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Post by Maolsheachlann on Mar 11, 2019 12:57:55 GMT
Good letter in today's Irish Times:
Sir, – The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and the Department of Education and Skill display a myopic and ideological zeal for ill-defined skills such as critical thinking, creative thinking and wellbeing as being discrete and decontextualised from knowledge and skills. There is an overwhelming body of internationally peer-reviewed research which gives the lie to any rational or evidence-informed basis for the implementation of such curricular reform. I quote distinguished educational psychologist Prof Paul Kirschner: “Knowledge and skills are necessary to do anything further. Without those, you can’t solve problems, you can’t creatively design anything, you can’t carry out a good argument and you can’t discuss things. Our brains are limited in how much they can take up at one time and how they can process that”.
The ability to analyse and understand is predicated on and embedded in subject knowledge. The NCCA and the department persist in their attempts to put the cart before the horse in this regard. Parents should be aware that they are being sold a pup, and by the time they come to the realisation, it may be too late to rectify.
I urge parents to demand that this folly is halted immediately. – Yours, etc,
MIKE LYONS, M Ed
Cork.
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Education
Mar 11, 2019 18:35:18 GMT
via mobile
Post by cato on Mar 11, 2019 18:35:18 GMT
This is an important topic . Education has been undermined in various ways for ideological reasons for decades. Most of these ideologies are hostile to a traditional holistic rounded view of the child and the role of education in creating educated fully human citizens.
Many advocates for educational "reform" often have an obvious vested interest. Technology companies often push their products for example when advocating new courses or the elimination of paper textbooks in favour of their products.
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Post by Tomas on Mar 12, 2019 11:03:37 GMT
Can´t wait for the tides to turn. All this digital revolution and forced streamline agendas makes me disgruntled to the brink of disgust.
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Post by cato on Mar 12, 2019 18:40:29 GMT
Can´t wait for the tides to turn. All this digital revolution and forced streamline agendas makes me disgruntled to the brink of disgust. It is interesting to note that there have never been more people at third level. In Irish universities 6% of these students are illiterate! We now have graduates "educated" in useless indeed harmful leftist nonsense like gender studies or literary theory who know less than college graduates 100 years ago. I know a retired lecturer at a major Irish university who was told not to fail any student who scored 30%! This was over 15 years ago so it may be worse now. When politicians pontificate on our wonderful education system it is useful to remember they know very little or choose to ignore the often abysmal standards in many schools and colleges.
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Post by assisi on Mar 13, 2019 17:06:34 GMT
Can´t wait for the tides to turn. All this digital revolution and forced streamline agendas makes me disgruntled to the brink of disgust. It is interesting to note that there have never been more people at third level. In Irish universities 6% of these students are illiterate! We now have graduates "educated" in useless indeed harmful leftist nonsense like gender studies or literary theory who know less than college graduates 100 years ago. I know a retired lecturer at a major Irish university who was told not to fail any student who scored 30%! This was over 15 years ago so it may be worse now. When politicians pontificate on our wonderful education system it is useful to remember they know very little or choose to ignore the often abysmal standards in many schools and colleges. Ironically, the number of degree 'firsts' and '2.1s' have been increasing gradually over the last 15 years or so in many universities in the U.K. In reality I don't think the quality has got better, rather the grades have become easier to achieve.
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