Kathleen Funchion on COVID learning loss and teacher shortages
Kathleen Funchion spoke about the impact of COVID-19 on children's education, arguing that learning loss and teacher shortages are harming pupils' opportunities. She criticised homeschooling as having failed many children and called recent government proposals 'absolutely ridiculous' and a 'divide and conquer' mentality.
Main focus
The deputy emphasised a short-term focus on the effect of the pandemic on children and their educational opportunities, saying every child gets one chance in the school system and that returning to 'normal' required more recognition and resources.
Learning loss and homeschooling
She said the homeschooling period was 'a complete and utter disaster' and that many children are still trying to catch up on basics of reading, writing and spelling. She noted additional resource hours were given in some situations but not consistently.
Teacher shortages and housing pressures
She warned of a serious shortage of teachers that is disrupting classes, forcing pupils to experience multiple different teachers or missed lessons, and placing unfair strain on staff. She added that teachers are being driven out of cities by the cost and scarcity of housing.
Criticism of government proposals
She agreed with colleagues who described the government's proposal as 'absolutely ridiculous', calling it a 'divide and conquer' approach rather than a solution focused on housing and ensuring adequate teaching staff.
Acknowledgements
She thanked the Deputy Gannon and the Social Democrats for bringing the issue forward and expressed gratitude to Dr. Pauline Tullying and others for their support and involvement.
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Thanks very much, Cathaoirleach, first of all, to the Deputy Gannon and Social Democrats, I very much welcome this. It is a very, very serious issue and I want to, in the short term, I have mainly focus on the impact that it's having on children and their educational opportunities. I think, you know, we get one chance in the school system. Every child is obviously different and it can be very difficult for some children. I think particularly in the aftermath of COVID, one thing that has always happened to me, always really, really frustrated me, is that when COVID, you know, has sort of left and the schools went back to, you know, a more normal system, children, I felt, were just expected to nearly slot back in and there wasn't really the recognition that there should have been there. I know there was additional resource hours given in some situations, but not in all situations and it was like the fact that that year and a half didn't nearly happen and now we're seeing a situation where children are back into the schools, system, they are really trying to catch up on stuff. I mean, many children are still trying to catch up on the basics of reading, writing, spelling, depending on what age you were and what class you were in when the lockdowns happened. The homeschooling was just a complete and utter disaster and I don't think any child really benefited from it. So I think after COVID, we really needed to put an awful lot more resources in and what's after happening now is we're seeing a situation where there's a serious shortage of teachers, which is having an impact. It is totally and utterly unacceptable to children that they will have different teachers, that they might have free classes. Kids love that, the excitement of, you know, no school or no classes for a day, but in the long term, that's not going to actually be a benefit to them and it's totally and utterly unfair on the teachers that are there, that are trying, that are doing their best, that are coming in sometimes in circumstances where they know they should be out if they're sick, but they're doing their best because they don't want to let the students down. And then we have teachers who are being literally driven out of our cities due to the cost of housing and not being able to find housing. To say it's a mess is an understatement and I would agree with my colleagues that have said the proposal by government simply is absolutely ridiculous and it's just literally a divide and conquer type mentality rather than actually looking at the solutions that we should be looking at in relation to housing and ensuring that we have adequate teaching staff. Thank you for your support and strategy stuff. Actually, thank you very much Dr. Pauline Tullying today. Thank you for your commission, Dr. Pauline's 제cht and of course, watching this by the way of灰台灣 actually meeting organizations within 2012 and pushing for covid. Thank you great forommen ich political and watching this. Thank you for your support to all these wonderful political politicians. Thank you very much Dr. Pauline. Thank you very much for that. Ed, I would like to talk to Pauline to you who would like to turn back tonight. I am your gentleman neste don't see enjoys suffocทant cylinder. Thank you quite a huge questions for our discussion today. Thank you for your request. White man's help to help us on the WhatsApp and widespread information. ninguém that has saved the deposit and our sense of color?
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