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Letters to the Editor, January 6th: On ill-judged changes to the Leaving Cert, and soccer chants and society

Affluent examinees will have even greater advantages sitting the Leaving Certificate than they do now

Letters to the Editor. Illustration: Paul Scott
The Irish Times - Letters to the Editor.

A chara, – Your education editor describes the changes in the Leaving Certificate to be introduced from next September as the “most ambitious reforms in a century” (“The first Leaving Cert 100 years ago: girls-only exams, botany tests and imperial measures – the biggest reforms to the exam in a century are due to roll out later this year. Are schools ready for the challenge?”, News, January 4th).

He also quotes Prof David Malone, who states that “in 1925, you’re probably only doing the Leaving Cert if you are moderately academic, moderately wealthy”.

Essentially, the cunning plan is to introduce more coursework. Is this really an “ambitious reform” that will reverse 100 years of problems identified in the article?

Despite its decrepitude, the present Leaving Cert is fairer than its reformation.

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At present, while it is true that the “moderately academic, moderately wealthy” can afford the extra tuition, smaller classes and grind schools to game the exam, the actual assessment in June is still entirely dependent on the individual candidate remembering and applying what they have learned or practised.

Coursework removes this challenge – 40 per cent of the new test could be a product of AI, parental supervision and hiring of coursework writers. This will benefit those students who have parental incentive, know-how and financial resources behind them.

Results will be guaranteed for those with money.

The pressure on teachers to help with coursework will also mean that better resourced (private) schools will be able to promise higher results.

Nothing will change except that affluent examinees will have even greater advantages sitting the Leaving Certificate than they do now.

Is this really the reform for which Minister for Education Norma Foley states that “100 years on, I don’t think our students can wait any longer”? – Is mise,

MATTHEW HARRISON,

Salthill,

Galway.

Road fatalities and statistics

Sir, – In every aviation accident, from the briefest wing-bump on the ground to the larger events, a report is compiled. Its purpose is not to allocate blame but to provide learning for all so that that incident should not be repeated, at least not in that way. Modifications to infrastructure, procedures, or human practice are often recommended and implemented.

The recent spate of pedestrian deaths on our roads prompts me to wonder if the same might not be done for road traffic accidents involving pedestrians? It is of no use to read, over and over, that someone was knocked down on a certain road. What are we to make of this? Take more care? Presumably most pedestrians are already aware of the road safety guidelines. Most drivers are regularly urged to take care. Speed limits are often enforced. The annual death toll is always lamented and the usual boilerplate advice is issued to motorists and pedestrians.

If more accurate details of the types of event were reported when established (without revealing identities or locations, of course), then we could determine what changes to make to road engineering, driver training or pedestrian behaviour. Air accident reports are available on www.aaiu.ie for any who wish to learn from the event to prevent a recurrence. Something practical instead of the sea of helplessness, uncertainty, and hand-wringing that currently prevails? – Yours, etc,

JOHN COLLINS,

Skeaghvasteen,

Co Kilkenny.

Teachers – supply and demand

A chara, – In his article “No one can say we were not warned about teacher shortages” (Education, Analysis, January 1st), Carl O’Brien refers to reports from the early 1990s, 2012 and 2016 which called for the urgent development of a more effective model of teacher supply, one that would match teacher supply with demand for secondary school teachers in all subjects.

In 1965, the Investment in Education report warned that “if secondary teachers in future were to be restricted in the subjects they are recognised to teach, shortages might well be expected in the case of particular subjects”. That report emphasised the importance of setting up an ongoing process for projecting teacher supply and demand in order to ensure that such shortages would not occur.

Will we have to wait another 60 years before a reliable supply and demand model of projecting teacher supply is set up? – Is mise,

ÁINE HYLAND,

Emeritus Professor of Education,

University College Cork.

Soccer chants and society

Sir, – Mike Cronin’s reflections on soccer chants and Irish unity (Mark Hennessy, “‘I actually felt unsafe as an English person in the Aviva’”, Common Ground, January 4th) rest on shaky ground. While the hostility at Lansdowne Road was regrettable, conflating terrace chants with a nation’s political aspirations oversimplifies complex realities.

I recall attending a Northern Ireland v England match at Windsor Park in the 1970s. As someone from the North, I felt threatened by the sectarian hostility of a section of the Northern Ireland fans and left as quickly as possible. Such experiences demonstrate that this behaviour is not confined to one part of the island and highlight the futility of using football as a measure of deeper societal divisions.

Cronin critiques the divisive legacies of partition, but his “score draw” analogy disregards the significant progress made since the Belfast Agreement in fostering a shared future. Unity will not demand winners and losers, but rather compromise, collaboration, and mutual respect.

The resurgence of Irish cultural identity reflects a reclaiming of heritage, not exclusion. Unity requires careful planning and dialogue, but it is not, as Cronin implies, a guaranteed “land of score draws”. Instead, it is a shared journey, where all stand to gain, if approached with inclusivity and imagination. – Yours, etc,

ENDA CULLEN,

Armagh.

Rugby’s scrum laws

Sir, – Owen Doyle is quite correct in referring to the “bewildering” nature of the scrum in rugby union and his identification of it as “rugby’s problem child” (“Scrum laws need to change”, Sport, December 31st). He might have gone further and commented on the crooked put-in to the scum, an angle of 45 degrees being considered normal and acceptable. The ball-winning side then retain possession so that their front-row forwards can wrestle with the opposition and regularly are awarded a penalty for their efforts. This is of course their intended strategy. Deciding who is victor is “a damn difficult task” for referees, perhaps not well versed in this martial art. Pity also the interested public. In this common scenario, playing with the ball becomes of secondary interest. – Yours, etc,

CONLETH FEIGHERY,

Sandymount,

Dublin 4.

Littler’s world championship

Sir, – Darts is used to topping the sport viewing charts at this time of year, with the razzmatazz of the PDC World Championships, but Luke Littler has upped the game. The Luke Littler magnetic dartboards couldn’t be got for love nor money at Christmas. If darts was poetry, Littler would be Wordsworth. At 17, he’s the perfect fusion of youth, inspiration, excitement and talent.

He has brightened up a world going through dark times.

Maybe we will now get darts into the Olympics. – Yours, etc,

BRIAN QUIGLEY,

Drumcondra,

Dublin 9.