t e a c h i n ge n g l i s h - PDST2).pdf · Ciaran Mc Brearty Carrick Vocational School, Carrick,...

t e a c h i n ge n g l i s hM A G A Z I N E

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C O N T E N T S

3 Teaching English Magazine Write a PoemCompetition 2006 Winning Entries

9 Patrick Murray: A Life in English

12 A Brief Guide to Texts Prescribed for 2008 Comparative Study

18 In Conversation – Gerard Hanberry

21 Multiple Intelligence Approaches for Teachingthe Novel at Junior Certificate Level –Anthony Malone

26 Moving Image

29 English Second Level Support Service – Calendar of Continuous ProfessionalDevelopment Courses 2006-2007

30 Education for All

Cover image: The Village School, Jan Steen (1625/6 - 1679), The National Gallery of Ireland

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H WRITE A POEM H WRITE A POEM H WRITE A POEM H

WRITE A POEM H H WRITE A POEM

1st Place Senior

Births, Deaths and Marriages

The coughing and spluttering That was her one companion Came frothing from her mouth,Tinged with blood and mucousAnd fell into a silver pail that had seen As many loaves of bread made as children sick.

The angelus tolled on Radio EireannAs she whispered and muttered under her breath The words that came as habitually as a child’s need

for her mother.Her broad shoulders that had been used to so

much labour Heaved with the coughing, Her ninety-year-old lungs groaned and wheezed

with effort.

Visitors came and outstayed their welcomeAs her family served them tea and wiped her brow.Mutters of “she lived a long life” were

commonplace.But what should it matter if she lived nine or

ninety years?Was that meant to comfort?

The candle of hope burned brightly in the hearts ofthe young While the adults exchanged knowing glances.The children took turns in brushing the thin, greyhair As she slept, while others sang songs. Her skin, so white, was stretched across the bone And the nails, worn down with work, like feathers.

And the last few words through fits of sleep – “Is my tart still in the oven” – Weighed heavily upon my heart.

The coffin stayed closed, the cakes were eaten And the last dregs of tea were drunk.

The top of the newspaper page read: “Births, Deaths and Marriages” (Times NewRoman) More births than marriages, I thought.Ninety years in five short sentences or forty lines.

Until one day I said to myself, “She did live a long life.”And the stars did not stop spinning.

Éithne O’ ConnorLoreto Secondary SchoolSpawell RoadWexford

2nd Place Senior

Emergency Exit

I could use an exit right nowHow about you?

We could kick down doorsAnd stumble like gray horses

into the night, kicking, screaming,singing our battle-cries to the deaf

highways and stupid skies and we could throw our burning

glass ambitions against the wallsand holler “This is all I have to give!?

We could purr like cats and burn our tailsAnd waste our nine lives on nine dirty roads.

We really could, we could do it all.We could leave through the back door,

Clutching only hands and swordsAnd rain-clouds to keep us awake,

Swimming through the storm like a tiny fishWith a rip in it’s mouth where the hook used

to be.

Speaking in bubbles:

FreeFree

FreeFree

A.J. BritzSchull Community CollegeSchullWest Cork

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Joint 3rd Place Senior

Hero

I remember the rage,The screaming in my stomach,The blisters in my bowelsI remember a field in spring,With lambs-leaping-lovelyI remember the stone in my hand,I remember the lamb.

I remember the loveWhen you were aroundYour green eyes slew my soulI remember by the rock,The sun melting on your skinI remember the day we metI remember the day you left.

I remember the sorrow,The Christmas there was to be no tree,The anger in his eyes,I remember John Lennon over and over again,“If you want to be a hero then just follow me”I remember why it spoke to me,I remember that Christmas tree.

Ciaran Mc Brearty Carrick Vocational School,Carrick,Co Donegal.

Highly Commended Senior

Winter

At entrance ceremonyDesks are smiling up at pupilsWaiting for study together

Yuko UozumiEast Glendalough SchoolCo. Wicklow


Through My Eyes

Lonely, lost, locked inBarriers prevent me escapingI dream about being freeBut it’s not that easyI hate this feelingSo down and drearyLet me out, let me be

Niamh RyanBorris Vocational SchoolBorrisCo. Carlow

Joint 3rd Place Senior

Dear John

The flea hath not wed usFor he hath bit multitudes,Our two bloods mingleAmongst cats and dogs.You hath said“This enjoys before it woo”But I ask you,Hast thou not the knowledgeThat the deep red dropsIt stole from meWas nothing but necessity?Thou compareth love and intimacyTo the habits and life of a flea.I ask thee, art thou a spider?Longing to devour,Twisting threads artisticallyTo suit your needs,To gain what thou desireth,And have pleasure at your leisure.But I shan’t beA blind butterfly,And get captured in your web,Your invisible ruthless ropesThough like silver tempting lace,Shine with glee and innocence,But enrapture me?They will not!Thee and thou fleaAre nothing but conspiracy!

Ann

Irina GerberTullamore CollegeTullamoreCo. Offaly


This Cold Place

The map of the cold placeIs sitting in my bag.Now, I’ll explore it.

Kieran MurphyEast Glendalough SchoolWicklow



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Sunrise in the field

The sun rises,sending a cavalry of spearmen shooting through the airas though from a bow.They swiftly ride down,the snaking shadowsof night.

Spears of light catch the morning dew,it glistens in the wakeof the charge.

The hedgerows warblewith little birds.Leaves rustle withthe scurrying of field mice.A lone fox slinksthrough the tall grass.The green grassflourishing in the field.

The sun rises,gleaming dullythrough the haze,of dust and smoke.Morning is slow to comeand relieve the night.

Solitary rays of light, glimmer on cold metal.

The JCB rumbles into lifewith a dull roar.Builders jockey for positionon the sky-high scaffolding.Building materials wallowin a cesspool of mud.The morass of mudfestering in the field.

Claire Mc SweeneyCarrigaline Community SchoolWaterparkCarrigalineCo. Cork


Remember

Those days I’ll always rememberMy dad and I trotting throughMuddy fields in search of something,Nothing special…“Just bits n’ bobs” he would sayHolding the old rusty kettle.He strode ahead leading the wayI strove to catch up,Dragging the weight of my woolly coat.We would search for hours on end-Never found a thing.Those days I’ll always remember,My dad and I.

Bridget MaddenMercy CollegeWoodfordCo. Galway


A Coral Beach in Connemara

The two of us alone on that stony Cheathrú Rua beach

On a July evening that almost seemed like my reason for being.

It was our last day together and the sun was burning strong.

The coral tucked snugly in under tranquil lapping waves

Like a well-fitted carpet – well, at least in appearance,

For its prickle could ignite fires on tender bare feet.

But this day grit between my toes was of little pertinence

As we talked of life and out paths here, sharing tales,Sharing moments, that made us laugh until we cried.

And then you paused, a serious stare. An instant frozen forever:

Your golden hair blew gently in the passing sea breeze,

You looked at me intensely and said simply, “I’ll miss you.”

I could not speak, my throat was blocked.I spoke only with my eyes when ours locked.Our faces were ones that only a coral Connemara

beach could remember.

The sea it glistened.

John Morrissey Coláiste MhuireJohnstownCo. Kilkenny



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JUNIOR CYCLE

1st Place Junior

Graffiti

Once this was a blank wallPainted whitish–brownA clean, new easelFor the artists of the town.

A group of giggling schoolgirlsWalking by the pier,One spies the wall and writes‘Sophie was here’

A love-struck admirer,Passion in his bones,‘Chris loves Amy’Is scribbled on the stones.

A gang of college students,Loaded full of beerFill the wall with lots of wordsI won’t repeat here.

Young politicians nail a poster to the wall,Soon passers-by are told to ‘Vote Fianna Fáil’.

An eight-year-old schoolboy(Much to be feared)Decorates the poster –Bertie grew a beard!

The wall is now a work of art,A vision to behold,And behind each coloured word.A story can be told.

A worker for the council,With a heavy frownCovers up the artwork withA shade of whitish–brown.

Laura ReaneySchull Community CollegeSchullWest Cork

Joint 2nd Place Junior

Butterflies

Move like a soft breeze,a silk sunrise breathingan eiderdown of daylight.I close my eyes and breathe reds and yellows,blues and alizarin huesand you, a dreamever-dancing from my grasp.The lightest of fingerprints,you touch on words like flowers:azaleas, bluebells, hyacinths,the strawberry moist of your mouthsplitting your face with joy.Light spills from the butterflies of your eyes,warmth from your heart, flutteringlike a bird shooting a streak of colourthrough the skyI feel warmth in your presence. There is summer in your smile.

Kerri WardAssumption Secondary School, Walkinstown, Dublin 12

Joint 2nd Place Junior

The Clock

Nervously I waited, as the clock ticked on the wall.Waiting for the inevitable news, as the tearsstarted to fall.The sickness had taken over him, like a forced

tyranny.Helplessly watching the time with him slippingthrough my fingers.Somehow I began to envy the clock,Not having to feel this unbearable pain.Not a friend, not a loved one, just a gloomy

spectator on the wall.I felt it watching me, jeering with its wooden eyes,Its ticking metronome controlling the soft rise and

fall of his chest.And when he slipped away, as in a breathless sleep,I somehow expected the clock would stop too.But it continued on in its steady pulse,As if nothing had every really happened.Not one sound bar the clock,Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Eithne Fitzsimons Holy Family Community School, Kilteel Road,RathcooleCo. Dublin



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3rd Place Junior

Night

The stream tricklingTrees whisperingSomething stirs in the dark.

Shadows movingBranches loomingNo angels here to hark.

Heavy breathingHearts beatingEternal darkness all around.

Creepers windingGrips tighteningNothing makes a sound.

Confidence fallingFear callingUnder night’s dark cover.

Silent screamingSouls wearyNothing to discover.

Sun rise and sun setHere comes anotherNight to haunt my sleepMake me hold my soul tightThat keeps me from the day-time lightAnd shows me my fears in black with fright.

Claire AndersonCarrigaline Community SchoolWaterparkCarrigalineCo. Cork

Highly Commended Junior

Crossing the Road

Snails are not the friendly creaturesPeople might suppose,

They never stop to have a chatWhen they meet nose to nose,

For conversation-wise it seems,they don’t have much to say,

And vaguely waving horns around continue on their way,

I’m cultivating two or threeand hoping that they’ll talk to me.

Sheridan DwyerPresentation Secondary SchoolMilltownCo. Kerry


“Looking Out the Window”

Looking out the car window,I saw them playing on the street,And looked longingly,At the fun they were having…

The were the “rough crowd”,Shell suits, bad language,My parents’ worst nightmare…

I loved their rebellious nature,And wished that someday,I could be just as tough.

Then my father spoke:“Bet they’ll all grow up to be criminals”And then I closed my window…

(Modelled on “My Parents kept me from childrenwho were rough.” Stephen Spender)

Katy NaughtenMount Temple Comprehensive SchoolMalahide RoadDublin 3



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Faded Memories

Where once a great fort stood,Now lies forgotten ground,Where tales of honour and battle,Once waited to be found.

Where wars were fought,And invasion prepared,Where once an army stood with courage,And enemy ran scared.

And now it’s often wonderedHow memories fade away,How things are left to wreck and ruin, to

crumble and decay,And all that’s left once it is gone, had drifted

into past,Is nothing, nowhere, left to fade,To the land where discarded memories are cast.

Jean Kiely Carrigaline Community SchoolWaterparkCarrigalineCo. Cork

Highly Commended

The Red Fox

Sly, cunning and tactful

Is a red fox

Coated with thickFur

Cautiously waitingOn its prey

(Modelled on ‘The Red Wheelbarrow’.William Carlos Williams.)

Cabrina Mc KennaLoreto CollegeCavanCo. Cavan

Highly Commended

My Finest Hour

This morning’s our History testI’ve pinned my notes inside my vestInside my coat I wrote my notesincluding dates and famous quotesI’ve written more upon my handthat only I can understandand in my socks I’ve stowedmy scribbled notes in secret code.

I’ve written down so many namesof winters of the famous gamesof building, people, places, toofrom the Pyrenees to TimbuktuI’ve even copied down a piece of ancient Rome and ancient Greeceand everything from Shakespeare’s playto who invented mayonnaise.

I came to school so well preparedI wasn’t nervous and wasn’t scaredbut here it is the History testI look inside my coat and vestto get the dates and all the notesSo much for Shakespeare, Greece and RomeWhen I left my glasses back at home.

Simeen Lenz LipitchSchull Community collegeSchullWest Cork



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The name Patrick Murraywill be well known toteachers of English in everypart of the country. For overthirty years Patrick hasedited, compiled and writtenbooks for second-levelEnglish. Among his best-known works are his editions

of Shakespeare’s plays. So, from where doesPatrick’s love of English derive? The T e a c h i n gEnglish magazine went to Athlone to find out.

Patrick was born in Athlone and attended theDean Kelly Memorial School, a bi-lingual primaryschool in the town. Patrick suggests that learningthrough Irish helped to clarify his thinking onEnglish and understand how the language works.His memory is of ‘amazingly inspirationalteachers’, who ‘extended my field of vision farbeyond any curriculum.’ One in particular, MasterFitzpatrick, was noted for his scholarship (and hisseverity). The Master expected much from hisstudents and encouraged them to aspire to thehighest standards.

The stimulation of school was matched by that ofhome. His was a ‘linguistically-conscious household.’His older sister was a committed Irish speaker, hismother was interested in folklore and his father, ‘aconstitutional nationalist’, had a keen interest in Irishhistory. In the family there was much discussion oneducational, cultural and literary matters. From hisolder sister (‘the biggest intellectual influence onmy life’) and from his parents he received‘encouragement without pressure.’

Throughout the conversation Patrick refers tovarious mentors and teachers and his appreciationof the part they played in his education has notdiminished with time. For example he states: ‘Thelocal library had an absolutely magnificentlibrarian, Earnan Morris, a very scholarly man andan enlightening influence, who would suggestgood reading for us.’ Patrick’s young taste wastowards novels, histories and biography and hecites the early guidance from Earnan Morris as animportant influence in shaping the interests helater developed.

Patrick points out that in the Forties and Fifties thePrimary Certificate had the same significance as theLeaving Certificate has today and students wereexpected to do well in it. Not many students couldafford to pursue their education beyond primary

school. Patrick, however, received a scholarship toSt Mary’s Intermediate School, run by the MaristBrothers and he remembers his time there, in thelate forties and early fifties, as ‘wonderful.’

The ethos of the school was, ‘in the best sense ofthe word, a liberal one’ and there was no corporalpunishment. The brothers had a kindly andcivilised attitude towards pupils. Many of thebrothers had trained in various Europeancountries – Italy, France, Spain and Germany –and brought ‘a cultural dimension’ to theeducation they offered, and a broad view of theworld. In a period not noted for its tolerance, theMarist Brothers were, Patrick observes, tolerantof students’ opinions. Examinations were neverthe priority of the brothers. Notwithstanding this,they guided their students in subtle ways towardsan interest ‘in higher things’, in much the sameway as Patrick’s father did at home, and standardsof academic achievement and standards ofbehaviour were high in St Mary’s. The values ofthe liberal education he received, both at homeand in school, shaped Patrick’s approach to histeaching. To this day he opposes any kind offorcing or over-instructing of students. ‘A little bitof liberty is what I like.’

As in his recollections of primary school, Patrick isanxious to honour an inspirational teacher fromhis time in secondary school. Brother Geraldtaught English in the school. He knew Patrick’sfamily and gave the young scholar immensesupport and encouragement in his final years insecondary school. (Patrick’s mother died of aheart ailment when he was eleven and his fatherdied suddenly a week before Patrick was due to sithis Leaving Certificate.)

Brother Gerald encouraged all the students towrite. He was an attentive reader and invitedstudents to read their work aloud in class. In fact,public speaking was encouraged to an extent thatPatrick believes was not common elsewhere.From Brother Gerald’s enthusiasm for ParadiseLost, and his recitation of long passages by heart,Patrick inherited a love of Milton. According toPatrick, hearing poetry is vital. After his LeavingCertificate, Patrick was too young to go touniversity so the Marist Brothers gave him freeaccess to their library. Moreover, a number ofretired brothers, who had expertise in English,Irish, History, French and Latin, helped him toprepare for University in an environment that hedescribes as ‘pleasant and relaxed.’

A LIFE IN ENGLISHThe Teaching English magazine meets Patrick Murray

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University was UCG where a County Council grant of£140 per annum allowed him to survive. ‘A hugeadvantage of living within that budget was that youspent your time studying as you couldn’t afford to doanything else.’ His degree subjects were English andModern History though he did Logic as an option andFrench as a minor subject. As with the MaristBrothers, the examinations were not the focus of thematerial covered by the lecturers. The study ofEnglish was philosophical in orientation and conceptand theory-based. The lectures gave an overview ofthe subject and the social and economic backgroundto the texts, but the students were largely left totheir own devices in reading those texts. The requiredreading included twelve of Shakespeare’s plays.Precision, both in terms of expression andknowledge, was highly valued. Just as in primaryschool, where the study of Irish helped his English,the study of French alongside English, and thetranslation of work between the two languages, was,Patrick says, ‘very valuable.’

Looking back he regards the greatest deficiency inthe teaching of English in UCG was the failure toacknowledge Modernism. The study of Englishliterature stopped at 1900. (A deficiency of therevised Leaving Certificate might well be its failureto do justice to the poetic inheritance of theEighteenth & Nineteenth centuries.)

In college Patrick wrote, and continues to write,poetry, though he has never published any of thiswriting. Keats he regards as ‘the ultimate modelfor writing personal poetry.’ As a teacher Patrickencouraged the students to write both poetryand personal narrative and a number of thembecame poets.

After his degree he did an MA on Milton and this ledto a PhD. The subject of his doctoral thesis was thedegree to which Milton was admired or otherwisefrom the Eighteenth century to the Twentiethcentury. The thesis was less concerned withMilton’s work per se than with Milton as abarometer of literary taste. Patrick argues that T.S.Eliot debunked Milton because Milton’s style wasthe antithesis of his own, whereas Donne and theMetaphysical poets were praised because Eliot waswriting in their manner, though there are Miltonicelements in the Four Quartets. Patrick says that thecollege offered little guidance to their post-graduate students so he assembled his bibliographyand wrote privately to the leading authorities of theday. The names he mentions include some of thegreatest names in British scholarship: J. R. Tolkien;C.S. Lewis; C.L. Wrenn; and Basil Willey. All repliedand encouraged the young Irish academic tocontinue his study and Basil Willey maintained thecorrespondence over a long period. The courage towrite to these luminaries came from what he refersto as his ‘inwardness with the texts’ and hiswillingness to grapple with their complexity. This

willingness survives to this day, especially inrelation to writers who appeal to him. And the twowriters who appeal most to him, ‘without a doubt’,are Milton and Shakespeare.

The completed thesis was well received and publishedin book form in 1967, under the title Milton: theModern Phase by the London publishers, Longman.Anthony Burgess wrote a long review in The Spectatorand the print run was sold out within a month. Thiswas followed by another book for Longman in 1969 onthe development of ideas about Shakespeare. Duringthis period Patrick contributed articles to Irish, Britishand American journals on, among other things,Beckett and Sterne, Swift and Goldsmith, addingmodestly, ‘I made a few discoveries about Goldsmith.’

Patrick’s career as a secondary teacher was spent inSt Aloysius College in Athlone, where he joined thestaff in 1960. He taught for eleven years beforespending five years lecturing in Maynooth. Then, in1976, he returned as Deputy-Principal to StAloysius and stayed there until his retirement fromteaching in 1999. All the while he worked on hisscholarly research, wrote books for secondaryEnglish and acted as an advising examiner forLeaving Certificate English. In the classroom, theoral and aural dimensions of the subject werecentral to his teaching.

In relation to teaching Shakespeare Patrick holds theview that the plays have to be spoken rather than readbecause they ‘don’t yield their proper value if they areonly read.’ Therefore there were interchanges in classand the acting out of key scenes. And, as often aspossible, he brought his students to the performancesof plays. On the subject of film versions ofShakespeare, Patrick admires the work of the BBC andthis reflects his preference for conventionalapproaches to adapting Shakespeare. Some of thegreat performances he has seen include: Olivier asHamlet, Richard Burton as Macbeth; Gielgud asRichard III and Donald Wolfit as Lear. In all cases, thevoices of the actors carried the music of the play, whilehearing the spoken word revealed nuances of meaningthat were missed in silent reading.

Patrick is a believer in committing to memoryimportant and memorable poems and passages ofShakespeare. And this was one of the few practiceshe imposed on his classes, though this impositionwas light-handed. In his own schooldays, he wasrequired to commit Hamlet to memory just as anactor might have done. Patrick notes that SeamusHeaney regrets the disappearing of ‘the art ofremembering memorable things’.

One of the elements of the old English syllabuswhich Patrick admired and to which he gaveattention was the discipline of analysing a passageand reducing it to one third of its original length.The ability to extract ideas from a passage and

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express them in your own words in a concise way, heconsiders an important life-skill. He was always keento help his students develop their powers ofreasoning and concise thinking. He often invited hisstudents to analyse the leading articles innewspapers with a view to discovering flaws in thereasoning. For Patrick language is an instrument ofreason as much as it is a vehicle of the imagination.He used Orwell’s writing on the politics of languageto raise the students’ awareness of the degree towhich language can be used and abused for politicalends and encouraged in them what the revisedsyllabus refers to as ‘critical literacy’, the belief that‘there is no ipse dixit in anything.’ The students, hesays, have to evaluate texts for themselves – thereare no infallibilities. And this extends to Shakespearewhere the students have to realise that the plays arenot uniformly outstanding or excellent – ‘there areweak and strong parts.’ And critical reasoning can beencouraged by exploring the norms of the plays –moral, social and political – and comparing them tothe norms of our society.

Central to his teaching was and is the desire topromote independent thinking, based on soundreasoning. He liked to put the students in theposition of the teacher, to take guidance from themon their reading of texts. Patrick holds the view thatthere is nothing worse than a class in which theteacher is the only participant.

When asked to name his greatest pleasure as ateacher Patrick’s response is instantaneous; ‘Therapport with the students. Being their friend andthey being mine.’ He is pleased that his son Paul istaking up secondary teaching as a career.

And he smiles his broad smile and his enthusiasm forteaching and literature lights up his face.

Patrick Murray on:

Grammar & SpellingWhen you compare English grammar to its Frenchor Irish counterparts, you realise the structure ofEnglish is too flexible to be taught in a systematicway. You learn by practice, by reading and writingand absorbing the way the language works.

With spelling it is important to mark essays carefullyand identify the common spelling mistakes. The vastmajority of mistakes concern no more than seventywords, and it is possible for students to reduce thenumber of words they habitually misspell.

English as a Foreign LanguageIt is very easy to encourage the students. I tell themthat they are coping very well with a foreignlanguage. The idiom of English is not always naturalto Irish people. They enjoy that and takeencouragement from it.

Personal Opinion of StudentsDoes the assessment of the revised LC Englishsyllabus encourage opinion at the expense of logicand content-knowledge? Personal opinion shouldnot be divorced from knowledge and explication oftexts and an understanding of the context in whichthe texts were composed.

TranscribingThe judicious use of transcription encouragesaccuracy and precision. Evelyn Waugh learned howto write by transcribing writers who were congenialto him.

Choice of Authors and Texts on Revised LC English SyllabusWhat about Shelley and what about Browning?There are gaps in the course especially in relation toEnglish poets of the nineteenth century. Some ofBrowning’s dramatic monologues would be a usefuladdition to the list of prescribed texts. There is anatural link between Browning’s work and that ofEliot. I would like to see Yeats studied by all studentsand I regret the virtual absence of Milton from thecourse. I wonder if we have left out some of thegiants of English literature and replaced them withwriters of lesser stature?

Syllabus and Examination In relation to critical literacy, do the examinationsfulfil the objectives of the syllabus?

Unseen Poetry at Ordinary LevelThere is no distinction between the examination ofprescribed and unseen poetry at on the OrdinaryLevel Paper II. This defies the logic of the distinctionbetween unseen and prescribed work.

Imaginative CompositionUp to the 1950s candidates in Leaving CertificateIrish could write a poem in response to the work ofthe poets they studied. Is there any reason why thisform of imaginative composition could not be madeavailable to candidates in LC English in respondingto their favourite poets?

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Much Ado About Nothing (Film) BRANAGH, Kenneth (Director) This fast-moving version of Shakespeare’s play isan intricate tale of love (‘a merry war’) andbetrayal, jealousy and reconciliation. Under thecomic surface lies an exploration of chastity andmarriage. Shot on location in Tuscany, the film isbeautiful to look at and the comedy is diverting,though whether the casting is wholly successful isa moot point.

Wuthering Heights BRONTE, EmilyClassic romantic novel of consuming passions,played out against the wild Yorkshire moors.Cathy and Heathcliff are the unhinged,tempestuous lovers, who wreak havoc all roundthem. A dense, overwritten, overwrought tale ofpassion, jealousy and revenge. A demanding readbut who can resist its peculiar madness: I amHeathcliff! He’s always, always in my mind; notas a pleasure, any more than I am always apleasure to myself, but as my own being.

True History of the Kelly Gang CAREY, Peter Ned Kelly and his turbulent times are brought tolife by Carey. Told in the first-person, Carey’s NedKelly comes across as an honorable villain,struggling against an unjust society. The novelopens a window on the struggle to survive faced bythose Irish who were transported to the colony ofNew South Wales, in the mid-nineteenth century.Carey imitates Kelly’s non-standard style, whichcan be daunting at first, but the whole effect isconvincing; a sense of “true history” is created – orconstructed. The vast and open territory of NewSouth Wales is successfully evoked, as well as thegrinding poverty of the settlers.

Boyhood Scenes from Provincial Life COETZEE, J.M. Coetzee’s brilliant recreation of his boyhood inSouth Africa in the years after the Second WorldWar. Written in the third-person, this cool, clear-eyed narrative catches the interior life of a child,with its confusion, loneliness and secrets, in a toneof amused compassion and tenderness. The child’sperspective makes the casual hatred he observesall the more startling. A fascinating study of themother-child relationship and a skilful recreationof the consciousness of a young boy striving tomake sense of the world and its segregations.Much for the young writer to learn from andadmire in this portrait of the writer as a boy.

Reading in the Dark DEANE, SeamusSeamus Deane’s vivid evocation of the Derry ofhis childhood in the 1940s and ‘50s. The personaland public are skilfully intertwined in the tragedywhich haunts his family. The young narratorlearns a family secret and, in being loyal to hismother, sees himself as disloyal to his father. Astory of growing up and of loss and regret, toldwith humour in a style that is spare and poetic.Each chapter stands almost a short story in itself.A masterpiece.

Fasting, Feasting DESAI, Anita Desai’s portrait of an Indian family caughtbetween adherence to the old ways and theintrusion of western ideas. Uma is the daughterwho cannot escape the family; Aruna is thedaughter who makes a successful marriage andArun is the son who tries to cope with theconfusion of life in America. Told through a seriesof well-drawn set pieces, Desai’s novel is acontemporary take on the comedy of manners,which casts a satiric eye on the contradictionswithin American consumerism.

After Easter Devlin, Anne Devlin’s play, set in London and Belfast, dealswith a Catholic family coming to terms with thelegacy of the Troubles and their own familyhistory. The main characters are three sisterswho, in their thirties, take stock of their livesand their relationship to their parents and theiridentity. The action revolves around Greta, theeldest of the sisters, who has been committed toa psychiatric hospital, following a breakdown.Through Greta, Devlin sets up an oppositionbetween spiritual vision and psychologicaldisorder in a way that is dramaticallyinteresting, if not completely convincing.Greta’a quest to discover or recover her identityand to understand her life and its apparentfailures involves a return to Belfast fromEngland and a confrontation with her mother,two sisters and brother.

Spies FRAYN, MichaelKeith, the adult narrator of Spies revisits thescenes of his childhood and narrates the summerwhen he and his friend Keith ‘discovered’ thatKeith’s motherwas sheltering a German spy. Theirspying unearths a less glamorous story thanthey imagined – an illicit love between Keith’smother and her brother-in-law – with painfulconsequences. Clever and witty, Frayn’s Second

A Brief Guide to Texts Prescribed for

COMPARATIVE STUDY 2008

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World War novel is a cautionary tale on thedangers of paranoia in an era of war and nationalthreat. A novel about the half-understood worldwhich children inhabit, written in a direct,simple style.

Philadelphia! Here I Come! FRIEL, BrianFriel’s play of growing up, of exile and longing, offamily and the failure of communication betweenfather and son. The device of Public and Private Garworks as well today as it did when the play was firstproduced in 1964. Funny, sad and moving, and animportant insight into life in small-town Ireland inthe Fifties and Sixties for a generation for whomexile and emigration are distant realities.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-TimeHADDON, Mark Christopher Boone is the fifteen year old narratorof this inventive, comic and moving novel, whichis set in contemporary England. Christopher isautistic and the lack of emotional differentiationin his account of the world makes for amemorable story. The plot revolves roundChristopher’s investigation of the murder of hisneighbour’s dog. His investigation uncoversdisturbing facts about his family and neighboursin this utterly original and accessible detectiveand coming-of-age novel. Mark Haddon writeswith great skill and understanding andChristopher emerges from the pages as a trulyunique character, entirely believable andcompletely lovable. Highly recommended.

The Speckled People HAMILTON, HugoThe speckled people are “the new Irish, partly fromIreland, partly from somewhere else.” The SpeckledP e o p l e is Hugo Hamilton’s account of growing up inDun Laoghaire in the 1950s with an Irish-speakingfather and a German-speaking mother, bothhomesick for a country they can call their own. This

is a fantastic memoir whichcaptures the confusion of thechild narrator as he tries tocope with his father’snationalist obsessions and hismother’s meek acceptance ofthings as they are. A brilliantstudy of a family out of kilterwith the world around it and aboy who wants to be like theother English-speakingchildren on his street. Funny,

touching and thought-provoking, as the youngnarrator makes sense of family, history and identityand the secrets locked in the wardrobe.

Under the Greenwood TreeHARDY, Thomas Thomas Hardy’s first critically acclaimed novel is alove story with a pastoral setting, where evenweddings have to be delayedas the bridegroom/beekeepertends to his swarming bees. Asin all of Hardy’s romances, thecourse of true love does notrun smooth and there is manya slip between the onset oflove and the celebration of themarriage between Fancy Dayand Dick Dewey. In betweenHardy describes the village ofMellstock and the replacementof the choir and its musicians by the new churchorgan, a form of ‘progress’ which cuts communalties. The novel also touches upon the effect ofvanity and social ambition upon choices made byyoung men and women in pursuit of a partner.Structured around the movement of the seasons,the novel begins in winter and ends in the warmthof spring. Thomas Hardy in light and optimisticmood celebrating the England of his parents beforethe onset of the industrial revolution.

The Remains of the Day ISHIGURO, KazuoThe story of Stevens, the quintessential Englishbutler, who put his duty as a servant to hisemployer, Lord Darlington, above all personalconsiderations, including his love for his colleague,Miss Kenton. Told in the first person, Stevens, inthe twilight of his life, seeks to undo one of thegreat mistakes of his life only to find that it cannotbe put to rights. Although we never lose sympathyfor the repressed Stevens, the novel satirises asociety in which notions of social superiority deemone class worthy to lead and the rest privileged toserve. Set against the background of the rise ofHitler in Germany, this clever, stylish and subtlenovel explores the intersection of the private worldof the individual with the public world of politics.Stevens’ journey across England becomes a journeyinto the past and into self-knowledge. A reallyaccomplished, clear and precise piece of writing.

How Many Miles to Babylon? JOHNSTON, JenniferTwo boys, separated by class and religion, grow upas friends on a large country estate in the south ofIreland. Their relationship is not approved and theyare forced apart. When WW1 begins, both leave tofight. We follow their careers separately until theymeet again near the dramatic and moving end ofthe novel. Brilliantly written, with a number ofsuperb set pieces, Johnson’s novel is a meditation onwar, class, loneliness and loss.

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man JOYCE, James Joyce’s novel, which drawson his own childhood andadolescence, traces theformation and developmentof the hero, Stephen Dedalus.Told in the third person, thenovel shows the influence ofhome, school and collegeupon the young writer aswell as the influence ofreligion, history and nationalism. It tracesStephen’s development from his early childhoodto the deep religious conflict he experiences as aschoolboy and, finally, to university, where hechallenges the conventions of his upbringing andredefines his understanding of faith andintellectual freedom. The novel portrays Stephenin a humorous and ironic way as a rebel, a prig anda poseur without forfeiting the reader’s sympathyfor the young hero. Fragmentary, experimentaland uneven, with a number of notable set pieces,including the justly famous Christmas DinnerScene (“Poor Parnell! My poor dead king!”), ThePortrait of the Artist as a Young Man is one of thegreat modernist novels in Irish literature.

The Poisonwood Bible KINGSOLVER, Barbara It’s 1959, and it is a long, long way fromBethlehem, Georgia, U.S.A. to the Belgian Congoas evangelical Baptist preacher, Nathan Price, hiswife and four daughters discover in ThePoisonwood Bible. The early part of the novelrelates the Prices’s initial years in the Congo - theirtribulations with the weather, poisonous snakes,dangerous animals and the native people.Kingsolver uses the device of different voicesalternating as narrator and this helps to hold thereaders attention through this long, butrewarding, novel. The novel traces the family’sdisintegration and reconstruction over the courseof three decades. A heady mix of religion, politics,race, sin and redemption, with the scope andambition of a nineteenth century novel.

Strictly Ballroom (Film) LUHRMANN, Baz (Director) Baz Luhrmann’s multi-award winning film is funny,exuberant and theatrical. Scott is the talenteddancer whose passion for dance pushes him beyondthe rules and limitations of ballroom dancing. Inpursuit of his own way of dancing he meets andfalls in love with Fran, whose Spanish grandmotherteaches Scott to take the rhythm of the dance fromthe beat of his heart. The plot sees the unlikely pairof lovers triumph against the odds. A dazzling film

shot in brash colours (Red Curtain cinema) withterrific editing and even better dancing andchoreography. A coming-of-age movie, a take onthe Ugly Duckling story, and an exploration of theconflict between passion and conformity deliveredwith energy, creativity and style.

Twelve Angry Men (Film) LUMET, Sydney (Director) 1957 Twelve Angry Men focuses on the deliberations ofa jury about the guilt or otherwise of a youngLatino accused of murdering his father. What startsas an open-and-shut case develops into an intricateand absorbing drama as one juror holds out for a‘not guilty’ verdict. During the course of the movie,each of the 12 jurors, brilliantly lead by HenryFonda, has to confront his prejudices about the trialand about the accused. The whole spectrum ofhuman emotions, from empathy to pure bigotry,can be found in the very claustrophobic setting, anactual New York jury room. Sydney Lumet, in hisdirectorial debut, created an intense, riveting andquite moving film, with a superb cast that includesMartin Balsam as foreman of the jury, Lee J. Cobb.Jack Klugman, Ed Begley and Henry Fonda.Running time 92 minutes.

No Great Mischief MAC LEOD, AlistairTold in prose that is lucid, understated and poetic,No Great Mischief touches on family history (TheMacDonalds) and tragedy,family love and loyalty; thewaste of drunkenness and theharsh beauty of the NovaScotia landscape. For theMacDonalds, who settled onCape Breton Island, off thecoast of Nova Scotia,Scotland and their Scottishancestry live on in theirhearts and their imagination.The narrator of the novel isAlexander MacDonald who, like all the membersof the MacDonald clan, draws strength from hishistory and ancestry and from the clan motto:“My hope is constant in thee.” At the beginningof the novel, Alexander comes to Toronto tohelp his alcoholic older brother, Calum. The twodrive to their beloved Cape Breton and along theway the family saga is retold and relived,including the death of their parents when theyfell through the sea-ice when returning to thelighthouse where their father was the keeper.The story that emerges is one of survival acrosshistory and a changing landscape and the tiesthat bind family members to each other and tothe land of their ancestors.

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Life of Pi MARTEL, Yann Winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize Life of Pi ispart tall-tale, part fable, part philosophicaltreatise on faith and scepticism, a literary yarnwith its tongue firmly in its cheek. It tells thefantastic story of 16-year old Pi Patel, an Indianboy cast overboard from asinking ship carrying a cargoof zoo animals, who findshimself sharing a life raftwith a hyena, a zebra, anorang-utan and a Bengaltiger hiding under thetarpaulin. The majority of thebook is taken up with theseven months Pi spends atsea alone on the raft with thetiger, Richard Parker, whosoon sees off the other animals. Martel is playfuland inventive and there are many edge-of-theseat moments, and the book is full of useful hintsfor surviving on a raft with a tiger. However, notall readers will find that the charm and wit of thebook will sustain them through its 300+ pages.

Death and Nightingales MC CABE, EugeneA gripping tale of love and betrayal, greed andretribution. Death and Nightingales explores thecomplex tensions between Catholics andProtestants, Fenians and Unionists, men andwomen, good and evil in the Fermanagh of 1883.Billy Winters is a widowed Protestant farmer,struggling with his desire for Beth, his Catholicstepdaughter. Enter Liam Ward who promisesBeth love and escape. Intense and impassionedwriting with a devastating denouement.

The Crucible MILLER, Arthur Written as a comment on the hysteria ofMcCarthyism in the 1950s The Crucible seems morerelevant than ever in a world in which the American

government wages its ‘War onTerror’ and extremist Islamicgroups dedicate themselves topreserving their culture fromthe corruption of westernsociety. The story of the play isfiction, based upon the Salemwitch trials of 1692. JohnProctor is the farmer, husbandand father whose integrityand commitment to the truthis not proof against false

accusations and the blindness of religious faith in apuritan society. The play deals with events whichare inherently dramatic and engaging, and raises

many questions for debate including the extent towhich the play is misogynistic, especially in itsportrayal of Abigail Williams, the young girl whotestifies against Proctor.

The Secret Life of Bees MONK KIDD, Sue

Lily is fourteen and believes she accidentally killedher other when she was just four years old. She liveswith her father, a peach farmer, who treats herbadly and is cruel. For as long as she can remember,Rosaleen has looked after her. And when, on Lily'sfourteenth birthday, a couple of days after the CivilRights Act is passed, Rosaleen decides to walk intotown to register to vote, Lily goes with her. Thisshort walk changes their lives. Rosaleen is attackedand beaten and soon she and Lily are on the run,heading for Tiburon the nameof the town written on theback of a small picture of ablack Madonna, one of thefew, secret mementoes Lilyhas of her mother. What theyfind there is unexpected ande x t r a o r d i n a r y .

Set against the backdrop of thebattle for and against civilrights in the American south,this is a coming-of-age novel with a difference. Thecore of this story is Lily's search for a mother, andshe finds one in a place she never expected. TheSecret Life Of Bees is a lovely story with a host ofeccentric characters. I think it can be safelydescribed as ‘heart-warming’.

Lies of Silence MOORE, Brian A fast-moving thriller set in Belfast and London,during the Troubles, Moore’s novel moves alongat a terrific pace. A story of love and betrayal andthe intersection of the private and the public, Liesof Silence touches on important moral issueswithout becoming heavy-handed or moralistic. Infact some may find Moore’s treatment of theRepublican paramilitaries too one-dimensionaland simplistic. The novel centres on the characterof Michael Dillon, a young hotel manager, whoselife is caught in a web of lies and silences. Moore’snovel has established itself as a popular choicewith students over the past eight years.

An Area of Darkness NAIPAUL, V.S. This is a reflective account of the author’s first tripto India, his ancestral homeland. Naipul grew upin Trinidad and studied in Oxford. The India whichhe learned about in his childhood was, heobserves, “an area of the imagination.” Up to his

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first visit, he had felt distinctive because of hisnationality but, in India, he was “one of the crowd”and he found this disconcerting. The book is aninteresting mixture of information, description,observation, autobiography and social commentary.Naipaul is obviously disturbed and troubled by thesqualor and poverty he finds in India and also hasdifficulty in accepting his roots. It is a very honestand direct book and, in the penultimate chapter, hetells us that “India had not worked its magic on me.It remained the land of my childhood, an area ofdarkness.”

The Plough and the Stars O’CASEY, SeanO’Casey’s classic, set in the Dublin tenements, duringthe 1916 rising in which the dignity and heroism ofwomen are set against the bluster and selfishness ofmen. Tragedy with a comic touch, and an exuberantsense of language.

My Oedipus Complex and Other Stories O’ CONNOR, FrankO’Connor’s brilliant collection of stories is a masterclass in the art of short-story writing. The collectionmoves from the warm funny recreation of childhoodin Cork, in which the child narrator views the worldwith a hilarious clarity, to stories of adult rivalry andproud old men. Throughout, O’Connor casts a wiseand sympathetic eye (and sometimes a sly andcunning one) on an Ireland that has gained itsindependence but not yet entered the modernworld. Full of imaginative sympathy and vividdialogue, the stories are best heard read aloud.

Bel Canto PATCHETT, Ann The story of a hostage taking in an unnamed LatinAmerican country. As negotiations on the rebels’demands drag on interminably, the captors and theirinternational group of hostages settle into an unlikelyroutine, centred on the daily practice of an opera diva.For some of the hostages and their young captors, thetime spent in the besieged house is an idyll. A storyabout music and love that is brilliantly sustained to itsunexpected ending. A literary novel with a sure senseof plotting and suspense.

As You Like it SHAKESPEARE, William Two sets of brothers at odds; banishments andreconciliation. Young women disguised as men. Loveand misunderstanding. A corrupt court; a beautifulforest. Sudden conversions, reconciliation andmarriages galore. Set pieces on love, aging, thenatural world and death with humorous skits andsongs. Shakespeare’s romantic comedy featuring,among others, the lovers Rosalind and Orlando; thephilosopher Jacques and the clown Touchstone.Shakespeare in gentle, benevolent form.

Hamlet SHAKESPEARE, WilliamThe Prince Philosopher; The Carefree Student; TheSensitive Soul; The Callous Lover, The Avenging Son;the Oedipal Son; The Playwright; The Swordsman;The Man of Action; the Man of Inaction; The Savage

in a savage time; The Seeker of Truth; Sweet-natured; Ill-tempered. To be or not to be. What apiece of work man is.

Othello SHAKESPEARE, WilliamWhat happens when a great soldier and general, apoet, is asked to govern in a place beyond the influenceof civil society? What happens when a lover andhusband is challenged to govern his emotions when hissexual jealousy is aroused? What happens when ayoung wife fails to believe the worst of her husband?Shakespeare’s exploration of ungoverned emotionsand appetites and the destruction wrought by jealousyand hatred. An extraordinary mix of the public and theintimate, of love and irrationality, of sense andnonsense. A powerful play in spite of its creaky plot(Why does Iago hate Othello so? Why does Othellorush to condemn his friend and his blameless wife?)

My Left Foot (Film) SHERIDAN Jim (Director)Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker take the leadroles in Jim Sheridan’s film in which courage triumphsover adversity. The film charts Christy Brown’semergence as a writer and artist as he overcomesphysical disability and poverty. A beautifully made-film in which Christy’s story is told through a series ofextended flashbacks. As with O’Casey’s trilogy ofDublin plays, there is humour and pathos and thestrength of women is powerfully conveyed.

Unless SHIELDS, Carol

Reta Winter is a translator, asuccessful author, the wife ofthe local doctor in a smallCanadian town and the motherof three teenage girls. Her life isperfect until her daughter,Norah, suddenly abandons herstudies and becomes a vagrant,sitting all day on a street cornerin Toronto with a begging bowland a sign with the word‘goodness’ printed on it. U n l e s s charts Reta’s struggleto make sense of her daughter’s action while, at thesame time, attending to the everyday concerns of herlife and her family. It captures the tragedy and theabsurdity of the situation as Reta muddles along asbest she can in spite of the rage she feels on herdaughter’s behalf for the way women are excludedfrom life and life’s greatness. Carol Shields wassuffering from the cancer which claimed her life in2003 during the writing of U n l e s s and it is hard not toread the novel as autobiographical with Shields’sreflecting on the choices she made and the situationof women and women writers in contemporaryculture. Written in Shields’ light, fluent prose, withmany interesting and amusing digressions, U n l e s s is anovel about being a woman, being a mother andbeing a writer. It is funny, touching, satiric andforceful, all in one and packs more into its 200 pagesthan many novels twice its length.

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The Blackwater Lightship TOIBIN, Colin Set in Wexford, in the 1990s, Toibin’s novel exploresthe tangled web of guilt, recrimination, loss and lovewhich binds Helen to her mother, Lily, as shestruggles to come to terms with the illness of herbrother, Declan. Written in a clear unshowy style,Toibin’s novel portrays an Irish family struggling toface their feelings and admit their needs, as theirbeloved Declan falls victim to AIDS. A straight-forward story written in a simple style aboutcharacters who are complex and relate to each otherin complicated ways. The novel has the feel of a play,as six characters spend a short period in the oldfamily home by the sea. The crumbling house, andthe disused lighthouse are effective symbols in abook whose ending is sufficiently open to invitespeculation on the future lives of the characters.Character, dialogue and introspection are the drivingforces of this Booker-shortlisted novel.

Cinema Paradiso (Film)TORNATORE, Guisseppe (Director)Already something of a classic, Guisseppe Tornatore’shymn to cinema, Cinema Paradiso, is the enchantingtale of a young boy’s coming-of-age and his love affairwith cinema. Set in Sicily, in the aftermath of WorldWar II, the young Toto escapes from the hardship oflife through his friendship with Alfredo, theprojectionist in the town’s picture house, the CinemaParadiso of the title. Alfredo becomes a father-figureto Toto and encourages him to pursue his dreams. Thefilm opens with the adult Toto, a successful filmdirector, learning of the death of Alfredo. His decisionto return to his home town of Giancalda for Alfredo’sfuneral marks the beginning of a sentimental journeyinto the past. Beautifully shot and lit, with a lyricalmusical score, this humorous and unashamedlysentimental film captures Italy’s love affair with themagic of the silver screen. A warm and satisfying film.

The Truman Show (Film)WEIR, Peter (Director)Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is the star of the mostpopular show in the history of television. For 10,909days, it has been on the air showing every momentin every day of the life of oneman. Everyone in "The TrumanShow" is an actor, with theexception of the lead characterhimself. Truman thinks theshow is real. However, when aformer member of the cast tipshim off, Truman begins tosuspect the truth. Essentially asatire on the power oftelevision, The Truman Show isalso a touching story of a manstruggling to retain a sense of himself in a falseworld. Peter Weir makes good use of documentary-style interviews and footage to raise someinteresting questions about the nature of the reality

portrayed by television, without losing sight of thecomic intention of the film.

The Importance of Being Earnest WILDE, OscarIt will be interesting to see how Wilde’s comedy ofmanners will play to a contemporary audience ofyoung people. Will they be amused by the wit and thewhimsy of the play? Will they find Jack and Algyappealing? Will they laugh at the snobbish andinsufferable Lady Bracknell? Will they find Cecily andGwendolen charming? And what will they make ofthe philosophy underlining the play - that all seriousthings should be treated with sincere and studiedtriviality and all trivial things treated very seriously?

Old School, WOLFF, Tobias Set in a privileged, single-sexNew England school in the1960s, this beautifully craftednovel allows us to enter aworld where schoolboys takepart in literary jousts to win aprivate audience with one ofthe illustrious writers who visittheir school – Robert Frost,Ayn Rand, and Hemingway,their hero. Involvement inthese competitions ensuresthat the unnamed narrator must grapple withquestions of duplicity, honour and integrity. Elegantand economical this is a truly engaging andaccessible coming-of-age tale.

Shipwrecks YOSHIMURA, Akira Set in Medieval Japan, this short novel describes thestruggle of a remote fishing community to survive.Told through the narration of the young boy, Isaku,who is forced to assume adult responsibilities whenhis father sells himself into indentured servitude tosave his family from starvation. The novel tells thedark tale of the community’s destruction with superbrestraint and economy. In some ways the story issimplicity itself. The villagers try to lure merchantships onto the coastal rocks in order to loot theircargoes. Within this story, Yoshimura explores theway in which communal and familial loyalty,morality, and religion interact. It is a coming-of-agenovel in which Isaku learns the extremes to which hiscommunity goes to secure its survival. And it is anovel about retribution. Slow, deliberate andthought-provoking S h i p w r e c k s stays in the mindlong after you close its pages.

NoteBrian Moore’s novel Lies of Silence is on the list ofprescribed texts for examination in 2007 & 2008.This is the only Brian Moore novel on the 2007 &2008 list.

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Gerard Hanberry, whose second collection ofpoetry, Something Like Lovers, has recentlybeen published talks to Kevin Mc Dermott ofthe Teaching English magazine.

KMcD Tell me a littleabout your most recentbook and where you see itfitting into your work.

GH Something Like Loversdeals with the intimacies ofrelationships – the joys andheartbreaks, excitements

and contentments. It’s about first-love andlong-term relationships, lives and lovescelebrated or gone stale. But there is somethingelse going on, I think, which involves a searchfor identity in a world not always on our side.This collection follows on from Rough Night(2000) which explored some of the realities ofmodern life: abuse, vulnerability anddisappointments.

I write mainly in poetry – that’s the way thework turns out. Lines, metaphors, ideas,emotions tend to fold and turn into a lyric ormove along poetic pathways. Coleridge saidthat poetry is the ‘best words in the best order’.I have also written prose and have justcompleted a biography of Sir William and LadyJane Wilde, the parents of Oscar.

KMcD Does poetry come easily to you?

GH I wish. I marvel at some of our youngwriters. It’s as if they were born fully formedand ready to write. The quality of poet LeanneO’Sullivan’s (b. 1983) work is amazing. It tookme years to even get to a place in my headwhere I could write. Novelist Moya Roddyintroduced me at the Cuirt Literature Festival assomeone “who tended to take the scenic route”.This, I suppose, is true but the ‘scenic route inlife’ can be difficult.

KMcD Where did you grow up?

GH I was born in Galway city and have neverbeen tempted to live anywhere else. I went toschool in Colaiste Einde, Salthill, where I nowteach and I live near the school with my wifeKerry and family, three lads now in universityand a daughter Jane in secondary school.

KMcD Were you always interested in booksand reading?

GH I read a lot as a youngster in primary schooland on into secondary up to about Inter. Cert. Iremember the beautiful polished timber libraryupstairs in Galway courthouse. My tastes werenot highbrow – Enid Blyton, Biggles, JustWilliam, The Famous Five. The English textbooks of the ‘60s and ‘70s (Exploring EnglishOne, Two and Three) were very significantinfluences. Packed full of poetry, essays andshort stories, with introductions by AugustineMartin, they were wonderful and I have alsoheard other writers speak of their value andimpact. I remember clearly the day in classwhen we were reading Tennyson’s M o r t ed’Arthur. Arriving at the lines ‘… He, steppingdown, / By zigzag paths, and juts of pointedrock …’ the teacher cried out ‘Do you feel therocks boys, do you feel them jabbing the solesof your feet?’ And I could, I clearly felt them.Soundings too for Senior Cycle was a greatpoetry anthology and a wonderful introductionto the ‘giants’ of verse.

By Leaving Cert reading had shrunk to a perusalof New Musical Express from cover to coverand every square inch of Rolling Stone when itcould be found. Had there been such a thing asCareer Guidance in those days I would havechosen Music Journalist. Years later, I fulfilled,in a way, this ambition with a weekly column inthe Galway Observer on the arts and localscene.

KMcD Were you a good student?

GH I got a satisfactory Leaving Cert but did notreally shine in secondary school. When Ieventually returned to the books I came withthe thirst of one who had been in the desert fora long time. Some sort of foundation must havebeen laid. Robert Bly in Iron John writes aboutthe necessity of ‘ashes’ time and time spent inthe ‘kitchen cellars’. Perhaps he’s right, aconsolation to us teachers and parents alarmedat today’s mac-jobbers and far-easternbackpackers.

After Leaving Cert I went on to University butdid not settle so, still in my teens, I left collegeand started a stone and brick supply business,sourcing suitable stone in quarries around

IN CONVERSATION – GERRY HANBERRY

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Ireland to be sold on to local builders andstonemasons. It was a sort of juvenile Utopianidea, an escape from unattractive careeroptions. But the business developed beyond myexpectations and after eight or nine years I hadhad enough. Wiser and eager, I returned toUniversity by night and finished my degree. Apoem in Something Like Lovers, ‘One Woman’,tells the story of this period of readjustment,wary of being spotted reading Shakespeare inthe cab of the lorry as I waited to be loadedwith stones!

KMcD How did you get into teaching?

G H Vincent Kilbane, who taughtme in Colaiste Einde, and kept aneye on my endeavours, advised meto do the H. Dip in the Alma Mater.I remember well the first weekteaching. I immediately felt athome in the classroom. It was as if Ihad stumbled by accident on mynatural habitat. No one was moresurprised then myself having neverseriously considered teaching as acareer option. After a year part-time I sold the lorries and the littleshop. Vincent, now Principal,appointed me to a full-time position.It was like everything had at lastfallen into place.

K M c D Do teaching and writing go well together?

GH No question. I can be teaching Heany orLongley to a Leaving Cert class then go home towrite at my desk. It’s like a seamless garment,writing, teaching. Had I continued working inmy own business the gear change required towrite would have been too great. A job as anEnglish teacher compliments writing. Thebusiness had not been good for mydevelopment as a reader or writer, but theexperience gained was invaluable and I am amuch better and contented teacher for havinghad a successful ‘previous’ life.

KMcD When did you start writing?

G H In the early 1980s, around the time I wascoming in from the academic wilderness,Galway was beginning to take off culturally.There was a real buzz in the air. The ArtsFestival was growing; Druid had become amajor theatre company; and then along cameJessie Lendennie, the founder of Salmon

Poetry Publishing. She published Eva Burke,Rita Ann Higgins and, later, Moya Cannonand Mary O Malley. I remember reading RitaAnn Higgins’ first collection Godess on theMervue Bus and being astonished. It was soexciting. I knew the Mervue bus, I might evenhave seen the Goddess. This was poetry and Iwanted more.

It must have been about this time that I beganto realise that the various scraps and scribblesI had been jotting down over the years, thesnatches of dialogue and phrases rattling inmy head, the songwriting, the strumming of

my guitar, the analysing of thelyrics of Bob Dylan, LeonardCohen, were all leadingsomewhere. Could I dare to write apoem?

KMcD Do you think being a readeris important for a writer?

GH Yes. To be a writer you mustbe a serious reader and to writepoetry you must read a lot ofpoetry. If you do not readcontemporary poetry you will writelike someone from a bygone era,like someone you read at school.Some readers find contemporarypoetry to be a little intimidating, or

‘difficult’. I often run workshops on the pleasuresand excitements of contemporary poetry. Onefavourite question is – why didn’t the poet justsay it out straight? Malarmé said “To name is todestroy, to suggest is to create”. One thing we dois to explore the influences of the FrenchSymbolists – Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Verlaine,Malarmé and so on. Yeats studied Malarmé in aneffort to understand the delicate balancebetween communication and obscurity.

Of course Leaving Certificate students do notneed all this information to answer the poetryquestions but it useful for the young teacher ofEnglish to know how we got to where we aretoday. Metaphor (including simile, analogy,allegory, symbol) is subtle and fundamental. Itis important for students to be comfortablewith metaphor.

KMcD Who are your favourite writers?

GH My favourite poets would include:Americans Billy Collins and Charles Simic; ourown Rita Ann Higgins; Philip Larkin, of course;

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Simon Armitage; and recently Nick Laird andthe late Dorothy Molloy.

Each poet on the Leaving Cert. course bringssomething unique. I admire Elizabeth Bishopfor her descriptive powers. Longley bringshonesty and a serenity of tone and a lovelyblending of eras. Hardy brings music. I could goon … A good way to read is to note themovement from description, through emotion,to insight.

Honesty is one of the hardest things to bring tothe page as a writer and yet it is the mostessential ingredient. This involves tone, mood,language – the poem’s emotional centre.Language today has been hijacked by thespinners, the politicians, the advertisers,technology, the dishonest writers. Poetry can actto reclaim language from those who use it tocontrol thinking or as a tool of power.

KMcD What advice would you give to a youngwriter?

G H A young writer must read everything insight and observe, listen, reflect and record.The rabbit must be put into the hat before itcan be produced.

K M c D Any thoughts on teaching Shakespeare?

G H Shakespeare is sometimes seen (or evenpresented) as a chore to be endured instead ofa tool to use to ignite the imagination. If theBard were writing today he would be inHollywood putting Quentin Tarantino toshame with his use of blood and guts. Hisstories have it all; murder, mayhem, sex,spirits, gore and characters even the mostchallenging student could relate to. So it’sdown to how we present the text. Today welive in a world where the eye is the main portalbut in Shakespeare’s time it was the ear. Theplots are the same but we need to adjust ourantenna to pick up the imagery and subtletiesof language so much appreciated by theElizabethans. Show the student what BazLuhrmann has done with Romeo and Julietand compare it with Franco Zeffirelli’s ’68classic. Show Polanski’s Macbeth made shortlyafter his wife’s brutal murder. Read the textaloud in class with feeling (but maybe not inthe last class on Friday afternoon.)

Wordmason

He chiselled and chipped,cut and dresseda pallet of words

but still was not impressedwalked away distressed.

Gerard Hanberry teaches English in ColaisteEinde, Salthill, Galway. His second collectionof poetry, Something Like Lovers, hasrecently been published by Stonebridge.

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The Multiple Intelligence approach is not newand its benefits have been cited so frequentlythat it has almost run the risk of becomingclichéd and irrelevant to modern dayclassrooms. Unlike traditional notions ofintelligence, which could be described asbehaviourist, the emphasis coming fromMultiple Intelligences was not how intelligentyou are, but rather how you are intelligent. Thedifference in perspective here is notinsubstantial and the adoption ofsuch thinking has significantconsequences for the overalllearning of the student body.While the work is undoubtedlychallenging, and has itslimitations, the evidence fromvarious bodies of research, suchas Project Zero and UCC’sMultiple Intelligence, Curriculumand Assessment Project, foundconsiderable benefits for studentlearning. Exam grades improved asstudents became more active andinvolved in classroom activities.Levels of students’ self-esteemgreatly increased, as did theirmotivation for learning.

Gardner, in his work Frames of Mind: TheTheory of Multiple Intelligences (1983) initiallyidentified seven intelligences, although anumber of others (namely the naturalist andexistentialist intelligences) have been added tothe list.

1. Verbal/Linguistic (Word Smart): Express yourself and understand others.

2. Logical/Mathematical (Logic Smart): Think conceptually and recognise patterns.

3. Musical (Music Smart): Think musically, hear and recognise rhythms.

4. Visual/Spatial (Art Smart): Visualise images.5. Bodily/Kinesthetic (Body Smart):

Control the body’s movements.6. Interpersonal (People Smart):

Understand others, detect their moods whatdiscover what motivates them.

7. Intrapersonal (Self Smart): Understand your inner self.

8. Naturalist (Nature Smart): Recognise and classify living things.

9. Existentialist (Wondering Smart): capacity to tackle deep questions ofexistence. This involves students locatingthemselves in the world of the text.

Detractors from the theory cite its flaws statingthese are not intelligences at all but ratherpoorly defined aptitudes and competencies thata r e impractical in modern day, increasinglycomplex learning environments. In spite of

these misgivings the MultipleIntelligences focus on classroommethodologies is an interestingone. The question begs, however,as to how to assimilate thismethodology into an everydayJunior Certificate classroomsetting. To illustrate specificmethodological approaches thepopular text Goodnight Mr. Tom,by Michelle Magorian has beenselected for detailed focus. Thesestrategies are not intended toform some prescriptive catalogueand they can be adapted to suitvarying class needs.

Sample Text: Goodnight Mr. Tom

Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence (“Word Smart”) Teacher reading extracts to students / individualstudent reading / choral reading.Debate: e.g. “Will’s mother was more to bepitied than punished”.Write a Verbal Defence of Tom’s actions inkidnapping Will.Create a slogan. For example an anti-war slogan.Develop questions for and conduct an interviewwith Will and Tom.Write, produce and present two forms of newsreport (newspaper and television) about thedeath of Zac. Write a letter to Michelle Magorian informingher that you have read the novel. Tell her whyyou liked/disliked it, which character youidentified with and one that you least liked.Write a guided imagery. For example, studentsare asked to write a descriptive piece detailingwhat Will saw as he entered Tom Oakley’s house. Write a short sequel to the novel. For example,Will’s life ten years on.

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE APPROACHESfor Teaching the Novel at Junior Certificate Level

Anthony Malone

22

Logical-Mathematical (“Math Smart”)Predicting what happens next. For example “When Will receives the letter to return home to his sickmother, what will happen next?”Draw a story map out detailing key scenes in the text. See graphic organiser below.Tabulate Causes and Effects in the narrative.

For example:Title: Goodnight Mr. Tom Author: Michelle MagorianDate: e.g. March 2004

Cause Effect

War breaks out

Will wets the bed

Will learns to read and write

Will receives a letter from his mother.

Visual-Spatial (“Art Smart”)Visual Displays (e.g. wallcharts, graphs, fortune lines, Venn diagrams, timelines and posters).Create a collage of key textual images.Use markers to “c o l o u r ” in key parts of the story. Have an imaginary talk/interview with Will, Tom or some other character. An interesting one mightbe for students to have a talk with Will’s mother. They may seek to discover why she acted the wayshe did, did she love her children, etc …. Design a Mindmap or a Multiple Causes/Effects Map (see example below).

For example: Activating the Visual-Spatial Intelligence through “Fortune Lines”

Students are asked to identify the key sequences and events of a particular text. Sequences are linkedusing the following lines as codes:

= No Change

= Improving Fortune

= Worsening Fortune

= Mixed Fortune

Note: Heighten or deepen the peak to represent a dramatic improvement or worsening in fortune.

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Title: Goodnight Mr. TomAuthor: Michelle Magorian

Alternatively, students may be asked to sequence Fortune Lines. For example:

The Graphic Organiser above also taps into a number of other intelligences,such as:

William Beecharrives at TomOakley's door.

Tom is not pleased to takeWilliam Beech in.

William does notsettle in too well.He has nightmares,wets the bed andhas no friends.

Tom buys Williamclothes. Things startto look up. William starts school.

Tom teaches him toread and write.

Letter arrives. He returns to hismother in London.

Tom saves him.

Mother abuses William.

Tom notallowed tokeep William.Sister dies.

William lands leadrole in play. HeCouldn't be happier.

Tom adoptsWilliam.

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Insert the events into the graph (previous page) in the correct order.

l Letter arrives. He returns to his mother in London.l Tom buys William clothes. Things start to look up.l Tom saves him.l Tom adopts William.l Mother abuses William.l William Beech arrives at Tom Oakley’s door. l William starts school. Tom teaches him to read and write.l Tom is not pleased to take William Beech in.l Tom not allowed to keep William. Sister dies.l William lands lead role in play. He Couldn't be happier. l William does not settle in too well. He has nightmares, wets the bed and has no friends.

The Graphic Organiser above also taps into a number of other intelligences, such as:

Logical/Mathematical (listing and organising facts, working with number sequences, organisinggraphics, forcing relationships, creating and finding patterns).

Bodily/Kinesthetic (putting together a puzzle).Intrapersonal (thinking strategies, using higher-order reasoning skills).

Bodily-Kinesthetic (“Body Smart”)Role Playing, for example the moment Tom found Will. Textual Improvisation of a key scene. Miming to communicate an idea or episode within the text.Making a board or floor game. For example, a board game similar to Snakes and Ladders detailing thejourney within the text. A reference back to the “Cause and Effect” table will provide example for the“ladders” and “snakes.”

Interpersonal (“People Smart”)Pair work and Group Work (co-operative learning strategies such as students giving feedback to each other).Group projects.Analyse the moral of the story with a group and reach a consensus. Give feedback to teacher/class group.Empathy practises.Acting in a play or simulation.Conducting an interview for example with Will’s mother.

Intrapersonal (“Self Smart”)Journal Reflections and Personal Reactions to the text.Autobiography or Diary entry.Analyse the novel for connections to our lives today. Imagine being a character in the novel; what would you do differently or the same?Encourage students to record their personal reactions to the text. See example opposite.Carrying out an independent project for example on the effects of war. Have silent reflection time especially following a moment of high intensity.Using Higher-Order reasoning skills (e.g. why was Will’s mother so violent and cruel?)

For example:Activating the Intrapersonal Intelligence through a graphic organiser

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10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

He arrives at Tom’sHouse

He hits Tom’s dog

We discover he isbeing abused.

He doesn’t likehis classroom. He

seems spoilt.

He leaves togo back tohis mother.

His sisterdies.

He makes lotsof friends.

He isadopted by Tom.

Note: students would be asked to draw this in their copies before they begin reading. As they proceedwith the reading they will keep a record of the strength of their feelings. In many respects this typeof exercise can provide a useful way into encouraging students in the practice of keeping a journal.

On a scale of 1-10 (where one means you really dislike and 10 means you really like) chart yourpersonal reaction to Will. Make sure to write in a brief description of why you gave a certain score.

“I like Will when …”

Note: Unlike the “Fortune Lines” this exercise does not ask students to identify significant moments.Rather it forces students to state their views on a character.

This exercise can be adapted to an “Agree/Disagree” format where students might give their views ona complex statement. For example: “Will had a difficult life!”

Musical-RhythmicChoral Reading.Compose a rap song, etc about Will’s life.

Anthony Malone is the Research and Development Officer for English, TL21 Project, NUI Maynooth.

2626

Alicia McGivern of the Irish Film Institute givesthe background and rationale for the Pilot Modulefor TY in Moving Image Education.

Pilot Module for TY in Moving Image Education

‘To study the cinema: what an absurd idea!’(Christian Metz, 1974)

Since the renowned film theorist, Christian Metz,made this comment, much has changed in filmstudies. In the early years of cinema, a protectionistapproach involved teaching to counter the‘harmful’ influences of popular films. Thedevelopment of academic film studies in the 1970sdrew on semiotic, feminist, psychoanalytic orMarxist theories. Today, new media forms areemerging with such regularity that there is noclearly defined approach to their study. What ismarkedly different, however, is the range,availability and accessibility of media technology.There is unprecedented potential for accessing ideasand information and for sharing them with others.Engagement with new media can be as muchoutside the formal education sector as within, andcrossing all ages, making learning a potentiallylifelong experience. The question for us to ask is:how has the formal education sector kept up?

There is no doubting the significance of movingimage media today. Most people access visualinformation – film, video or television – ratherthan the written word. Indeed it is the images ofmajor tragedies and events that remain inmemory long after written reports of statistics,causes or aftermaths have faded. Who can forgetthe pictures of the burning Twin Towers onSeptember 11th or the statue of Saddam Husseinbeing dismantled in Baghdad? As moving imagebecomes an ever more dominant medium, so toois there a growing awareness that education inthis area should be a primary function ofschooling. Such an education would promoteunderstanding of how these various mediafunction as well as offer opportunities for creativeexpression through the technology available.

Moving Image EducationMoving Image Education (MIE) provides learnerswith the skills with which to interpret, respond toand create moving image. It offers engagementwith different forms of moving image: early films,short films, feature films, animation, digital video,webwork. It includes the development of a visualliteracy that will both facilitate learners owncreative expression in the media but also theirappreciation and understanding of the work of

others. While equipping young people forparticipation in society, and fostering theircreativity, MIE can promote understanding of therole of moving image media in the context oflocal, national and international citizenship,through study of representation of age, class,gender, sexuality and ethnicity.

Research into moving image education in othercountries has revealed varying levels of activity. InEngland, Media Studies shows a consistentincrease in student intake while in NorthernIreland, a pilot project in Moving Image Arts hasbeen developed at AS and A2 level. This highlyexciting programme offers students the possibility

to create their own moving images as well asrespond to visual stimuli in an on-line exam.

What is happening here?In the Republic of Ireland, film and media havebeen included in different areas of thecurriculum over the years. This both served torecognise the significance of these subjects aswell as the developmental work of the IFI inpartnership with the Department of Education,T A M E1, and the festivals for young audiences inGalway, Cork and Limerick2 that had significantlyraised the profile of film. Currently, English atJunior Cert includes an element of media studies,film has been included in the Leaving CertApplied and LCVP. Students can study filmmarketing for LC Art. Teachers continue to drawon film to stimulate other subject areas: theadaptation of the English novel, the treatment ofthe Holocaust in film for the history class, thenatural world TV documentaries for Geographyor Science. In the primary sector, film has longbeen used as a ‘Friday treat’ while the revisedprimary curriculum includes reference to filmand media studies in SESE and Visual Arts. Morerecently, the FÍS project – now in its secondphase of delivery – was designed to introduce themedium of film as a support to the RevisedPrimary School Curriculum.

MOVING IMAGE

2727

The new English curriculum has positioned filmclearly in relation to other written texts. Formany teachers and students film has been apopular addition, offering the opportunity ofengagement with moving image, albeit from atextual rather than visual analysis point of view.Meanwhile, in the Irish language syllabus,students in 2006 will have the opportunity torespond to the visual elements of a short film,Clare sa Spéir. In Modern Languages, students cantalk about a film they have seen for their oralexam and the proposed new Art syllabus willinclude a practical and theoretical engagementwith moving image.

It is in this context that the Arts Council’s workinggroup on film, cinema and young people wasestablished in January 2005, to focus on developinga course for Transition Year, in recognition of thedeficit in film studies at second level. The workinggroup, chaired by John Kelleher the Irish FilmCensor, consisted of key representatives from theArts Council, The Irish Film Board/BSE, SecondLevel Support Services in English (SLSS) and theIrish Film Institute.

From this, we now embark on a pilot project forMoving Image Education. The aim of the firstphase of this pilot project is to offer a group oftargeted schools the chance to engage withmoving image through film screenings,workshops and teacher training. The targetaudience for this module will be Transition Year, atime when teachers and students can have somefreedom from the rigours of the exam syllabusand when most students fall within the 15Aclassification category, thus broadening the rangeof films available. TY Guidelines suggest acurriculum that relates to the contemporaryworld outside school and allows democraticselection and negotiated learning. It is flexibleenough to take account of international andsocial perspectives as well as different valuesystems, all of which has relevance forinterpretation of and response to a range ofmoving image.

The IFI’s roleEducation has been central to the work of IFI sinceits establishment in 1945. For well over a decadenow, we have been at the forefront of deliveringfilm education and supporting the work ofteachers through screenings, workshops, teachertraining and studyguides. Our programmes havecontributed to teachers’ curricular work as well asoffered opportunities for engagement with filmstudies at TY. With this pilot project, we take asignificant step further, combining our expertisewith that of the Arts Council in promoting filmculture, the Irish Film Board in film production andpromotion and the SLSS in supporting teacherdevelopment, to create an exciting and dynamicmodule in Moving Image Education.

Aims and Objectives of the Moving Image ModuleOur primary aim for this module is to promote thedevelopment of visual literacy through an active,pleasurable and creative engagement with movingimage. Teachers will be facilitated to bring movingimage into their teaching, recognise its cross-curricular potential as well as build on their ownenthusiasm for the subject. Students will be familiarwith the language of film, how it is constructed andhow particular fictional or real worlds arerepresented. Through this they will become morediscerning viewers and be able to articulate aresponse that goes beyond ‘I like/don’t like this’.Empowering students to active citizenship is an aimof education: students will recognise how theiraccess to film is limited and how distribution andclassification determines this. Through experiencinga wider range of film titles, students will engagewith different worlds, which will be reflected in theimages they themselves create.

In creating this Moving Image Module, we willoperate from the standpoint of where studentscurrently are in terms of film viewing. So, ratherthan adopt a classical film studies approach bybeginning with early cinema, or studying a seriesof what may be recognised as canonical texts,we have created a series of lessons aroundcontemporary film titles. A selection of films willbe screened in the cinema, thus offering all

participants the opportunity to view a title in theoptimum setting and with their whole classgroup. Recognising that the average 40-minuteclass is far from ideal for film viewing, nor isviewing on the school TV, these shared viewingexperiences will create a positive and effectivestarting point from which film can be furtherexplored back in the classroom. Teachersparticipating in the pilot will have copies of theDVD and specially designed teaching guides.These will focus on related themes and visualaspects, and also place the particular film within abroader context.

Teacher Training & Student LearningDuring Teacher Training Days, offered inconjunction with the Second Level SupportService, teachers will be provided with a range ofmaterials to support their teaching. Recognisingthat students often know more about film andmoving image than their teachers, the aim ofthese days will be to offer suggestions forclassroom work but also to facilitate teachers’learning in the area. Moving Image has potentialfor all subject areas, so teachers may step out oftheir traditional roles as information provider andinstead create an environment in which all areparticipating and learning. Students of all abilitieswill have something to contribute to the movingimage class, just as the class will have somethingto offer students of all abilities.

Practical FilmmakingOf course as students become adept in respondingto moving image, so too should they be facilitatedto create their own images – the production andreception of moving image would complementone another. It is hoped that the second phase ofthis pilot will include this option. At this point,however, funding is limited to the first aspect,while we will establish links between schools andpracticing filmmakers who might be in a positionto advise, inspire and support filmmaking activity.Many students and schools around the countryare already involved in filmmaking, as evidencedby the number of entries to the Irish SchoolsVideo Competition each year.

Phase OneThe first phase of the module will comprise threesections:

Section OneThe teen genre and Mean Creek: looking at theteen genre, film language and study ofcharacterisation; exploration of other genres, forexample, ‘Chick Flicks’.

Section TwoIrish film since 1995. Our screening of The MightyCelt will be accompanied by a study guide thatfocuses on Adam and Paul, Inside I’m Dancing andBloody Sunday. Discussion topics will includerecurrent themes and representation in Irish filmincluding the role of women both in front of andbehind the camera.

Section ThreeWider Visions: The aim of this is to offer studentsthe chance to engage with a broader range of films.This will include foreign language titles fromdocumentary and so-called ‘world cinema’. We willscreen Maria full of Grace while providing teachingideas for selected titles including House of FlyingDaggers, Touching the Void and Auteur Filmmaking

Evaluation and Follow-upThrough the delivery of the module, teachers andparticipating students will be invited to evaluatethe lessons and the materials provided. It is hopedthat this ongoing evaluation will give a clearerinsight into the strengths and weaknesses of theproject. While very much at pilot stage, we aim toopen the project out nationwide in the second

phase, as well asintroduce the practicalelement with visitingfilmmakers.

In a 1933 survey of thecinema in Dublin schools,young viewers revealedwhat they learnt fromfilms. For boys, it meantlearning ‘how to fight,box, think before you act,to shoot, rob banks, to

track robbers and not to lose your nerve when indanger ...’. Girls on the other hand learnt ‘goodmanners, bravery, love of country, generosity ...’.Although we might not satisfy these loftyambitions, it is our hope that this module willengender a love of moving image and also theability to fully realise its potential for our society.

Alicia McGivern is the Senior Education Officer,Irish Film Institute.

––––––––––––––1 Teacher’s Association of Media Education2 Galway Junior Fleadh, Cork Film Festival, Fresh

Film Festival

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ENGLISH – SECOND LEVEL SUPPORT SERVICECalendar of Continuous Professional Development Courses 2006-20071. Modular Course – Approaches to Poetry & Creative Writing in the English Classroom.Repeat of the popular course first offered in 2004-2005.

AIMSl To explore and develop approaches for teaching poetry and creative writing.l To provide a forum for teachers to share their experience and insights.l To put ideas into practice in teachers’ own work situation and to reflect on and document the outcomes.l To raise awareness of writers living and working locally

Day 1 Day 2 Venue Time

Thursday, 5th October 2006 Tuesday, 7th November 2006 Mayo Education Centre 9.30 – 4.00pm

Tuesday 3rd October 2006 Friday, 17th November 2006 Cork Education Support Centre 9.30 – 4.00pm

Wednesday, 18th October 2006 Tuesday, 21st November 2006 Waterford Education Centre 9.30 – 4.00pm

Thursday, 25th January 2007 Tuesday, 6th March 2007 Blackrock Education Centre 9.30 – 4.00pm

Thursday, 8th February 2007 Tuesday, 13th March 2007 Navan Education Centre 9.30 – 4.00pm

Thursday, 15th February 2007 Tuesday, 20th March 2007 Galway Education Centre 9.30 – 4.00pm

2. Modular Course – Developing a Moving Image Module in Transition Year

Recognising the importance of moving image education, this module aims to promote visual l i t e r a c ythrough access to a wide range of films, of different genres and styles. The intention is to develop aTransition Year Module, which will subsequently be made available to all post-primary schools. Participantswill be supported by both the English Second Level Support Service and the Irish Film Institute.

AIMS l To promote Moving Image Education in Transition Yearl To pilot material prepared by the Irish Film Institute

Areas covered will include:Film Language, Film Genre, Irish Film, Exploring issues through Film

l To obtain feedback on piloted material

l Part of the piloting of the material will involve students attending three public screenings of filmsfrom the IFI programme for TY.

l Developing a Film Module in Transition Year is offered by the English Support Service inpartnership with the Irish Film Institute, the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board.

Day 1 Day 2 Venue Time

Thursday, 12th Oct 2006 Thursday, 19th Nov 2006 Kildare Education Centre (Phase 2) 9.30–4.00pm

Tuesday, 10th Oct 2006 Thursday, 16th Nov 2006 Irish Film Institute, Dublin 9.30–4.00pm

Tuesday, 17th Oct 2006 Thursday, 23rd Nov 2006 Athlone Education Centre 9.30–4.00pm

2007

Tuesday, 23rd Jan 2007 Thursday, 8th March 2007 Clare Education Centre 9.30–4.00pm

Tuesday, 6th Feb 2007 Thursday, 15th March 2007 Kilkenny Education Centre 9.30–4.00pm

Tuesday, 13th Feb 2007 Thursday, 22nd March 2007 Sligo Education Centre 9.30–4.00pm

3. Local CoursesPlease check with your local Education Centre for courses of interest to Teachers of English.

29

30

Rachel Flynn of VSO writes about theeducational work of the organisation in some ofthe world’s poorest countries.

In April thousands of Irish schoolchildren werecalled on to take action with ‘My Friend NeedsA Teacher’, organised by the Global Campaign forEducation (GCE) whichaims to end the crisis of 100million children worldwidewho miss out on school.The campaign launched inthe Global Week of Action(24-31 April) and highlightsthe need for at least 15million qualified teachers ifEducation For All is tobecome a reality by 2015.

VSO, an internationaldevelopment charity, ishelping pave the way bysending teachers tovolunteer, for 12-24 months,in 34 of the world’s poorestcountries. VSO’s volunteerswork in partnership with colleagues andcommunities to share skills and learning andachieve positive change together. Thisapproach will help to achieve the UN’sMillennium Development Goal on Education,set in 2000, which calls for all children to haveaccess to a quality primary education by 2015.While an increasing number of poor countrieshave committed to providing free primaryschooling, many education systems werealready suffering from years of underinvestment and development and expansion isaggravating the issue of poor quality.

“Our education goal is to increase theaccessibility, gender equity, relevance andquality of education for disadvantage people inpoor countries,” said Malcolm Quigley, Directorof VSO Ireland and returned VSO volunteer.“We support country governments to providequality education for all.”

“Lack of solid infrastructure at government andinstitutional level means the education receivedby millions of children is not relevant, of poorquality or badly delivered. Our significanthistory in education volunteering puts us in theunique position of being able to placevolunteers in positions where they can use theirexpertise to build teachers confidence to tacklethese issues,” he commented.

VSO achieve this through 700 skilled andexperienced international education volunteerswho:

l Support teachers: motivating, buildingconfidence and promoting teachers’involvement in decision making

l Develop links between schools andcommunities

l Enable disadvantaged students to accessgood quality education

l Improve education management andplanning systems particularly at localgovernment level.

EDUCATION FOR ALL

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VSO’s education programme in Ethiopiaexemplifies the impact VSO volunteers arehaving. Working alongside colleagues at theEthiopian Ministry of Education, VSOvolunteers devised the Higher DiplomaProgramme, which, through a licensingprogramme, aims to improve the skills andprofessionalism of teacher trainers in Ethiopia.VSO volunteers around the country deliveredthe compulsory programme to every teachertraining college in Ethiopia. In 2004 alone VSOvolunteers trained 1,363 Ethiopian teachertrainers who, in turn, will train more than 11,000student teachers. These teachers will go on toteach nearly 800,000 children. By training thetrainers VSO volunteers are having a significantimpact on the lives of thousands of children.

Malcolm Quigley added: “Anyone working inthe education sector knows that curriculumrelevance, the effectiveness of teacher supportand training and the provision of resources has

a profound impact on the quality of education achild receives. In developing countries, whereaccess to education can literally be a matter oflife or death, addressing these issues is crucial.We are urging teachers who are retiring orlooking to take a career break to considersharing their expertise as VSO volunteers.”

VSO are urgently recruiting qualified teacherswith a minimum of two years workexperience. The charity regularly holdsi n f o rmation days. Contact VSO to register. Formore information on VSO and how to apply,log on to w w w . v s o . i e or call 01 872 7173.

32

The Teaching English magazine is published by the Second Level Support Service.

Co-ordinator of English: Dr Kevin Mc Dermott

Navan Education Centre, Athlumney, Navan, Co. Meath.

Phone: 046 907 8382Fax: 046 907 8385Mobile: 087 293 7302Email: [email protected]

Administrative Officer: Esther Herlihy

SLSS Regional Development Officers:Della Meade Mobile: 087 293 7311Pauline Kelly Mobile: 087 293 7293

Design by Artmark. Printed by Brunswick Press Ltd.

TEACHING ENGLISH MAGAZINE BACK ISSUES

Did you know that back issues of the magazine can be obtained by contacting the Administrative Officer? See below for contact details.

A wide range of magazines and newsletters are published by the Support Services within the SLSS. Fulldetails available from the Administrator, SLSS, Blackrock Education Centre, Kill Avenue,

Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. Phone – 01 236 5021. Fax 01 236 5070.

t e a c h i n ge n g l i s h - PDST2).pdf · Ciaran Mc Brearty Carrick Vocational School, Carrick,...

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