Category Archives: Education Policy

If the language Klingon were to be taught in every school, some consequences would follow that would need to be addressed at a policy or practice level.

Most teachers may not currently be fluent in the language or they may need to have their knowledge of the language refreshed. That would require systematic professional development for teachers in Klingon. Teacher education programmes would need to ensure that graduates were sufficiently fluent in the language for it to be taught well.

Not only would teachers need to be competent in Klingon, they would need to be persuaded of the importance of helping children become fluent in the language at an age-appropriate level as early as possible. Continue reading →

Teachers frequently complain about curriculum overload. That doesn’t stop politicians and others proposing new curriculum subjects or topics. So on this day, which marks the fiftieth anniversary of the first broadcast of Star Trek, join me in a thought experiment about adding to the curriculum a subject that few have considered.

Star Trek films are hugely popular and the thirteenth film in the series was released earlier in 2016. Klingon is the language spoken by Klingons in the Star Trek film series. A case can be made for teaching Klingon to every student in our primary and post-primary schools. Continue reading →

“Certainly he’s got go,” said Gudrun. “In fact I’ve never seen a man that showed signs of so much. The unfortunate thing is, where does his go go to, what becomes of it?”

(From Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence)

To coincide with the Olympic Games in Rio I watched again the film Chariots of Fire. One major theme of the film relates to why top athletes run.

The film tells the stories of two British runners who participated in the 1924 Olympic games in Paris. One, Eric Liddell, runs for God; the other, Harold M. Abrahams runs for acceptance.

“I believe God made me for a purpose. And when I run, I feel his pleasure” states Liddell. Elsewhere he asks “So where does the power come from to see the race to the end?” His answer, “From within.”

In contrast, Abrahams states “I’m forever in pursuit and I don’t even know what it is I’m chasing.” When contemplating the hundred metres Olympics final he says “I’ll raise my eyes and look down that corridor: four feet wide with ten lonely seconds to justify my whole existence. But will I?” Continue reading →

The number of CAO points required for entry to teaching courses matters to qualified teachers as well as to those who wish to become teachers. The points give an indication of the status of the teaching profession in the country. Continue reading →