No quitten we're whelan on to chitchat 11

It's very important to have it wide enough to allow animals to stand sideways. Fit your animals head to tail.

From memory I put 11 fr bullocks 600kgs into my 22ft ..I don't think I would have fitted 12

See the new junior cert is a fairly tame affair. One week of exams, only 1 paper in Irish, English and maths, used to be 2.

I don't know on the homework thing every kid is different. Daughter here always went above and beyond homework wise, never had to ask her had she any homework. The lads are different . Youngest lad wouldn't care about school but he is brilliant at other things, he does what he has to do school wise. I think it's a boy/ girl thing

I remember when I did the leaving, some of the lads were fantastic at practical but not great at literature. They only got D’s when the teacher commented that their projects were top class. Even as farmers we’ve too much paperwork

It’s a disaster. Dumbing down everything by 60%.

theory behind it is nice but in reality, it is a disaster.

The jump from JC to LC is now bigger than ever and the standards dropping daily.

I remember being showed day practical engineering pieces from the 1980s and 1990s and progressively they are made easier and easier.

now to pass LC at higher level, all you need is 30%

at JC, no more As, Bs or Cs- It’s yet to achieve, achieved, in line with expectations.

nobody allowed to struggle or fail. No resilience being learned.

Remember the pen is mightier than the sword.

Would have been poor study wise, always managed homework.

This idea you can equalise the system is flawed, cream always rises.

What happens is you open the divide. There is no easy options in life, however there is no hard options either.

I think Micheal D did a great disservice education. He was really trying to explain something else. He actually said to stop homework to allow creative pursuits, he was in a national school.

Yes dancing, music, reading are all great. But the maths divide is huge. Maths and mathematical ability was what saved me. But you learn the foundations at national school.

As the Kerryman said to the Yank on Sleahead, you cannot eat a view

Japan and Korea have significantly longer school years than us though.

I did a quick Google there and we have 40-50 less school days, that’s 10 weeks less.

I think homework within reason is ok. Coordination would be nice, depending on what classes my daughter has each day she could have no homework or 3 hours to have in for next day, now she likes to go to the last to produce good homework where I would have done the very least to avoid hassle

Parental involvement is a major factor in kids education. Kids of parents with college education are far more likely to succeed in exams and go to college and have higher earning potential.

Dumbing down the education system has only one effect in dumbing down the education of people.

Look across the water in Britain where they're a good few years ahead in this trend and look how people have become, from the lowest to the politicians.

Main attraction for the multinationals being here is the education status of the workforce. If that gets dumbed down they'll move on to somewhere else to where it's still important. The English language advantage won't cut it for much longer as it's becoming universally learned now.

We were known or was drilled into us in primary school as the land of saints and scholars. Saints are mostly gone or were a figment. Where will the scholars be got?

Young lad just came in and asked is homework banned yet.....

As in every job you have good and bad