Slugger O'Toole

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Latest comments from PACE Parent (see all)

PACE Parent has commented 162 times (0 in the last month).

1. Comment on Will the curb on MLA expenses spell the end of constituency offices?
   on 16 March 2012 at 6:32 pm

   In the Northern Ireland Assembly Members’
   Salaries, Allowances, Expenses and Pensions
   Report of the Independent Financial Review Panel
   March 2012 see paragraph 10 on page 8.
   “The Panel is a completely independent body. Under the Act, the Panel controls Members’ pay, allowances and pensions by issuing “Determinations” setting out its
   decisions. Once these Determinations have been issued, the Assembly is unable to amend them. The Determinations are implemented by the Assembly Commission and the Assembly Secretariat. The Panel may make a Determination in relation to Members’ salaries, allowances, expenses and pensions once for each mandate. It is only in exceptional circumstances that the Panel can make more than one Determination in
   relation to a mandate.”
   No member is obliged to accept the increased payment and could reject same. If a second determination was made prior to Assembly elections in 2015 then voters could decide if the 108 MLAs were worth it. Simples….

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2. Comment on Learn from the English experience in secondary schools
   on 17 February 2012 at 12:09 am

   Brian are you referring to Peter and Marty when you cite the deaf? Just as John O’Dowd doesn’t quite get his defeat by parents, you and your friends do not seem able to accept that (s)election at 14 is as dead as the Pupil Profile. The Entitlement Framework mentioned by O’Dowd on Hearts & Minds will be exposed as the Trojan horse which robbed thousands of pupils of the right to learn ( and be taught) numeracy and literacy

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3. Comment on Learn from the English experience in secondary schools
   on 16 February 2012 at 10:20 pm

   caseydog
   “tender age of 10/11″ – I wonder where I’ve heard that before? In case you haven’t noticed the front page of the Irish News twice in the past week I’ll share the headlines(1) Catholic Church backs down on transfer tests and (2) We will never scrap the tests. As for your concern about self confidence – for only one in five to leave secondary school with English & Maths among their five GCSEs is a disgrace verging on abuse. Parents are the grammar lobby – they give direction to the likes of St Dominic’s principal, Carol McCann. You could learn from them.

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4. Comment on Learn from the English experience in secondary schools
   on 16 February 2012 at 1:45 pm

   notmyopinion You have highlighted the elephant in the room, so off handedly dismissed by Mr Walker Sr. with his ” parochialism and stand- offish” characterisation of the Northern Ireland education system.The abject failure of the teaching profession and the professional educationalists, the unions, politicians and the Catholic establishment among others to see to it that children leave primary school attaining the basic standards of numeracy and literacy. At least the 11-plus is a measure of attainment in numeracy and literacy. Brian Walker has consistently refused to tackle the role of some of his well-placed friends and persists in leaving unchallenged the progressive elite that controls our educational establishment Their collective mantra is summed up by the phrase “the best is the enemy of the good. Mediocrity for all is preferable to excellence for some.”
   Clearly the Catholic Church has learned an expensive six year lesson taught by parents supporting the “unregulted transfer tests”. Parents are the prime educators of their children and their three years of support for continued academic selection by valid and reliable testing demonstrates that they know better than the so-called experts.
   While keen to direct attention across the Irish Sea Mr Walker should also be quick to recognise that the current Chairman of the National Grammar Schools Association is none other than Robert McCartney QC, who highlighted concerns over the revised curriculum in primary schools and the “Enriched Curriculum” in particular for the damaging effects it would have on disadvantaged children.
   In what can only be described as the ultimate irony Gavin Boyd, the man with a flimsy control of the CCEA corporate cheque book was also the architect of the enriched curriculum project while at CCEA and also of more recent failures in exams and assessment (InCAS) has been awarded a five year contract as Chief Executive of ESA.
   Rewarding Learning was CCEA’s big sales pitch – Rewarding Failure is how the DENI and the Assembly have failed to protect parents and pupils.

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5. Comment on Some secondary schools get better results than selective grammar schools
   on 6 February 2012 at 12:58 am

   Kathryn Torney must explain what an A grade means in terms of marks or attainment in the transfer test. I’m sure readers will recall all the fuss over John Gardner & Pamela Cowan’s Testing the Test paper in 2000 which raised concern over the narrow number of marks which covered CCEAs grading system. I recall the much bandied out claim that 18 marks covered a low A to a high D.
   CCEA still have some explaining to do about their irrational decision to convert 11-plus results obtained as a mark and their motives in removing information by converting marks into grades. One thing parents can be assured about – if CCEA are involved pupils are likely to be disadvantaged. I hardly need to mention last years examination failures, InCAS, the enriched curriculum, the entitlement framework etc.

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6. Comment on Some secondary schools get better results than selective grammar schools
   on 6 February 2012 at 12:45 am

   St Patrick’s Maghera admits 35% using academic selection as does Lagan College and Slemish College. (the wanna-be grammars in the “integrated” sector) Any school which uses academic selection to determine admission is therefore selective and not comprehensive. The category is not important -the results are.
   Campbell College and RBAI are Category B schools which exempt them from normal admission requirements for grammar schools. The year 8 intake profile is atypical of other grammar schools but their results at GCSE and A Level are not.

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7. Comment on Robinson (and DUP’s) use of language could make or break his strategy…
   on 2 December 2011 at 12:06 am

   OneNI has raised a most pertinent question. ” why do you need a ‘catch all’ ‘Unionist’ party. What does the DUP stand for beyond being anti SF?”.
   Since the seige is over why does unionism not provide three separate branches, left right and centre? Someone should ask Peter Robinson to answer this question at the earliest opportunity. If there were signs of constructive thinking by Robinson and the Dundela boys did any include this most obvious point?

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8. Comment on “Nonsense, Minister.” – Redux
   on 19 November 2011 at 10:01 pm

   padraigpearse It may assist to point out that the SF ideology on education and schooling is based upon equality. Now that particular version of equality is best described as equality of outcome or result which is a socialist or even Marxist idea. John O’Dowd expressed it yesterday on the Stephen Nolan Show with his 40 minute unrebutted diatribe when he claimed that all schools were good schools. Clearly that is not so from an academic attainment aspect.
   The pro-grammar ideology would be best described as equality of opportunity – a difference that O’Dowd and other anti-choice educationalists deliberately misrepresent when they use the word equality..

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9. Comment on “Nonsense, Minister.” – Redux
   on 18 November 2011 at 6:10 pm

   While John is rummaging around in fact-finding mode perhaps he can ask Merty and Peter about a grant from Atlantic Philanthropies to their office. the grant is listed on the AP site :Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister

   Peace Building at Interfaces 2010

   $ 2,542,019

   Northern Ireland

   Reconciliation & Human Rights

   Whatever you do do not ask those investigative journalists at the Detail.tv to suss this out. They too are funded by AP

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10. Comment on “Nonsense, Minister.” – Redux
    on 18 November 2011 at 5:53 pm

    Before rushing to clear up the funding arrangements for the PPTC to pay GL Assessment for their cobbled together multiple choice transfer tests perhaps John O’Dowd should identify the donor behind a private publication ◦Testing the Test (2000) – a joint project with another QUB Schol of Education colleague, Professor John Gardner. This publication was used extensively to undermine the 11-plus but is fraught with methodological weaknesses. It did not stop the DENI or CCEA from citing “Testing the Test” as a reason to attack academic selection and the 11-plus tests. Gardner’s colleague Tony Gallagher referenced the work in the DENI publication The Effects of the Selective System of Secondary Education in Northern Ireland was published in September 2000. http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/85-schools/6-admission-and-choice/6-post-primary-transfer-and-wider-reform/6-ppa-research_and_reports_pg-3/6-ppa-rap-gas_pg-3.htm Interestingly Gallagher does not cite this work on his QUB page. Perhaps now that he is Vice Chancellor he’d rather distance himself from his role in attacking academic selection.
    Gardner subsequently encouraged CCEA to adopt Assessment for Learning which relies upon teacher and pupil self-assessment rather than testing to measure attainment.
    First things first Mr O’Dowd. Clear up the funding for the original attack on the 11-plus. Perhaps John Gardner’s mysterious ‘anonymous donor’ was also Chuck Feeney?

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