Letters to the Editor: No extra exam time for neurodiverse students
Advantage Extra Picture: Representative Mission 'something People A Some Takes That Is Some Reader Exception Time Jerry To For State Saying Gain Exam Of' O'sullivan Students Stock That Examinations Pa
I am dismayed with the attitude of the State Examinations Commission (SEC) and the Department of Education and their representatives regarding extra exam time for neurodiverse students.
Celeste O’Callaghan of the Department of Education refers to unintended consequences of allowing dyslexic learners more time but does not enlighten us to what these consequences may be; surely the department has undertaken a risk analysis in respect to any proposed changes and can share the results.
The SEC’s Andrea Feeney talks of being concerned about the integrity of the process. Where is the integrity in a process that prevents equivalence of experience for all students?
Ms Feeney flippantly adds “I am not talking about students with special needs but others”, after she stated that introducing more exam time could be “something that some people gain advantage of”.
Is she suggesting that students with special education needs are above taking advantage of a situation? Cheaters will cheat, catch them, and treat them equally as required by the rules but do not use it as an excuse for inequality.
HISTORY HUB
If you are interested in this article then no doubt you will enjoy exploring the various history collections and content in our history hub. Check it out HERE and happy reading
It is as sad as it is laughable to see that the SEC and the department feel that creating equal learning experiences for students can be seen as giving neurodiverse learners an unfair advantage.
As a supporter of Israel from 1973 until now, though I still think Israel should hold on to the land it won after being attacked, I must congratulate Taoiseach Simon Harris on making a very good and fair speech.
Instead of going to war after the October attack, Israel should have used the attack to open peace talks where Israel would have been on the higher ground. Now Israel is a state that has chosen war instead of peace.
Knowing that a war could not be fought without big loss of life to civilians; that is Israel’s crime. It is surprising that Britain and America do not see the wrong Israel is doing. Sad to see the West’s antipathy to war is waning. Everyone’s starting point should be that all war is wrong.
John Fitzgerald asks why the Catholic Church seems silent on racism — ‘The Catholic Church must take the charge in the fight against racism’ (Irish Examiner, Letters, May 6). I guess he is not a Mass-goer because the topic does get mentioned rather obliquely from time to time in sermons and ‘prayers of the faithful’ where we are reminded of the Christian duty of loving our neighbour as ourselves, the parable of the Good Samaritan oft quoted.
Mr Fitzgerald may feel that insufficient, saying “the Catholic Church should be coming out with all guns blazing on this issue” and asks “where is the once powerful voice of the Catholic Church?”.
There seems to be a perception among some that the duty of the Church is to moralise on the pet topics of the day — to condemn ‘the men of violence’ during The Troubles, condemn racism, preach climate change, or give comforting eulogies at public funerals.
However, when the Church speaks out forcefully on issues the same public would prefer it didn’t, it is shouted into silence, condemned in the strongest possible terms, told to ‘mind its own business’ (which in fact is exactly what it is doing). You can’t have it both ways. The Church would do itself and the faithful a disservice were it to take its cue from public sentiment. It has only one duty: to God, part of which is preaching God’s word in its entirety.
The core of that message, Jesus’ very first words in his public ministry, is still the same as ever: “Repent, and believe the Gospel, for the kingdom of God is close at hand” (Mark 1:15). People simply don’t want to hear that anymore, which is why the Church seems silent — there’s no point talking when the other party refuses to listen.
If the Church is to “come out with all guns blazing”, it has to do so on the whole message not just the bits people want to hear. Are we ready for that?
We travelled to see Tipperary v Cork in Semple Stadium. We also travelled to see the primary game at half time — between girls from national schools in Tipperary who played against girls from Cork schools.
These young girls had worked very hard training for this huge occasion for them — playing in front of a crowd of over 40,000.
The pitch was shortened for the half time game and a fantastic display was given by all the young girls — reassurance for the future of camogie.
However, I feel that I should bring a few points to the attention of your readers.
Why could the GAA not allow 10 minutes of their TV coverage time for these young girls who, after all, are the future of the organisation throughout the country. While they put on an exhibition — music blared over the loudspeakers; there was absolutely no need for it — let the people watch the primary game without this loud distraction. It’s not conducive to the playing of hurling/camogie.
Secondly, the subs on both the Tipperary and Cork teams come out at half time and started to puck round between the goals and the goals set up for the primary game. With total disregard to the young girls from both counties, they pucked sliotars out onto the pitch the girls were playing on at both ends.
They had forgotten that they were once those young players in the not so distant past.
I had a granddaughter playing and I thought that this showed no respect at all to the young girls.
Following Ireland, Spain, and Norway’s decision to recognise Palestine, Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has decided Israel will no longer send tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority.
Known for his opposition to Palestinian sovereignty — along with most of the present right-wing Israeli government — he has indicated that this is a response to the European countries’ decision. To my mind, such a response is an act of pure vindictiveness.
So, yet again innocent Palestinians are made to suffer through no fault of their own under the oppression of apartheid Israel. Not only is it not enough to drive the people of Palestine into starvation and famine but it has to be driven towards bankruptcy as well. So much for the only “democratic state” in the Middle East.
It looks like Ireland, Spain, and Norway will have an uphill battle on their hands trying to bring about a two-state solution.
In Mallow Field Club/Historical Society Journals Nos 11 and 20, there were two articles, by Seán Ó Coileáin and Michael Lehane respectively, on the first transatlantic telegraph cable from Valentia, Co Kerry, to North America in 1858.
On August 16, to celebrate this historical event, Britain’s Queen Victoria sent a telegram to the president of the United States, James Buchanan. Transmission speed was so slow on the cable that her telegram of 90 words took 16 hours to reach the president.
Two weeks later, on September 1, the mayor of New York intended to host an event to honour Cyrus Field one of the main sponsors of the Atlantic Telegraph Company (ATC).
The directors of the company in Ireland prepared to travel by train from Dublin to Valentia, to send a congratulatory telegram to the event. However, the train was delayed so that by the time it arrived in Mallow they knew that they would not reach Valentia in time to send the telegram.
The secretary of the company, Mr Saward, went to the telegraph office, which was at the railway station, and sent the telegram to New York. Before he read the telegram the mayor said: “From a little village, now a suburb of New York [a telegram] which I will read to you.”
Little did the mayor know that the “little village” was Mallow, not Valentia.
Could he have imagined then that a portal screen on a street in New York could transmit instantly images to a screen on a street in Dublin?