Irish Examiner view: Struggle to find teachers is shocking
A watershed of sorts seems to have been reached with the news that 77% of schools advertised positions in a six-month period for which no teacher at all applied, while 65% of schools still have unfilled vacancies. Picture: Ben Burchill/PA
There have been plenty of indications in recent months that a crisis is brewing in second-level education, with schools all over Ireland struggling to fill vacancies.
A watershed of sorts seems to have been reached with the news that 77% of schools advertised positions in a six-month period for which no teacher at all applied, while 65% of schools still have unfilled vacancies.
This information — which comes courtesy of a Teachers’ Union of Ireland survey of 104 second-level schools in
September and October — is shocking on several levels. For one it would have been unimaginable just a few years ago, when the job security and social standing of a permanent position made teaching a highly-competitive profession.
The standing of trades and professions can rise and fall according to the fashion of the times, but the decline in interest in teaching is remarkable. It is reasonable to say that there is a crisis in the profession if the level of apathy indicated by this survey is any judge.
Whether teaching can be restored to its previous eminence is a medium-term challenge, but there are enough problems being caused right now by the collapse in teaching numbers to be going on with.
There are knock-on effects for schools which are unable to offer certain subjects because they simply cannot find people to teach those subjects, for instance. Maths teachers appear to be the rarest of commodities, according to the survey, with teachers of construction studies/woodwork, Irish, biology, and home economics also difficult to hire.
Such shortages mean the schools in question may have to drop subjects, denying students access to particular careers, and there may be further consequences. In time we may suffer a lack of candidates for particular trades and professions; such a brain drain has the potential to affect Ireland’s attractiveness to cutting-edge industries.
It is no surprise to see the accommodation crisis lurking behind this problem, as it does with many challenges in modern Irish life. While there is no silver bullet to resolve every problem, decisive action on the accommodation crisis would be a significant contribution to combating many of the obstacles we face.
What will it take for us to act?
The evidence of climate change becomes more and more difficult to ignore. In the last month we have seen its effect all over Ireland in the form of serious flooding and storms — and with a warming planet, we have been warned to expect more of the same.
New research now points us towards fresh concerns — the direct impact upon human health of climate change. Put together by 114 experts from 52 institutions, including UN agencies the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization, the eighth Lancet Countdown report provides details which are deeply concerning.
The risks posed by flooding are obvious and immediate, but the destruction wrought by climate change also filters through to other areas. Rising temperatures affect food production when it comes to crop yields, obviously, while there are other unpleasant consequences such as warming seas, which facilitate the spread of the potentially fatal vibrio bacteria around the world.
A hotter planet is also a harsher working environment —research has shown that 490bn working hours were lost due to heat exposure last year.
The combination of these health-related factors has another unfortunate consequence — it increases the pressure which already exists in hospitals and health systems all over the world, as those suffering from climate-related illnesses swell numbers seeking treatment.
If it didn’t sound glib in this context, then the term ‘perfect storm’ would be appropriate. We can see in this research the prospect of a warming world in which food production is
compromised, bacterial infections can be spread by rising seas, people are unable to work in the heat, and all concerned seek treatment in hospitals which are already operating at or beyond full capacity.
Though it may sound like the pitch for a dystopian movie epic, this is a reality which is not on the horizon but which is already with us. If this reality does not move us to real action to cope with climate change, what will?
A true statesman
This week we learned that senator David Norris is to step down after 36 years in the Upper House — a long and distinguished career by any measure.
In his time representing the Trinity constituency in Seanad Éireann, Mr Norris was a regular contributor, well-informed and witty — he once silenced an opponent by opining that Picasso would struggle to do justice to his appearance — and it is fair to describe him as a latter-day national treasure.
Bloomsday’s prominence in the Irish calendar thanks in no small part to his passion for Joyce, for instance. All of which is a far cry from his long and often lonely advocacy for gay rights.
Mr Norris founded the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform and was the first openly gay person elected to public office in Ireland. He challenged the ban on homosexuality in Irish courts and then in Europe, where the European Court of Human Rights found it violated the European Convention on Human Rights.
At a time when it was neither profitable nor popular to stand up and be counted, Mr Norris had the courage of his convictions and acted accordingly. To misquote another parliamentarian of his generation, he did the State some service.
