So I deliberately didn’t write about the budget yesterday. I was too annoyed and I would write the wrong thing. But today, I am a little calmer. This post is about how the budget affects me, expect broader posts as the week go on. Basically this is a rant! Overall I am not happy with the budget. That is fairly obvious. While I myself am not massively hit straight away, my pay package from the 1st of January will...
While watching the news tonight, my tune on the National March against the proposed increase in College fees changed. Some will call me, a mé féiner, but I think what the Government is proposing is idiotic. Doubling the Registration Fee is stupid. Cutting the Grant is stupid. Placing a €500 fee on post leaving cert courses is stupid. How are we supposed to afford an education in this county? Even a PLC? We need to properly fund the education...
Image via Wikipedia Today I had the joy of joining members of the European Movement Ireland in part of their schools roadshow on the European Union. Today we visited Colaiste Mhuire in Crosshaven. Leading the show was Andrea Pappin, the Executive Director, and she was joined with by Billie Sparks, the Education and Advocacy Director. I stood quiet in the coner! We were dealing with transition year students. Andrea started off the workshop by explaining about the history of...
![The Other Workshops [ALF Forum 2010]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3467/3194245321_941816a6f1_m.jpg)
Image by stephen.spillane via Flickr Yesterday I posted that I was attending the Cities, Migrants and Diversity: “Valuing Diversity, Understanding Migration” Workshop at the Anna Lindh Foundation Forum 2010, but today I have decided to tell you about the other Workshops available if you attend! It was a tough decision for me to make. First up is Education, Intercultural Learning & Youth: “Learning to live together in diversity” This did intially appeal to me, considering my membership of Scouting...
![Decisions, Decisions! [ALF Forum 2010]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/AF-kindergarten.jpg)
Image via Wikipedia If you intend on attending the Anna Lindh Forum 2010, you must register! The deadline is fast approaching by the way. You must register by 12th February 2010, 20.00 GMT. As part of this process you must pick which workshop you want to attend in the Agora. The choice is from: Education, Intercultural Learning and Youth: “Learning to live together in diversity” Cultural & Artistic Collaborations: “Creativity for Dialogue” Creating Spaces of Peace and Co-existence: “Restore...
Image via Wikipedia When I heard the news that Batt O’Keeffe was suggesting that that National University of Ireland be abolished, I initially thought it was a good idea. Then I stopped and thought about it and realised he must be reading from the same book that Enda was reading from! Abolishing NUI is bad idea. Yes it will save money, but not a whole lot. The NUI serves some useful functions, and it would serve more if third...
Today’s Sunday Tribune has an article suggesting that the Junior Certificate exams could be “axed to save €30″. Is that really a good idea though? While the Junior Cert isn’t really worth much on its own, it is a valuable testing ground for students and a practice for the Leaving Cert. I know the tests and that are shoter for the Junior Cert, but if we abolish it, students wouldnt have a clue what to expect going into the...
Until this week I didn’t know there was such a thing as blogger training (that wasn’t aimed at companies and such) but a friend send me information about the Hyperlink Project from The Euromed Anna Lindh Foundation for Dialogue between Cultures. Part of this project is “the ALF Euromed Bloggers Training on Intercultural Dialogue”. This will take place on the sidelines of the campaign Restore Trust – Rebuild Bridges which was launched by the Anna Lindh Foundation and the...
If you take a walk outside the main hotel there is a big crowd outside enjoying the sunshine. There is a relaxed mood among delegates as the various sessions continue this evening. I attended the YFG session for part of it, but had to leav early. I was there for contributions from Lucinda Creighton (Europe) and Brian Hayes (Education). They gave good speeches, with Lucinda focusing on the Lisbon Treaty and the Lisbon Strategy (not to be confused). Brian...
Argh Strikes!!!
So we were informed today in Class that our teachers are going on Strike next Tuesday. It turns out that teachers in Further Education Colleges, like Cork College of Commerce, are represented by the Teachers Union of Ireland, so they are going on strike for the day as they have handed notice into the VEC. They will be joining the other unions taking part in the National Strike on Tuesday 24th. Also clerical staff who’s union is one of...
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