That’s the question we should all be asking of the man in charge of Education in England (and Cornwall), for according to Julie Henry, Education Correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph, HM Secretary of State for the Education, The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, has issued guidance that all Free Schools and Academies must teach the importance of marriage. Continue reading “Please Sir, how do you define marriage?”
Apologies for the long posting – this is partially due to the response from the old school… but do read on…
Last year as part of Anti Bullying week, I took the opportunity to write to the headmaster of my old school, Ballymena Academy, to seek clarity on the school’s policy on bullying, particularly homophobic bullying.
I didn’t hear back from him, so in January I wrote again, but still heard nothing until this morning I got a response from him. It seems that the letter I wrote in November never arrived and that the letter that I wrote in January got lost in the depths of Royal Mail. However, the response is as follows:
22nd September, 2011
Dear Mr Campbell,
I am replying to your letter, received 21st September, 2011 but dated 13th January, 2011. There has not been any previous communication on this matter from you.
You raise several issus in your enquiry about the school’s measures to prevent homophobic bullying.
I will begin with pupils.
- In the 21st Century, Ballymena Academy takes all forms of bullying seriously and seeks to ensure that all our pupils benefit from their education, enjoy the experience of their schooling and feel that the school does value them as individuals and treats them with respect. Continue reading “the old school responds… and so do I…”
freedom, fairness and responsibility The three words that we are told by the Liberal Democrat Federal Party website sum up the Coalition Government’s Programme. However, I don’t see how it is promoting any of those when you consider what has just happened to the devolved countries’ finances. HM Treasury changed the rules Formerly, departments were allowed to carry over money from one year to another. In this way, Northern Ireland’s Department for Education had built up a reserve of £87m (2008 figures). Usually, making savings, is considered a good financial practice: building up reserves in case of need in the … Continue reading freedom, fairness, and responsibility: but not to NI!
A programme for the reform of the whole system is what is wanted. State built and State equipped school buildings in every district; management by a State department of Education… When a thorough system of secular education is advocated it is by many thought that religion is thereby endangered. This is not so. Religious instruction in schools is apt to be a mere routine which does not touch the finer feelings. Religious instruction in the schools has done much to destroy religious teaching in the home. The indifferent parent has satisfied his conscience by delegating some of his most important duties to the schoolmaster. In a country which has no State Church there is no State religion to be taught in the State Schools and it is the duty of the various religious denominations to see that their children get proper religious instruction without unnecessarily sacrificing their secular education and thereby providing third-rate education and routine religious instruction… Continue reading “We’re in a time warp: 1910, 2010, 2110?”
Okay, normally you would not expect to find a miss-spelt word on Gyronny Herald, but today you do. That word is
Finanance
The quotation comes from the headline on one page of the Ulster Unionist website, as shown below…
Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this. Albert Einstein (on US Prohibition) Prohibition in the US Prohibition has been tried before, and for many reasons it was judged not to have worked. A resolution calling for an amendment to accomplish nationwide [in the US] Prohibition was introduced in Congress and passed by both houses in December 1917. By January 16, 1919, the Amendment had been ratified … Continue reading prohibition is hurting the world – let’s bring some radical thinking to bear
A new approach to road safety Reflective clothing built into their school uniform Most school uniforms are usually made with dark colours, often black. The re-designed clothing is making pupils brighter than ever. Three schools in County Fermanagh have introduced the new uniforms, after a double tragedy when two teenagers were killed walking home from school. It has been described as the ‘Ready Brek effect’, a reference to the 1980s breakfast cereal advertisements which showed young people walking to school with a permanent afterglow having eaten the cereal. – reports Mark Simpson of the BBC Continue reading The Ready Brek effect takes off in Fermanagh schools
It is the start of Anti Bullying week, and I have taken the opportunity to write to the headmaster of my old school, Ballymena Academy, to seek clarity on the school’s policy on bullying, particularly homophobic bullying. Dear Headmaster, I write to enquire what measures are being put into place in Ballymena Academy to prevent bullying, particularly the bullying of pupils and staff because of their actual or perceived sexuality. As a concerned Old Pupil, I feel that it is part of my responsibility to the pupils of today to be concerned for their welfare – even if when I … Continue reading an old pupil writes, on behalf of the pupils of today
An American charity is proposing to sterilise drug addicts in the United Kingdom. The programme’s objectives (American site) are: The main objective of Project Prevention is public awareness to the problem of addicts/alcoholics exposing their unborn child to drugs during pregnancy. Project Prevention seeks to reduce the burden of this social problem on taxpayers, trim down social worker caseloads, and alleviate from our clients the burden of having children that will potentially be taken away. Unlike incarceration, Project Prevention extremely cost effective and does not punish the participants. We seek and welcome alliances with all sectors of our communities including … Continue reading sterilization of drug addicts… just as Hitler would have done
Reading the news about the First Minister’s comments about integrated education in Northern Ireland has got me thinking. It really isn’t that long ago since I spoke in a debate, nay, I seconded the motion, at Alliance Party Conference in the Dunadry Hotel, in 2009. The motion was proposed by Alliance Youth, – I was only just a member back then (before being kicked out for being too old). The proposal was that the State should withdraw funding from schools that don’t withdraw religious control on them. In other words, to create a State education sector that was truly integrated, … Continue reading either a farce or we’ve moved very far indeed
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