In this episode, I explore the FORSA strike of school secretaries and caretakers, the glue of Irish schools. For over a century, their work has been underpaid, under-recognised, and taken for granted. Now, as they fight for pensions and parity, schools are left in vulnerable positions: keep schools open and potentially undermine the strike, or close them and face being the front page headline in the national media.From the long, neglected history of these roles, to the government’s last-minute panic, to INTO’s vague advice and the silence of management bodies, this strike exposes how fragile schools really are. And the truth is uncomfortable: by keeping things running, many may have already become SCABS. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonmlewis.substack.com/subscribe
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Interview 26: Patrick Jackson, Picker Pals
Patrick Jackson is the CEO and Founder of Picker Pals World. The story goes that Patrick was walking his dog when he came across a seagull caught around the neck in some discarded fishing line. He managed to free the distressed bird. The very next day, in the same place, he found a litter picker-upper. Patrick started litter picking. Every day. Join me as I chat to Patrick about Picker Pals, the environment and how you can get involved in Picker Pals for your school. It’s not only one of the best and easiest things you could do, it might be one of the most important. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonmlewis.substack.com/subscribe
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What we can learn from the UK when it comes to religion in schools
I've been writing about religious control of schools for well over a decade now, and I found that people tend to throw the same arguments out to me every time I talk about it. And there's a lot and lots of different arguments out there. The most common of which I think. And I could be wrong on this one, but the one that I'm hearing most of all these days is the argument that parents want Catholic schools, to which I'm always wondering what parents are they talking about because I'm a parent and I know lots of parents who don't want their children being being formed in a faith that isn't theirs.But that is not what I'm going to be talking about in this podcast, because another argument that I've heard and it gets thrown around, is Catholic schools internationally. And they often say that Catholic schools in England are well very sought after so we shouldn’t lose Catholic schools in Ireland. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonmlewis.substack.com/subscribe
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The Catholic Church Has the Least to Lose if Sacraments Leave Schools
We often hear the argument that the Church is determined to keep its grip on education. But if the sacraments were removed from the school day and shifted to after-school parish programmes, I’d argue the Catholic Church wouldn’t be the ones who’d lose out the most.There are, after all, a lot of people with a vested interest in keeping things just as they are.In this episode I explore who the real losers might be during Communion Season and then shift into another theory as to why divestment and reconfiguration can’t work This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonmlewis.substack.com/subscribe
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Interview 26: Paula Korsnakova and Eliane Segers (IEA)
As educators, I wonder do we think much about the research that is done about education. I spoke with Paula Korsnakova and Eliane Segers from the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) to talk about educational research, with a focus on reading from digital devices. The following links may be useful if you'd like to learn more:https://www.iea.nl/publications/teacher-resources/teaching-reading-comprehension-digital-world : Link to the new volume of Research for Educators on digital readinghttps://www.iea.nl/publications/iea-teachers-snippet/digital-reading-comp : Link to the new Teacher Snippet connected to the new bookAnd if you think these would be handy for listeners too:https://www.iea.nl/publications/iea-teacher-snippets : General Teacher Snippets pagehttps://www.iea.nl/publications/iea-teachers-snippets/iea-research-educators-more-book-series : General Research for Educators book series page This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonmlewis.substack.com/subscribe
About Anseo.net - If I were the Minister for Education
How many times have you said to yourself, "If I were the Minister for Education…?" Well I do! Rather than grumble to myself, I decided to podcast my thoughts on ways I'd change the primary education system in Ireland. Every episode I'll take on a different theme, give some background and hopefully come to some conclusions by the end. simonmlewis.substack.com
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