Sir, – It was with a sense of pride in our teaching profession and our excellent education system that I read the latest report from the OECD on Low-Performing Students: Why They Fall Behind and How to Help Them Succeed?
Ireland, it seems, is in the top league when it comes to reducing the number of 15-year-olds who are underperforming in maths, reading and science, well ahead of many countries in the EU and indeed across the globe. The hard work and dedication of our teachers are evident in this report.
The report concludes with an agenda to reduce the incidence of low performance and includes several actions to achieve this. Dismantle the multiple barriers to learning. Create demanding and supportive learning environments at school. Provide remedial support as early as possible. Encourage the involvement of parents and local communities. Inspire students to make the most of available education opportunities. Identify low performers and design a tailored policy strategy. Provide targeted support to disadvantaged schools and families. Offer special programmes for immigrant, minority-language and rural students. Tackle gender stereotypes and assist single-parent families. Reduce inequalities in access to early education and limit the use of student sorting.
I presume this latest study and report by the OECD of 64 countries took some time and many thousands of euro to complete. Might I suggest that any primary or secondary teacher in Ireland would provide the very same agenda for improving the incidence of low performance in his or her school? The problem seems to be that the Department of Education and recent ministers will not listen to advice from classroom teachers and are hell-bent on changing a system that, according to the OECD, seems to be working. – Yours, etc,
Dr DAVID O’GRADY,
Killarney, Co Kerry.