Diary of an Irish Teacher: 'I worked as a supervision teacher for €6.36 a class'

If Norma Foley is God, she is one who wishes schools could function without teachers

Sean Flynn with Minister for Education Norma Foley whose recent decision to split Irish and English across two years at senior cycle has proved an unpopular one with the NCCA and the SEC.

Science fiction writers have great fun depicting the earth through alien eyes. In one particular sci-fi story that I enjoy aliens assume cars are the dominant species, plagued by tiny parasites perched within. It certainly gets you thinking about our car culture, doesn’t it?

Education in Ireland also looks interesting through a sci-fi lens. Overhearing our finance minister’s talk of protecting “certain kinds of jobs” through generous tax breaks, to avoid an economic “gamble”, an alien onlooker might assume we value profit over education.