1927-1928 - Department of Education and Skills

58 59
thirty years. The general standard of answering in general
European History was more satisfactory, as better text-books
were used. .
While formerly too much stress was laid on English History,
the pendulum in some of the schools seems to have swung too far
in the other direction. This is made clear by the reports of the
examiners and the inspectors, who comment on the ignorance of
English History displayed by many of the Intermediate and
Leaving Certificate students in matters in which Ireland was
directly affected by England. It is undesirable that teachers
should treat Irish History as an isolated phenomenon or should
fail to explain the connection between events in Ireland and the
contemporaneous events in Great Britain and Europe.
Sufficient care is not always evident in the selection of textbooks.
As there.is no book which is so often and so thoroughly
read as a history manual. it should be of a high standard in style
and language, and should not be so condensed that the result is a
scrappy representation of events. Both teachers and pupils
.should have access to a good library containing larger historical
works, historical biographies and monographs, and these books
should be used by the teachers to explain, elucidate, illustrate,
and expand the facts given in the text-books, and to supply
material or historical essays. Expe:rience shows that compositions
dealing with historical subjects make a deeper appeal to
most students than any other type of essay, and are of great value
in impressing on their minds the various periods of history, and
making them live in the past, especially if they deal with matters
which have a romantic and personal interest, and tend to awaken
the imaginative faculties.
The general standard in History attained by candidates in the
Leaving Certificate Examination was much more satisfactory
than that in the Intermediate Certificate, and the work done in
most of the schools in the higher classes is, on the whole, of a
praiseworthy type. Students find special periods easier to
master, and as their minds are more mature, when they are in the
senior classes they are better able to deal with historical
problems and to traee the connection 'between cause and effect.
The favourite special courses were the two courses dealing with
Irish History, the French Revolution, and the Classical Course.
The number of students that took the other courses was negligible.
h h 1 while the courscs
branch of the subj ect. In ot er se 00 s, h French is taught
selected are generally satisfactory:. not ~:COt~~and more serious
in the first two y~ars'hgram~~r /~en::e Inte~mediate Certificate
work is done only m t e year eo. h 1
E . tion Too little poetry is read m most se 00
xamlna s.
1 .
I the Leaving Honours Classes French is gene~ally wel~
n . h L . o- Pass Candldates was
taught, but the answel'l~g tf t endeas~~,~ed that many of the
poor in the 1928 exa~ma I~n, a , of the Free Cornstu~~nts
had been badly tra~n:d. fV~~ f::igned marks. All
positions got o,~er a qual' e:ee~s to have been read by most
insufficient quantity ~f poetry ti b sed on the plays which
of the classes. The literary ques lO~lS a
were read were answered in a very madequate manner.
1 id mmatical peculiari-
Former 1y t h stress was ai on gra
00 muc ,1 f th l'
ties and over-elaboration in grammar led ~o neg ect 0 0 e
es~~ntials,but now, owing tOdexce~Stivle attedntISot~l~~n~:ala~et~~t~~~
t h ealect fun amen a s, an
~.any :ac f ~~e ~e;ses and moods, and have little l~nowl~dge of
19noran 0.. . J -bs Pupils who can with dIfficulty
the commonest lrregu .ar ver . . t f
'vl~te an essay in the vernacular, and are completely dlgnoran n
. . t 1'1 1 "'0
grammar and constructIOn, are no 1ce y ~
comman success 1
t d
. . . F' eh : the attempt 0 0 so,
writing Free ComposItions m ren . ds witl Iittle
prematurely, results in a collection o~ French WOI',s wit 1 1the
nd no sense Some of the time spent at presen on
grammar anu nu seuse- di -tlv
oral side in the earlier stages should be devoted to rea mg, par J
intensive, partly extensive.
F th . t of view of reading French literature, it is. a
rom e pom ht to a zreater extent m
matter for rezret that French is not taug t to a grea er
boys' schools~ In the case of Classical scl~ools,wh~re th~~~~:~
not be time for the subject in the Interm~dlate Certificate ·:a~io~
it would be advisable to take up the subject as a non-~'(a~~s done
bi t' the Leaving Certificate Classes. A boy wo.
su jec m ~. . ears be able to acqmre
a good course in Classics should m two y. l' 1 nd Free
a good reading knowledge of Fren.ch, 1~ ora :vor c;n abilitv
Composition .were subord.inated ~o hIS pnl1la~~ ~ll11.him in afte"r
to read French with readiness will be vel' use u to
life.
FUENCH.
French has been on the decline in boys' schools since 1912.
and the decline has not yet been checked although, as mentioned
in Section 2 of Chapter Ill. of his Report, steps have been taken
to check it. French is taught in nearly all goirls'schools, and in
some of them the teaching reaches a very high standard in every
It is pleasing to note that some schools have introduced
g .ramophones and . wireless to improve Th the " French t lessens of th t lel e tclas~es,
and have met WIth much success. e varre y . ension d
of the work, stimulates the enthus~as~ of the pupIls; a~d has h~le
a marked effect in the pronunclatIOn and enunciatIOn of t
. classes.