An insider's guide to education
Don't expect an early result in the race to succeed Charlie Lennon in the ASTI. By some estimates, it could be another year before his successor is appointed!
ASTI has now appointed a committee that will have a key role in appointing another committee to make the selection. This committee includes former president PJ Sheehy, Patrick Pender, Lily Cronin and Joe Moran. Management consultants and lawyers will be also be engaged during the process.
The long lead-in time is good news for the acting general secretary, John White, who will have plenty of time to settle into his role. His only rival at this stage is ASTI president Pat Cahill. A trained barrister, Cahill believes his appointment could save some of the €300,000-plus per year the union has been spending on legal fees.
All credit to the INTO. This month's In Touch journal features a long, lively piece by the course director of Hibernia College, the new on-line teacher-training programme.
HETAC's decision to sanction the course has been severely criticised by the traditional training colleges and on the pages of In Touch. The INTO's decision to give space to an opposing view shows how the union is willing to listen to both sides of an argument. Others please copy.
Privately, few in the teaching unions blame Noel Dempsey for opting out of the ministerial address at teachers' conferences. One veteran figure says the annual ministerial tour of the conferences has become what he called "an exercise in ritual debasement" of the minister. Several education ministers have expressed their unease at the lack of respect and plain bad manners they have to endure at some teacher conferences. But Dempsey, with characteristic political courage, is the first one to bite back.
His decision is bad news for the conferences. The probable absence of the Minister will mean less media attention and less coverage. More than ever, it may seem that some teacher unions are talking to themselves - and not to the wider public.
Those comments by Bill Harris of Science Foundation Ireland about the security of tenure enjoyed by academics here have struck a raw nerve in some quarters.
Straight-talking American Harris, who is a breath of fresh air in the Irish academic community, thinks university chiefs should be subject to continuous appraisal and given shorter contracts.
Strangely, Hugh Brady - recently appointed as UCD president for the next 10 years - would probably agree with this. Brady, who has spent much of his working life abroad, shares the American zeal for accountability, performance review and short-term contracts.
Incidentally, Brady's long hours and commitment are impressing colleagues in UCD. Less impressed are those in the windy Belfield campus who are struggling to keep up with his 14-hour days and his relentless demand for improvement.
Got any education gossip? Email us, in confidence, at teacherspet@irish-times.ie
