Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Seanad Éireann:” and substitute:-notes that school autonomy is an important factor in the quality of student learning;

-notes that the new Junior Cycle gives flexibility and autonomy to schools, who are best placed to identify the needs of their students;

-notes that within the new Junior Cycle framework, the mandatory statements of learning which must be experienced by all students, include that each student ‘understands the importance of the relationship between past and current events and the forces that drive change’ and ‘understands the origins and impacts of social, economic, and environmental aspects of the world around her/him’;

-notes that history is not currently a compulsory subject for all students at Junior Cycle level: despite this, over 90 per cent of students continue to study history at this level;

-notes that there is a dedicated cohort of history teachers in our post-primary schools, who will be promoting the inclusion of their subject within programmes provided to students by their schools;

-is confident that the position of history as a subject is secure and that history will continue to be studied by the vast majority of students at Junior Cycle level;

-welcomes the emphasis on historical understanding which is being promoted through the programme of events for Ireland 2016; and

-further notes that a set of proposals was recently agreed between the Minister and the leadership of the two second-level teacher unions in relation to reform of the Junior Cycle, and that the executives of both unions have agreed to put these proposals to ballot in the autumn.

I welcome this motion from Senators O'Donnell and Mac Conghail in that it provides us with a great opportunity to discuss history and the new junior cycle programme. Senator Mac Conghail said students in years to come will not be able to name the signatories of the Proclamation. That reminded me of one day when I was teaching the 1916 Rising in school. I asked the students what was the name of the railway station in Dublin. A hand went up and the student said, “Connolly Station”. I then asked what the name of the railway station in Dundalk was. Another hand went up, “Clarke Station”. Impressed, I asked what those two names had in common. A young fellow enthusiastically asked if he could answer, so I allowed him. He answered, “Shoes”. There was a Connolly shoe shop in Dundalk. It is neither today nor yesterday that not everybody is tuned in.

Under the current junior certificate, history is not a compulsory subject for all students. It is not even a discrete subject as it is linked to geography but a sort of a half subject on the junior certificate. I hope it is made a discrete subject quickly, a point I made on the Order of Business several weeks ago, so that as many students as possible get the chance to study history as a full subject.

The new junior cycle gives flexibility and autonomy to schools which are best placed to identify the needs of their students. One framework of learning is understanding the importance of the relationship between past and current events, as well as the forces that drive change. It is important a student understands the origin and impact of social, economic and environmental aspects of the world around her or him. In other words, the core of historical study, namely, the relationship between the necessary and the contingent, as well as the concatenation of events, will be available to all students. That is an entitlement.

Earlier, when speaking to a young person, who himself has a deep love of history, he expressed the view that it would be unfair to demand that students who did not wish to should be compelled to spend a full five hours a week studying history. I am reminded of the old phrase, “forced prayer is no devotion”.

What is history? History is the scientific study of the past based on primary and non-primary sources. In my teaching and study of history, I have always preferred primary sources, not the opinions or interpretation of others. Although the interpretations of others can be important, much of it can be propaganda. I thought the Big Fellow was the giant I saw in Fossett’s Circus when it came to Dundalk each year because there was very little mention of Michael Collins in Stair-Sheanchas Éireann. One would have got more out of The Beano. By the way, The Beanois now a historical primary source for the culture of the times it was produced. Everything becomes a primary source for history. The value of The Beanois in the unwitting testimony it gives as to the cultural mores of the 1960s and the 1970s, as well as the attitude of people then. The Victorran stories about war which reflected not the reality of war but the reality of people’s attitudes towards to it at the time. The Beanois not without its worth at all. In fact, it is far better than Stair-Sheanchas Éireann, a good bit of which was just full of lies.

It is with some trepidation that I argue with Senator Marie-Louise O’Donnell, who is an educator when I am a mere teacher. However, I am doing my best. Tá mé ag déanamh mo dhícheall.