Can we kill Irish once and for all

Taco Chips · 03-07-2014 11:34PM

MRnotlob606 wrote: »

They way Irish is taught in school is really the only reason people dislike it .We need a big overhaul of the the Irish language pedagogy so that student's can actually speak it. Some people see the Irish language as embarrassing , but whats more embarrassing would be losing an important contingent of our Identity.

Teaching of Irish in school is actually much, much better than it would have been a few generations ago. There is a lot of weight on the oral, theres a rich and modern roster of poems and pros to be studied and the written compositions are always centred on current affairs. A major problem is people inheriting the attitude of their parents and older people in society towards it at an early age and giving up learning before they've even started.

Chancer3001 · 03-07-2014 11:35PM

How is appreciating poetry useful?

Or knowing how a volcano was formed?

Or the date that Neil Armstrong went to the moon?

Not everything you learn will have a use.

Doesn't make it un worthwhile.

shane7218 · 03-07-2014 11:37PM

Chancer3001 wrote: »

How is appreciating poetry useful?

Or knowing how a volcano was formed?

Or the date that Neil Armstrong went to the moon?

Not everything you learn will have a use.

Doesn't make it un worthwhile.

But learning those topics is your choice as you can choose not to do those subjects (except poetry). Same cant be said for Irish. Why is Irish seen as more important that any of those subjects ?

MRnotlob606 · 03-07-2014 11:37PM

The Israelis brought back Hebrew after it had not being used for 2000 years, Maoris are doing a good job with their native tongue too. lets not sit back and let our's die either. Irish is here to stay.

shane7218 · 03-07-2014 11:38PM

MRnotlob606 wrote: »

The Israelis brought back Hebrew after it had not being used for 2000 years, Maoris are doing a good job with their native tongue too. lets not sit back and let our's die either. Irish is here to stay.

Its already gone ... only place its spoken is the Gaeltacht. No one else has any interest or everyone would speak it, which is why I think some are so adamant it stays compulsory. They know if it becomes optional no one will take it

solomafioso · 03-07-2014 11:39PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqYtG9BNhfM

Davarus Walrus · 03-07-2014 11:40PM

Chancer3001 wrote: »

How is appreciating poetry useful?

Or knowing how a volcano was formed?

Or the date that Neil Armstrong went to the moon?

Not everything you learn will have a use.

Doesn't make it un worthwhile.

As anyone who had to read Hard Times for the Leaving Cert will know, 'cold facts and numbers' rarely make for an enjoyable read.

MRnotlob606 · 03-07-2014 11:40PM

I think the government needs to to some R&D and study how other countries teach languages,

shruikan2553 · 03-07-2014 11:40PM

Its amazing what you can get away with in pass irish and still get a D. Did nothing for the 2 years and just took up applied maths to cover myself doing pass french and irish. Was a waste of 30 mins a day though.

Chancer3001 · 03-07-2014 11:41PM

Shane , none of those are your choice until after junior cert.

And after junior cert, you don't even have to go to school anymore.

shane7218 · 03-07-2014 11:41PM

MRnotlob606 wrote: »

I think the government needs to to some R&D and study how other countries teach languages,

Yeah lets spend money researching how to force people to learn a language that most dont care about

shane7218 · 03-07-2014 11:42PM

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Shane , none of those are your choice until after junior cert.

And after junior cert, you don't even have to go to school anymore.

So its ok to not do the leaving cert but if you do you Have to do Irish ? The point is why should you HAVE to do a subject that is totally useless to you. Junior cert is fine has no effect on college but leaving is a different story

AngryHippie · 03-07-2014 11:43PM

shane7218 wrote: »

Like I struggled with Irish in school and barely passed it, yet I did great in everything else and almost missed out on getting into a computer science course. How can we justify something like Irish determining if someone is good enough to study an IT related course or any for that matter.

You may have missed some basics on sentence structure in English too. -FYP

It shouldn't be a requirement for 3rd level courses, but it should still be a mandatory subject. Language is very important to our higher brain function and even though the usefulness of the language in day to day living is limited, it is effectively one of the last unique parts of our culture and heritage.
Removing it from the compulsory subjects will consign it to the sidelines with Latin and Greek, where it does not belong. (we are neither Greek nor Roman).
The subject can be taken at foundation level, which should be a mandatory minimum for the leaving certificate, but not a requirement for 3rd level. For those (and there are plenty) that enjoyed the subject and feel connected to the language on some level, they can push on and aim for higher level and develop it if they chose.
For a language to be alive, there only has to be one community using it on a day to day basis. To counter your point about it being dead, there are still publications, television and Radio broadcasts and a solid swathe of population dedicated to the use of the language.
It's not dead, it is only dead to you.It has been kept alive with love, dedication and respect for our history, literature and arts, and I don't think that some teenager getting in a strop over it should have any bearing on it's future.

solomafioso · 03-07-2014 11:43PM

shane7218 wrote: »

Yeah lets spend money researching how to force people to learn a language that most dont care about

Maybe if you came at it from a different angle...historical perhaps?

"This was our language...."

Might cause more interest and debate.

shane7218 · 03-07-2014 11:44PM

solomafioso wrote: »

Maybe if you came at it from a different angle...historical perhaps?

"This was our language...."

Might cause more interest and debate.

Yeah and thats all fine ... but again make it a choice

131spanner · 03-07-2014 11:46PM

shane7218 wrote: »

Its already gone ... only place its spoken is the Gaeltacht. No one else has any interest or everyone would speak it, which is why I think some are so adamant it stays compulsory. They know if it becomes optional no one will take it

1. Plenty of people outside the Gaeltacht speak Irish and take an interest in it.

2. Plenty of people would take it as a compulsary subject, it would even help weed out those who aren't interested, giving the remaining students a better chance.

Chancer3001 · 03-07-2014 11:47PM

Shames argument - everything you learn should be optional

Pros - you pick what you're interested in.

Cons - a 12 year old is interested in sweet feck all.

So, they decide you study most things until junior cert. THEN they give you a choice.

Shane - all leaving cert subjects should be optional, no core curriculum.

Everybody - yeah that's a decent argument. You're probably right.

WAY SHANE FRAMED HIS ARGUMENT - IRISH ISNT WORTHWHILE. I DISLIKE IRISH.

shane7218 · 03-07-2014 11:47PM

131spanner wrote: »

1. Plenty of people outside the Gaeltacht speak Irish and take an interest in it.

2. Plenty of people would take it as a compulsary subject, it would even help weed out those who aren't interested, giving the remaining students a better chance.

So let's make it an option

Chancer3001 · 03-07-2014 11:47PM

Shames argument - everything you learn should be optional

Pros - you pick what you're interested in.

Cons - a 12 year old is interested in sweet feck all.

So, they decide you study most things until junior cert. THEN they give you a choice.

Shane - all leaving cert subjects should be optional, no core curriculum.

Everybody - yeah that's a decent argument. You're probably right.

WAY SHANE FRAMED HIS ARGUMENT - IRISH ISNT WORTHWHILE. I DISLIKE IRISH.

auldgranny · 03-07-2014 11:47PM

131spanner wrote: »

1. Plenty of people outside the Gaeltacht speak Irish and take an interest in it.

2. Plenty of people would take it as a compulsary subject, it would even help weed out those who aren't interested, giving the remaining students a better chance.

And 3. It would stop people whining about it.

gctest50 · 03-07-2014 11:47PM

AngryHippie wrote: »

Removing it from the compulsory subjects will consign it to the sidelines with Latin and Greek, where it does not belong.

Latin is very very useful in the right places cos its dead.

AngryHippie wrote: »

(we are neither Greek nor Roman).

Don't remember a Pentium in my family tree

Hotfail.com · 03-07-2014 11:48PM

Why would you want to kill off a part of our heritage!?

All threads like this do is make me angry

fr336 · 03-07-2014 11:48PM

I thought you wanted to exterminate the Irish race :eek:

shane7218 · 03-07-2014 11:49PM

fr336 wrote: »

I thought you wanted to exterminate the Irish race :eek:

One step at a time

131spanner · 03-07-2014 11:52PM

auldgranny wrote: »

And 3. It would stop people whining about it.

Bingo.

131spanner · 03-07-2014 11:53PM

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Pros - you pick what you're interested in.

Cons - a 12 year old is interested in sweet feck all.

This.

shane7218 · 03-07-2014 11:55PM

131spanner wrote: »

This.

Of course a 12 year old Shouldn't pick what they want. I would have assumed it was implied when I say an option it was for the leaving cert cycle :rolleyes:

StaticNoise · 03-07-2014 11:57PM

Hotfail.com wrote: »

Why would you want to kill off a part of our heritage!? All threads like this do is make me angry

I really hope that you're trolling.

Hotfail.com · 03-07-2014 11:57PM

shane7218 wrote: »

Of course a 12 year old Shouldn't pick what they want. I would have assumed it was implied when I say an option it was for the leaving cert cycle :rolleyes:

Look at your thread title.

:P

If you named it "Should Irish be made optional after the Junior Cert?" the thread would be much tidier and less angry. :pac:

Hotfail.com · 03-07-2014 11:58PM

StaticNoise wrote: »

I really hope that you're trolling.

How was that trolling? I like Irish, it's our language.

Can we kill Irish once and for all

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