responsible as possible, consumerism and globalism will thrive despite politicians' best efforts to control them and rein them in.

Shenshen

sjw_central wrote: »

The world has become very polarised nowadays.

This site, Boards.ie, is also known to have a bias. This site tends to be leftist and liberal, and to identify with issues such as gay marraige and civil obedience.

The Political Irish site seems very rough by comparison, but I don't think it's fair to discount their members views simply because of that.

Politicians seem unable to bring the entire population with them into their brave new world. Many people are feeling left out and are feeling like their life is getting worse, not better.

On several major issues the population is split approx 50-50.

I think politicians are wrong to force unwelcome changes onto people who don't want the changes. It will lead to unrest and perhaps even to civil war. We can see the process has already begun.

Our government should seek to provide a safe and sustainable society, rather than a violent multicultural hodgepodge.

The simple question is; where has multiculturalism worked?

If it doesn't work, why are politicians bullying people into accepting it?

Welcome to the world of realpolitik.

It's not a question of what does or doesn't work, the world isn't a lab. It's what's happening and what is the best way (as in, the cheapest, easiest way causing the least amount of pain or possibly the way even having an outlook of future gain) to deal with it.

Where multiculturalism is concerned, it's just a posh term for "people will go where they expect a better life, what can we do to make sure there's as little friction in the process as possible and if possible turn things to everyone's advantage".
It's as old as mankind, it just seems that since this new phrase was invented people get their knickers in a twist about that.

Moo Moo Land

sjw_central wrote: »

We shouldn't allow bullies like Enda Kenny, Merkel, Geldof, Bono or Peter Sutherland to dictate to us that we nust destroy our societies as it's 'the right thing to do'.

How exactly do you feel bullied? I have never experienced any sense of bullying when it comes to immigration.

ThisRegard

sjw_central wrote: »

It will lead to unrest and perhaps even to civil war. We can see the process has already begun.

Ah, I was wondering why I was stumbling across all the weapons stockpiles when out walking.

Surely someone with the username of Social Justice Worker Central (edit: probably should have said Social Justice Warrior) you'd be a lot more tolerant?

dont bother

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.

every word of this is racist.
what's your problem with there being "foreign" students in the classroom.
they are as irish as you are OP, just maybe a bit more modern and present day than your fantasy of an "ould oirland". get with the times.

spurious

In the school I used to teach in, the 'top' Irish class was made up of at least a quarter 'foreign' children, for whom it was not compulsory and who came to it without bias and prejudice. After Polish or Czech, Irish grammar is a doddle.

Nekarsulm

Brought our 10 year old girl to basketball on Monday. The club is now based in the Gym. of a fairly well known boys school in the County town. It would have been run by Religious order in the past, produced priests, Archbishops etc, that kind of place.
Annway, while waiting, was reading the projects up on the wall. One wall was covered with reports by a class of "In my Grandparents time"
It was fascinating to read of students whose grand parents came from tiny villages in Poland, Ukraine, USSR etc, along with local townlands. All remarked on the hardships of life in the early parts of the 20th century. Almost every response mentioned the carrying of water from wells to the dwelling house, and the hard labour associated with life at that time.
Truely, we Central Europeans have very similar backgrounds, and the differences we choose to highlight are usually of Politicians making, and to their own benefit.
Untill the late 70's we were an inward focused and insular society, and the integration of other European and other cultures has transformed our country.

meeeeh

spurious wrote: »

In the school I used to teach in, the 'top' Irish class was made up of at least a quarter 'foreign' children, for whom it was not compulsory and who came to it without bias and prejudice. After Polish or Czech, Irish grammar is a doddle.

It's probably easier for kids who have to learn one foreign language to learn two.

Anyway there are couple of issues with mixed schools. The non national kids seem to attend disproportionately some schools and not attend the others. While there is no huge anti immigration hostility in Ireland, I also doubt the integration is that great in certain areas. And there is a difference between true integration and tolerating each other.

Moo Moo Land

meeeeh wrote: »

It's probably easier for kids who have to learn one foreign language to learn two.

Anyway there are couple of issues with mixed schools. The non national kids seem to attend disproportionately some schools and not attend the others. While there is no huge anti immigration hostility in Ireland, I also doubt the integration is that great in certain areas. And there is a difference between true integration and tolerating each other.

Let me tell you one thing - ALL racism and intolerance amongst children towards each other comes from the PARENTS.

meeeeh

Moo Moo Land wrote: »

Let me tell you one thing - ALL racism and intolerance amongst children towards each other comes from the PARENTS.

A lot can be due to attitudes of their peers. Anyway I don't know what has that to do with anything I posted.

sjw_central

Shenshen wrote: »

I think consumerism and globalism in particular are prime examples of what the majority of people really actually want.
Neither would exist if the masses weren't demanding it.

...

I believe that this is simply wrong.

People don't have the required information to make rational decisions.

For example, obesity is rampant in our westernised societies.

Does it exist because people want it?
or, does it exist because people are poor at decision making?

Obesity is bad for poeple yet it is rampant in our society. This proves that our modern society can contain things which people don't want, and which are damaging, and which may cause serious problems for us.

Why do you seek to deny that?

Consumerism and globalism may well destroy our societies, even if we don't want them to.

sjw_central

ThisRegard wrote: »

...
Surely someone with the username of Social Justice Worker Central (edit: probably should have said Social Justice Warrior) you'd be a lot more tolerant?

The name is ironic. :cool:

I don't value liberalism. I think it may well destroy our societies.

Look at Sweden, for Russell's Teapots sake! :eek:

Or at France! :eek:

Or at the UK! :eek:

:pac:

A swedish politician is actually saying that returning ISIS fighters should be given free housing, free drivers licence and free money!
Insanity.

meeeeh

Well Chinese build a wall and all that got them was centuries of stagnation. Movement of people is as old as history of humankind itself. Better deal with it and adapt to it than close itself from the world. Not to mention that this ISIS nonsense is getting a bit thin. While they are theatrical and need to be dealt with, Europe had to contain far worse in the last hundred years than a few jihadists.

How Soon Is Now

I had a whole big post typed up there which i was going to ''unleash'' there but actually no i don't have the time for the backlash :pac:

ThisRegard

sjw_central wrote: »

The name is ironic. :cool:

I don't value liberalism. I think it may well destroy our societies.

Look at Sweden, for Russell's Teapots sake! :eek:

Or at France! :eek:

Or at the UK! :eek:

:pac:

A swedish politician is actually saying that returning ISIS fighters should be given free housing, free drivers licence and free money!
Insanity.

I hope your fascination with smileys is also somewhere on the ironic scale.

Shenshen

sjw_central wrote: »

I believe that this is simply wrong.

People don't have the required information to make rational decisions.

For example, obesity is rampant in our westernised societies.

Does it exist because people want it?
or, does it exist because people are poor at decision making?

Obesity is bad for poeple yet it is rampant in our society. This proves that our modern society can contain things which people don't want, and which are damaging, and which may cause serious problems for us.

Why do you seek to deny that?

Consumerism and globalism may well destroy our societies, even if we don't want them to.

People have all the information they want, they just also have to want to hear it or read it.
The reason that many people are ill-informed on many subjects is that they simply don't care and can't be bothered.

And I would argue it's not too dissimilar to obesity - people know in broad terms what they would need to do to lose weight. The information is out there.
They choose - for whatever reason, some of them health-related, some of them to do with mental health or other circumstances - not to act on that information.

The choice for an obese person, at every meal, is simply a question of how much they crave the food, versus how much they want to lose weight.
And that's the same question facing every consumer: How much do they crave the latest fad, or how responsible do they want to be with their money?

I never claimed people's behaviour can not lead to undesired outcomes, on the contrary. People are generally quite short-sighted and selfish in their actions.
But I seem to recall that you were the one throwing around the accusation that the elites are forcing people to do things they don't want to. I'm simply pointing out that the opposite is true : the elites, if anything, are trying to alleviate the worst excesses of letting people do what they want. By making cigarettes more expensive, by introducing sugar taxes, by making people pay for resources they use (be it bin charges or water charges), and through a range of other means.

sjw_central

Have people seen the grown men being taken into the UK as children?

Will they end up as schoolchildren?

Is it appropriate that grown men, who may have a culture of rape, be placed into schools with real children?

So, the government cannot be relied upon to do the right thing. The government will fail to do its duty correctly and ordinary people will come to harm as a result.

I hope 20 and 30 year old men with a rapey culture don't end up in Irish schools.

Liberals must really hate their own kind to force this upon us.

Jesus.

dont bother wrote: »

every word of this is racist.

Don't be so ludicrous. There's nothing racist whatsoever in the OP.

He's concerned that Irish children are a minority in many schools. Why shouldn't he be?

ThisRegard

sjw_central wrote: »

Have people seen the grown men being taken into the UK as children?

Will they end up as schoolchildren?
........
I hope 20 and 30 year old men with a rapey culture don't end up in Irish schools.

WTF am I reading?!