Teaching Abroad in Ireland: Guest Post from Realta Ranga

About Me

Hello! I’m Aisling. I’m 34 and I teach here in Ireland, which is home to me. I grew up in Dublin and, after a 10 year career in publishing and event management, I re-trained as a teacher 6 years ago. I love teaching and often wonder why I didn’t go that direction from the beginning. I’m currently teaching 6^th class. These children are in their eighth and final year of primary school. They are typically 11-12 years old. I love working with this age group and love the relationships I can build with the students and the fun I can have while we teach and learn together. I run a bilingual blog called Réalta Ranga which translates as Classroom Stars. 

Primary Schools in Ireland

Primary education is changing very quickly in Ireland at the moment. While the vast majority of schools are state-run and state-funded, they have also been under the patronage of the Catholic church for a very long time. This is rapidly being altered with the huge demand for, and the introduction of multi-denominational schools. I teach in a multi-denominational school. The majority of Irish primary schools are mixed gender, boys and girls together, and our average class size would be about 30 students. Children start school at approximately  4 years old and then move on to secondary school at 12. Our academic year runs from September to June with eight weeks summer holidays.

Gaelscolaíocht & Bilingualism

The school I teach in is also interesting in another way – in terms of language. Some of you may be already aware that while English is the most widely spoken language in Ireland, we do also have our own language which is called Gaeilge. All children in Ireland learn Gaeilge as a school subject right through both primary and secondary school. However about 8% of our primary school children attend a ‘Gaelscoil’ like the one that I teach in. Gael = Gaeilge and Scoil= school. This is a school where all subjects (except English) are taught through the medium of the Irish language. The children don’t speak any English at all for the first year and a half of their schooling as we use a model of immersion education. The children typically begin school with no Gaeilge whatsoever but by the end of their first year would be fluent to an age-appropriate level. By the time they are in my class, almost ready to move to secondary school, they are bilingual and I’m sure many of you will have read about the many cognitive benefits of bilingualism. I feel really privileged to teach in such a school and to be part of this rapidly growing movement in Irish education.

                       

This is a short video on Irish-medium education if anyone is interested to hear a bit more about what it’s all about!

Typical School Day

Children begin school each morning at 8.50am and finish at 2.30pm. They have a ten minute break at 10.30am and a half hour at 12.00 for lunch. The subjects we teach are Irish, English, Maths, History, Geography, Science, Music, Drama, Visual Arts, Physical Education, Religious Education and SPHE (Social, Personal and Health Education). We do not have specialist teachers as I know many other education systems do and so these subjects are all taught by the one classroom teacher. We also do not have Teaching Assistants, which I’ve seen that many teachers in the UK and the US have. The only time that there is another adult in the room is in the case of an SNA (Special Needs Assistant). An SNA is there to work directly with a particular child who has a special educational need which requires them.

Realta Ranga is a teacher in Ireland, the author and owner of the Realta Ranga Blog and and store on Teachers Pay Teachers. You can also follower on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

          

Thanks for reading this week's #WorldWideWednesday post by another TpT International Author! Come back next week for our very last post about Sweden and Denmark!