5 Things We Learned Yesterday

1. Teachers don't like being lectured – especially by Ruairí Quinn:If there's one thing likely to enrage teachers it's being told by a Minister they don't appreciate the depth of our economic crisis.

But no one told Ruairí Quinn. This is what he said: “When I hear appeals at this congress or elsewhere for reversals of budget measures or calls for increased investment in education, it worries me that the gravity of the fiscal crisis is still not fully understood.’’ It was these misjudged remarks which unleashed such anger at the conferences of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) and Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI).

To thunderous applause, INTO general secretary responded: “We get it, Minister . . . we get it.’’ She proceeded to explain how, on average, five children in every classroom were at risk of poverty and how teachers saw at first hand how families and communities were being devastated by the economic crisis.

Ruairí Quinn shifted uncomfortably in his chair, wondering, no doubt, how such a line ever made it into his speech. Sensibly, he chose not to use it in his address to the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) yesterday.

2. Rumours about the death of small schools are (probably) exaggerated.

Right now, every small rural school in the State is feeling vulnerable. Small schools have already been targeted in the budget. There is apprehension  a forthcoming Department of Education “value-for-money”  report will kill off hundreds of schools.

Ireland has about 3,200 primary and about 750 second level schools. That’s a lot of schools. About 650 of these at primary level have less than 50 pupils. The department would like to achieve greater efficiencies. Translation? Some schools will be closed. Other will be merged with their neighbours.

It’s a daft plan which ignores the central role of these schools in building social capital in small rural communities. And the estimated savings – about €18 million – are a relative pittance.

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames of Fine Gael accuses the Minister of “social engineering’’ and of underestimating the central role of these schools in rural life. The problem for Ruairí Quinn is that many Labour and Fine Gael deputies agree with this assessment.

3. A huge number of Department of Education officials travel with Ruairí Quinn.

How many officials are required to accompany the Minister for Education to the teacher conferences? We counted nine – including his driver. These included the new secretary general, Seán Ó Foghlu, various other assistant secretaries and his advisers.  It seems like a great many people to mentor, advise and assist the Minister. But, apparently, it’s a long tradition in the Department of Education.

If so, it should change.

4. Junior Cert reform is not in the bag.

There is a common assumption that Junior Cert reform is all wrapped up. Ruairí Quinn hopes the new exam will be rolled out from 2017. It’s all a response to those dismal Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development rankings on literacy and numeracy among Irish 15-year-olds.

The revised exam will promote independent learning and address concern from employers and university presidents about rote learning and “spoon-fed” students at second level. That’s the plan.

So far, the signs are encouraging. The two second level unions – the ASTI and the TUI – have signed up to the process, notwithstanding some concerns about new systems of continuous assessment. The unions say support for the new plans is contingent on adequate resources – and there’s the rub.

Will both continue to back the plan as further education cuts are imposed on an already chronically underfunded system? For Quinn, changes to the Junior Cert are the big ticket item in his reform package. But there are still some hurdles to jump.

5. Teaching conferences are great craic: No one gets much sleep at teacher conferences.

It’s not unusual to encounter a crowded, swaying hotel lobby at 5am. For teachers, conferences are an opportunity to meet up with old friends from training colleges or university.

One of the striking features is how every teacher in the country appears to be blessed with a great singing voice. If you want to hear great versions of your favourite Bob Dylan or Coldplay songs – even as Gaeilge – teacher conferences are the place to be. But Garth Brooks, we notice, is suddenly out of fashion.