Anseo.net - If I were the Minister for Education

In this episode, I reflect on the implications of Josepha Madigan's departure as the Minister for Special Education and whether the position will ever exist again. I also ponder on the INTO's survey on physical aggression. Finally, we move to Estonia and explore why they are now kings and queens of Europe and why Ireland won't be the best education system in Europe by 2026. This is a public episod...

In this episode, I wonder about the quantum of SET agendas and why the IPPN has decided to go against its members. I discuss why the media have reduced a completely changed curriculum down to sex. Finally I deny that I've been looking through your bins. Links to articles discussed can be found on anseo.net This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...

In this podcast episode, I discuss the challenges in special education, specifically the issues with school allocations and the ineffectiveness of the current system. I also delve into the expansion of the school transport system and the complications arising due to patronage. Lastly, I touch on the topic of Irish exemptions and the audit of schools with high exemption rates. Additionally, I refle...

In this latest episode of the podcast 'If I were the Minister for Education', I explore the recent happenings within the Irish primary education system, discussing the aftermath of SET allocations and the implications this had on schools and teachers. The episode also delves into the issue of Irish school buildings being gifted to private religious bodies and assesses the impact of this decision....

In this episode of 'If I were the Minister for Education', I explore the current state of Irish primary education, particularly focusing on SET (Special Education Teaching) allocations. My research reveals that developing schools have been majorly overlooked in SET allocations, leading to a significant resource gap compared to non-developing schools. I discuss how there has been a minor increase i...

Welcome to another kind of experimental version of the show because I have decided that I'm going to try and extend the podcast to YouTube - you can check the video version of it at https://www.youtube.com/@Anseo Show note are available on Anseo.net here: https://anseo.net/?p=19569 Topics covered: Should School Summer Holidays be shorter? Gifting Solar Panels to the Church Having a go at Private S...

Back in 2011, The Irish Times published a list, which they deemed to be the 50 most influential people in education. I've been profiling them now for a while, and I've already done the top 10 numbers, 11 to 20, and now it's time for numbers. 21 to 30. Let's see, who's made the list and let me know what you think on anseo.net . All show notes available on: https://simonmlewis.medium.com/the-50-most...

In this episode, I give a summary of the excellent Children's School Lives report (number 6!) which is focused on the curriculum and assessment. The document provides a comprehensive analysis of children's experiences in Irish primary schools. It focuses on how children engage with and perceive their school curriculum and assessment processes. The report details children's subject preferences, the...

Join me as I tackle a question that I feel we should be asking more often: Is the Catholic Certificate in Religious Education discriminatory? Following on from Peter Maguire's excellent article on the subject, I dive into all sides of the debate, chatting about the contents of the certificate, the challenges it poses for non-Catholics, and the arguments for and against its requirement. Strap in fo...

There is an unprecedented shortage of primary school teachers in Ireland, according to an Irish Times article after a joint survey from the INTO, IPPN and CPSMA revealed there are over 800 teaching positions left unfilled at the moment and it’s due to get worse. So, where are all the teachers and what would I do if I were the Minister for Education? Show notes: https://simonmlewis.medium.com 9OHgU...

In this special interview with the co-founder of Clever.com , Dab Carroll, I talk about all things Clever but also about the US education system. We also discuss his thoughts on technology in education and how to best use it. Clever.com is now available in Ireland so we talk about that decision too. To sign up to Clever Go! go to: https://www.getclever.com/go/ This is a public episode. If you'd li...

In this episode, I discuss the people that made it in 11th to 20th position in the Irish Times 2011 article and find out where they are now. Show notes and links can be found on my Medium channel: https://simonmlewis.medium.com/the-50-most-influential-people-in-education-where-are-they-now-part-2-5-a2679e119641 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get a...

Sarah Webb and Conor Bredin join me to discuss the fantastic Discover Irish Children's Books initiative ( https://discoveririshkidsbooks.ie/ ) Join us as we delve into the world of kids' books and make some recommendations for some Irish authors you may not know. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonmlewis.substa...

Twelve years ago, the Irish Times published an article, out of the blue, which listed the top 50 most influential people in education. It was compiled over four weeks and the journalists stated that key figures (without naming them) were asked to compile their own lists confidentially. The names that featured were the most prominent on the lists. I thought it would be interesting to see where thes...

One of my biggest bug bears is when a primary school calls itself inclusive. For one, in Ireland, it is impossible to be fully inclusive because schools are completely reliant on government funding and the allocation of resources. For example over 90% of schools in a self-assessed survey revealed that they didn’t have enough resources to support children with additional needs. Hardly inclusive but...

Why are primary school teachers like me going on the radio talking about banning smartphones? In this episode I wonder why it is schools, yet again, being asked to police society. Blog Post: https://medium.com/@slewis7796/smartphone-bans-and-schools-solving-societal-issues-6e1273403c23 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, v...

If you were listening to the last episode of If I Were the Minister for Education, you’ll know that I was talking about Artificial Intelligence and how I believed it was going to change everything. In the episode, I said I was going to try out A.I. to create an episode and this is the first one. So “A.I. Simon” is born - and because the tool I’m using isn’t able to recognise Irish accents yet, you...

Technology and education have a strange relationship in Ireland. If a teacher said to a parent or another teacher or anyone at all that they really didn’t like Maths so they don’t bother teaching it or using it, there would be uproar. And rightly so. However, even in 2023, you’ll still hear teachers saying they’re not that into technology so they don’t really use it in their classroom and no one b...

Coming up to interview season, I was approached by someone that has been working in the system for a number of years and hasn’t managed to get a permanent post. You’ll probably be thinking, there must be a reason for that. Maybe this person is a raging heathen like myself or maybe this person is “difficult” but you’ll have to trust me when I tell you the person isn’t. They seemed, and I mean this...

What better way to celebrate my beloved Sheffield United's return to the Premier League than talking about soccer and education! In this interview, I talk to Mark Connaughton from KlaasKickz, a fantastic company that has produced a football boot to help teach children how to kick a football successfully. We talk all things soccer including what it takes to get to the top of a game, and how that ma...

Technology is central to most people’s work and lives and, for schools, it’s no different. Despite this, the Department of Education failed to provide a regular stream of funding for almost two decades after the launch of IT2000 in 1997. Former principal and early pioneer of educational technology, Robbie O'Leary, famously said that technology in primary schools has been funded almost completely b...

I'm always giving out about our education system so when I got the opportunity to speak about the Canadian system, I was only happy to give Ireland a break for an episode. However, I didn't expect to meet someone with such a rich and fascinating history as Maxwell Roach. A former musician that worked with the likes of Beyoncé and then a move to baking bread, Maxwell now runs the JonAyves Learning...

The best talks I ever saw live happened in the same conference. It was the IPPN conference in 2012. Imagine this as a lineup - Mary Robinson, who needs no introduction; Michael Fullan, one of the world’s greatest thinkers in education; Ben Waldon, a Shakespearean actor who tours the world giving talks on leadership; and David Puttnam, the film director and a former advisor on education to the UK g...

When I think of podcasting, I think of two Joes: Joe Molloy, the retired Irish primary teacher who started podcasting before the word was invented in the late 1990's/early noughties; and also Joe Dale, one of the biggest names in education and podcasting in the world. I had the pleasure of having Joe on the podcast to talk about all things technology and he even offered to produce/edit the show fo...

It’s probably quite fitting that the 10-year anniversary of the Patronage and Pluralism Forum Report ended in the same way it started - with a huge amount of apathy. When the Forum was set up to gather its data, the authors must have been seriously disappointed that despite having a multicultural 21st century Ireland, the vast majority of Irish people that contributed to the research were quite ha...