A teacher being asked “what about the homos?” during a job interview must go down as one of the most bizarre human resources episodes of recent times. But what sort of questions do teachers usually have to answer?
Last year the Guardian canvassed teachers in the UK to give their top 10 interview questions. They included: "If I walked into your classroom during an outstanding lesson, what would I see and hear?" and "If you overheard some colleagues talking about you, what would they say?"
Joking aside, Fr Michael Drumm of the Catholic Schools Partnership was asked in the wake of the Equality Tribunal case whether issues surrounding LGBT rights, or the Irish National Teachers' Organisation's stance on patronage, might surface in a job interview. "A whole lot of social or political issues might come up. LGBT might be one," he replied, although he added: "I have never heard it actually come up in an interview in any form."
He said that the main aim of any ethos-related probing was not to establish the candidate’s view on a range of issues but rather, “Does the candidate understand the school ethos and is the candidate open to upholding and supporting the ethos? In my experience of interviewing hundreds of people the answer to that has always been yes.”
Learn the secrets of the animation industry
Ireland's reputation in the animation industry continues to grow, bolstered by the Oscar nomination for Song of the Sea from Kilkenny's Cartoon Saloon.
The company, which previously got an Oscar nod for The Secret of Kells, is represented this week, alongside a range of other animation, film and gaming professionals, at Keyframe 2, a careers event organised by Coláiste Dhúlaigh College of Further Education.
Ten months ago, the north Dublin college held a similar public event ahead of the introduction last September of a one-year animation BA degree top-up programme.
The talks and workshops at Coolock library are intended to inspire interest and explore career opportunities in the sector.
They continue until tomorrow and are open to the public.
Apply to klynch@cdcfe.com.
The forgotten adolescents
In case you needed another reason to sign the international #upforschool petition, a UN report has highlighted how 63 million children aged 12-15 are denied an education.
The joint report from the Unesco Institute for Statistics and Unicef, Fixing the Broken Promise of Education for All, shows that adolescents are twice as likely to be out of school as their younger counterparts. Globally, one in five adolescents is not in school, compared with one in 11 primary school-age children. "Business-as-usual strategies based on more teachers, more classrooms and more textbooks are not enough to reach the most disadvantaged children," said Unesco director-general Irina Bokova. "We need targeted interventions to reach the families displaced by conflict, the girls forced to stay home, the children with disabilities and the millions obliged to work. But these policies come at a cost."
More details at uison.unesco.org/oosci-global; aworldatschool.org/ upforschool
Get to grips with computers
NUI Galway’s free Click and Connect introduction to computer classes start again this week. The classes run for two hours, once a week, over a four-week period, providing eight hours of training in total.
The classes are aimed at those with little or no computer experience, including older people, and cover topics such as introduction to the internet, online shopping and booking tickets, setting up and managing email, and using the computer in conjunction with a digital camera.
The classes are funded by a small grant from the Department of Communications.
For further information or to book a place, call 087-0571967, 087-3823370 or 091-493332.
