Anseo.net - If I were the Minister for Education

In September 2022, Nenagh will become the town with the first "thriving" school to reconfigure to the ETB and change from being a Catholic School to being a Community National School. John Gunnell is…

I hate to bring the C word up again, especially so soon after we seemed, as a nation, to decide that COVID19 was all over and we could start shaking hands, giving each other hugs and having bonfires …

If I was the Minister for Education, I think I'd hire my guest this week as my deputy! If you don't know Annie Asgard, you are in for a treat. Annie and I could talk about anything but we decided to …

As I’m sure you’ve probably figured out by now, I could talk about the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism forever and I’m sure I’ll be coming back to it many times again. There are so many stories that…

The paradoxical relationship that most Irish people have with the church baffles me. I can't understand why people care so little about the fact that religion permeates the entire day of 95% of prima…

In this episode, we continue our exploration of why the Pluralism and Patronage Forum didn't succeed as we move to Malahide, where the final nail in the coffin for divestment took place. 

In this episode we focus on one of the maddest sagas in the divestment process: Castlebar. If ever there was a school that didn't think they'd see the light of day, Castlebar ETNS was it. From cowshe…

Choice is always good, right? In this part I try to convince you that when it comes to schools, it is the root of all that's wrong in the system. Furthermore, I try to prove to you that unless you ti…

On 10th April 2022, The Forum for Patronage and Pluralism Report will be 10 years old. In the first of a short series of episodes analysing its failure, I look at the history of the Irish Education S…

Part 2 of my recommendations from #BETT22. Some links to help:

• Original Blog Post
• 
  
• COOL from Cloudwise
• 
  
• ClassLink
• 
  
• Tom Rogers Top Ten podcasts
• 
  
• neal.fun
• 
  
• FakeYou 
• 
  
• Animated Drawings 
• 
  
• Gaugan2 
• 
  
• Reading on …

After a 10 year gap, I returned to the BETT conference and in this episode I explore some educational technology you might be interested in for your classroom or school.

After Ruairi Quinn amalgamated the Teacher Training Colleges into a few different universities, most of them kept their “characteristic spirit” (generally a Catholic one) so Mary Immaculate remains C…

Yvonne Cassidy is the chair of the Irish Ethical Celebrants' Society. They are launching two new ceremonies for children aged 8 and 12, which coincide with the ages that Catholic children make the Co…

As thousands of Ukrainian families arrive in Ireland, I explore what they will need as they come to our schools. I discuss a number of issues including language and psychological supports but, also, …

My frustration with reconfiguration is laid bare as the Department of Education does some shady dealings with the Catholic Church. In this episode I explain why parental choice is no more, and why th…

In this final part, I explain what I would do if I had all the basics but also had some spare cash. I'm not going to lie...you'll be disappointed.

So you have the basic foundations of technology in your school, what next? Instead of going through lots of complicated blossy brochures, follow my 3 step programme and you'll have your ICT plan in 2…

The recent announcement of all remaining restrictions in schools this week has raised a number of questions about the education landscape post COVID19. What have we learned about the system during th…

This part of the episode goes through the basic foundations that every school should have when it comes to technology. 

In Part 2 of this episode, I chart the lost 20 years we had in Ireland from 1997 in terms of technology. Find out what the reason was, and no, you won't be surprised.