Presidential Welcome
Hello to everyone and welcome to this the first ever edition of the Union of Secondary Students new online publication entitled 'ISCI - The Irish Student Information Centre' this is a publication designed by USS to be a forum in which students can communicate and debate issues affecting their lives. Soon ISIC will be complemented by dedicated forums on our website www.ussonline.net which will complete the process which we were asked to introduce in March of this year by Congress.
ISIC will for the first time give USS the means by which it can keep the members of USS updated on what USS is up to and what is happening in education in Ireland and how this affecting YOU ! This will be of major benefit to you the students and should be met with increased participation by students in the running of USS and in its long term development. Never in Ireland has there been a publication fully controlled and financed by students, this will help ensure that it is ‘free’ and that no one can silence the students of Ireland any longer.
For years the development of USS has been held up by the empty promises of this government, promises over office space and funding to which USS shifted its focus to help firmly set up the organisation. However USS has under my leadership abandoned this policy, and are entering into talks later this month with a number of organisations who have offered USS long term financial assistance to ensure that the student voice within
Is Mise Le Meas,
President –
Ratings War… unions angry as students finally turn tables on teachers.
The website www.ratemyteachers.ie has taken
The Irish website has overtaken the
The evaluation of teachers’ performance and teaching and learning methods is necessary and has the purpose of being a basis for continuous improvement of education and the dialogue between teachers and students. The process of continuous evaluation of the quality of education is indispensable when it comes to ensuring high quality education, and should thus be guaranteed by the department of education and not met with opposition by the teachers unions but with open arms of acceptance.
In order for the evaluation of teachers’ performance, teaching and learning methods to serve its purpose, the results of the evaluation must be followed up and used as a part of further development of schools and the education system.
The argument that students are going to use this website as a means to ‘get back at teachers’ is rubbish, the vast majority of comments left on the website are of a positive nature “Incredible. Helpful to the nth degree. No one comes even close to the amount of time this guy is willing to spend helping his students out. Brilliant, the best.” This is an example of the exemplar comments being left by students and speaks to the credit of teachers. Also students do not have the opportunity to speak about teachers in a personal manner as all comments are checked before they are posted and there are strict rules on the content of comments.
It cannot be presumed that the Higher Diploma Education is a qualification that guarantees excellent teacher performance. An important and delicate issue is the procedure which identifies "when the standard of teaching is not satisfactory". I strongly believe that the classroom inspection process is completely inadequate when investigating teacher performance. Does anybody think that students behave in the same manner in their teachers' absence as they do in their presence? No, it is human nature to 'raise performance' when being supervised by a superior. When inspectors are not present unsatisfactory standards of teaching will continue until years later when they are inspected again. Who can evaluate teacher performance? Who can detect teachers that are not 'up to scratch'? Well the only people that have first-hand experience of teachers are the students themselves. In my opinion they have been ignored as a source of feedback for long enough.
This is the moment when a lot of people will start to stop reading my views because they disagree completely with involving students in their own education process. But I am not suggesting that your seven-year-old daughter should have the authority to call for the dismissal of her teacher because she told her not to talk during class. I am referring to teachers and students at second-level schools. I am talking about gathering students' views together. I would like the opinions especially of senior cycle students who let us remember are free to leave school if they so wish. I find it incredible that some sixth year students have an influence on our local and national democratic system (yes-many of them can vote!) yet their opinions on their teachers are suppressed. Does this prepare students for the real world? Think about it. In the real world you can file a complaint against your employer with the Labor Relations Commission. In schools students can do nothing about an unsatisfactory teacher. This must be addressed.
I understand that it is very difficult to put in place a procedure that filters out the students who simply don’t like their teachers but if such abuses of the complaints system take place I’m sure a person of superior intelligence to such mischievous students can be found. If you would like one sentence that sums up my fundamental beliefs it is this: “If one player on a football team is unhappy, then the player has a problem, but if the whole team is unhappy then it’s the manager's problem."
“Students are neglected in the monitoring, development and evaluation of their own education and demand to have a say in these areas. As students are the main stakeholders in education, their experience should be regarded as valuable when assessing the quality of the education, the competence of teachers and the teaching and learning methods used.”
Surely Teachers can acknowledge the benefits that an evaluation of performance would bring to the education system and would identify key areas of concern which could become the focus of policy and resources. This would serve to improve the education system in the best interests of society. After all students are evaluated every year and they don’t complain, it is a fact that has to be accepted that eventually this will come.
USS Secures funding for NiteLine
The Union of Secondary Students is now in the advanced stages of setting up a NiteLine for students. Funding was secured by private donation earlier last month and will enable USS to establish a help line dedicated specifically to students in
Chris Doyle – Welfare Officer said that “I am very happy to be able to announce the foundation of the NiteLine service which we hope to have running during the leaving certificate one of the most stressful times for students.” This will form the first in a series of support services USS hopes to be in a position to unveil over the next number of years, to benefit the members of USS. We would like to thank most sincerely the students of University College Cork who will be manning the help line and to UCC Students Union for all of their assistance as well as our generous sponsors EIL.
NiteLine will open on Tuesday 7th of June and run for the duration of the examinations on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9pm to 1am – The phone number is Free Call 1800 32 32 42
There is also a web element to Niteline with its own dedicated website www.niteline.org
All further inquiries can be directed to Chris Doyle – Welfare Officer usswelfare@hotmail.com
Congress of USS Appoints New Board Members
Congress of the Union of Secondary Students met in March of 2005 for its 8th Annual meeting on the exact day of its foundation four years earlier and elected a number of new board members to the National Board of USS, including a new Secretary, Press Officer, Development Officer and a number of regional officers.
Now that the manpower of the National Board of USS is back to the full we expect to hit unprecedented level of productivity and many of the goals set earlier this year have already been accomplished, much to the credit of the Board of USS. Past members and founders of USS are astonished as the level of work and commitment that this board has shown in its work and as they say the future for USS looks bright.
The English Secondary Students Association (ESSA) commenced elections for their council earlier last week and their new council has been elected in England this marks a significant event in the British Isles as USS and ESSA have begun to develop a very strong and unique relationship and started an exchange programme earlier this year to help ESSA officers gain valuable experience needed to help them function. USS looks forward to working with ESSA in the future and is set to meet with them again in the summer months.
ESSA’s website = www.studentvoice.co.uk
Into the (North-) West!!
The Union of Secondary Students is embarking on a new journey, this time towards the North and West of the country. Over 20 students from Connaught and
Concerns were raised on several issues including Internet, library and canteen facilities in schools. The USS strives “to see improved facilities, including lockers, internet access, library facilities and equal opportunities for students made available for every single student in the country”, and it was made quite clear at this meeting that there is still a long way to go before this will be achieved. The issue of sex education in schools and a more defined S.P.H.E. course was also raised. The USS representatives at the meeting were shocked to hear that several of the students in attendance at the meeting had not received sex education of any sort, while many more felt that teachers did not deal with the issue sufficiently. The USS insists that the sex education curriculum (within the S.P.H.E course) in all second level institutions must include same sex relationships and education on S.T.I.s particularly HIV and AIDS, but if there are still students who are not receiving any form of sex education then this is an issue which must be addressed and more importantly, resolved.
Following the meeting, Acting Regional Officer, Shane Murtagh stated “This meeting has provided us with the opportunity to listen to the students who we represent on a local level. Hopefully, such an event will occur on a much larger scale in this region in the near future. It has also allowed us as a committee to set our aims to see a drastic increase in the number of student councils in the Connaught Ulster region as we believe that the Student Voice is of utmost importance.”
For further information on USS events in your region, contact USS Head Office at
Or the National Development Officer Mary Clancy at uss.development@gmail.com
Sitting and surviving through the Leaving Cert, many would have thought is enough punishment to have to endure at a young age. Now not only will we be pressurized by this, but added to this will be the pressure of never ever setting a foot wrong, god forbid we find ourselves up at an interview in ten years time, and after we think its all gone well- out comes our school record and bang- you once told a teacher to “F off” seven years ago, and that’s that, bye bye job….
Why are adults so afraid of young people? To restore to such scare tactics certainly makes it seem that way- we as young people are a product of our environment- the environment that today’s adults created, and now expect to punish us for. What is asked of young people needs to be re-evaluated, student’s education and personal development are being prostituted by the education system to pay and live up to the demands of the economy. We pride ourselves on being from a democratic state, yet learning about democracy in schools is like reading holiday brochures in prison.
Students already have a bad reputation in the public for alcohol problems and for general behavior, which is only reflective of the problems we see in our adult society. This suggestion is in a long line of hard hitting suggestions- that smack the face of young people, mandatory drug testing, segregating students to “special schools” if they misbehave etc, where is our education going? We are not economic tools, we are not criminals, we are young people- who are being mistreated and abused.
Yes there are problems around discipline in secondary school; some students do have major behavioral issues, yet this is a result of problems outside the school, and often in the home. The majority of young people with such problems come from already disadvantaged backgrounds, and now the TUI is proposing to further disadvantage these students by eliminating their hopes and prospects for the future. We have the right to learn from our mistakes- just as the current adult population has, and the right to move on from that and to better ourselves, and create a life for ourselves as adults, if this suggestion were to come into play- it would be a clear violation of our rights.
Action Against ASBO’s
‘Celebration of youth, difference and dissent’ parade against ASBOs
Saturday June 11th 2.30 pm
Parade march to the Central Bank -where there will be music and songs. Parade is against ASBOs and aspects of the Criminal Justice Bill that negatively impact on civil liberties such as on the spot fines and 24hr detention without charge. This event will be a celebration of youth –it will highlight the positive aspects of youth, working class communities and dissent –contrary to the negative portrayal of all these by the government.
Supported by Union of Students of
To add your group/organisation to the list of supporters of this event please contact Oisín O' Reilly (USS Campaigns officer) at 085 1421202 or email ussvp@hotmail.com
Taskforce on Student Behaviour in Second Level Schools
Representatives from the Union of Secondary Student met wit the Taskforce in early April and
The Taskforce is set to deliver and interim report later this year to the Minister and USS will be watching this closely. Among the issues raised on behalf of the students was that of ‘how can students be expected to respect rules which they have not been involved in drawing up themselves’, this point was discussed at length at the meeting.
The taskforce was also presented with a written submission and a copy of this is available here.
A new Union Policy on Discipline in Second Level Schools was also agreed by Congress in March and it contains guidelines to members on drafting codes of behaviour as well as advising students of their rights. A copy of this policy is also available from info@ussonline.net
Second Level Student Councils: a study of Enablers, Barriers & Supports
Earlier this month the National Children’s Office Launched a report entitled ‘Student Councils a study of enablers, barriers and supports.’ USS has welcomed the publication of this extensive piece of research and notes that it points to a number of recommendations which USS has been campaigning for over the past number of years. This report was prepared as a part of the Student Council Working Group set up by the NCO over three years ago.
This report for the first time acknowledges that there is no legal impediment to students sitting on the boards of management in second level schools, this paves the way for full student participation in the decision making process. No longer can it be said that we are not allowed to have representation on Boards of Management, now rather it is a case that we are not being allowed. Students are the largest slice of the pie in the education system and are the most under represented, this injustice is unacceptable and USS hopes to meet with the Minister for Education aging later this year during the summer months.