Q&A

Your education questions answered

I was advised by the principal at my son's school that he should be doing an average of two hours homework each evening. He invariably seems to have free periods during the school day, thus giving him an excuse to finish his study early. I inquired of the principal why this occurred. His answer listed a whole range of activities that necessitated teachers not being available to take class.

The problem of loss of class contact time in schools is a particularly sensitive one. Some of it is unplanned, such as illness, which makes it difficult for principals to arrange for a suitable substitute teacher. Other absences are built into the day-to-day operation of the school year and changing them would require a major reorganisation in how schools operate.

The most disruptive aspect on a daily basis, apart from illness, is the effect of extra-curricular activity. Our children's education is broad and teachers give of their time to organise a wide range of experiences outside the school. Across the entire system sport plays a major role in Irish education, and given that field sports have to finish in daylight, many students involved in sport miss valuable class contact time, as do the teachers who accompany them.

Secondly, by far the most innovative aspect of the second-

level education system in recent years has been the development of the Transition Year. Teachers of this programme organise a whole range of extra-curricular events for Transition Year students, which hugely enhances the quality of their educational experience. The disruptive aspect of this programme arises from the fact that the teacher accompanying students to these activities is also timetabled to have a series of classes. The Transition Year student's gain is the fifth-year student's loss. Do we abandon the positive extra-curricular aspects of the Transition Year programme?

A possible solution to this problem might be to have parents volunteer to accompany students to these events. The only problem with this suggestion is that most parents are not trained to deal with large groups of children, nor would they have the skills to exercise discipline over such a large number of children.

Beyond illness and extra- curricular activity, there are other educational activities that cause students to lose class contact time. These include in-service training of teachers in revised curriculum, the operation of the language oral examinations and practical examinations.

Many language teachers and teachers of practical subjects are employed to examine students in schools other than their own, to avoid them marking their own students. This can impact on their own scheduled timetables and contribute to less class time.

Brian Mooney is president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors. E-mail your questions to bmooney@irish-times.ie