Anseo.net - If I were the Minister for Education
Episodes
Episode 042: Outsource Obesity
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's probably be fair to say that education is no longer the sole function of primary schools these days. Over the last decade or so, schools have now...
Mid Term Break. What Mid Term Break?
04 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
October 23rd. A fairly insignificant date. But to principals this year, it was the date they couldn’t wait for as it was to signal mid-term break, a...
Episode 041: Add an Initiative, Remove an Initiative
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Since 2011, schools have been inundated with new initiatives from the Department of Education. However, other agencies have also dumped their workload...
Special Episode: What now for Schools during Level 5?
20 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Schools are to remain open in Level 5 but can we do it safely? In this episode, I explore what's been happening over the last few days and ask the Twi...
Episode 040: Secretaries to be paid directly by DES
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you work in a primary school, one thing you can probably be sure about is that the Department of Education will pay you. Well, that is unless you h...
Budget 2021 - A Reaction
13 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While I don't think anyone was expecting much from this year's budget, at least none of us were surprised. Here's my reaction. This is a public episod...
Poetry Reading: Guidance on Remote Learning in a COVID-19 Context
08 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Any time an important circular or guidance document is released by the Department of Education, I do a live reading of it to try and make sense of it ...
Episode 39: Scrap Homework
08 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Homework is still one of the most divisive things you can talk about. If you surveyed everyone in the country about whether they think you should scra...
Special Episode: What if we go to Level 5?
06 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Sunday evening, NPHET announced they were recommending that Ireland moved to Level 5 restrictions. My Monday, the government had rejected the recom...
Episode 038: Reduce the Number of Stakeholders
01 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wondered what happens at these consultations when the Department of Education meets with all the education stakeholders? I always did an...
A Principal's Experience of a COVID19 Case and what that means for us
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The most popular post I've ever published was this week and I didn’t even write it. It was from a principal who had a positive COVID19 case in his s...
Back to School: The Good, The Bad, and The Flat Out Busy (Part 3)
18 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
To me Flat Out Busy refers to the agencies and organisations that spent their summers scurrying around scurrying, attending Zoom meetings about meetin...
Back to School: The Good, The Bad and The Flat Out Busy, (Part 2)
11 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, I focused on the people that made lockdown and the reopening of schools a more tolerable experience. This week I'm focusing on the bad, and...
Back to School: The Good, The Bad and The Flat Out Busy
04 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I’m going to try and celebrate the first week back to school and the almost unanimous sigh of relief that all the weeks of line pai...
Unsanitised: Blended Learning (Part 4)
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The last part of my live Q&A session about blended learning where I tell you what blended learning is not, how self-isolating teachers might teach...
Unsanitised: Blended Learning Q&A (Part 3)
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Do you know at the end of a talk when the presenter asks does anyone have any questions, and the room goes silent? Well, I asked Facebook and Twitter ...
Unsanitised: Blended Learning Q&A (Part 2)
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Do you know at the end of a talk when the presenter asks does anyone have any questions, and the room goes silent? Well, I asked Facebook and Twitter ...
Unsanitised: Blended Learning Q&A (Part1)
23 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Do you know at the end of a talk when the presenter asks does anyone have any questions, and the room goes silent? Well, I asked Facebook and Twitter ...
Unsanitised: Blended Learning and Back to School (Part 5)
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's Day 1 of the school year. It's all a bit weird and scary as the squeeze 30 children into your unventilated classroom, all of them breathing in yo...
Unsanitised: Blended Learning and Back to School (Part 4)
17 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Cases are rising, counties are in almost lockdown, there’s more cases growing daily than there was when schools originally closed in March, it seems...
Unsanitised: Blended Learning and Back to School (Part 3)
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
I remember my classroom when I was in primary school - rows of seats, talking wasn’t really allowed, a lot of sitting down in the same place doing b...
Unsanitised Poetry Reading - Circular 49/2020
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last Friday evening there was so much thrown at us that you might have missed a very important circular sent to schools, possibly because it was Frida...
Unsanitised: Blended Learning and Back to School (Part 2)
07 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One thing we can guarantee is that schools will be very different places when we go back to them in a couple of weeks. In this week's episode, I'm goi...
Unsanitised: Blended Learning and Back to School (Part 1)
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The government released their plan for returning to school, which could have been summed up with one emoji - the fingers crossed one. Looking at all t...
Unsanitised: A review of the Roadmap for the full return to school
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
And all it took was a global pandemic for teaching principals to get a day a week of Admin leave; what will need to happen before the posts of respons...
South Dublin and Special Schools
22 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
About a year ago, the Department of Education wrote to a load of schools in Dublin 15 to compel them to open Special Classes for Children with Autism....
Episode 037: Bus Escorts to be employed by Bus Eireann
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ah, the Irish Education System! Overly complex, mired in historical precedence and no one really knowing who is responsible for who. And what better s...
episode-special-covid19
10 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a line in Lou Reed’s Perfect Day towards the end, “You’re going to reap just what you sow” which is repeated until the song fades ou...
Episode 036: Replace Boards of Management
03 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
For those of you unfamiliar with primary schools, you might be surprised to know that the Department of Education is not responsible for what happens ...
Special Episode: We need to talk about the Full Inclusion Model
26 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The NCSE Annual Research Conference took place last week, which basically asked the question, is a fully inclusive school system right for Ireland? Th...
Episode 035: Why are we not using technology?
20 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Irish Times had a headline a couple of weeks ago “Sharp drop in primary pupils using computers in school” which caught my eye. For those of yo...
Episode 034: Change Infants structure
13 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Junior Infant classes can be a bit of a mix with children ranging from very young 4 year olds to very old 5 year olds and the difference between them ...
Episode 033: Reassess Posts of Responsibility
06 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Posts of Responsibility are promoted posts in Irish schools. During the recession, a moratorium was imposed on these posts. When they were to return, ...
SPECIAL: The Inclusion Illusion
30 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The National Principals' Forum was set up in 2018 to try and work with Department of Education to reduce principal workload. They have been trying the...
Episode 032: Keep CAMHS and Carry On
23 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve worked in a primary school for at least a decade, and you were asked what was the number one change in pupils since you began your career,...
Episode 031: Reimagination of Capitation
16 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Back in the recession, the capitation grant paid to primary schools was cut a low level of €170 per pupil per day, not even enough to cover their sc...
Episode 030: No More Teaching Principals
09 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The job of the Teaching Principal is impossible yet over 1,800 people do it every day. However, how do we have a situation where all Teaching Principa...
Episode 029: Award Principal Benchmarking
02 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Picture the scene. Ireland at the beginning of 2008. It was the height of the Celtic Tiger. The Fianna Fáil tent was dripping in champagne and helico...
Episode 028: Does Class Size Matter?
25 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Class Size seems to be a subject that has a universal agreement in terms of an answer - smaller class sizes are better - but is this true and are we e...
Episode 027: No Tolerance for Violence
18 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is partially inspired by two news stories: one where a child hospitalised two members of staff and his expulsion was overturned through a...
Episode 026: Ban Fundraising in Schools
11 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate 6 months since I started this podcast, If I were the Minister for Education investigates the scandal in the public sector where firemen h...
Episode 025: No such thing as a free lunch...except in Finland
04 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In Ireland, about 12% of schools receive a grant to provide a school lunch for its pupils in a scheme that has changed little since 1914. Recently the...
SPECIAL: Exemptions from Irish - Circular 0052/2019
31 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this special episode, I do a live analysis of the new exemption from Irish circular that came out on 28th August 2019. I go through the changes, th...
Episode 024: Leaving Cert Points and Church Interference
28 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Of all the most baffling aspects of church involvement in education, the one that bugs me most is when a secular institution actively supports it. Not...
Episode 023: Copy the Welsh - Create Curriculum Content
21 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Why has the government or any of its agencies created so few resources to help us teach the curriculum, and if they did, what should they do? Episode ...
Episode 022: So many subjects, so little time
14 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The NCCA are doing some interesting work in the background trying to restructure the curriculum given the number of demands on our time. Everyone know...
Episode 021: Scrap the new Primary Language Curriculum
07 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As if the 1999 English curriculum wasn't bad enough, the new Primary Language Curriculum did the unthinkable and was even worse. In this episode, I di...
Episode 020-part 4: We Need to Talk About Small Schools
31 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this final part of this episode on small schools, I finally come to some conclusion around saving small schools. I take all the evidence I've built...
Episode 020-Part 3: We Need to Talk About Small Schools
24 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In part 3 of this episode on the future of small schools, I analyse the Small Schools Symposium and lament what might have been. However, a newspaper ...
Episode 020-Part 2: We Need to Talk about Small Schools
17 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In last week's episode, (http://anseo.libsyn.com/we-need-to-talk-about-small-schools-part-1) we explored the history of small schools in Ireland and i...
Episode 020-Part 1: We need to talk about small schools
10 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In the first of a two-part episode, I'm going to examine small schools. After a very disappointing Symposium on Small Schools, I want to really talk a...
Episode 019: Why aren't there enough places in Special Classes?
03 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It's no news to teachers that there aren't enough places for children with additional needs in specialised classes. If you have autism, there are almo...
Episode 018: What you need to know before opening a class for children with autism
26 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The government are thinking of forcing schools to open classes for children with autism. In this episode, I'll explore why this is a bad idea but also...
Episode 017: Remove all Union Involvement from Teaching Council
19 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In soccer, everyone needs to know their position. One basic rule is that you can really only play in one position. In this episode I follow a yard tim...
Episode 016: Teachers can no longer hold glasses of wine
12 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Social Media. What could possibly go wrong? The Teaching Council has recently issued advice to teachers on their use of social media. I am going to ...
Episode 015: The Digital Framework - Buying a dog in 6 easy steps
05 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Teachers often tell me that they aren’t great on technology. I never understand this because in all aspects of their life, they use technology all t...
Episode 014: Rethink Croke Park Hours
29 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we look at all the things we lost in the recession then examine one thing we gained - Croke Park Hours! This leads into a conversatio...
Anseo.net Education News: Will Sheila Nunan be available for subbing?
26 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s news show: More calls to remove sacramental preparation from schools Surprise, surprise - standardised testing causes stress The pri...
Episode 013: Simplify the Payscale
22 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this 13th episode of If I were the Minister for Education, I try to unravel the complex web of our pay scale. I also have a go at the union, rightl...
Anseo Education News - 19th May 2019 - Sorry Bono
20 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s news show: The principal who robbed over €200k from his school Tusla wrecks another School Completion Programme Project Why the Ca...
Episode 012: I will NOT teach boys!
15 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ireland is the only secular country in the world where more then 2% of their primary schools are single-sex. How did this happen? The answer won't sur...
Anseo Education News: 13th May 2019 - Paul Rowe Retires
13 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
I've decided to separate the podcast into 2 - one for the weekly news (this podcast) and one for the "If I were the Minister for Education" bit. Thi...
Episode 011: The School Completion Programme and why Tusla hate trees
08 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The School Completion Programme is a scheme to prevent children from leaving school early. Up until recently, it was preventative in nature, but since...
Episode 010 + Special Congress 2019: Pathways and The Minor Works Grant
01 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This is one of the shorter episodes of If I were the Minister for Education so I also take time to review the INTO Congress in 2019. News: 0:40 M...
Episode 009: Uniforms make sure high spirits are at an all time low
23 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
I’m not sure when school uniforms became a thing in Irish primary schools but they’re certainly a thing now. There are very few schools (outside t...
Episode 008: Ban Spellings and Tables Tests
17 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Hangovers are never a positive experience and some are harder to shake than others, especially when it comes to education. We have so many bad (pedago...
Episode 007: Scrap the patronage system
10 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Choice. This is the word most used to combat my argument that we should scrap the patronage model. When it comes to education, it seems that almost ev...
Episode 006: Resource NEPS properly
03 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) is probably one of the most paradoxical. It is completely undervalued and under-resourced by the...
Episode 005: Scrap the NCSE
26 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When one looks at the number of agencies involved in education, one has to ask why there are so many and what do they actually do. The NCSE is the Nat...
Episode 004: Make a decision on Gaelscoileanna
19 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s call a spade a spade. As much as Gaelscoileanna don’t encourage it, they have become an unofficial “private school” for Middle Ireland. ...
Episode 003:Fund ICT properly, not as part of minor works
13 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We’re well used to cuts in primary school. Over the last decade or so, funding to primary schools has been chopped at every angle, sometimes very ob...
Special Episode: Cumasú is Coming at You
08 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Joe McHugh used to be famous for being the Minister for the Gaeltacht despite not speaking Irish. He then became famous for re-learning the Irish lang...
Episode 002: Give equal funding to primary and second level
06 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In some ways, everyone probably already knows that secondary schools are funded better than primary schools. However, to what extent is this true? In ...
Episode 001: Separate Church and State
28 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
For our first episode I thought we'd start with a light, unemotive topic! In 2019, 97.5% of Irish primary schools have a religious patron body, with a...