After spending time at the Gaeltacht my love for the irish language increased exponentially. Most people know that im a person who is very passionate about the Irish language and very proud of the fact that we have our own culture and heritage. But something that really annoys me about Irish is that everyone hates it! And you know what? I hated Irish, and I hated it for a very long time. But it was only until i went to the Gaeltacht for the first time in 2nd year that i discovered how beautiful the language really is. But why do so many people hate Irish? Well i've been carrying out a lot of research and investigation into it, and basically i've come to the conclusion that the problem lies within the irish curriculum. Irish just simply isn't taught in a good way, its full of flaws and consequently its creating a hate for the language and it needs to be stopped. So myself and a group of students from LCC decided we would start a campaign to get the curriculum changed. The campaign is called "Dóchas na nGael - Hope for Irish"
A petition to change the curriculum for the Irish Language at primary and secondary school level. Here is a breakdown of what we hope to achieve:
- [ ] Change in the Primary school Irish curriculum
- Assigned teachers teach Irish to all classes so all students enter first year at similar level of Irish
- More emphasis on conversational Irish
- More class time in Irish
- So that students would be able to speak and converse (as best as they can) in relation to topics within the curriculum by the time they leave school
- This level should be achieved by putting complete emphasis on the spoken language. Perhaps sport and music could be taught only through the medium of Irish.
- There should be an option of either having a fluent teacher facilitating the conversational aspect of the class or having the Educational institutions reviewing how they're providing training in language methodology.
- [ ] Change in the secondary school Irish curriculum:
- Junior students and Senior Students would complete a compulsory course and Senior Students would then have an option to complete another course:
1) From 1st year - 6th Year a basic Irish course with emphasis on the oral/aural and understanding aspects of the language with gradual introduction of reading and writing.
2) Optional Subject Course focusing on Gaelic literature and poetry at leaving cert level
- Interactive learning: Video clips, Music, Sport
- Use of interactive apps such as one like OIDE - Coláiste Lurgan
Please sign the petition by clicking the link below!
