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Rosmini Community School
Phone: 01-8371694
Rosmini Community School is this a good school 0802262025 view general school discussions
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is this a good school?
02/26/2008 09:25 PM - School Specific (share to everyone)
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is rosmini a good school?
my son is in st pats at the moment & i have to decide which secondary school to send him to.
what are the best schools in dublin 9 & 11?
thanx
| 02/28/2008 01:03 PM - School Specific
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Hi,
I replied to another request and I list some schools including Rosmini. My son goes there and is in 3rd year. We, his parents, have mixed views about the school, but my son loves it and all his year/classmates both boys and girls get on very well together. It has its problems as it caters for Special needs of all kinds. But it does incorporate the School of the Blind and its wonderful to see these people integrated into the school. It has a huge range of subjects, specialising in art, metal/woodwork and music. All I´ll say is it hasn´t a good reputation locally as most don´t understand its ethos and the fact it has a large amount of special needs. Our son has done extremely well and is extremely happy. If you´d like you child to go to a mixed school you´d do worse than Rosmini. The best around is Mount Temple, similar subjects and also a mixed school. Rosmini is Catholic and Mount Temple is non-denominationally but has a protestant ethos. The only other differences are Mount Temple would have less special needs and Rosmini has a strict uniform code. Try both and find out for yourself.
| 03/01/2008 09:30 PM - School Specific
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thanx 4 your reply.
what are your "mixed views" ?
i´ve been told the school has a "rough crowd" going to it!
on the other hand i´ve been told it´s a great school!!!
dont know what to think.
| 03/03/2008 09:46 PM - School Specific
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Hi,
In fairness my son if he hadn´t got dyslexia would not be going there. Now where he would be going I am not sure in the D9 area. I don´t think Rosmini is as bad as it is painted. There are good and bad in every school and in the D9 area you will get a "rough" mix in all the schools.
My school of first choice was Mount Temple but I was too late on the waiting list and that was history as they say. My son is happy there and will kick a blue stink if I try to move him. A lot of the pupils in the school come from outside the area, that is Marino, Clontarf, Artane/Beaumont, Whitehall, Drumcondra and Ballymun/Santry. I think if your son/daughter are more practical or arty and like to mix with boys/girls its a great school for that.
I heard terrible things about the school and I have been very surprised, the school is disciplined, and there is no bullying it is not tolerated. The boys and girls get along great, the girls that go there I often wonder why with so many good girls schools on their doorsteps.
I guess you know your kids the best, my daughter for instance I have her name down in Domincans and Maryfield. Both are great girls schools right beside each other. I would prefer her to go to a mixed school but its either, Ballymun Comprehensive, Rosmini or Mount Temple or indeed Scoil Chatriona the gaelscoil. But for a girl either Dominicans or Maryfield, outside of Belvedere Private Boys school, Domicans have the best results on the North side of the city. As for Rosmini your right to be wary, but my son is happy, loves it and is doing well. If it is a boy its harder to get a good school in the area, thats just my opinion I didn´t like any of them. I hope I haven´t confused you too much.
| Brutal honesty 03/23/2008 04:54 AM -
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re... : is this a good school?
I am a student in Pobalscoil Rosmini, and frankly I would avoid it if I had been given a choice. However i was not and cannot move. The "rough crowd" is as rough as any, however the school has an almost endless patience for the worst of them. Pupils who would not be tolerated elsewhere are given every chance and more, with the results of disciplinary action being non-existent. Repeat offenders who feel it is "deadly" or that it makes them "mad" to be in trouble can relax in the knowledge that their place in the school is safe.
The majority of the teachers in the school are competent, control the students in the class and achieve results with their students. The minority that don´t fit the above description leave their willing students in a very undesirable position come exam time. These teachers often teach the ordinary level classes which are the most sizable classes, containing (usually) the eejits who don´t want to be in school, and would rather be off on some street corner being "mad".
These people cannot be content to merely sit in the class (under the "watchful" eyes of the teachers in question) and waste away. They rather feel it prudent to make as big a distraction as they possibly can, further undermining the poor coping skills of the teacher. This is much more rampant an occurrence than many people would have you believe.
If your children are in any way easily influenced they too will become involved in this.
Scarier still, are the teachers in question who teach the honours classes. There, the number of wasters is significantly lower (and yet there are still some) to distract. If the teachers problem is simply maintaining discipline, the trouble almost vanishes. If not... well, what do you get if you sit a room full of bright kids in front of a useless teacher?
I only have my experience of this school, and that is all i can represent here. But what i have described above are the two major problems i see every day. There are many more but not enough time to type them down ( THE ROOF LEAKS BUT NEW COMPUTERS ARE FREQUENTLY BOUGHT!! ???). Whether these problems are isolated or widespread i cannot say. In short, 5-6 years in Rosmini will not be regretted from a social or "craic" standpoint, as all students who go there seem to be basing their views on, but when you look at the education you received (or didn´t) the picture becomes a clearer "what the hell just happened?".
| 03/25/2008 01:57 PM -
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Hi Brutal Honest; I understand what you are saying, my son is in 3rd year and it is as you point out. Particularly the tolerance of disruptive students. My son in ordinary level maths has had seven teachers in two years. But it is the lack of control and the tolerance of these students that is the hardest for students and parenst to take. You want to try and get this message across to the principal. My son also concurs with you on the leaks - he says they have a drainpipe in the middle of a class. But, he is happy has made some good friends and moving him to a different school he has raised a blue stink. But I wonder how beter/worse most schools are in the area.
| sb 05/11/2008 03:53 PM -
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Hi, I´m a past pupil of Rosmini (many moons ago), but not too much tends to change in schools over the years, at least not from what I´ve seen and heard. I would have been thought of as a strong student with a lot of potential, but I wouldn´t say I had a great education in Rosmini, of course I wouldn´t blame the school in the main as each individual has to be responsible for their own education - Teachers and Schools can only do so much for kids in a school, if you really want to learn you will, and that would be despite bad teachers.
During my time there I had a couple of truely awful Teachers, and I mean people who clearly we not capable of performing their jobs, and all it would have taken would to have an impartial observer sit in on some of the classes and they would have to have been dismissed. But times were a little different 20 odd years ago and nothing was ever done, on top of that I have no idea where they used to drag the Substitute Teachers from.
Don´t get me wrong, just like most if not all schools there is a balance of excellent, average and poor teachers (maybe there are schools with no poor teachers). Some of the Teachers have gone on to become Principals and Vice Principals, and they were really good.
At the end of the day a school is just a building, poor discipline in the classroom and worries about distraction will happen in any school no matter what you hear about a school. I repeated my Leaving in Plunketts and despite what we´d always heard and been wrongly led to believe it was a school with far better discipline - but was rough, had some dodgy characters. I don´t know too many boys schools on the Northside that don´t have some sort of a rough element, and I would be so so doubtful that Mount Temple doesn´t have a rough element in it, having lived in Donaghmede/Baldoyle for 5 years I´ve seen some of the pupils travelling there on the bus day in day out and they weren´t angels. I know from a personal point of view I allowed myself to be distracted and decided I would coast my way through my time there as I had decided some of the subjects I couldn´t possibly do well in - what I should infact have done was to take my education into my own hands and in the subjects with poor teachers make sure I worked myself - so the advice I would give you no matter which school you send your children to take the time to find out what they think of the school they are in and the teachers they find poor, you may need to get them additional help in those subjects. School years do fly in and attitudes to learning can be altered very quickly.
As for a leaking drainpipe - yes shouldn´t happen in this day and age, but I started in Rosmini when it opened the new building, so it´s bound to be having some maintenance issues at this stage, but that´s one that should be sorted pretty easily - you can´t really complain about a school investing in IT, my exposure to computers while there was a poor teacher who new less about the machine than I did and one Apple PC, somehow it didn´t have a hugely negative effect on me and I´m now an IT Manager and have been working with cutting edge software for 12 years now.
People often ask me do I not regret missing the "College" experience, and to be honest not one bit, the first 6 months working were far more valuable to me from a social point of view too. I just think that these days social development appears to have far to high a significance in Secondary School and then in College, in many ways the focus on education isn´t what it was before I started school.
| 05/11/2008 05:51 PM -
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Hi SB, my frustration with Rosmini seems to just mirror my frsutration with the whoel system. In fairness to Rosmini it was featured on TV3 a few weeks ago about schools restrictive admission policies. Rosmini takes in a huge percentage of Special Needs pupils and pupils who just wouldn´t "fit in" elsewhere. I live in the area, my sons Nieces and Nephews attend the other schools in D9 and they just do not take their proper fair share of pupils with problems. I find it laughable that say the two closest Girls Secondary schools to Rosmini take in bus loads of pupils from outside the area while restricting pupils within it. Aside from that can of worms, I went to the Ballymun Comprehensive school and about 60% of the pupils came from outside the area. I have no qualms or snobbishness about where my son goes to school. But when trying to find a school for him, I sat in private schools open day and the Head Master an ordered Priest no less, declared "we don´t do special needs" as if it was some form of bubonic plague. I have heard from parents in other schools nearby socially refer to the girls in Rosmini as Skangers and Knackers. In some strange way SB the school does a service and does what it says in its ethos. My son is happy, very happy there, I think he is making some life long friendships and the education he is getting while not maybe what I would like is something different. But I think at the end of the day if my lad leaves school with a good well rounded education and a happy positive attitude to life I wouldn´t want much more for him. Glad you did so well for yourself and the point must be made as you so, the other schools in D9 are no better than Rosmini nor certainly are its pupils nor definetly the selective nature of who they choose. I have a daughter coming up out of primary and it is a real challenge to know where to send her. But it won´t be to the girls schools in D9.
| teacher 10/30/2008 08:55 AM -
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I was one of of those maths teachers mentioned in a previous post - the school is a complete knightmare to teach in. I advise any parents to get your kids out know. It is not the teachers fault, the principle does not support the teachers and as a result it is virtually impossible to teach. I had worked in inner city schools in britain yet never had the problems I faced there. There are some really dedicated teachers at the school but the majority of students are completely wild. I feel sorry for the nice kids of which there are some!!
| 03/06/2009 02:36 AM -
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A new HSE approved private Pre school special needs centre is opening opposite Heuston Train station in Aug 2009. The signs for it opening are hanging outside the building on Military road.
| Aidan 08/20/2009 03:31 PM -
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I was a pupil in rosmini between the years of 2002-2008. I had a great time in the school i got a good education and i had great fun with the social aspect of the six years i spent their. The teachers are very dedicated to their jobs and interact very well with the students. Yes their are some wild pupils in the school but so is there in every other school and lets be honest bad news spreads quicker than the good news. If you want your child to get a good education, interact with the teachers on a one to one basis make friends and learn a bit of cop on rosmini is the place to go. Teachers have no problem helping a student on one to one basis if you ask for it the teacher isn´t a mind reader. It is also important to know that a teacher can only teach what they cover in the class room on that day it is up to the student to go home and make sure they learn it. I would also like to make everyone aware of how great their special needs facilities are in the school from someone with a visual impairment I got the best support that they could offer in the school
| 08/20/2009 11:50 PM -
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Aidan, I am delighted to hear of your experience as my son is in 5th year and loves it, his experience has been much as you describe. Parents only want the best for their sons/daughters and if your children have a special need it is very difficult to find a school that caters for it, Rosmini is one which does. As a parent reading your comments reassure me and I am heartened by what you say as it is the same for my son, he is very happy there. Not many people can say that about their childrens schools.
| Teacher 09/04/2009 08:32 PM -
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Having worked in many schools for 14 years, I have to say that I have never been happier anywhere else. This is the by far the best school I have ever worked in and I will try to explain why. Community is the essence of this school, the staff are so dedicated and care deeply for each and every individual in terms of their education and welfare. The class sizes are small, which allows us the time to give one-to-one more often than I have ever experienced. There is a wide range of subject choices at every level and students get the options they want unlike other schools in the area. There is also a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Supervised study/homework sessions are free unlike the school my daughter went to. The special needs department is second to none but we treat every student as being special - we try to meet the needs of every student in every way we can. Last year 37% of our students carried on to 3rd Level Education to do degrees - the careers guidance is excellent as reported by the Dept of Ed. In a nutshell if you want a quality education where your child is looked after and not institutionalised in a huge monster of school then Rosmini is the choice.
| 09/10/2009 01:59 PM -
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Well its really great to hear - parents, pupils and especially teachers all saying the same thing. Not many schools have an honest thread like this. My daughter is soon to leave Corpus Christi for secondary school and while she has places guaranteed in the local girls secondary schools we have decided to send her to Rosmini as well.
| Paddy 09/15/2009 11:24 PM -
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As a teacher in Rosmini for 22 years, I´ve followed the comments closely. Thanks, Aidan, for your kind remarks. You hit the nail on the head - bad news does travel faster than good. Yes, we certainly have had our share of wild characters but I can say that many of these have become well-rounded individuals by the time they leave. For more of the good news, we have revamped our website (www.pobalscoilrosmini.ie) which now includes some recent newsletters giving a fuller picture of school life in Rosmini.
Readers of this board may be interested to know that our Open Evening takes place on Thursday, October 8 from 7pm to 9pm. All are welcome.
| Susan Horgan 10/12/2009 02:39 PM -
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The Ardboyne Hotel, Navan, was the chosen venue for the Debs Ball for Rosmini College on October 1st this year.
The event was a great success and the students were a pleasure to deal with. The group of teachers that attended the night also seemed to enjoy the evening. We wish the students all the best for the future and hope to welcome Rosmini College back to the hotel again.
| arock 10/13/2009 10:10 AM -
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This thread is important, hanging your dirty linen out in public is not a bad thing. Most other schools (and espeically the ones nearby) have a veneer, a pretence that everything is in order and it is not Oh boy it is not. No other school has a thread like this at all, none, it says an awful lot when teachers, past pupils, existing pupils and parents come on here and tell the truth. I honestly tried on many occasions to have my child moved, for different reasons. But his results and more importantly the fact he is so happy made up our minds, plus the persuasive integrity of the principal. He asked us the simple questions which all parents should ask themselves "would you rather your child left school, happy and educated to be equipped to deal with life to the full or to be unhappy, well educated and not knowing what to do with that in life?". That is not to say they don´t get a good education, they get the very best. I have no doubt Rosmini has shaped my son´s life, he is happy, has made wonderful friends and classmates and he is inspired by dedicated teachers. From talking to most of my sons classmates parents they love school, of course they won´t say to each other, but they do. Now I can tell you none of the other schools in the area fulfill or live up to the wholesome words of their mission statements. None live up to stated ethos and their motto´s - Rosmini does. Its not perfect, but I wouldn´t worry about it, Rosmini doesn´t shout out loud enough or blow its own trumpet, but it should.
| Student of the 70s/80s 10/14/2009 05:31 PM -
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I was a student there about 30 years ago. I have read the postings with great interest. Even the most hostile of them does describe a situation comparable with the School when it was still in prefabs (and called, with absurd grandeur, Rosmini College). The teachers then were, with a few exceptions, shattered, disinterested, incompetent or crazy. Whoever was subsequently able to turn that around really does deserve praise.
Having said that, the CAO statistics mentioned at the top of the page really are not good enough. What´s the problem? (1) The teachers are weak? (2) The student body is weak? If it´s (2) that says a lot about the School´s reputation. In a good area like Drumcondra there will be plenty of ambitious, well organized families whose children are likely to do well in life. Perhaps they are not choosing to send them to Rosmini.
On a very personal note, I don´t feel any good wishes for the School. Through extraordinary luck I have been able to gain an advanced education and pursue a demanding career. This is true too of (at least) one of my classmates. We were very fortunate that university points were low a few decades ago. We attended university despite the active discouragement of the moronic School career guide. The School placed no value in us. When I compare my experiences with friends who went to the well known schools of Dublin I really do feel quite troubled.
I say to any parent of current students: do not let your misgivings or reservations rest. Your child being happy there just because the School is fun (that was true in my day) is not good enough. The School is there to educate. If your child is smart -- and you should know -- and yet not achieving good grades there is a problem. Get them out.
| David 10/14/2009 09:12 PM -
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Events of recent days and weeks have led me to ask the question, what did I get from Rosmini?
The answer I came up with was... a smile.
Now, I know that sounds corny but give me a chance to explain.
As a past pupil (approx 8 years) I never knew what the schools ethos was. Numerous posts on this thread mention the schools ethos. So I looked it up,
Real education must develop the whole person:
-Intellectual Development: to encourage inquiring minds and academic excellence.
-Physical Development: to promote a healthy lifestyle.
-Moral Development: to ensure that students mature into responsible, caring adults.
-Spiritual Development: to assist the formation of personal beliefs.
-Aesthetic Development: to promote an appreciation of the arts.
I have to say, I wasn´t surprised to read this.
I will admit academic excellence does not describe my leaving cert results. "Not bad" is probably a better description. I don´t hold the teachers responsible for this. But I do hold them responsible for giving me the enquiring mind that helped me achieve a Degree in science from DIT and masters degree in physics from Trinity collage. So in a way Rosmini gave me the tools to achieve academic excellence.
As for Physical Development I was never great at soccer or GAA but the teachers facilitated the sports I was interested in. Giving up their free time to allow us to have a swimming team (boy that was a big trophy we took home) and allow us to try all sorts of track and field events.
Moral & Spiritual Development: this was a guided development which I felt was adapted to each individual in the school. That´s right a school that treats pupils as individuals and listens to their individual needs. All staff were involved in this development from the caretaker to the school nurse and from the special needs staff to the teachers. I was never belittled by a teacher or made feel inadequate they always seemed willing to talk things through and help you understand before considering punishment.
As for Aesthetic Development, I was never one for art and the like so lets hope that comes with age.
So why smile?
Rosmini gave me the confidence and the social skills to approach life with the right attitude. The lessons I learned and the memories I made I will take with me for life. My chin was held high leaving Rosmini and has never dropped. With a smile I´m proud to say I went to Rosmini and was part of the closest community that i have ever experienced.
Weigh it all up and ask yourself if you want your child to grow up with a smile.
Rosmini Thank you
| arock 10/14/2009 11:10 PM -
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First to Student of the 70s/80s: I can understand what you are saying, nor do I know if things are different, many of my friends went there years ago. My son has dyslexia, there are pupils in that school with visual disabilities. I will admit I agonised over sending him to Rosmini, what made my mind up was when I brought him along to an interview to a well known private school. The priest (I loosely call him that) in his well pressed suit, and neatly manicured fingers smiled and listened and then with a rather pathetic smile said "but we don´t do special needs here" at least he was honest. But nor do the other schools in the D9 postal district in fact you´ll find very few do. Up to my sons junior cert I agonised and then came his results, no they where not 9 straight A+´s, but he did have some and in the subjects that matter to this so called wonderful society he did brilliantly and that was the teachers no question. You mention the CAO results but one thing not published there is the fact that nearly half Rosmini´s pupils are special needs - not stupid, just some like my son not wanted.
To Dave: When I was putting to the principal the fact my son was probably going to leave he quoted me the schools ethos and he said much what you said. I thought back to that priest and her was the lay principal speaking the very words that that priest made in his vows to his god. So Dave he and his classmates go on a school trip abroad and he is as happy as the day is long. Next monday will be a return to books and work, but hopefully the memories he has will last as long as yours. But his teachers as much as about his fellow pupils he talks a lot about, yes he has a lot of friends as you say from the caretaker to the principal.
| Student of the 70s/80s 10/15/2009 11:43 AM -
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To arock. It looks like the school works for your son. I guess I´m interested to see that you did look at private schools first. And you mentioned earlier that you will send your daughter to Rosmini. Why, unless she too has special needs?
| Brian Roddy 10/15/2009 02:24 PM -
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I attened Rosmini ( 1974 - 1979) god was it that long ago . I have to say my memories of my time are nothing but good ones . I now live in Kinsealy Swords and regularly pass bye the school and think back to my time there. The teachers were excellent and gave it there all to send us into the big world well armed and educated.
I am always proud to say i attened Rosmini and would be happy to send my children there when they leave primary.
| arock 10/15/2009 03:18 PM -
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Dave: I am not sure if I will send her, though I´d be quite happy too, my son goes there primarily because of his specific needs. She doesn´t have any learning difficulties, quite the contiary. I can´t afford to send her to private school, though I am not sure if I had the money I would. The two local girls schools are where the bulk of her primary classmates are going to go. Both are very good schools but one in particular seems to have gone to hell. So would she get a better education there than in Rosmini? I don´t believe so, she´s studious, hard working and bright, will probably do well no matter where we send her. So do we give her the very very best educational option? Hopefully yes! but there are other considerations, her sporting and musical ability has to be catered for. People may say thats rubbish, it is important. My son was not only turned away by private schools, the two local boys public schools as well, also a multi-denominational (Protestant ethos) compehensive not a million miles from Rosmini. Which probably says a lot about the quality of those three schools "ethos". So much for religion and education, they don´t mix. Ironically none of these three schools perform much better than Rosmini in terms of CAO placements. Its amazing how few "special needs" teachers and pupils there are in these local schools compared to Rosmini. They fill the classrooms with pupils from Swords and Balbriggan rather than local kids with special needs, despite the law, despite their so-called religious ethos. But I have some time left to make up my mind, but she has not the same restrictions that sadly he had.
| Student of the 70s/80s 10/15/2009 04:33 PM -
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arock writes: "They fill the classrooms with pupils from Swords and Balbriggan rather than local kids with special needs, despite the law, despite their so-called religious ethos."
Yes -- state schools can be just as ruthless as the private schools everyone likes to complain about.
Good luck to you -- with a reflective parent like you in their lives your children are in a wonderul position.
| Brutal Honesty 10/16/2009 01:01 AM -
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Hello again all. I´m back after a over a year to comment yet again. Finished my Leaving Cert there and have now gone on to university along with the majority of my friends from my year.
I have a slightly different perspective of the school now as I am finished there and no longer have to deal with it. My brother does not have the same luxury.
First, I will re-iterate the point of the almost complete lack of Real (capitalised to highlight the significance of the word here) discipline in the school. Up to the last days I was in Rosmini the attitude was lax with regard control of students and maintaining order in the school. One teacher/year head stood out from the rest in this area, by being one not disinclined to discipline and I am sure anyone who has dealt with the man knows who I am talking about!
My experience was good in Rosmini for the most part. I put in a lot of work. I had to.
Two people who I have to tip my hat to were my English and Maths teachers. Another teacher worthy of praise was my Physics teacher.
Beyond that, I felt sometimes as if I had drawn a short straw somewhere along the line.
One example that really strikes me now as a "wow, what the hell" moment was when I ended up teaching one of my classes about a certain topic, rather than the teacher doing it. The aforementioned teacher did not understand the topic. Seriously, the teacher relied on me to explain it. I hope for the future students´ sake that that teahcer now knows what it is about and how to teach it, but when I think to the years before me that went through it, I must shake my head in disbelief.
The Irish "education" that some students are receiving ( or rather, aren´t) is laughable. The level of education attained by a student should not be down to the class she/he is placed in based on their place on a list. Well, someone missed that memo in Rosmini it would seem.
Note that I am not complaining about the education I received there, as after transition year, I took it upon myself to learn what I did, knowing full well that it may have been the only way I ever would. I got lucky. Very lucky.
Now I pity my brother. I know and I assume he knows what this school is like. He and I agree when we speak about the school, about the state of the classes and the "luck of the draw" that one faces there. His hope for a good Irish grade disappeared as soon as he was assigned a class. He now has the same teacher that didn´t know the curriculum that I had. He will now have to deal with the no-hopers who have been booted from school to school, only to end up in Rosmini as a last resort, the only place that will take anybody in, and will never ask them to leave permanently, almost regardless of offense.
For those of you who hark on about the social aspect of the school, grow up. You are not sending your child there "for the craic". If they are having a lot of fun dossing in class, that means they are not learning, and are probably preventing others from learning too.
In university I attend lectures to learn, and clubs to have fun.
Keep in mind, no teenager is going to want to leave somewhere fun to go somewhere where they will have to work hard, so the fact that they don´t want to leave is almost a moot point here.
Nobody is saying not to let your kids have fun. Should their futures be the expense?
| arock 10/16/2009 09:19 AM -
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Brutally Honest: Well done on your achievements and I hope you reap the reward that you clearly worked very very hard for. I totally agree children go to school to learn, but surely they also go to learn to live and interact? When I say "socialise" I don´t mean sitting pretty vacant swapping smoke/drink or kisses, nor in a huddled group switched off from everyone around them. These kids exist in every school in the land. What I mean by socialising is empowering a child to identify a good teacher from a moronic teacher and a bunch of morons from a nice kid and dealing with them, yes even confronting them. Its about as much as helping after class volunteering to walk home some of the visually impaired, yes some kids volunteer for that, don´t they get considered? Or like my son and his friends learn to design Braille books, you´ll not learn that in university or in any local secondary school I know. Its about holding your head up and being a unique individual and speaking your mind. The majority of kids in Rosmini don´t have a choice but to go there by their disabilities and social exclusion. My sons cousins, quite a number of them, all attend schools in the area and believe me the discipliniary crisis is as bad and in most cases worse. The real problem, is children who want to learn being prevented by "switched off" teachers but worse are the miscreant reprobates teaching in school that seem to pander to these morons. My son certainly got the "got the short straw" with his disability. But believe me there is no where for him to go, no where other than where he is. If my son is in a class which is disruptive he leaves that class and he does believe me. But that is bitterly resented by these switched off teachers, it is the only thing that gets them focussed, I have had more than one row over it. I pay large amounts of money to "tutor" my son in maths, because he needs it, if he went to a top private school I´d still have to pay for extra tuition. In 3rd year he FIVE teachers. But I say to you, despite everything, despite all the problems, it is the best school for him, obviously not for you. My only remaining resentment is with that body of certain teachers who out of fear or because they want to court popularity pander to the disruptive and socially dysfunctional. You know these teachers you know who I am specifically talking about. I have told those teachers like so and in their own petty little way they do "get at" my son. But still the good teachers are brilliant, the good pupils are always great ones. I bet bruttally honest they are the ones you´ll want to remember and they are the ones that probably helped you get what you deserve.
| David 10/16/2009 02:14 PM -
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Arock
You make it sound like Rosmini is a school for special needs students only. I would like to clarify that that is far from the case. When I was there, the vast majority of boys in the school did not have social, mental or physical disabilities. It is true that these boys were very well integrated into the everyday class environment. As a result of this, I learned how to respect difference and not to judge. I´m greatful for that. Also thank you for clarifying the meaning social development to brutally honest.
Yes! some teachers weren´t great, but again this was a minority. I think kids will get out what they put in. And as parents you just have to enforce that message.
If as you say there are teachers that "pander to the disruptive and socially dysfunctional", then its not the same school that I remember.
| arock 10/16/2009 03:36 PM -
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David,
Its not a school for just special needs and that is a very loose term, as the other poster pointed out a lot of these community schools have a particular ethos. If I give that impression it is a wrong one. But it is (from the state figures that I have seen on special needs as published int he irish Times) that about 45% of the student population have some particular need. A lot are visually impaired and that is a critical element to the school and I believe its how they can keep the class sizes down. If I am wrong on this or over stating it I apologise. But while everyone universally is quick to point out students failings a lot of teachers leave a lot to be desired and indeed parents and that is not about Rosmini its another universal complaint. I do find the educational system does accomodate quite well "the disruptive and socially dysfunctional" he who shouts loudest and all that. If you read through this entire thread you´ll see a pattern. But David I say this reflects all schools at least the ones I am aware of. It is why so many pay for private education and its why even in a recession people will find the money to pay for it.
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