Blog: ISSU Education Officer
Hi! My name is Joanna Siewierska and I am the Education Officer for the Irish Second-Level Students' Union. As the ISSU Education Officer, my term in office has consisted of having to do a lot of research about the JCSA. From training days and chats at conferences, to reading news articles and press statements, having studied the reforms and different opinions about them, I have become a passionate advocate in their favour. I do realise that they are not perfect, but I really believe that they will be better for second-level students in Ireland.However, keeping up with the debate about the reforms has become tiresome for me recently. You see, the teaching unions initial threats and then real industrial action have switched the conversation about the reforms to addressing their concerns, namely, it has switched to assessment related discussion and it's been like this for quite a while now. I do think that this is very important because any reforms to the education system will essentially be brought in by teachers to the classroom. However, I feel like the media have continually focused on one aspect of the Junior Certificate reforms, and that is assessment. This has taken people's attention from the rest of the changes, and people who aren't aware of the full picture have now focused their views on internal assessment instead of giving each aspect of the changes their time.I can understand the concerns around assessment. Honestly, upon hearing about exams being graded by class teachers I too was slightly concerned. But now, I can see that my initial reaction didn't take into account the circumstances which caused the Department of Education and Skills to propose these changes in the first place. It took a lot of time and research for me to finally understand exactly why internal assessment is an absolutely crucial part of the reforms, and I really wish that more people were able to spend this amount of time getting to understand the JCSA.It seems like I'm part of a minority. Strikes and issues over assessment are pretty newsworthy and this sometimes makes me a feel a bit isolated with my views. I love reading interviews with Dr Pasi Sahlberg, such as this one http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/refusal-by-teachers-to-assess-students-is-a-step-back-says-finnish-expert-1.2062095. Sahlberg's views and suggestions are very interesting. In the above article, he comments that the whole concept of assessment needs to change, even beyond internal and external assessment models, so to suit Irish needs. There are more interesting comments made later by Ms Salmon, general secretary of Community and Comprehensive schools which support ISSU's stance that without changing assessment the reforms will become 'redundant'.So the students have spoken, the Principals have spoken, parents and other partners in education have spoken. We are all in favour of the JCSA reforms and in favour of changing the assessment structure for the benefit of our second-level students.So what is the problem? Why haven't we moved forward in relation to the JCSA? I do not want to condemn teachers or anyone who disagrees with just one aspect of change. I want to listen to their concerns and the Department of Education and Skills to address them too. However, there are now barriers in place so we as the ISSU cannot meet with the teacher unions to discuss our differences. Something has to happen to address this.If this blog has left you questioning your own opinion of the JCSA reforms or has drawn your attention to them and you would like some more information about them, in particular something designed for second-level students, then check out the JCSA Document that ISSU has written up and/or request our JCSA toolkit for member schools. They will explain to you in more detail what our union's stance on this topic is, how it is so and why. Hopefully that will help you in shaping your own opinion of these reforms and understanding the different opinions of various partners in education.And remember, we are always keen on hearing back from students, so if you have any comments or questions drop an email to me (joanna@issu.ie) or our secretariat (info@issu.ie) and we'd be delighted to get back to you.All the best,Joanna SiewierskaISSU Education Officer
ISSU Supports Bring Back Our Girls Campaign
The ISSU have fully endorsed the #bringbackourgirls campaign. We believe everyone is entitled to an education regardless of their ethnicity, religion or gender, and we are horrified at the recent events in Nigeria where girls were kidnapped for availing of their right to an education.We wish to express our sorrow to the parents and friends of the abducted girls, and will do our best to support the campaign to get them back safe and sound. Craig McHughISSU President
New Junior Cycle Puts Students at its Heart
ISSU welcomes details of Junior Cycle reform
The Irish Second-level Students’ Union (ISSU) warmly welcomes the details of Junior Cycle Reform which Minister Ruairi Quinn has announced today. The changes which have been announced today will put the student at the centre of their own education, and go a long way to ensuring that learning outcomes rather than exam performance are the main focus of junior cycle education in Ireland for years to come. The presence of English, Irish, Maths and Science as standardised tests will ensure that at it's core, the new Junior Cycle will preserve academic integrity, and it provides a clear statement on the importance of science in addition to the traditional core subjects of English, Irish and Maths. ISSU Education Officer, Brendan Power said: “The new Junior Cycle has the capacity to revolutionise the educational experience of future second-level students in Ireland. I firmly believe that the new Junior Cycle will result in a more practical and functional education for students and prepare them for life and future education, rather than train them for exams”.
LC Home Economics
Ailbhe (Higher Level Home Economics)
Home Ec = General FiascoI think everyone will agree that on opening the paper they flicked to the infamous Q1 Section BWhhhhaaaaaaaaat?No protein? No eggs? No fish? No Meat? What is this vegetarians’ day out?!I like so many others had fallen for the intoxicating charms of predictions. The clever creators of this paper gave me the cold turkey I needed. All i could do was grit my teeth and face up to the reality of the unlikely and much overlooked (on my part anyways) Irish Food Industry taking pride of place in Q1 Section BTurning to the short questions to stroke my hair and tell me it will be alright was not the brightest of ideas. Once again a melting pot of trouble erupted. I saw before me humectants, trypsin and polyphosphates all minor footnotes in the massive tome of the Home Ec book. What was this? An enormous shock to the system for one thing.I would like to extend my deepest condolences to everyone on their recent loss of "prediction confidence". Predictions were a good friend. They lived a long and prosperous life. They were our guilty pleasure. Much like sugary food they gave a high and then leave a bittersweet taste on the palate. Speaking of palate....what was up with "the palatable qualities of fish on cooking?" That was a fishy (sorry for the sad pun) aul question!Anyway due to that stinging blow to my expectations I am going to crack open the poetry book now. Although I am making deals with the devil that Eliot and Yeats will fill the pages of my answer booklet tomorrow, I shall trawl through Kavanagh, Rich and Boland. Although I am hoping for literary genre, cultural context will get a look in and as for our old friend Lear I'm banishing (geddit) all predictions!Good luck tomorrow guys! And don’t worry too much about the Home Ec, you know what they say difficult exam = easy marking scheme! ;)Well actually I don’t know if they do say that because I just made it up!
ISSU Commentary (Higher Level Home Economics)
Two o’clock this afternoon saw Leaving Cert Higher Level Home Economics papers being opened around the country.The short questions brought no nasty surprises with a particularly topical question on consumer credit – this appeared again in Section B with a long question on consumer debt in the current economic climate. Section B also saw students faced with questions on Irish food and drinks exports, nutritional properties of meat and the factors affecting the purchasing of meat, the fish eating habits of the inhabitants of our fair isle, food preservation and the role of the family within the state, something which has also been discussed at length in the media in recent times.Students will have been largely happy with Section 3 if they had prepared their elective well. The recession appeared again in this section under the Social Studies elective followed by a very interesting question on the purpose of education and equality of opportunity in education.On a whole, it was a very fair paper and students will have done well if they knew their stuff!
ISSU Commentary (OrdinaryLevel Home Economics)
Leaving Cert Ordinary Level Home Economics was also a very fair paper with some straightforward short questions acting as a nice warm up for the longer questions.As with the Higher Level paper, the food and drinks industry featured heavily with a particular focus on milk and its nutritional values… students were led into this question with a quote from the infamous National Dairy Council ad that many of us will recall from our younger years… “Dem bones, dem bones need calcium…”The role of meat in the typical Irish diet and food preservation also featured in the ordinary level paper with a forth question on consumer rights and the final question of Section B focusing on the topical issue of disadvantaged children, their rights and physical and psychological needs.Again Section C will have posed no major difficulties for students if they had prepared their elective well – topics featured included energy efficiency, unemployment in Ireland, childcare standards and gender inequality in the home.Overall, a very approachable paper!