2005 Press Releases
The Points Race - Institutional Child Abuse, 11 May
Is our examination system, culminating in the points race, fair to
young people, or is it in fact working to their detriment? Are
those charged with responsibility for Irish education, like the policy
makers, teachers and parents, doing enough to prepare Irish school
leavers for the challenges they will face in the real world?
These, and many other questions surrounding education in Ireland, will
be raised on Wednesday evening next (May 11th) when Professor Donald
Fitzmaurice of the Department of Chemistry, UCD, delivers the next
lecture in the continuing University College Cork Faculty of Science
Public Lecture Series, which this year marks the Cork 2005 celebrations.
In his lecture titled: The Points Race - Institutional Child Abuse,
Professor Fitzmaurice will ask the audience to consider whether
anything has been learned from past mistakes and from the lessons of
history. How, for instance, could the institutional abuse we now know
to have taken place in the early years of the State, have occurred?
Where were the whistle blowers - why did our own parents and
grandparents not speak out- what were the prevailing conditions that
led to their silence? Considering these questions in the context
of Irish education today, Professor Fitzmaurice says, has forced him to
ask if there might be parallels and whether, in years to come, our own
children will demand similar answers of us.
In second level, he argues, a six-year-long and extremely narrow
preparation is supposed to make young people ready for a terminal State
examination which is driven by the points race on one hand and on the
other by self-interest groups who have a vested interested in
maintaining the status quo. The motivation of these groups, will be
discussed during the lecture, he adds, as will the role of teachers,
parents' groups and other interested sectors. Professor Fitzmaurice
says the time has come for a frank and honest debate on the need for
reform of the educational system in Ireland, "because if the be all and
end all of Irish education is to get enough points for a place in third
level, then education itself goes out the door." There is a real
danger, he warns, that unless the debate begins now, those who care
about education and how our young people are being prepared for life,
will be asked in the not-too-distant future why they too remained
silent when they should have spoken up and demanded that something be
done. One of the key questions, he adds, is whether or not the very
narrow focus of the lengthy preparation for the Leaving Certificate, is
actually working against the best interests of those sitting the
examination.
How does our system compare to education elsewhere and what is there
for us to learn? Is change possible and how might it be achieved?
During the lecture, Professor Fitzmaurice who has co-authored reports
on the performance of primary and second level science, technology and
mathematical education in Ireland, vis-à-vis other countries, will
offer his own insights, and perhaps help to banish some of the myths
about how good Irish education really is.
The lecture, organised by Professor William Reville, Faculty of
Science, UCC, will take place in Boole Lecture Theatre 4 at 8 pm on
Wednesday May 11th. Admission is free and as always, members of the
public are invited to attend.
065MMcS
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