Um das ganze Elend und den Irrsinn der Irren und ihrer "Debatte" zu verstehen, muß man bei denen die Zeitung studieren. Die erwähnte "Irish Times" ist online zuhause und darum eine gute Quelle. Aber in weiser Voraussicht bringe ich die Artikel hier in Sicherheit. Man weiß ja nie, wie die Webheinis der Zeitung durchdrehen und Artikel wieder verschwinden lassen. Das haben wir in der Vergangenheit oft genug erlebt.
Das hier ist der Artikel vom 28.12.2016, der über das berichtet, was den Katholenpfaffen im Magen liegt. Aber es ist noch nicht mal die halbe Wahrheit. Dazu später mehr. Hier erst mal der Artikel.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/religion-may-be-out-of-core-curriculum-for-primary-schools-1.2918634[*quote*]
Religion may be out of core curriculum for primary schoolsNew NCCA proposals give schools more freedom to focus on other areas of study
Wed, Dec 28, 2016, 02:33 Updated: Wed, Dec 28, 2016, 08:19
Carl O'Brien
New proposals suggest there should be a greater focus on creative play during the early years of primary school. File photograph: Dave Thompson/PA Wire
Religious education will no longer feature as part of the State’s core curriculum at primary school under new proposals being considered by policy-makers.
Instead, schools will have the freedom to decide how much time they wish to spend on teaching religion as part of “flexible time”. At present, schools typically spend up to two and a half hours a week on religion.
While the 1998 Education Act protects the right of schools to set aside time in each school day for subjects relating to the school’s ethos, it does not stipulate the amount of time to be allocated.
Under proposals to be formally launched next month, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) says a minimum of 60 per cent of the school day could be set aside for teaching the core curriculum, such as English, Irish and maths.
Up to 40 per cent of the rest of the school day would be designated as “flexible time” for roll call, assembly, breaks, discretionary curriculum time and the patron’s programme.This would give schools much greater freedom to spend additional time on literacy and numeracy, or other planned parts of the curriculum such as computer coding.
Religious education
Schools would be free to decide how much, or how little, time they wished to spend on religious education.
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The proposals form part of a major new blueprint on the structure and time allocation for a re-developed primary school curriculum.
They represent some of the biggest proposed changes to teaching and learning at primary school level in decades.
One of the most significant is that children in primary schools may not study traditional subjects until as late as 10 years of age.
Instead, there would be a much greater focus on creative play during the early years of primary school and broader areas of learning in later years.
The reforms are based loosely on some of the features of top-performing education systems in countries such as Finland, as well as extensive research with Irish schools.
The NCCA said the proposals are intended to begin a discussion about the redevelopment of the primary curriculum.
An initial consultation will run through spring next year, including a major conference on March 28th in Dublin Castle. The NCCA will use the findings to draft an overview of a redeveloped primary curriculum, which will be the focus of further consultation in late 2017 and into 2018.
Consultation process
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) welcomed the consultation process saying there was a very real sense of overload among primary teachers. The union’s general secretary Sheila Nunan said primary teachers were teaching seven curriculum areas with each one further sub-divided into more subjects.
“They are then expected to teach all these to multiple groups of children in large classes while at the same time provide additional learning programmes for children with special needs and very able pupils,” she said.
“While teachers are told to select ‘a la carte’ from a ‘menu’ curriculum, the expectation still tends to be that at the end of the year, all areas will be covered. This is an unrealistic goal which this process must address.”
She said it was important that any review retains the breadth and balance in the learning experiences provided for children.
“The child-centred nature of the primary curriculum must be retained. The present curriculum is good for children but teachers are paying the price in terms of workload stress,” she said.
“The challenge is to make the curriculum manageable for teachers. Planning is a key task. At present, teachers have more homework than children. Increased accountability has developed into endless recording of pupil progress.”
[*/quote*]
Ebenfalls vom 28.12.2016 aus der Irish Times. Hier sind ausnahmsweise mal nähere Angaben zu den einzelnen Fächern. Auch das kommt zu den Akten.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/finnish-style-reforms-proposed-under-new-blueprint-for-primary-education-1.2918639[*quote*]
Finnish-style reforms proposed under new blueprint for primary educationGreater emphasis is put on learning through play instead of traditional formal lessons
Wed, Dec 28, 2016, 01:00
Carl O'Brien
Children in Ireland begin formal lessons – and up to 11 subjects – from the moment they start primary school at age four or five. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
Ever since Finland developed a reputation as Europe’s education powerhouse, it has become a source of fascination among policy-makers.
It doesn’t start formal education until age seven. It scorns homework and testing until well into the teenage years. Instead, a big emphasis is placed on learning though play.
Ireland may well be about to head down a similar route to countries such as Finland.Children in Ireland begin formal lessons – and up to 11 subjects – from the moment they start primary school at age four or five.
Under new proposals produced by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), children in primary schools may not study traditional subjects until as late as age 10 years of age.
Instead, there would be a much greater focus on creative play during the early years of primary school and broader areas of learning in later years.
The existing curriculum was drawn up almost 20 years ago. During this time, experts have come to understand much more about how children learn.
Research indicates there is little evidence that teacher-led early learning improves long-term achievement.
In fact, it may have the opposite effect, potentially slowing emotional and cognitive development, causing unnecessary stress and perhaps even souring kids’ desire to learn.
David Whitebread, a psychologist at Cambridge University who has studied the topic for decades, says play is often regarded as “immature behaviour” which doesn’t achieve anything. Yet, he says, it is essential to child development.
Persevere
He says they need to learn to persevere, to control attention, to control emotions – which can be achieved through play.
Jay Giedd, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Diego, has also spent his career studying how the human brain develops from birth through adolescence.
He says most children below the age of seven or eight years of age are better suited for “active exploration”. Highly structured lessons, however, can discourage this kind of exploration.
In theory, our current primary school curriculum should allow for a greater emphasis on play during the early years.
In practice, however, it happens rarely. Many teachers complain of “curriculum overload” and argue they do not have the time or resources for new approaches.
The proposed changes seek to alleviate some of this pressure through significant changes to the time allocated for learning during the school day.
Under proposals to be formally launched next month, a minimum of 60 per cent of the school day could be set aside for teaching the core curriculum, such as English, Irish and maths.
Up to 40 per cent of the rest of the school day would be designated as
“flexible time” for roll call, assembly, breaks, discretionary curriculum time
and the patron’s programme.This would allow schools to spend additional time on the part of the curriculum which they feel best meets the needs of students.
Schools would be free to decide how much, or little, time they wish to spend on religious education.
This appears to be a response to concerns among teachers that too much time is spent teaching religion.
For example, a survey of almost 600 primary principals published earlier this year found that eight out of 10 believed less time should be spent on teaching religion in the classroom.
This proposal may well spark the most media attention, given growing tensions over how to accommodate the competing priorities of a more pluralist society.
Significant reforms
However, it diverts attention from much bigger and more significant reforms in how children are likely to learn over the coming decades.
The NCCA’s proposals also involve a potential move away from subjects to towards “curriculum areas” or broader areas of learning.
This could allows for greater cohesion across related subjects, compared to the current, sprawling 11-subject curriculum, according to some experts.
Another proposal is to introduce key parts of the pre-school curriculum – Aistear – into the early years of the primary school curriculum . Aistear uses a much different curriculum structure based on four themes: well-being, identity and belonging, communicating, and exploring and thinking.
This would form the bedrock for a more play-based approach to teaching and learning at primary school.The NCCA is keen to emphasise that the proposals are intended to begin a discussion about the redevelopment of the primary curriculum.
An initial consultation will run through spring. The council will use the findings to draft an overview of a redeveloped primary curriculum which will be the focus of further consultation in late 2017 and into 2018.
Many educationalists argue that our more traditional approach to education is much less effective at producing people who can discover and innovate. Rather, the argument goes, it is producing people who are likely to be passive consumers of information, followers rather than inventors.Traditionalists, however, are likely to maintain that the current system has served us very well.
Much of this future debate over reform is likely to boil down to a single question: which approach will be best in fostering the kind of skills our children will need in the 21st century?
Current weekly time allocation in primary school (1st to 6th class):English and Irish: 7 hours, 30 mins
Maths: 4 hours, 10 mins
History, geography and science: 3 hoursArts, drama, music: 3 hoursReligious education: 2 hours, 30 minsRecreation: 2 hours, 30 mins
Discretionary curriculum time: 2 hours
Assembly: 1 hour, 40 mins
Physical education: 1 hour
Roll call: 50 mins
Breaks: 50 mins
Social, personal and health information: 30 mins
Proposed changes to primary school day:State curriculum time: Minimum of 60 per cent (English, Irish, maths, etc)
Flexible time: 40 per cent (Assembly, roll call, discretionary curriculum, religious education)
Topics:
David Whitebread
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Ab damit zu den Akten!
[Mit Korrektur der Orthographie, bitte! ET]