Barbara Can you explain what a national school is (sorry to sound dumb) and what time period it was? Regards Michael Montgomery

Michael asked . . . <SNIP> Can you explain what a national school is and what time period it was? <END SNIP> OK here goes . . . Historical view of primary education By: Adrian Gallagher From: Scealta Druim Na, Rat 1999 Parents are the primary educators of their children but throughout the ages many parents have found it necessary to send their children to be taught by others, whether due to lack of knowledge on their part, lack of formal teaching skills, lack of time due to the need to earn a living or a lack of interest and patience in teaching. In the Celtic past formal education was either through the fosterage system, when young men were sent to other families to be taught, as in the case of Red Hugh O'Donnell, or in the bardic schools. With the coming of Christianity the monastic school became the main centre for education. Our own St. Adhnamhan is supposed to have worked his way through such a school by being a servant to a prince also attending. As England dominated Ireland after 1600 and then with the Penal Laws, it became almost impossible for anyone other than a member of "the Established Church" to get education legally. Hedge schools were the only means available to the majority of the population. As the name implies masters first ran them in hollows in out of the way places, with a guard against discovery by Government officials. After the easing of the Penal Laws in 1750 the schools began to be constructed of mud and thatch. The pupils were taught by Itinerant teachers who were given food and lodgings in some local house and were paid some small fee, for their instruction. English, Maths and Latin were taught. They also earned what they could by other means e.g. labouring on the farms. After the Act of Union in 1800 the Government started taking a serious look at the educational needs of this country. In 1831 they established the national school system. This was to be mixed denominational schooling. The national schools, as so constructed, were generally welcomed by the Catholic Church in the beginning. However firstly the Presbyterians, then the Established Church and then by 1860 the Catholic Church sought schools which were under their own management, so that 1870 each denomination had control of its own schools. Attendance at school was at first voluntary but in 1892 it became compulsory for those between 6 and 14 years of age. In the country areas it was up to the County Councils to apply this regulation but in many areas it was never applied because the children were needed to help on the farms. In 1927 it became compulsory for everyone between 6 and 14 years of age to attend school and in 1972 it was extended to 15 years of age and as most pupils started school at or before 5 years of age they were allowed to attend secondary school at 12 years of age. Teachers were held in high esteem by the local community but by low esteem by officials. They were expected only to have a little more knowledge than their most senior pupils. In 1867 only 34% had formal training. They were to be of Christian sentiment, of calm temper and discretion, imbued with a spirit of peace, of obedience to the law and loyal to the sovereign (British). In 1900 the payments by results system was dropped and instead of the very restricted system beforehand, the teacher was allowed to adapt the school programme to suit local conditions. In 1922 after founding the Irish Free State, the aim of Irish Education became the promotion of the Irish language, history, music and tradition. The infant classes were to be conducted through Irish only. As there was a shortage of teachers with a knowledge of Irish, there was a big push to have teachers go to the Gaeltacht to learn Irish. In 1925 the Primary Certificate was introduced as a voluntary examination. It was made compulsory for all in 1943 but was abandoned in 1967. In 1925 the Primary system local management took care of all school maintenance - in practice this often meant the teacher keeping the school in proper condition. However, through lack of funds, many of the schools fell into poor condition and in 1962 the government started to pay in maintenance grant for the first time. In 1965 the Department of Education started closing down many of the one and two teacher schools - the number of these schools fell from 3,200 in 1962 to 900 in 1984. In 1971 the "curriculum" was launched introducing into primary schools "child centred" education. Education was to be a "trail of discovery" with pupils being taught in small groups or individually. This system required a large investment in teachers and resources, which has not been forthcoming. This has greatly reduced the effectiveness of the method. From the earliest day's control had been kept in school by the liberal us of "Rod". "Spare the rod and spoil the child" was the principle, which prevailed, until corporal punishment was abolished in all schools from 1st. February 1982. THE PRESENT FINANCING OF SCHOOLS The system of school financing in state-aided. The local contribution is the price the local community pays in order to retain management of their own schools. For new schools the local contribution is the supply the site itself. For recurrent costs of such items of expenditure as heating, cleaning, maintenance, teaching aids and employment of a cleaner the state gives a capitation grant to the Board of Management. It is forbidden to have a compulsory levy on parents to fund the local contribution. However, it would be difficult for the local management to fund this contribution without the assistance of the parents. The state pays the full salary of the teachers School Management. In 1975 the government devised a system of Boards of Management to run national schools with the patron, teachers and parents being represented. In 1981 this was changed to allow more representation by parents and teachers in the running of the schools. In 1992 the then government published the Green Paper on Education. It recommended that the running of the schools be taken out of control of the patron and the local "community" and parents run them instead - a large undertaking which many people would shirk, when they consider the commitment involved. There was no statement of what the financial situation would be and we must query what the long term results on our children's education will be if, as has happened with many official plans, the reality does not live up to the printed word of the plan. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.618 / Virus Database: 397 - Release Date: 09/03/2004