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The book imagines what our education system might look like without the Leaving Cert and the CAO system. It considers the type of learning that might happen in our classrooms without the demands of a single set of high-stakes exams. It suggests that our students and our broader society might be more fulfilled and safer as a result. In the opening chapters the author considers attitudes towards teachers in Ireland.

The author suggests a breakdown in this respect, linked to the classrooms of the past and a growing pressure on students to perform well in a market-run system. Our competitive drive in education is presented as yet another form of oppression in our country – following on from the abuses of the Church and colonialism. The book makes the claim that removing the stress and the singularity of the Leaving Cert could liberate Irish students.

There is a deep concern for social justice throughout. In the later chapters the author places much focus on the importance of objective sex education in Irish schools, referring to rising rates of harassment and violence in our universities. 

More Information
ISBN/EAN 9781786051264
Author Jennifer Horgan
Publisher Orpen Press
Publication date 25 May 2021
Format Paperback
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You're reviewing:O Captain, My Captain: One Teacher’s Hope for Change in the Irish Education System

O Captain, My Captain: One Teacher’s Hope for Change in the Irish Education System

O Captain, My Captain is a book about one teacher’s hope for change in the Irish education system. It is written in an engaging style that draws on personal experience as well as research. It aims to reach anyone interested in education, from teachers and academics to parents and young people.

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