Education – Page 14 – Slugger O'Toole

“that at any time a majority of members are councillors..”

Pete Baker on November 26, 2008, 10:47 pm

| Readers 12

UUP leader Reg Empey mentioned his party’s reservations over the Education Bill, and the way it appeared, on yesterday’s Stormont Live and today the Belfast Telegraph has more on the UUP opposition to the detail, but not the principle, of the legislation. Meanwhile, at the Assembly’s Education Committee, attempts by government officials to reassure voluntary grammars that, following the proposed transfer of employment of staff, the new body would not be “a big brother system” were somewhat undermined by Sinn …

“The new arrangements will see a clear separation of policy development from service delivery..”

Pete Baker on November 26, 2008, 3:49 am

| Readers 2

I’m not sure how this is expected to work in practice in a centralised body.. nor if this was one of the objections mentioned earlier.. But according to the iol report – not yet announced elsewhere – there has, after all, been a development with the Education and Skills Authority. From the iol report [Northern Ireland Education Minister Caitriona Ruane said] “The original proposal was that the ESA would have between 8 and 12 members, with no positions reserved for …

“I think there’s a pattern here..”

Pete Baker on November 25, 2008, 11:24 pm

| Readers 5

On Stormont Live today, UUP leader, and Employment Minister, Reg Empey was critical of the way the Northern Ireland Executive had resumed doing business. Meanwhile, during his appearance, Finance Minister, the DUP’s Nigel Dodds, was critical of the Assembly’s Business Committee. Pete Baker

“playtime’s over for the Education Minister..”

Pete Baker on November 23, 2008, 10:09 pm

| Readers 6

Read Jim Fitzpatrick riffing on the genius of Donald Rumsfeld, when applied to the impending de-regulation by default of the Northern Ireland post-primary transfer process, before watching his report from today’s Politics Show – there are known unknowns, indeed. The Education Minister, Sinn Féin’s Caitriona Ruane, wasn’t available for interview this morning, not that her previous appearances have proved enlightening, so Sinn Féin’s John O’Dowd joined the DUP’s Mervyn Storey in the studio to restate their parties’ positions on academic …

On the Irish Republic’s thin grasp of Irish geography…

Mick Fealty on November 21, 2008, 9:41 pm

| Readers 38

“When I was at school…” was always a presage to my mother telling me some obvious truth about the spellings or the sums I’d just got wrong for the millionth time… Later when we did geography at school we learned our Irish geography from a book that had been coincidentally written by a teacher at the local state grammar… Provinces, counties, rivers, mountain ranges, county towns… Now it seems in the last ten to fifteen years the people in the …

“The Executive has agreed..”

Pete Baker on November 21, 2008, 9:31 pm

| Readers 2

According to the official statement following the first Northern Ireland Executive meeting for 154 days. The Executive also agreed the establishment of the Education and Skills Authority (ESA) which is a key part of the Review of Public Administration and heralds a wholesale reform and modernisation of the education system. Except that the original target date set for the ESA to be operational was 1 April 2008 – as noted when the Chief Executive Designate was appointed in December 2006. …

“one of the few pieces of legislation we’ve seen..”

Pete Baker on November 17, 2008, 10:32 pm

| Readers 1

Whilst we wait to see the details of any arrangements connected to the suggested Executive meeting on Thursday.. Some actual politics. UUP MLA David McNarry succeeded in getting his private members bill – Community Use of School Premises Bill – onto the Assembly’s agenda. But, as he notes in the clip, the Northern Ireland Education Minister, Sinn Féin’s Caitriona Ruane, had been lobbying other Executive Ministers to oppose it. It would appear that, in exchange for parking the bill, he’s …

“that advice has been in place for some time..”

Pete Baker on November 16, 2008, 8:05 pm

| Readers 1

From today’s Politics Show, BBC NI Dublin correspondent Shane Harrison reports on one particular measure contained in the Republic of Ireland Finance Minister Brian Lenihan’s debut budget – the €2.8 million cut in State funding to 21 Protestant fee-paying schools. Church of Ireland reaction, as reported at the time. Pete Baker

“you have to deal with the real world..”

Pete Baker on November 10, 2008, 10:42 pm

| Readers 4

Not, apparently, if you’re the Northern Ireland Education Minister, Sinn Féin’s Caitriona Ruane. Given the rare opportunity of the Education Minister actually in the studio, Jim Fitzpatrick asks, a number of times, whether the “awful prospect” of de-regulation by default, that the Minister has been threatening to press ahead with, will be a worse scenario than retaining academic selection.. [Nevermind the detail, onward! – Ed] Interestingly, along with co-opting the Churches intervention onto her side of the argument, she does …

Hearts and Minds: speaking of vacuums…

Mick Fealty on November 7, 2008, 8:30 pm

| Readers 3

After last week’s tense interrogation of the First Minister, one could be forgiven for expecting the Deputy First Minister to proffer his case to the fierce scrutiny of Noel Thompson. But no, no sign of Martin. Or Gerry for that matter. Maybe next week, when they’ve figured a way to sell their flip flop over that letter? However, the subject of politically induced policy vacuums (or should that be abysses? – ed) did come up when Bishop Donal McKeown was …

“there are no loyalty oaths in science”

Pete Baker on November 3, 2008, 6:31 pm

| Readers 15

In the Irish Times the DUP’s Mervyn Storey, Chairman of the Assembly’s Education Committee, expounds on his personal belief that young-Earth creationism should be taught in school science classes as an alternative theory to evolution. This is old ground by now, but it’s worth pointing out again that his argument ignores the 150 years of scientific scrutiny which the theory of evolution has been subjected to, and survived, whilst elevating the 17th Century Archbishop Ussher’s tally of the number of …

“we can all bring out experts..”

Pete Baker on October 24, 2008, 1:38 am

| Readers 11

Sinn Féin’s John O’Dowd and the DUP’s Edwin Poots were on Hearts and Minds tonight discussing the vexed issue of post-primary transfer. The recent Catholic Heads Association [CHA] statement featured heavily with John O’Dowd claiming that the Association are now “opposing the Catholic Bishops” [Excommunicate them! – Ed] – I suspect he had Bishop Donal McKeown in mind. But here’s a question, with the Education Minister threatening to press ahead into the vacuum in the absence of political consensus on …

“Until such time as a secure, agreed and reliable means of transfer can be put in place..”

Pete Baker on October 21, 2008, 11:55 pm

| Readers 5

Despite the quoted reply from the Education Minister, Sinn Féin’s Caitríona Ruane, it’s clear that the reported statement from the Catholic Headteachers Association is in response to the minister’s threat, in the absence of political consensus, to press ahead into the vacuum..What the minister had said. “I have repeatedly said I want a sound legislative basis for the proposals. If I do not receive the support for this legislative approach, then transfer in 2010 will be unregulated.” The CHA’s reported …

“If I do not receive the support for this legislative approach..”

Pete Baker on October 15, 2008, 5:03 pm

| Readers 6

The Irish News summarises the Education Minister’s message to the primary school principals featured in a Belfast Telegraph article last month – “My way or free-for-all” [subs for now]. The Telegraph covers the story here and from the ministerial letter “I was surprised, and a little disappointed, to read the comments relating to my proposals for changes to transfer arrangements attributed to you in the Belfast Telegraph. I have been very clear in all my public statements that I do …

‘We can always hope for more emigration…’

Mick Fealty on October 15, 2008, 3:22 pm

| Readers 1

Nice first round up post on the budget from our new southern blogger, Paddy McEvoy. Welcome on board Paddy! On the same subject, here’s an early round up on how the blogs saw it. Conaill was out of the blocks early (barely before the speech had ended, with a line Labour Party spokeswoman used shortly after in the Dail, On yer bike, a dig at the Greens, over the scaling back of some infrastructure projects and a Norman Tebbit inference. …

“No blockade on McNarry meetings”

Pete Baker on October 13, 2008, 11:55 pm

| Readers 2

Having expressed concern yesterday [see end of clip] that Stormont Live might fall foul of the Trade Descriptions Act, no wonder Jim Fitzpatrick and Mark Devenport played the introduction of UUP MLA David McNarry’s private member’s bill twice. It’s his second [scroll down] and the Community Use of School Premises Bill passed its first stage today. On the show he makes the case that other MLAs, and Assembly Committees, should follow suit. The discussion does throw up a great line …

“Unfortunately for me it’s still present politics..”

Pete Baker on October 5, 2008, 7:32 pm

| Readers 18

A tie-in with Brian’s previous post noting the 40th anniversary of the events at Duke St on 5th Oct 1968. There’s a bit of a false start due to technical problems at the BBC but, after a brief extract from tomorrow night’s documentary The Day The Troubles Began, Oxford academic Simon Prince makes some reasonable points on his thesis [subs req] – or, as Brian called it, a “glorious piece of revisionism”. As Simon Prince says at the end, on …

Another Catholic Grammar opts for independent tests…

Mick Fealty on October 3, 2008, 3:35 pm

| Readers 23

And then there were three: Given that the Minister for Education and the Northern Ireland Assembly Education Committee has not, as yet, agreed the arrangements for Transfer to Post-Primary Schools in September 2010, the Board of Governors of St Patrick’s Grammar School, Downpatrick, has decided that in the absence of any definitive and agreed plan and pending legislative clarity, the school will continue to admit boys to Year 8 on the basis of academic selection. This decision has been taken …

Department of Education “needs to get its act together”

Pete Baker on October 2, 2008, 6:12 pm

| Readers 3

A second Catholic grammar school has said it intends to run an independent entrance exam. St Michael’s Boys College, Enniskillen, joins Lumen Christi in Londonderry in apparently rejecting advice from Catholic bishops – as the Derry Journal reported – although the bishops have previously expressed concern at the lack of clarity from the Department and the Minister. From the BBC report Principal Eugene McCullough said they made the decision in the absence of any definitive and agreed plan. However, the …

“History is like a knife..”

Pete Baker on September 29, 2008, 3:10 pm

| Readers 7

The report in the Sunday Tribune on the Oireachtas Select Committee on Education and Science report on teaching modern Irish history contains a compelling argument. History teachers said they avoided Northern Ireland because it “can raise discriminatory attitudes in class and name calling”. There was little support for introducing it in the classroom, they said. Other reasons given by teachers for avoiding the subject were they felt they lacked knowledge of the subject and believed they could not compete with …