1. Ruairí Quinn’s honeymoon period has ended
For his first six months in office, Ruairí Quinn could do no wrong. He was widely praised as he embarked on an ambitious reform agenda, perhaps the most ambitious in the history of Irish education.
Patronage for schools would change, the Junior and Leaving Certs would be dragged into the modern world and the admission system to college would be revised. Quinn was the new broom sweeping through Irish education.
Today, his reform agenda is rolling on at an impressive rate – especially the changes in patronage. Yesterday he wanted to talk about a glorious future but, for teachers, the only agenda item is the messy business of education cuts.
The future can look after itself as Quinn received a frosty reception from INTO and ASTI delegates because of the cutbacks to Deis schools (partially reversed) and the threat to small rural schools. He had done his best, he maintained, to protect education from the worst ravages of the austerity agenda, but teachers don’t believe him.
They see the impact of the cuts in their schools. Small schools worry about their future. New entrants to the teaching profession resent the 30 per cent cut in pay. Quinn’s honeymoon is over. Teachers are focused on the here and now. All that talk of future reform does not impress them.
2. Croke Park is the new religion
It is hard to believe it now, but two years ago, INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan had to fight like a demon to gather up support for Croke Park. The INTO congress eventually backed the deal by a tiny margin. The other teaching unions rejected it – before doing a U-turn when the heat came on.
A striking feature of the conferences yesterday was the support for Croke Park. Delegates warned the Government about any undermining of the deal; immediate industrial action would follow if it was traduced in any way. Into and Asti delegates did not wear “I love Croke Park” sweatshirts – but we got the drift.
What does it all mean? Teachers are no fools. Croke Park represents a safe port in the economic storm. A guarantee of no pay cuts and no job losses until 2014 is the best deal around. Better still, Croke Park now represents a bulwark against those nasties in government who are targeting that €500 million in payment for allowances every year. Suddenly, Croke Park is the new religion and teachers have the zeal of the convert.
3. The teacher conference format is outdated and needs review
The attention span of the average student in a lecture hall is estimated to be about 15 minutes. After that, thoughts can meander towards the great issues of the day – who will win Celebrity Come Dine with Me? Is Messi the greatest player ever? Will Tiger recover his mojo? And so on.
Yesterday the format of the teacher conferences was similar to what it was in 1982. The Minister and the general secretary read out long 10,000-word speeches over a two-hour period. There was no use of PowerPoint, no YouTube clips, no multimedia. Fifteen minutes into their speeches yesterday hundreds of delegates had drifted away. The whole format must change.
4. Some young teachers believe they have been “sold down the river” by their more experienced colleagues.
New entrants to teachers are the group which are really suffering in the age of austerity. They are likely to earn 30 per cent less than older colleagues as new cutbacks are imposed. The Government can do this because pay for new entrants is not covered by the Croke Park deal.
Predictably, there were howls of outrage about this at the teacher conferences yesterday. There were warnings that these pay cuts may make teaching less attractive for the best and the brightest. There was talk about the creation of a two-tier profession.
A great deal of talk but no sign of action. Some young teachers believe they have been abandoned by their more comfortable older colleagues. This could have long-term consequences for all three teaching unions.
5. Education is still big business
Those entering the conference halls must first walk through an education fair – which has more than a passing resemble to a bazaar in Marrakesh. All sorts of exhibitors are there, offering free glucose sweets and memory sticks to teachers. Exhibitors include the EBS, the VHI, the GAA and all the main educational publishers.
