1927-1928 - Department of Education and Skills

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of the School Attendance Act a good many schools have
become ov~r~ro~ded. The managers are, however, showinz increased
activity m taking steps to remedy these defects. '"
,!,~e~e arc schools in every District of the Division as a rule
adJomm~ schools under the same roof, which might be amalga-
~at~d with consequent improved staffing, leading to fewer classes
m c. arge of one teacher. Amalgamation in these cases would be
Pos~Ible,. and even though there were no immediate monetary
£avI~g, mcreased efficiency for the same expenditure could be
obtained,
It is regre,ttable that many of the older schoolhouses were badly'
planned. 'I'hey are generally of two kinds: (1) With one laro-e'
room and a classroom, the latter usually with a gallery and norm~lly
ov.ercrowde~; ~2) 'With one room for two or more teachers"
this lea.d~ng to defectIve organisation and waste of teaching power
In addItIn" fireplaces .an~ windows are often of inferior type, s~
that heating and ventilation are defective. It should be added
owever, that the modern types of schoolhouses are sat1sfactor;
m all these respects.
. As a general rule the cleanliness and decoration of the schools
leave mU:h .to e desired. The floo~'S are seldom washed; in many
cases thel.e IS lIttle attempt at dusting and brightening the rooms
and keeping them neat and attractive; out-offices are neglected,
and are frequ~ntly. almost un~t for use; exterior school premises.
~s a. rule receive little attention, much less in general than the,
mteriors.
'I'aking the Division as a whole, a. fair number of schools are
not provided with playgrounds and latrines.
A very marked improvement in regularity of attendance can be
recorde.d. The percentage of attendance for the Division is now
approxImately SO-an increase of 10 points or so. The recent Act
has undoub~edly proved beneficial in this respect. On the other
hand, the~e IS a tendency' amongst parents to keep the children at
home until they reach the age of six years and to take them from
school as soon as they reach the age of fourteen. It is still
unfortun~tely, true that there is a good deal of unpunctuality i~
the mornmg attendance of the pupils.
'With greater regularity of attendance more expeditious and
steady progress ~hrough the standards has been found possible.
Pr~motIOn from infant classes is more rapid than formerly. The
senior standards are often but thinly represented. This would
appe~r to be due in part to a misinterpretation of the Attendance
~ct, m part to the fact that the older children are kept at home,
m order t~at the youngcr ones may be sent to school more regu-
]ar~y, and m part to the want of an incentive to remain at school.
It I~ to b~ hoped that the creation of a Leaving Certificate may
pro, e an mduccment to many to remain longer.
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'While no material change in general proficiency is to be noted,
the tendency is towards improvement. The subjects in which
least progress is being made are Composition in both Irish and
English, and History. As regards the latter, there is evidence of
increased effort to deal with local history, but to many teachers.
the lack of printed materials and texts proves a formidable
obstacle.
From the statistics available it is possible to say little as yet in
the matter of the progress made in Rural Science and Nature
Study. Though reluctance was shown at first in introducing
these branches, they are now being generally taken up where
conditions demand it; and there are signs that progress in them
henceforth will be steady and improving.
About 60 per cent. of the teachers in this Division have by this
time secured certificates in Irish; the great majority holding the
ordinary certificate. From 35 to 40 per cent. are still uncertificated,
but among these are many elderly teachers who will
never secure certificates.
Though the teachers' qualifications are now higher than at any
former time, there has not been, generally speaking, a corresponding
advance in dealing with the language, nor has there been a
corresponding extension in the use of Irish in the school work as
a whole. The area covered by this Division being almost entirely
English-speaking, there appears to be, as a rule, little real
enthusiasm in the language cause; and the consequence is that
the language teaching in the schools is not producing speakers.
Many of the senior pupils in well-taught schools know a great
deal of Irish, but in very few cases do they speak it in school, and
in fewer still outside school.
Defective methods of teaching Irish are still too common; the
written side of the language, on the whole, suffering more from
this cause than the oral side. Moreover, the middle-aged and
older teachers, who took up the study of the language some six
years ago, seem to have reached the limits of their possible
progress; and they are not in truth turning out good speakers of
Irish from the schools. Lack of confidence in themselves and
want of fluency in speech drive them to dependence on the book
as the main factor in teaching, When we have in the schools a
considerable proportion of teachers at present in training these
conditions will be entirely changed and a big forward movement
will be possible, In the meantime, progress will be only gradual.
As regards the general work of the teachers, it is on the whole
distinctly satisfactory throughout the Division, in which the great
majority rank as either highly efficient or efficient. The approximate
figures are-highly efficient, 17%; efficient, 77%; while
only 6% arc rated non-efflcient.