If you have been listening to the first half of this episode where I covered the education stories from January to June, you'll notice that the first half of 2024 in schools was not exactly filled with hope. With special education slowly but surely been stripped away and the world falling apart with war. Could the second half of the year, bring some hope? Let see...

Hello?

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Hello.

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You're very welcome to if I

were the minister for education

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from unsharp dot Nash.

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A regular podcast where I delve

into the world of primary education

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and let you know what I would do.

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If I were the minister for

education, this is Simon Lewis.

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If you enjoy this podcast, please

feel free to subscribe on your

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other people find the podcast more easily.

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If you have been listening to the first

half of this episode where I covered

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the education stories that I covered

from January to June, you'll notice

14

that the first half of 2024 in schools

was not exactly filled with hope.

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With special education slowly

but surely been stripped away and

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the world falling apart with war.

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Could the second half of

the year, bring some hope.

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And that's what I'm going to go straight

away, where I moved to the first month

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of the second half of the year to July.

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Now, when I write about the

primary education system.

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I really do try my best

to keep things general.

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I discuss systematic failures that

people working in schools identify with.

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But to be honest, they're not.

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Particularly sexy.

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They're not sexy enough to make

the media headlines for sure.

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Yeah, free school books, free

school buses, free school meals.

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They're ready-made headline, grabbers,

and the media to lap them up and rightly

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but arguing lash section 37 of the

employment equality act is preventing

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teachers from diverse backgrounds

from applying for jobs in schools.

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It doesn't have the same sexy ring.

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Two-ish.

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I given that July was the summer holidays.

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The primary education system tends to

take a break from the media, with the

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exception of the perennial family.

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Being forced to go to the media as

they don't have a place in a school for

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their child with additional needs and no

school place is a very sexy news story.

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And it shouldn't be obviously,

and it's not a sexy new story.

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It's just a new story that

just comes up every year.

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And it's basically it's.

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It's a shameful thing, that

it should be a new story.

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But my story about how my school appealed

it's 15 hour course, which is basically

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a number of special children with

additional needs, not getting any support.

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My 50 and our coach, my SAC

allocations by the NCSC.

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Wasn't sexy enough to be covered anywhere.

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And despite it being one of hundreds of

schools who has their set allocations

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costs because of the withdrawal of the

complex needs criteria, which of course,

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as I mentioned in the previous part

of this episode, our representative

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bodies denied, was it thing.

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I spent a lot of the summer playing

around with some artificial intelligence

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tools to generate ready-made units

of work, which teachers could

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use in their classroom every day.

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I made thousands of them covering

everything from worksheets on almost

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every single town in Ardennes to

units of work with lesson plans for

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every single school day of the year.

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They're available on mash.plus if you're

interested in using them because they're

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all there and they're all for free.

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However, maybe I should have used my

AI programming skills to get them to

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generate sexy headlines for the failings

of the primary education system.

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Or maybe even hire some decent spin

doctors like the minister for education.

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August is the summer holidays still.

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So not a lot happens, but it wouldn't

be the summer holidays in Ireland.

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If there weren't stories about a lack

of school places and a lack of school

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buses, and this year didn't disappoint.

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However, what there was a lack

of was interesting stories about

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education and pedagogy itself.

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And instead of that, no, it was a

minister, Norma Foley, still banging on

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about banning smartphones and schools, the

cost of hiring taxis to bring children to

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school and the cost of school uniforms.

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Yes.

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It's still all about the money.

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I even found myself on the radio

debating, whether we should have single

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sex schools in our, and under nosh.

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And whether that kinds, even

as educational, I don't know.

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But everyone is entitled

to a summer break.

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So I guess the education system deserves a

month off to, although the way this year.

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Has gone so far.

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I'm beginning to wonder if 2024

was more about budget giveaways.

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Then pedagogy.

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So I might leave August, July,

and August as very short things.

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And I will move in to September.

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So as we came back to school for the 20

24 25 school year, the scoping report

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into the heinous crimes, committed by

members of the Catholic courage clergy.

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And covered up by the hierarchy of

the Catholic church failed to make

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the majority of people think about

sending their own children back into

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the buildings where children were

systematically, sexually abused,

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routinely less than a generation ago.

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I spent most of my time in a September.

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Absolutely baffled by the cognitive

dissonance and the obsession

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that money redress it's all.

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It was again, all about the money.

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It seems to be a theme that 2024.

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Could best be remembered

about money, all the time.

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I in fact, there seem to be more calls for

apologies from the textbook company EDCO.

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After they published a chapter

in the SPG, which lampooned a

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stereotype of an Irish family.

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There is calls and calls for

apologies from them more apologies

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than from the Catholic church.

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Because of an, a just need me

really, I don't know, shake my hat.

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I am actually shaking my head as

I'm reading my notes, that this

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was seen as a bigger thing than.

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Apologies from the Catholic church for

covering up the raping of children.

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Anyway, one of the schools named in the

scoping report and I'm still going on.

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Had a lovely article

published in the Irish times.

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Because they were about to become a

co-educational they were being divested

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by the Christian brothers schools to

become a guayle Closter co-educational

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and in the entire article, despite

everything there, wasn't a single

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mention of abuse in that school.

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It was one of the most

predominant schools, which

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raped and beat and abused boys.

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Not that long ago.

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It wasn't even mentioned.

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And more.

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Even more.

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So the school still remained

under Catholic control,

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despite it's a reconfiguration.

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I was almost glad to see that the

only other main story in September

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involving schools was the constant

stream of smartphone ban articles.

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If we could do, just do what

we need to do with smartphones.

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I would suggest that this generation

of young people might also be spared

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from looking at inappropriate and

horrendous sex crimes in their youth.

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If you told me in October that the

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actually going to be education.

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I wouldn't have believed you.

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But because of Norma floaties

campaign on smartphones.

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Heard advisory team

are either very clever.

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Or very stupid as pouch plan was launched.

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The last set about this year's budget.

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The batter.

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Even the very silent stakeholders

were baffled by how bad the

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budget was for primary education.

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Personally.

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I have no idea why they have

been shafted and why there's a

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price, the primary education.

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Isn't getting a look in.

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When you decide to be partners

with the department of education,

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you can be assured that you

will be taken for granted.

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However nothing can forgive Foley's

advisors for trying the rest to

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make her sound like she was down

with the kids with a Bluetooth joke

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that has to be read to be believed.

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And if you can't bring yourself to

go to my show notes and click on that

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link, I have to give you the punchline.

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She said, Norma Foley said.

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I grew up before mobile phones,

when Bluetooth was something

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he got after eating a Mr.

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Freeze.

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The bushes yielded nothing.

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To help with the crisis in the teacher

shortage, which was always a lingering

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story of being a, being denied by the

minister as an issue in education.

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It was interesting to read two articles

in October about the barriers that are

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there into prefab into the profession.

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The first was from a trainee teacher

who claimed the Irish language is

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a barrier to working class people.

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And it was mashed with dismay by many,

particularly when it turned out the

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author herself from a working class

background, went through the education

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completely through the movements.

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And, the fact is that, a lot of people.

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And, we'll claim that well, scone.

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Our elitist.

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I know.

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And that it's a place where white

people go to, to avoid dash schools.

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But I would be guilty in so much of

saying that a lot of the time and there's

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evidence suggested it's absolutely

true, but there are quite a number of

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ag Wells garner that are dash as well.

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Scotland.

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And they there's enough

of them to do their bit.

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To give people from working class

backgrounds who might go to dash

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skills and the ability to have

enough Irish with their immersion

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to get into the profession.

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Anyway, the second article was

from three Irish teachers who

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discussed the road of religion.

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As a barrier and some of those teachers

who by going public are now going

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to face a real prospect of being on

hire-able in denominational schools,

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because they publicly have gone out

and said that it is a barrier to

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them because they aren't religious.

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However, we shouldn't worry too much about

religion and schools if October is to

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believed because minister Foley is going

to save the day because she's going to put

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out another parent survey about patronage.

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Isn't I just find this an

astonishing thing, and I'm going

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off a little bit on script here,

but I find it really astonishing.

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That the media.

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And the political classes seem

to think that a public service.

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Which is supposed to teach children

education who's supposed to get provided

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an education service to children.

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No different than the police.

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The Guardi are supposed to

keep a security of the country.

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Or how, I don't know how the fire

brigade are supposed to make sure

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that the country doesn't go on fire.

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Our job is to provide children

with an education, not to provide

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parents with this choice, like a

supermarket of Of what school they

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centered, send their kids here.

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It's a bizarre kind of thing.

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Children should go to their local

school and be taught the same curriculum

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in whatever school they go to.

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And it shouldn't be

based on school choice.

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Especially along the lines of

religion and having a survey.

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It doesn't matter, even if the,

like the thing I can't understand

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as well, is this survey supposed

to achieve, it was, if the survey

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reveals that Irish people once Us too.

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I want us to teach, I don't know, a 100%.

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I'm trying to think of

something ridiculous.

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Like I didn't know that the flying

spaghetti monster is our God and we

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should all decide that we should pray

to this flying spaghetti monster.

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And that's a hundred percent of

people in this server decided that.

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It doesn't matter.

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It really doesn't matter

what people think.

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We have a curriculum to cover and.

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That's all that should matter.

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It doesn't matter whether people want.

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The flying spaghetti monster or

the Catholic church to be in.

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To have control of the system.

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Yeah.

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And it shouldn't be up to parents.

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Why that should be the face.

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I don't understand why we think

education is a parental service.

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A surface for parents.

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And I think this is the theme that we've

had all year where we're deciding to

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give free things to parents and turn

this into some child-minding service that

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parents can pick their favorite one from.

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But anyway, I ran to on every month and

every time I'm on the internet about this.

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The defenders of the faith though,

are doing everything in their power to

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stop their house of cards from falling.

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By trying to make out that religion

is taken out of schools that will

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all be teaching children pornography.

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And in, in October the infamous video

from the natural women's council

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that who's the I, to be honest, I've

been trying to figure out who this

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women, natural women's council are.

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But it appears to be some American

conservative who seems to spend

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a lot of our time giving out

Democrats who are in America.

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Rather than Ireland where, I think she's,

I don't want to be little what she does,

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but I am in a way, because I think.

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She's found this really interesting

kind of American movement.

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Republicanism where, more than half

of Americans are quite happy to elect

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someone someone like Donald Trump.

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And despite finding them in parent.

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And more than half of Americans seem to

think that owning a gun is a good idea.

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That we're bringing that.

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Retard rhetoric to Arden's dash and

we're bringing this idea of moral panic.

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And I think this is how

Donald Trump and the a.

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It was elected through this

moral panic of blaming.

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Blaming minorities for

all the ills of society.

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And the natural women's council

has seemed to have picked up on.

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This moral panic that a lot of

people have and including, across the

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spectrum, I've spoken to people and

I speak to people about this because

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it's something, you get, that's a

very aggressive thing and people are

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canceling each other international.

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I've had people from the, I would

consider myself a liberal person.

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I am very happy to talk to people.

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You don't have to do who don't share

my opinion on a particularly when we

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talk about gender, which is the one

that the natural women's council.

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I really centering their campaign on.

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And I talk to people who don't

believe and who don't agree with.

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The idea of J gender education

and gender identity, and

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they call it gender ideology.

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And I've had people on the liberal end of

things and telling me that I shouldn't be

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speaking to these people and I should be,

I shouldn't be following these people.

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And I shouldn't be engaging with people

like this and quite aggressively as well.

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And essentially telling me I'm as bad

as those people for engaging with them.

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And I should shut them down.

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And.

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I found at this again, to

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Silence is the weapon of choice when

it comes to anything controversial.

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And I spent a lot of October

and November and December.

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At talking about this in a

special episode of my podcast.

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Which was on special education where I

argued that the way we treat children

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with additional needs in this country.

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Is going to be the 21st

century equivalent.

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Of the Catholic church's reign of

terror and abuse in the 20th century.

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And I concluded that the biggest

enemy of children and the biggest

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reason why this will be calm.

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And we will be saying in

50 years time never again.

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And this shouldn't

happen was a silence of.

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People in the system.

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And I wasn't surprised that

despite pleading with people.

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To speak up and command

and even talk privately.

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To me that it was matte

mostly by a wall of silence.

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And just going back.

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And I think, The reason

for the silences people.

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Are afraid.

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Of being judged and potentially, or

of making a mistake or be in consult.

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And I think when people.

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Stop talking to each other.

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We allow conspiracy theories to Take root.

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And we've seen this particularly in the

natural winds cancel because the video.

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That was published in October around

the second level SPHC curriculum.

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Was a very good example

of how silence can create.

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Moral panic.

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And I decided I'd watched that

whole thing, the whole video.

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And I'll be honest, I, while I

was watching the first 10 minutes

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or so, but I was starting to feel

a little bit uncomfortable and

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saying, oh my gosh, maybe this.

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Something to that.

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So now I confess that I felt that way.

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Until the whole thing fell apart with

mad conspiracies, Emad, moral panic.

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They would have done well to shorten

that video by 20 minutes, because

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it might have had more of an impact

by what that woman was saying.

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And I still feel despite the madness

of it, all that we need to listen to

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these people and we need to listen and

talk to each other about the various

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things that they spout alphabet,

because this isn't just about gender,

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because gender is the big story in town.

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It's the big controversy, but it, but

we also these people there was, we're

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starting to see a polarization that

you fish into one camp or another.

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So for example, the fact that I speak

to somebody about gender or I speak.

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Speak to somebody about religious

thing religion, or I speak to somebody

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about Israel and Gaza and you have

to fish into one side or another.

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So if you are the liberal

mind, you have to feel the same

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way about all these things.

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And if you're in a conservative

way, a bracket, you have to

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fit into all these things.

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And that worries me greatly.

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That worries me really greatly

because our education system

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and I suppose our society.

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Shifts from one.

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The pendulum shifts from the

left to the right and so on.

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And you and.

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And I'm basically our education system.

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Has been routed.

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And conservatism, and it's still rooted

in conservatives of, and if it remains

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there, you can see how some of these

moral panics will filter in there.

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We end up finding ourselves

in a position where.

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If you don't fit into a

particular box, you end up losing.

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And the silence that we allow, and I

talked about this with the secret teacher,

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call you in the times, that's the.

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That is the voice of teachers

hidden behind a shadow.

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I don't know.

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I think when we allow for conspiracy

and moral panic to set in.

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We have a problem and this is something

where I can see we have a problem.

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Imam.

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I think we still need to talk.

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I wrote an article about

app gender in particular.

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And how we need to keep

talking to each other.

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We can't be shouting at each other.

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And even when we disagree really

strong with leaders, we have to

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keep talking to each other and I've

tried my best to do this and over.

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Over the last few years and

in the face of just shouting.

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I more or less gave up.

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The Goshen, trying to discuss those ants.

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I suppose that whole natural

women's canceled video.

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I have to admit, I felt sorry for

normal Foti for the first time.

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And it was actually really nice.

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To get a glimpse of what I think

was the real norm of Foley during

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that, despite the fact that I

think if Norma Foley wasn't.

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Since the minister for

education at the time.

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And because in her past, as a counselor,

she would be quite a conservative.

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When she voted, she would have campaigned

against the abortion referendum.

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I don't know what I didn't see.

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I couldn't find anything about her.

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Marriage equality feels, but

certainly a conservative person.

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I felt very sorry for her being, probably

her natural feelings would be in sympathy

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with the natural women's canceled, but

she had in her job, she had to do her job,

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and I felt, sorry, a little bit.

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Sorry for her, but my sympathies were.

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We're short lived when she went back

to calling for her mobile phone poach

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pan, a pouch plan and calling it a

revolutionary mental health and wellbeing

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initiative, which to anyone suffering

from mental health and wellbeing issues.

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We'll be quite insulted by, and there

was also a time for the media to turn on

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pesky teachers taking career breaks, as

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were unfilled in primary schools.

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I wrote an article almost exactly a

year before they called on a worthwhile

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canceling career breaks would do nothing.

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And I offered some solutions in 2023

finishing with the one thing we can't

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afford to do is exactly what the

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when the issue of teacher shortages was

first raised and that's to do nothing.

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However, unfortunately I think

that's exactly what's going to

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happen and I expect I'll be back.

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Here.

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The same time next year

saying the same thing.

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Let's move on to November.

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The general election was

finally called weeks after it

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being unofficially announced.

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And Norma Foley's first announcement

in her manifesto was a significant,

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and I absolutely emphasize the word

significance 9 million Euro investments

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into primary school resources.

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This was her promise.

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If we were to elect her again,

And cleverly Connor Murphy.

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Second level teacher noted that this

was direct contrast to her announcements

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of the 9 million Euro budget house

for foam pouches, which she said

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was only a tiny fraction of the.

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Budget.

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Not as significant investment for

the few weeks of the election.

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Run-up the newspapers duly obliged

the government parties by reporting

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how great the government was.

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I have a piece of software that scans

all of the national newspapers and

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the local newspapers every single

day for education related news.

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And it was very interesting that half

of the local papers in the country were

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quite happy to share the news that solar

panels will be installed in schools.

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I had roughly 13 versions of the story

because half of the counties in R and

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D are gaging these solar panels on the

government press releases were sent to

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all of the local papers, almost word

for word, except for the county name.

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And of course they would publish

them without any question.

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Of course when it came to the media on

the general election, the only story

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about education at all in the media.

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Was, oh no, the schools are

doing to close for the day.

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When I was brought on to the radio to talk

about the general election, it was all

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about should schools close for the day.

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And of course, obviously I believe the

answer is no, we shouldn't because for

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the day, but it's very depressing that is

the priority when it comes to education.

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And the election and you think

the politicians at the time.

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So little, do they care about education,

but you think they will be making sure

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they watch their PS and QS in the run-up.

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When they talked about education,

but Faena Gatlin, Phoenix has, seemed

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determines to trip themselves up.

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Not only did Simon Harris have that GAF.

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I mean nothing to do with education

we're in I don't even know when it was

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for ABA with the health worker, both

in education, Peter Burke ad decided

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to ask Michael O'Leary to launch his

campaign, which resulted in him losing

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whatever teacher vote he might have on.

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The nice thing about this is he may end

up being the minister for education.

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He is due to get a ministerial portfolio,

despite the Michael owned everything.

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One could have described earlier his

performance as a crisis for Peter

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Burke, but thankfully Norma Foley

decided to trip her up, believing

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that all crises are opportunities.

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Yes.

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As the symptoms say at

Christ, the church unity.

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Yes, enormous display in the education

debate where she mimicked that famous

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Simpson's quote, which was streamed on

the IMTS platform, was about the only

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place to hear politicians talking about

education, which has been woefully and was

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woefully neglected in the main debates.

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When talking about the election, I was

particularly interested in the question

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of patronage, where none of the panel,

when add on this ICO debate that knew

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how many multi-denominational schools

there actually are in Ardennes I'm

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minister, Patrico Donovan decided that he.

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He wants his kids to go to Catholic

schools because he wants to outsource

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sacramental preparation to teachers

or words to that effect on a feed.

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A guy had an iota of a chance

on a number on my ballot form.

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That was the end of my support.

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Thanks to Patrick Donovan, who

I believe is going to be the

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next minister for education.

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And in December I wrote my top 10.

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Top 10 people who I believe would

be a, it would be the minister for

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education and Patrick, I don't know

who came top of that, but anyway,

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more about doc, maybe in a minute.

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It seems a minister Fotis Christ's

Attunity was fairly accurate in the

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end because the election results

proved that despite all of that.

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They have the opportunity

again, to govern.

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However, it normally did get

into a bit of hot water over

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her famous pie phone pouch plan.

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When it was revealed, it's going

to need a regular 2 million

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year old top-up every year.

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Meanwhile, Australia announced

it was actually going to do

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something meaningful by banning

social media for under sixteens.

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And that was an actual investment in

wellbeing and it will cost nothing.

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I'm sure We'll use that as an

opportunity or maybe as a crisis,

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let's move on to December.

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And as we reach the season of Goodwill

and the end of this review of the year,

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where to quote yet another famous Simpsons

episode where Bart Simpson says Christmas

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is a time of year where people of all

religions come together to worship Jesus

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Christ, a school in Lucan decided that

TIS the season to breach children's

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constitutional rights and saying the

quiet bit out loud when they wrote to.

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Their parents and wrote in their ethos

statements that pupils are required to

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participate in all subject areas and

attend all school religious ceremonies.

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Ah, which has.

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I see a breach of their rights, this.

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The school is add.

454

They said going to review

their ethos statement.

455

But if the only thing that's

going to change is removing that

456

statement and having no action.

457

It's going to be a missed opportunity.

458

And the don't ask don't tell system

that we seem to have no problem with.

459

We'll continue on to 2025 and beyond.

460

Personally, I was disappointed at with

their patron body, the church varnishes,

461

and this guys who didn't step in with

some sort of statement, because ultimately

462

I know I'm disappointed that immediate

didn't go to the church of Ireland to ask

463

them for a statement, because ultimately

this isn't about the school itself.

464

Despite how stupid they

were to put that in writing.

465

Patron buddy's insist that schools

uphold their ethos and they put

466

those schools in these very difficult

situations where they have to succeed.

467

So as the demands of their patron

body and also cater for the needs of

468

their students and their families.

469

And to be fair, the media did cover the

story, but the one thing they haven't

470

been too interested in is who's going

to be the next minister for education.

471

And I decided I would do a short

list of my top 10 possibilities.

472

Where Faena gals Patrica

Dummen is my favorite.

473

And only in the gambling

sense to get that post.

474

However with the dynamic duo of

Phoenix hall and Faena gal deciding

475

to support Verona Murphy as the

county corridor, who knows who's

476

going to get what position anymore.

477

I wouldn't be surprised to see Peter

Burke, despite his Michael O'Leary GAF.

478

Becoming the minister for education.

479

He doesn't feature in my top 10.

480

But who knows?

481

Sure.

482

Couldn't even Michael Larry be put

into the role and finally answer

483

the calls from 2021 to put some air

filtering systems into our classrooms.

484

I know it's only when

I got through the year.

485

That was in primary education.

486

It is apparent how neglected

487

While I watched the Faena fall and

Phoenix El politicians' defending

488

the performances by listing all the

free things they given to parents.

489

I didn't realize that this was

the extent of government action in

490

primary education for the entire year.

491

Given the election.

492

I'm not convinced we're going

493

And the only thing I'll have to change in

my review of the year will be the name of

494

the minister, the way things are going.

495

I guess the only thing I have left to do.

496

It's a thank you for your

patience during the year with me.

497

I was thinking to myself.

498

That my podcasts are

getting a bit repetitive.

499

But when I look back at the year,

that was, I can absolutely see why.

500

The most exciting things

happening in education.

501

Seem to be with younger teachers.

502

Who are almost oblivious.

503

To what's going on.

504

Systematically.

505

They seem to be spending

their time on Instagram.

506

Where.

507

Community of education influencers has

been building for a number of years.

508

I think that these teachers.

509

Are brilliant.

510

And I think.

511

They're fantastic because

they're finding a lot of joy.

512

In their classrooms.

513

Helping each other out in

areas like literacy with the

514

science of reading campaigns.

515

And in many other areas of

wellbeing and mindfulness and I

516

don't know all the kinds of things.

517

That younger people.

518

I feel.

519

Needs to do to keep themselves

going while older people like me.

520

R.

521

I suppose tearing my hair

about tearing my hair out.

522

In terms of the systematic issues

they're looking at the day to day.

523

They're looking at the things

they can probably do locally.

524

Despite the system and maybe it's

a little easier for them because in

525

some ways, They are parsed and they

fish, they fit easily into the system.

526

And that's not a criticism of

them particularly, but even those

527

that don't fit into the system.

528

Are using Instagram.

529

In interesting ways to spread there.

530

Their message.

531

And I think of minority teachers,

Ireland's at the Instagram page.

532

Which is from a young Muslim teacher who

was trying in a positive way to explain.

533

The power of diversity

in the education system.

534

And she's doing really well at that.

535

And you, she's definitely worth

the follow trying to be positive.

536

In a system that directly

discriminates against her.

537

And I also want to point out as

someone like Kira's classroom, who's

538

been going on for quite some time.

539

She's a teacher and an

educate together school.

540

And.

541

In a very positive and quiet.

542

And friendly way and promoting resources

to help schools all over the country

543

and be more inclusive to children.

544

And I feel that.

545

Instagram.

546

Is that kind of place.

547

Where that kind of thing

may be the place to do it.

548

And I've been spending, the

year looking at Twitter.

549

And I remember I do a kind of a, I go

to on an ice house to my friends and

550

we add the, at the end of the year.

551

And we talk about what are we

planning on doing for the year?

552

What is our aim for the year?

553

Like a new year's resolution.

554

I remember this time last year saying

that I was going to hopefully leave

555

Twitter and or X as it's known, because

even back then it was falling apart.

556

I'm not really interested

in all the, there was this.

557

S, escape to blue sky that

happened after the presidential

558

action that most people went on.

559

That was the last straw.

560

Twitter has been assessed fish for

quite some time, but I haven't managed.

561

I haven't been managed to leave it.

562

And this is all about ego, by the way,

on my partial on I admit that freely

563

that I built up, an audience on Twitter.

564

I don't have an audience anywhere else.

565

I'm going to spent the last year trying.

566

I suppose to build up

an audience elsewhere.

567

And in fact it was been on my

newsletter, which I suppose time

568

for a plug for my newsletter.

569

I've over 400 people.

570

Who've subscribed to my

newsletter and every two weeks.

571

I send a newsletter where I

review what's been going on in the

572

Irish primary education system,

as well as my podcasts as well.

573

But I've been trying to leave treasurer.

574

It's falling apart.

575

And many of us old heads have

started looking into Instagram

576

where all these positive souls are.

577

Some braver.

578

Those are heading to pick talk.

579

I'm not brave enough to go and stick talk.

580

I don't think I lost a minute on

tech talk, but it, maybe I will,

581

maybe that's my plan for 2025.

582

I don't know.

583

So it might be interesting to see

584

Older generations start mixing in

with the younger generations, with

585

their positivity and their what?

586

What's the coded there.

587

They're being mindful and being demure.

588

Am I right?

589

I don't know.

590

Maybe I shouldn't say those words.

591

Maybe I've just.

592

It destroyed any sense?

593

And he of any sort of.

594

I dunno.

595

Credibility.

596

I might have otherwise have had.

597

Ah, maybe I've lost whatever

sort of credibility I

598

might've had just therapy for.

599

I mentioned those two words anyway,

while our friends at second level

600

are battling against the role

of AI in the leaving search.

601

I'm hoping to use 20, 25 to find

more ways to use AI, to help teachers

602

primary school teachers in their work.

603

And I have a few projects plans.

604

So I look forward to

sharing them with you.

605

And maybe that's my new

606

While I will still absolutely battle.

607

Trying to question the structures

of the education system.

608

I'm hoping that I might be able to use.

609

2025 to set up some projects.

610

At that might be useful for teachers

despite the systems that are in place of,

611

things that will help in the day to day.

612

Of our work.

613

But in the meantime, I hope

you have a fantastic break.

614

You're having a fantastic break.

615

Whatever you're doing.

616

If you're celebrating Christmas, I hope

you're having a wonderful Christmas.

617

If you don't celebrate Christmas, I

hope you're enjoying the break from

618

school and whatever you're doing.

619

And I want to take this

opportunity to thank you for.

620

All of you.

621

Who've been listening to my podcast.

622

I want to thank the people who the very,

the poofy people you do send me messages.

623

And throughout the year, it does

keep me going to be on a city.

624

Sometimes it does feel like

chefs shouting into the void.

625

And I wouldn't blame you

particularly this year when I

626

don't think there's been very much.

627

To celebrate, I feel it's been a kind

of a year where I've asked at my time.

628

And being a bit negative.

629

An older asset, both.

630

I hope that 2025 will be a more

positive year for soul, as on, maybe

631

we'll see some change and we will see

some movements in a good direction.

632

As we're living in very scary times

that hopefully the education system

633

can come to the forefront to tackle

the moral panic, to tackle the awful

634

things that are happening in the

world and give people hope, because I

635

think that's what we do in education.

636

I think we try to give hope.

637

To people around the country, maybe

that's just me, I'm inflating our

638

influence, but I do believe, and the

reason I am in education is because

639

I think it is the job of hope.

640

So that's hope the 2025 will be a

year of hope, a year of positive.

641

Change.

642

And I will be chatting to you.

643

In January.

644

Thanks so much for everything this year.

645

And thank you for coping with me.

646

Thank you for listening to me.

647

And I, if you.

648

do anything that you're hearing,

please do subscribe to my newsletter.

649

It's Simon sorry.

650

It's on shot dot Nash slash subscribe.

651

And in the meantime, have a great holiday.

652

All the very best.

653

Bye bye.