The Irish Times asked 10 teachers at yesterday's TUI annual congress in Kilkenny what they would change in education, and few paused for breath before opting to ditch Ruairí Quinn's Junior Certificate reform plans.

The results are almost unanimous. If teachers could get rid of just one initiative from the Department of Education and Skills, the proposed new Junior Cycle would be gleefully dragged out in the dead of night and buried alive without ceremony.

The anger induced by the proposed changes is so widespread that it was helping to bring the Teachers Union of Ireland and its sister union, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, closer together; they are even talking about marriage.

Generational gap
However, there's a clear generational gap. Newly qualified teachers and those in their 20s are slightly more supportive of the reform plans, with many of them saying that the problem is not the reforms as such – rather, it is the lack of resources coming from the Department of Education.

“I’m all for reform,” said Rebecca Jones, a teacher at the Curragh post-primary school in Kildare.

“But my concern is how it will be implemented in such a short time-frame, and whether adequate resources are being provided, such as computer labs and IT facilities.”

Maireád Glynn of Tallaght Community School in Dublin agrees. “I am in favour of reform with the right resources, but I would ask the department to ensure all secondary schools are fully resourced to support the new Junior Cert,” she said.

Teachers over 30, on the other hand, seem more likely to broadly oppose the plans. Brian Hanney, a teacher at Rosmuck Vocational School in Galway, also wants to see the proposed Junior Cert changes scrapped.

“The emphasis on project work puts children from disadvantaged backgrounds at a disadvantage, and will increase inequality,” he said.

Seán Kennedy, a science teacher at Abbeyfeale Community School in Limerick said he would change the current package of reforms to the Junior Cycle, including one of the most crucial elements: teachers assessing their own students.

Michael Gallagher of St Brendan’s Community School in Birr, Co Offaly, said that he would scrap the proposed Junior Cycle. “We are not following the inquiry-based learning model that has been so successful in countries like Finland and Singapore,” he argued. “I support changes to the curriculum, but not these assessment changes.”