Vol. 236 No. 4
asked the Minister for Education if he is aware of the serious implications involved in his proposed policy of reducing the element of literary study in intermediate and leaving certificate examinations; and if he will make a statement on the matter indicating what support this proposal has among teachers and educationalists.
32.
asked the Minister for Education if his attention has been drawn to the remarks attributed to the Chairman of the Association of Teachers of English regarding the new scheme for the leaving certificate; and when the changes in the leaving certificate syllabus referred to will become effective.
33.
asked the Minister for Education whether, in view of the statement of secondary teachers organisations, he intends to proceed with his plans for the revision of the English literature course at leaving certificate level; and if it is intended to lower the standard required.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 31, 32 and 33 together.
The revised leaving certificate course will commence in the schools in September, 1969, and will be examined for the first time in 1971. The course for the intermediate certificate in all subjects was drawn up in 1966 and has met with the approval of all the interested bodies. The first examination based on it will be held in 1969. In the case of the leaving certificate what I have done is to accept, with the approval of the Government, the recommendations made to me by a committee representative of the Department, the universities and the school associations that there should be a common and a second (additional) paper in the leaving certificate examination in Irish, English and modern continental languages.
The difficulties which seem to have arisen in the case of English in particular are apparently based on a misconception of what is involved. There was never at any time any question of the common paper and the syllabus on which it would be based not containing a substantial amount of literature. In laying stress on accomplishment in the matter of writing English fluently and correctly the desire was to get away from a position in which a pupil could through memorising large passages from essays and from Shakespearian plays pass the leaving certificate examination in English without any real knowledge or comprehension of the language.
What is intended is a genuine effort to raise the standard of English teaching in the schools so that pupils can read and write the English language more efficiently.
Mr. M. O'Leary rose.
How can a pupil undertake the study of a language——
I do not see Deputy Lindsay's name on the Order Paper.
Any Deputy is entitled to ask a supplementary question and the Deputy will get his opportunity in due course.
It was never at any time intended there would not be a large portion of English literature incorporated in the common paper in English.
Then the Minister should desist from making foolish statements, like leaving out Addison and Steele.
The Minister has given the tragic impression that the emphasis in the new course would be on oral study and the Minister has left a large body of teachers with the impression that he and his Department consider English literature should be consigned to the dustbin.
The trouble is that people do not read things fully and carefully. This is a question of getting our priorities right. Priority in regard to teaching English as a vernacular is to enable people to speak and write English correctly. What has horrified me, on looking back over leaving certificate papers over the past few years, is the fact that children have received full marks for quoting passages from Shakespeare and the poets and have been, at the same time, unable to communicate their own thoughts properly in writing and I regard writing a language properly as more important than rote learning of poetry, for instance.
We can change the course in literature, but there should be no departure from the emphasis on English literature because, apart from anything else, we require to have English taught properly as well as Irish.
There is no question about that. It goes without saying that you must have a knowledge of the masters of English literature in order fully to comprehend the language. In regard to emphasis, however, the priority must be on speaking and writing the language correctly and effectively. The inadequacy in this respect has horrified me.
Who does the Minister's scripts?
I do.
The Minister has been subject then to very severe criticism recently.
If the Deputy would read the scripts fully, and not just the headlines.
I always do.
The Deputy is a bit facile.
I think communication is a top priority.
