Schools told not to accept psychologists’ reports for Irish exemptions

Ya just knew that the Irish Language Nazis would act the langer !

In my own fella's 6th year, he knows at least 20 in his year of 120 pupils have the exemption (and this is only from the friend group he knows).

The reality (and I've already previously suggested that the Gaelgoiri shower would attempt to do this, from a position of negativity) is that by blocking this pressure release valve, it will force the hammer down on compulsory Irish for at least the Leaving Cert. They're nothing if not predictable.

Some principals ‘under pressure’ from parents seeking permission for children to not study language

"Schools have been told that they cannot award exemptions for the study of Irish on the basis of psychologists’ reports commissioned by parents which recommend that their children should not have to study the language. The move comes against a backdrop of rising numbers of pupils securing exemptions issued by school principals amid concerns over the status of Irish at second level. Irish is mandatory at school but a student or their parent can apply to their school for an exemption under “exceptional circumstances”, such as a learning difficulty or having been educated outside the State. There has been an increase in exemptions granted at second level nationally over recent years, up from 9 per cent of students in 2017-2018 to more than 12 per cent in 2022-2023. School principals report that they feel under pressure from parents to award exemptions in cases where educational psychologists’ reports – typically costing €700 to €800 – recommend exemptions from the study of Irish. Such reports may typically cite issues such as learning difficulties or other issues such as school refusal or anxiety issues."

"Responses to the letters, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show most schools cited a range of factors including growing numbers of students with special needs and students from abroad. One principal told the department that the school was “sticking rigidly to the guidelines, much to the annoyance of some parents”, but had high numbers of exemptions due to the volume of students from abroad. Another principal said: “I had a request for an Irish exemption last week from a student in-person [many tears] and their mum via email. I explained that the student did not qualify under any criteria for an exemption and no formal application was received.”"

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/...t-psychologists-reports-for-irish-exemptions/
 
While respecting everyone’s opinion, it is our national language and unless someone has a genuine learning difficulty that will make learning it too difficult then they should study Irish.
I agree. Even coming out of school knowing the Cupla focal is better than not knowing any Irish. Problem is perhaps they don't realise how proud they should be about their unique nationality.
 
Ya just knew that the Irish Language Nazis would act the langer !

In my own fella's 6th year, he knows at least 20 in his year of 120 pupils have the exemption (and this is only from the friend group he knows).

The reality (and I've already previously suggested that the Gaelgoiri shower would attempt to do this, from a position of negativity) is that by blocking this pressure release valve, it will force the hammer down on compulsory Irish for at least the Leaving Cert. They're nothing if not predictable.

Some principals ‘under pressure’ from parents seeking permission for children to not study language





https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/...t-psychologists-reports-for-irish-exemptions/
I suppose by the time students get to leaving cert unless they have decided to go teaching or any other job that requires Irish , it might be a good thing to give them the choice at that stage.

It's probably prudent to put their energies and studying into subjects that they need to achieve the results they need.
 
I agree. Even coming out of school knowing the Cupla focal is better than not knowing any Irish. Problem is perhaps they don't realise how proud they should be about their unique nationality.
I’ll always remember my late grandmother (who was by no means fluent) impressing upon me from a very young age the importance of being able to sing the national anthem. I totally agree even knowing the cuppa focal is important and I try my best to learn new words in scenarios where I can. So I listen to the announcements on trains etc in both languages. I always thought the cupla focal you’d hear when landing home with Aer Lingus was very nice also.
 
I wouldn't have minded an Irish exmpetion in school. Failed every single Irish test I ever did. Managed to somehow scrape a D2 in pass Irish in my leaving.
I'm actually a smart guy but when it came to Irish or German in school I completely sucked ass. My mind isn't wired for languages at all. Then I tried the Java programming language and I sucked balls at that too lol.
 
While respecting everyone’s opinion, it is our national language and unless someone has a genuine learning difficulty that will make learning it too difficult then they should study Irish.

I think that's fair enough but do they need to do it until age of 18-19 and have it as a requirement to enter third level education? In UK, English is compulsory to the age of 14-15, likewise in Germany for German.
If you're learning Irish from age of 5 to 15, is your fluency going to dramatically increase, doing it for last 2 years of school.
 
I think that's fair enough but do they need to do it until age of 18-19 and have it as a requirement to enter third level education? In UK, English is compulsory to the age of 14-15, likewise in Germany for German.
If you're learning Irish from age of 5 to 15, is your fluency going to dramatically increase, doing it for last 2 years of school.
That’s a very fair point and I think we need to change how we teach languages. By all means learn about poems, short stories etc in the Junior Cycle but I think the Senior Cycle should focus more on fluency in the spoken language. I think giving it higher points is worth exploring.
 
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