What is going on in our schools?

meeeeh

I don't think non nationals have it overly hard in Ireland and I say that as one. I think my kids are way better of being kids of non national than being born into the wrong estate. But it could be also that profile of immigrants changed and now days they are way more educated and less vulnerable.

Anyway I came accross very few attitudes like the one in op and if there is the discussion needed it should be first about the attitudes towards parts of homegrown population. There is no need to manufacture problems where there aren't many.

Hammer89

I'd also like to know what is going on in our UN meetings.

I'm a secret spy as many of you know and I've set foot in a number of these meetings and the number of flags on display was deeply upsetting. I only saw ONE Irish flag. And 'Ireland' was written in English for some reason. I asked Morgan Freeman about this and he was delighted someone asked him. He said: 'I'm Kofi Annan'.

This is madness.

steddyeddy

OP my children will benefit from going to school with a wide variety of kids from different ethnicities and economic backgrounds. Those who seperate their kids from kids of different ethnicities or economic background aren't really teaching their kids about the real world and are often bigoted.

The_Valeyard

Hammer89 wrote: »

I'd also like to know what is going on in our UN meetings.

I'm a secret spy as many of you know and I've set foot in a number of these meetings and the number of flags on display was deeply upsetting. I only saw ONE Irish flag. And 'Ireland' was written in English for some reason. I asked Morgan Freeman about this and he was delighted someone asked him. He said: 'I'm Kofi Annan'.

This is madness.

Cant believe you also got hold of a time machine!!

Eimee90

As a teacher I find this post very odd. What do you want to do? Segregate the class and have a majority of Irish students in it. It is a greater testament to the progress of this country that children of all nationalities are actually attending school in Ireland, mixing and socialising.

The way you described "you should look at the cities" is very sad. Would you hold the same contempt if your grandaughter attended a multi-racial school somewhere in Europe?

Irish culture is not dying, it's opening and taking in new perspectives, greater tolerance and freedom. You should be happy your grandchildren are part of this new Irish outlook.

super_furry

Oh come on. You lot aren't really falling for this new account, one post, letters to the Daily Mail editor rewrite, are you?

Hammer89

The_Valeyard wrote: »

Cant believe you also got hold of a time machine!!

As many of you know, I can get hold of anything.

Oldtrope

The centenary of 1916 and we are giving away our nation to another batch of foreigners. T'is very sad. Someone said we absorbed the Normans and English! They came as planters and invaders.

Perhaps the Irish will get reservations and casinos like the Red Indians!

spacetweek

Oldtrope wrote: »

The centenary of 1916 and we are giving away our nation to another batch of foreigners. T'is very sad. Someone said we absorbed the Normans and English! They came as planters and invaders.

Perhaps the Irish will get reservations and casinos like the Red Indians!

Hello, rereg!

spacetweek

My word, that PoliticalIrish website is purely awful. Every fear mongering swivel-eyed loon has set up camp there.

Moo Moo Land

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

"Our children"?

My son goes to school with children of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds.

I am very happy that he gets to experience this and will not grow up bigoted where children are divided into "our children" and "their children".

As for Irish being a second class language- It's been like that since the foundation of the school system because they dont use immersion but ram grammar down childrens throats May with so many of "them" they might bring some fresh ideas to teaching it.

Brilliant post.

endacl

Oldtrope wrote: »

The centenary of 1916 and we are giving away our nation to another batch of foreigners. T'is very sad. Someone said we absorbed the Normans and English! They came as planters and invaders.

Perhaps the Irish will get reservations and casinos like the Red Indians!

Blah. Blah blah blah blah? Blah...?

BobbyPropane

katemarch wrote: »

If they are now "minorities" then the schools aren't their schools.

But it seem to me that children of foreign nationals, born or reared here, ARE "our children" and 'twas ever so.

We've absorbed Norman children, before that Viking children, more recently Huguenot children, English and Scots -- the movement of peoples is as natural as the wind and tides around the globe and the Irish have always done, it, too.

Irish children turned up in American, Canadian, British and Australian schools: and got an education, and settled in...even now, all over the EU, in assorted languages.

The door is open, as it should be.

The Normans and vikings tried to conquer these lands, and they were a far more civilised and educated people than the Celts who originally settled here. It's a completely different situation to the current immigration of foreign nationals (non EU) and refugees from dirt poor backward countries with no sense of manners or respect.

You're also forgetting that the Normans destroyed our language and set the foundation for a fractured island and the result was English occupation. So yes, it is completely understandable that an Irish person would stand up and try to protect their national culture,identity and language without being forced into accepting the destruction of the national identity.

"The door is open, as it should be." We should not be bowing down to other cultures and letting them take priority over our own cultures. I have nothing against Eastern Europeans who of the many I know are respectful and astonished at how Irish culture is being extinguished and not fully embraced. I have heard time and time again at how they are saddened by the fact we can't even maintain our own language like their own countries. I believe entirely in the concept of an open EU by the way. It is us ourselves that is to blame for pandering to immigrants to the point were we have completely forgotten what makes nations unique and exciting, which is their own individual strong cultures.

Iwasfrozen

BobbyPropane wrote: »

The Normans and vikings tried to conquer these lands, and they were a far more civilised and educated people than the Celts who originally settled here. It's a completely different situation to the current immigration of foreign nationals (non EU) and refugees from dirt poor backward countries with no sense of manners or respect.

You're also forgetting that the Normans destroyed our language and set the foundation for a fractured island and the result was English occupation. So yes, it is completely understandable that an Irish person would stand up and try to protect their national culture,identity and language without being forced into accepting the destruction of the national identity.

"The door is open, as it should be." We should not be bowing down to other cultures and letting them take priority over our own cultures. I have nothing against Eastern Europeans who of the many I know are respectful and astonished at how Irish culture is being extinguished and not fully embraced. I have heard time and time again at how they are saddened by the fact we can't even maintain our own language like their own countries. I believe entirely in the concept of an open EU by the way. It is us ourselves that is to blame for pandering to immigrants to the point were we have completely forgotten what makes nations unique and exciting, which is their own individual strong cultures.

1. Irish is moribound.
2. We're not banning non EU nationals. Build a bridge and get over it.

sjw_central

I'm with the Dalai Lama on this.



Ireland for the Irish, and ******land for the *******.

Tigger

Oldtrope wrote: »

I live in a very rural part of Ireland as many of you know, .

you have 2 posts so how would we know where you live
also i doubt the majority of kids are non irish

Tigger

Oldtrope wrote: »

The centenary of 1916 and we are giving away our nation to another batch of foreigners. T'is very sad. Someone said we absorbed the Normans and English! They came as planters and invaders.

Perhaps the Irish will get reservations and casinos like the Red Indians!

Native Americans?

Tigger

cnoc wrote: »

Grammar and spelling is very important.

is overratted

suicide_circus

Cultural diversity is inherently good. I mean, there is no evidence that it has any positive impact on society but it sure sounds positive.

Grayson

I just took a look at the thread on the site the OP was taken from. The people there are poisonous.

hawthorne

Grayson wrote: »

I just took a look at the thread on the site the OP was taken from. The people there are poisonous.

Just take a look at this :

http://www.politicalirish.com/threads/mein-kampf-multiculturalism-will-fail.10858/

Typical post for that site. This "Tadgh Gaelach" looks like a massive fascist moron.
The moderators seem to tolerate all that nazi propaganda.

quickbeam

Oldtrope wrote: »

I live in a very rural part of Ireland as many of you know, the village I live in can have no more than 500 homes in the surrounding area.

Was there some sort of Council by-law passed that won't allow your village to exceed 500 homes? What happens if a 501st home is built? Are they made to knock it down? Or the other residents of the village fined for allowing the 500 limit to be exceeded?

Strange law none the less, but I guess that's the way things are done out of the main cities these days .....

Pherekydes

I understand the OP's concern.

Why, only last week I was driving past Tallaght and I saw the lights were on in the stadium there, so I stopped to see what was going on and it turned out to be a soccer game! Bloody foreign games! Anyway, I carried on to the hospital and why it seemed to be staffed full of furriners and immigants!!! A black doctor saw to my wrist!1!!!!.

I didn't fancy cooking so I got a Chinese on the way home. It's cultural genocide, so it is, letting all those foreigners into our country and staffing our hospitals and whatnot, and having the audacity to send their kids to OUR schools!!

Immigants!!!

meeeeh

Pherekydes wrote: »

I didn't fancy cooking so I got a Chinese on the way home. It's cultural genocide, so it ...

In fairness Chinese food here is cultural genocide of proper Chinese food.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Oldtrope wrote: »

The centenary of 1916 and we are giving away our nation to another batch of foreigners. T'is very sad. Someone said we absorbed the Normans and English! They came as planters and invaders.

Perhaps the Irish will get reservations and casinos like the Red Indians!

If you're going to bother at all, try and be original at least.

Moo Moo Land

To be fair to the OP, this is exactly why Gaelscoils have become so popular.

HellSquirrel

meeeeh wrote: »

In fairness Chinese food here is cultural genocide of proper Chinese food.

But all that lovely MSG!

_Kaiser_

So I've skipped past the usual/predictable AH responses, so apologies if this was already said

The OP has a valid point in there. Our classes are increasingly diverse and while that's not a bad thing, it IS an issue if it means that Irish children's opportunities to learn are being stunted by a need to first develop basic (English - I don't care about Irish) skills of their classmates.

My own little fella was down for a local school that historically had great feedback but when speaking to one of the teachers this very point was brought up as she felt he would be "held back" by this. I (genuinely) hadn't even considered it before then, but it made sense too. If you first need to establish a common language then that's time lost for other topics. As a result he's down for a different school instead.

It's great that they get to experience different languages and cultures at a young age, but this needs to be balanced against the need to actually get on with teaching them new things as well. I couldn't give a toss whether that's un-PC or whatever other nonsense term some here will use, but the welfare of my child comes first - even if some are offended by that.

Moo Moo Land

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

So I've skipped past the usual/predictable AH responses, so apologies if this was already said

The OP has a valid point in there. Our classes are increasingly diverse and while that's not a bad thing, it IS an issue if it means that Irish children's opportunities to learn are being stunted by a need to first develop basic (English - I don't care about Irish) skills of their classmates.

My own little fella was down for a local school that historically had great feedback but when speaking to one of the teachers this very point was brought up as she felt he would be "held back" by this. I (genuinely) hadn't even considered it before then, but it made sense too. If you first need to establish a common language then that's time lost for other topics. As a result he's down for a different school instead.

It's great that they get to experience different languages and cultures at a young age, but this needs to be balanced against the need to actually get on with teaching them new things as well. I couldn't give a toss whether that's un-PC or whatever other nonsense term some here will use, but the welfare of my child comes first - even if some are offended by that.

Yeah but to be fair, you would be amazed how quick the children with poor English skills come up to speed with the common language (I don't care about "sectarian" Irish).

We live in a new world. People need to adapt or wallow in resentment.

BrokenArrows

Oldtrope wrote: »

I live in a very rural part of Ireland as many of you know, the village I live in can have no more than 500 homes in the surrounding area.

This morning I took my Granddaughter to school, its her first year and she is junior Infants. What I witnessed was shocking and upsetting.

The classroom was nicely laid out but everywhere I looked foreign words were displayed all over the walls with pictures of flags and their name in their language. For Ireland the words were wrote in English, no Gaelige anywhere.

I enjoy talking to some of the other parents as I have done in the past when I took one of my grandsons to the school in the past, today was much different. Nearly every mother I spoke too were foreign, I encountered a lot of Eastern Europeans, a few Brazilians, and some English. If I had to put a number on it I would say the majority of the classroom had foreign children with only a small percentage of Irish children.

I waited to speak to the teacher, I wanted to know why Ireland was represented in English and not Gaelige. When she arrived she was welcoming and appeared almost happy someone had finally asked her the question. She told me that because the majority of the classroom could speak very little English they had to use their own languages to welcome them and make them feel at home, English was the 2nd language that all children must learn and so even Irish has to be represented in English. They do still teach Irish as part of the curriculum, but it is only taught at the bare minimum acceptance level as it was no use to the classroom because the majority of the children had been exempted by the school governors and the department of Education.

I asked her why were there so many non Irish children, she replied to me that if I thought this was bad then I should look at the bigger towns and Cities where the problem was far worse.

This is madness, we are losing our cultural heritage and now our children are minorities in their own schools and suffering because of it.

So your question is "why are there so few Irish children?" but in reality you are asking "Why are the schools allowing foreigners in?".

Schools will accept whoever lives in the area. If there were more Irish children in the area then there will be more Irish children in the schools.

Get over it. Ireland is not the isolated "white irish" nation that it once was. It is now a diverse range of cultures from all over the world which is a good thing.

This does have an effect on schools but at the end of the day your granddaughter will grow up to be a better person because of it.