Education – Page 4 – Slugger O'Toole

Thinking, Fast and Slow about politics…

Robert Campbell on November 23, 2020, 4:16 pm

| Readers 1679

I’m sure you remember 2016. The year of the Brexit referendum, the year when Donald Trump won the presidential election. How well, how accurately, do you remember the campaigns, the slogans? I remember Take Back Control, £350 Million for the NHS, Make America Great Again, Drain the Swamp, and Crooked Hillary, and Lock Her Up. These were all on the winning side; there must have been slogans that the losers used, but they don’t immediately come to mind. What about …

Does Queen’s need an academic specialist in unionism?

Queen’s Policy Engagement on November 12, 2020, 12:41 pm

| Readers 2272

Dr Marie Coleman provides a response to a recent call to create a Queen’s professorship to study unionism and its contribution to Northern Ireland. Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly yesterday (9 November 2020), the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Mr Stephen Aiken, encouraged Queen’s University to establish a new academic post ‘to study unionism and its contribution to Northern Ireland’, in the context of the approaching centenary of partition and the creation of Northern Ireland. This suggestion appears not …

Students – when you stick together, your power is huge – and often underestimated.

Soapbox on November 3, 2020, 10:06 am

| Readers 1048

Almost exactly ten years ago, the student leaders of Queen’s University Students’ Union sat in a meeting room, worried. As one of the Vice Presidents of the Union at the time, I was among them. The newly-elected Conservative-Lib Dem coalition was announcing plans to treble university tuition fees from £3,000 a year to £9,000 a year. We were worrying because we needed to take action on behalf of our student members, but didn’t know if they would be with us. …

Our two versions of history arise from what we leave out as much as what we leave in…

Terry Wright on October 30, 2020, 7:31 pm

| Readers 4084

On October 22 in a webinar hosted by Trinity Long Room, Dublin, marking the launch of the digitalisation of the 1641 Depositions from victims of the violent events in Ireland at the time, former law academic and President of the Republic of Ireland, Mary McAleese stated that during her school days she had never been taught about 1641 and had never heard the history appertaining until she was in her 40s. The remark, not in any way surprising, prompted memories …

What was the sense of closing the schools only to put all the kids into every shopping centre?

Brian O'Neill on October 26, 2020, 9:08 am

| Readers 1757

I imagine most parents had that sinking feeling when they learned that they were closing the schools – here we go again. Still, it was only one week extra so we had to suck it up and take one for the team. It could have been worse, it seems Sinn Fein were pushing for a ludicrous 6 weeks off. There has been lots of debate around the importance of school to children. There are obvious things like the value of …

Love’s Betrayal: The Decline of Catholicism and the Rise of New Religions in Ireland by Peter Mulholland: New Insights on Recent Religious History

Gladys Ganiel on October 4, 2020, 8:15 am

| Readers 5224

In Love’s Betrayal: The Decline of Catholicism and the Rise of New Religions in Ireland (Peter Lang Publishers, 2019) Peter Mulholland offers a frank and often bruising account of the decline of the authority of the Catholic Church in Ireland since the middle of the twentieth century. Mulholland follows in the footsteps of ground-breaking studies, such as those by Tom Inglis (Moral Monopoly, 1987, 1998) and Louise Fuller (Irish Catholicism Since 1950, 2002). What sets Mulholland’s work apart is how …

#CargoOfBricks: Strategic response needed from Stormont for “education leavers”

Mick Fealty on September 30, 2020, 8:00 am

| Readers 572

One of the key reasons for having #TheReset project in a space like Slugger is to look behind the headlines and try to assay the effects of the Covid emergency, not just in health, but in other key areas of life. As we prepare for a second wave, the effects on those leaving education are acute. So this week I spoke to Professor of Education Tony Gallagher, to get his take on what that means in practice… Powered by RedCircle …

In the absence of real deterrents, you’ll catch more students with honey than with vinegar

Gareth Brown on September 17, 2020, 12:34 pm

| Readers 2519

It would be difficult to look at the scenes from the Holylands of Belfast in the last number of days and not be very concerned. Scores of students partying until the early hours of the morning caused understandable frustration and fury among residents and a media furore. Either the young people in question do not fully understand the risk to themselves and others around them, or, the public awareness campaign is not persuading them sufficiently, or, they both understand and …

The schools are back, but for how long?

Brian O'Neill on September 1, 2020, 12:40 pm

| Readers 1594

At last, the moment parents have been waiting for – the kids are back at school. There may be lots of new rules, visors and more alcohol than a party conference but the main thing is they are back. It has been a hard aul slog these past few months trying to keep the kids entertained at home. Homeschooling was a complete head wreck for both children and parents. Whatever teachers get paid it is not enough – give them …

RIP Sir Ken Robinson: may your creative spirit inspire us to change…

Jay Burbank on August 29, 2020, 9:03 am

| Readers 2535

This week I was challenged by a comment on this platform which claimed that studies over the last 35 years have shown that intelligence is largely ‘innate.’ In simpler terms it is implied that intelligence is the sum of genetic characteristics which give some individuals natural advantage (or “talent”) over others no matter what environmental factors are applied – i.e. education, health or nutrition. I struggled greatly with this, as in our age of fake news and ‘feeling’ politics I …

Putting a trans-border university at the heart of the Shared Island agenda – The regenerative role of a local university

Peter Doran on August 28, 2020, 9:00 am

| Readers 2164

With plans to form a Shared Island unit in the Taoiseach’s Office there will be opportunities for Dublin’s new coalition government to select a number of flagship projects that can form part of a transformative legacy. One that can contribute significantly to the re-imagination of our island is a trans-border university in the North West. The region could lead the way in both pedagogical and ecological innovation as we prepare to ‘Build Back Better’ to address the impacts of both …

It is time to end the idiotic cap on the number of local students Northern Ireland’s universities can admit…

Brian O'Neill on August 13, 2020, 8:26 am

| Readers 4714

Many of us have a low opinion of Stormont at the best of times but along comes a story that highlights the utter head-bangingly stupid nature of some of their more crazy decisions. Writing in today’s Irish Times Newton Emerson highlights the issue of the cap on local students. From the article: This year’s undergraduate entry requirements show Northern Ireland’s universities operating a two-tier system: students from the North need significantly higher grades than applicants from Britain. For example, Northern …

‘It is absolutely crazy to think that constitutional change in Ireland would happen overnight’

Paul Gosling on August 10, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 8256

Consideration of Irish unity needs careful preparation, argues Seamus McGuinness, research professor at the Republic’s Economic and Social Research Institute. He suggests looking to the example of Hong Kong, where the handover of control was undertaken over a 13 year period. Seamus was talking in the latest Holywell Trust Forward Together podcast. The difference in economic performance, North and South, sits “at the centre of debate around constitutional change,” believes Seamus. “I come at it from the perspective of someone who worked …

Hume’s origin story: fighting injustice at every corner…

Jay Burbank on August 3, 2020, 9:14 pm

| Readers 2398

It is incumbent upon us all to remember what propelled a young teacher in Derry into frontline politics and change the face of Northern Ireland forever. The young teacher was John Hume, born into a working-class catholic family he had been given opportunities not afforded to generations before and attended University. In the words of that other Derry giant (Gerry Anderson) his generation of queens’ graduates [para] “went away to university, learned about the country they lived in and came …

Peace and Conflict: Understanding out World – New Podcast Series from Queen’s…

Queen’s Policy Engagement on July 31, 2020, 3:16 pm

| Readers 633

A new podcast series has been launched by Queen’s University that looks at conflict and peace-building around the world, from Afghanistan to Ireland, Colombia to South Africa and the Middle East. Academics from Queen’s University share their experiences and reflections on how societies can transition from conflict to peace and how the traumatic political legacies of conflict can endure and continue to shape political discourse today. Drawing from a range of expertise, Queen’s academics discuss such issues as how factors …

Integrating society, creating shared spaces, enabling conversations

Paul Gosling on July 6, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 1036

Integrated education should not be perceived as a threat to anyone’s sense of identity, but the sector needs to consider how it promotes itself across all of the community, says Roisin Marshall, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE). She was talking in the latest Forward Together podcast from the Holywell Trust. “Integration isn’t about dumbing down anyone’s identity,” she says. “It’s about enabling people to have conversations which are sometimes about not agreeing with each …

A love letter to libraries…

Lisa Wells on July 5, 2020, 7:00 am

| Readers 1081

As lockdown measures ease we are heading into new territories and hoping for a safe future. Aspects of our lives which we may have previously taken for granted are opening up again. Most notable to me is the reopening of our libraries. And hairdressers, obviously. I’m not a complete eejit. One of the upsides of lockdown has been the plethora of homes being shown on tv. I enjoy scanning past the interviewee and looking at whatever part of the house …

Reconciliation above all

Paul Gosling on June 29, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 1355

Reconciliation is the primary necessity facing Northern Ireland, believes Peter Osborne. Peter is a former chair of both the Community Relations Council and the Parades Commission. He was talking in the latest Forward Together podcast from the Holywell Trust. “I come from a perspective of looking at what reconciliation is about,” says Peter. He argues that to achieve reconciliation it is essential to correct the structures that create separation. This has led him to strongly argue for the integration of …

A letter to the Ministers of Education and Health on Childcare provision

Soapbox on June 11, 2020, 12:24 pm

| Readers 3221

Dr Orna Young & Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick write for us about their joint letter highlighting the issue of childcare provision We have written to the Ministers for Education and Health to urge them to provide clarity on the issue of childcare provision, and an indication of a road map to ensure children can return to childcare settings when appropriate and the risk has been proven to be reduced. The current situation is unsustainable, with parents and guardians continuing to provide …