Ireland In The New CenturyPlunkett, Horace Curzon, Sir
History
Ireland In The New Century
Plunkett, Horace Curzon, Sir
Ireland -- Economic conditions; Ireland -- Politics and government -- 1901-1910; Irish question
We were met at the outset by the difficulty which would apply to any
system--that of finding trained teachers. This deficiency was felt in
two directions--first, in the secondary school, in which the preliminary
scientific studies should be undertaken, which are necessary to enable a
lad to profit by more advanced instruction later on; and, secondly, in
the special training of technical agriculture. It would not have been
desirable to overcome these difficulties by any very extensive
importation of teachers from without. I certainly hold the occasional
importation of teachers with outside experience to be most desirable,
but these should not form more than a leaven of the pedagogic lump; for
it is a serious hindrance when to the task of familiarising students
with a new system of education there is added that of familiarising a
large body of teachers with the intellectual, social and economic
conditions of the people among whom they are to work.
The manner in which the teacher difficulty was surmounted may be briefly
stated, first, as regards the school, and, secondly, as regards the
teaching of agriculture. Those already engaged in the teaching
profession could not be relegated again to the _status pupillaris_.
There was only one way in which they could assist us to overcome the
difficulty, and that involved a great sacrifice on their part, the
sacrifice of their well-earned vacation, but a sacrifice which they
willingly made. The teachers most urgently needed were those of
practical science, with knowledge of experimental work; and about five
hundred teachers from secondary schools, in order to qualify themselves,
have attended summer courses specially organised by the Department at
several centres in Ireland, while about four hundred have availed
themselves of special summer courses in such subjects as drawing, manual
instruction, domestic economy, building construction, wood-carving and
modelling.
For the provision of a future supply of thoroughly trained teachers of
science and of technology, including agriculture, the Royal College of
Science has been re-organised. Although this institution was brought
under the new conditions little more than three years ago, it will be
seen that no time has been lost when I state that the first batch of men
who have received a three years' course of training under the new
programme are already at work under County Committees. For the training
of these teachers, scholarships had to be provided, and new professors
and teachers, particularly in agriculture, had to be appointed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account