The dumbing down of Ireland - 23 percent of males are illiterate

Pragmatism in education is at the root of the disaster - unfortunately, as referenced by Watereskhill, Ireland abandoned its traditional education system to import this alien and diseased anglo method of education (see John Dewey).

We have illiterate males here in America as well...but they all got jobs running the govt.

Bring back the Nuns and Christian Brothers! With all their faults they were themselves teachers with an Education. Not a watery 'Diploma'. The petite Sr.Mary Kevin could convey Math, History, Art, Science and common sense in one swoop next to the blackboard in the rural School in Ireland..."Geometry. It's importance to kites, the reason The Partenon is a perfect structure, why Galleleo suffered on occasion and Michaelangelo sketched we might one day fly. Thus we shall begin with the most obvious '90degree angle with an arc'. She then walked over to the Schoolroom door and opened it till it rested against the wall. It always left a feint score on the floor due to age. She brought the same richness to every other subject. To this day on bumping into classmates in Ireland we still recall "Kevi-the-Great" over a pint and the hinged door of Geometry. Worth her salt. On seeing a kite it all makes sense. She was right. May she rest in peace.

Well, adrienran and CitizenWhy express the common misunderstanding. My father went only to the sixth grade, yet he was well skilled educationally. Could read and do most math pretty easily. However, the January befor last I was in the library in Edenderry and got to speak to the librarian about literacy. She mentioned at that time that she, herself, worked with adult literacy in Ireland. She remarked that the country was shocked to have such a high rater of illiteracy -- about 25% she said. In addition, the older Irish were often illiterate. The interesting thing is that most Americans do not realize that an approximately equal number of their people are also illiterate. It is amazing how well people can hide that fact.

How in the world did this happen? All the Irish immigrants I know are much better educated than Americans.

When my mother was a teacher in Ireland she taught Shakespeare and algebra to grade school students in a Limerick slum. She could do Algebra word problems in her head at 93 on her deathbed (no drugs). She left when the govt ordered teaching in Gaelic, thus making her already unconfident students even more unconfident. Although she was fluent in Gaelic from childhood, she claimed she could not speak the language. That was one of the reasons she left Ireland.

And many of the literate are emigrating.

Sad thought, such low literacy in the land of bards and knowledge.

My father left school in County Galway when he was about 13 in the years prior to the 1916 rising. While he was no scholar, and would have been the first to admit it, here in the USA he read three newspapers a day and mystery novels. His handwriting was better than mine. And, of course, he studied for and passed his test to become a U.S. citizen. He credited a teacher called Master Ward with giving him the bulk of his education. He never mentioned Ward's first name, and in fact, might not have known it.

That's it keep the immigration going until the Irish cannot write their own names, Good Job The Mary's and The Liz's who prostituted our Nation to the UN. All jobs of any importance in Ireland will be done by colored foreigners in a few years The Irish will be trampled down to the rubbish heap. because they are so stupid. Country sold out , Sovereignty sold out Nation Kaput.

Apart from technology there are no standards in ireland.The beer is liquid formica .The meat rubber a la pirella.FARMED fish polystyrene.The list goes on and the generations under 40 can remember nothing better.I do!!!

The report does not state how many foreign students they reviewed. Given that foreign students--many of them not native speakers of English and/or from countries with mass illiteracy--make up about 20% of the cohort in Irish schools, a study that ignores this factor is utterly incompetent and invalid.

Technology is a wonderful thing if used properly. However, cell phones, texting, and various shortcuts have decimated young peoples ability to spell, punctuate , or even put a complete sentence together. Television and electronic gaming have taken over books and reading. I am an English teacher and my students are told at the beginning of class that I will deduct points for misspelled words, improper punctuation, or lack of punctuation, improper composition and thought processes. You would be amazed at some of the parental response that I am punishing their children. Parent-Teacher meetings do little or no good in explaining that their children need to be able to read and spell correctly. 50% of parents say kids can use spell check, they don't need to spell correctly. 80% have never had a library card so they can get books to read. Approximately 50% of parents I met with are semi-literate themselves. It is an uphill battle, but I and many of my colleagues will fight on.

NEVER MIND! - They were never much to write home about - and soon they will have nothing to count anyway!

Might have much to do with modern technology as well like texting: BRB, BFF, etc. R U wit me?