Rights when school drops certain leaving cert subjects

That is such a shame.

Is there any possibility that your daughter could take it outside of school?

If there are other students in the school who wish to take it, perhaps a teacher could be found to take the 7 students outside of the school timetable, possibly paid by the parents? I know it's not ideal, but when I started teaching music years ago, I facilitated such a class, but I was paid by the school. I took the class twice weekly for an hour each time.

Feel free to PM me, if you wish.

spurious wrote: »

There may possibly be an argument to be made that by offering JC Music an expectation was created that she would be able to do LC Music.

I know the Department in similar cases (where a teacher left in 5th yr) was obliged to fund a teacher outside any allocation. Whether the JC is considered the same 'course of study' as the LC might be a tricky one to argue.

I don't think the Dept will go for that. LC subjects are about supply and demand. Schools don't have unlimited allocation so have to provide subjects that will satisfy the majority. Most schools would have it written into school policies that subjects are offered and put on subject to demand.

In my school it looks like Art won't run in fifth year this year because only 3 have chosen it. That's the first time I've seen that happen in 20 years.

To my mind it looks really bad if a school has offered a minority subject for junior cert and then pulled out for leaving cert. If this is the first time numbers are unexpectedly low then they should make an exception. Do they expect your child to choose another subject they're not as good at!

Imagine if I was teaching a good JC music class and had students really doing well with good potential for leaving cert music/points. If that rug were pulled from those students it is genuinely affecting their overall LC points.

Very often I've had strong and weak students having music as their best subject and capitalising on the points reward (and mental health!) Benefits.

By any chance is the music teacher in that school teaching another subject (like Irish or Maths!).

Looks like the limiting to ten subjects in junior cycle is coming home to roost in LC.

OP, I would attempt to contact the music teacher in the school and find out a bit more.

Also if they're cutting a subject for the leaving it raises major concerns for all of those students in Junior Cycle now studying music... This is very much an issue for the parents council, and worthy of stating your concerns in a letter to the BOM. Nothing may come of it but at least it's been put on record and that the school were warned of future roadblocks for the Junior Cycle cohort and incoming students who were told music was on the menu.

Also on the off chance the patron on the BOM is from a religious order, contact them , despite many people's gripes with religious orders, they do see the value in an "holistic" education that incorporates the arts.

Because the music teacher wouldn't be available to cover one of their other subjects. From the school's perspective, this would be taking an Irish teacher or an English teacher from a normal class size, giving them to a very small number of students for those times, and then making up the deficit by increasing the number of students in the subject they were removed from.

In the event that the music teacher only taught music (not that common), they'd then by down a substitute or someone who could do work that keeps the school functioning in terms of admin.

Typically an arts subject that they would have studied as part of their music degree.

The music teacher in my school also taught French but I know of others who teach Irish, English, etc.

how is the fault of the people that chose music?

It is not.

But something people miss is life is not fair.

And as Mr Spock said "the needs of the many should outweigh the needs of the few of the one" .

It is often a simple matter of prioritising finite resources.

Or they co-operate with another nearby school that has a (say) small music class and arrange for students to attend together. It means some clever timetable juggling to make it work, especially when class times vary a bit, but it can be done.

jesus christ, some people truly have issues! we have the abilities to try create these opportunities for kids, a workable solution has already been provided above, i.e. schools sharing resources. yes we all know life isnt fair, but beleive it or not, some minds simply cannot convert to other ways of thinking and processing this world. the world needs artistic minds, but the world of arts, particularly in the modern world, is continually shafted, as it is deemed by many as being, 'non-productive'. a 'true prodigy', ffs! so we can create an elitist world or something!

My opinion from what follows will be obvious, but I won't engage in the fractious debate because I think most of what there is to be said has already been. But I would just say, expanding on what someone else said, that most LC subjects are not prerequisites for their corresponding university courses. One exception is Art. A student who has not studied Art at LC, and been educated in how to produce a portfolio of work, will struggle to gain entry to the best art courses.