Rural schools

[Henny Penny]

I am disgusted by the state of the schools in this country. In particular I refer to single and two room schools in the countryside which are bursting at the seams, many of which were built in the 1800s' and do not meet todays' standards. I welcome the INTO stance having the HSA visit these schools to highlight the conditions ... but I wonder will it do any good. If our children had votes, would they have to put up with these conditions. As a parent I feel powerless to do anything about it. Every week in local papers there are pictures of schools one worse than the next. Shame on this government ... go to the back of the class!

 

[redbhoy]

If our children had votes, would they have to put up with these conditions. As a parent I feel powerless to do anything about it.

Vote out the government! You cant do it on your own but Im sure you could highlight the issues in your area and help keep the local elected reps on their toes. TDs and councillors will only move on things if there is public outcry! Unfortunately I think our general population are too lazy and aren't bothered by the state of the country. The 'we've never had it so good' line always comes up. We may have never had it so good but we could have it better! Labour in England lost a lot of seats in their last election a few weeks back. Im sure they'll now sit back and start implementing a lot more of their 'socialist' promises!

 

[Purple]

Hi Henny Penny, don't make the mistake of thinking that the INTO really puts the best interests of our children first. If they did they would have made an issue of this over the last few years. I don't remember them bringing it up when they were looking for their 20%+ pay rises.
There will never be enough money for everything so it will remain the case that some things have to be prioritised. In my opinion the state of school buildings should have been tackled before the issue of teachers pay. The majority of teachers didn't agree.

I would have no problem paying more taxes to pay for better schools for my children to go to but I know that the money would only go to the schools after the INTO etc have had their cut.

redbhoy, I am inclined to agree with you but I fear the alternative more than I dislike the status quo. I think that may be the reason why people are so apathetic; the alternative doesn't look any better and could well be worse.

 

[redbhoy]

redbhoy, I am inclined to agree with you but I fear the alternative more than I dislike the status quo. I think that may be the reason why people are so apathetic; the alternative doesn't look any better and could well be worse.

That must be a first Purple! You agreeing with me! Only kiddin (",)
I think people dont care about the corruption because its a 'thats how its always been, you'll never change it' scenario. If politicians are kept on their toes by people staying up to date with current affairs instead of having no interest in politics, we'd have a more efficient government in my opinion!

 

[Marion]

Many personnel in small rural schools will not publicly complain about conditions because they fear that they may raise issues of the viability of the school and indeed they may well be encouraged by management to keep quiet "for the good of the school".

It's a double-edged sword.

Perhaps this is the reason why parents who send their children to these schools don't complain either?

Marion

 

[redbhoy]

I think its crazy that people dont complain. Surely the local communities of these schools would go mental if the local elected reps tried to shut down schools in the area!
If you bring up anything negative in my place of employment the majority accuse you of being a moaner or whinger but its the only way of getting things noticed. I think as a nation we've become too submissive in our approach to everything. I see friends who aren't happy with meals just putting down knife and fork and saying nothing and then paying for the meal. When asked was there something wrong they replied No, I just had a big lunch!!??
Progress comes from people questioning things they aren't happy with and seeing how they can be done better. If Ransom E. Olds had been happy with the status quo, instead of creating the assembly line we wouldnt have the benefits of cheaper mass produced products today!