Aontú Education Spokesperson and Representative for East Derry, Gemma Brolly encourages the public to support the current campaign calling for urgent action to reverse damages to the place of Irish Language in English Medium Schools and pledges to fight for ‘cothrom na féinne’ for all aspiring linguists within our education system.
“For centuries, the Irish language has been attacked and all kinds of obvious and not-so-obvious attempts have been made to eradicate our native language,the very foundation of our country, the living link to our ancestors, our history, the very sense to our surroundings. In spite of this our language brings music to the ears of thousands of people today” states Ms. Brolly.
“In today’s times however, no one should be made feel unwelcome or unaccommodated because of the language they wish to learn or the link they wish to make with their heritage, yet thousands of our children, many now adults continue to be ignored in an education system which should be applauding all efforts to improve cognitive ability, to reach beyond monolingual skills and to show respect and equality in all aspects of life.”
“Provision for children wishing to learn the Irish language may have somewhat improved however there is still quite a distance to go. An effort to include those with an understanding of teaching through the medium of Irish on education panels would be a significant step in the right direction to making genuine positive changes, to truly understanding the intricate details and needs of the children within bilingual education systems” explains Brolly.
“On the other hand, we have our teenagers and young adults wishing to continue their studies, develop their ability and interest in another language but are shut down if numbers are not sufficient, with effort to accommodate coming only from community organisations. Perhaps if all subjects had the same value and worth and were not pitted against one another, if education agencies opened the doors of communication to their stakeholders, community organisation and our language bodies, our young people would feel their opinions are valued and their wish to study the Irish language at an level does not have to be any more challenging than other subjects.
It is most unfortunate that we have students and parents self-funding their education in these times, this should never be the case. Aontú fully support the open letter from ‘An Gréasán’ calling upon the legislative bodies of the Northern Ireland Assembly,the Education Authority, the Department of Education and their arm’s length bodies, such as CCEA, to act as a matter of urgency to reverse the damage done in the study of the Irish language and other languages in English medium post-primary schools. We encourage all students and their families, past, present and future to show their support by emailing feachtasnagaeilge@gmail.com with their name and job-title/role indicating your support for this campaign. Furthermore, Aontú will continue to stand up and fight for ‘cothrom na féinne’ a level playing field for all those wishing to learn the Irish language, the soul of our country.
Tír gan teanga,tír gan anam.”
ENDS
CLANRYE NEWS 