So, like, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) conference went down in Wexford, and they voted to consider taking industrial action if talks about changing the Leaving Certificate don’t pan out, following in the footsteps of the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI). The whole thing went down on Wednesday while Minister for Education Helen McEntee was there, and they decided that these changes are gonna mess with standards and equality. Talks about the reform started a couple of weeks back and are supposed to wrap up next month, with the plan being to go on strike if they don’t get what they want. Anthony Quinn, who’s the TUI vice-president and teaches in Co Monaghan, was all like “These changes are happening too fast and we’re not ready for them. We don’t have what we need and nobody cares about how the teachers feel.”
Ms. McEntee tried to chill everyone out by saying they’re throwing more money at labs and teacher training, but the TUI president, David Waters, was not impressed and said they haven’t been listening to the teachers enough and if things don’t change, they’re gonna strike. Waters also wants more resources and for things to be more flexible depending on the subject. The whole anonymity thing for the Leaving Cert is a big deal for them too. The teachers are all about the strike talk, though.
During her speech, the Minister talked about how AI is a worry if they move away from exams, but she promised to work closely with the teachers to make sure it all goes smoothly. Waters thinks letting students use AI is a dumb move and thinks it’s gonna be a mess.
