Article 11: Schooling
The Act should stipulate as necessary that the Irish
State provide schools of good quality in each of
the four United Provinces of Ireland. The Act should
not define what a school of good quality is, that
should be left to those with expertise in architecture
to elaborate on.
The Act should State the official Religion of Irish
State schools is Christian-ecumenical, the ethos
of the school being Christian.
That given the Act should recommend two curricula
for Irish State schools.
-
A National curriculum in Christian studies
- A
National curriculum in secular studies
The Act should recommend that a panel of experts'
in Religious education and its teaching come together
to draw up a National curriculum in Christian studies
detailing what is to be taught in Christian studies
but not how Christian studies are to be taught.
The panel should be drawn equally from the four
Churches recognised in the Act as Christian. Such
a curriculum being drawn up, what is taught in Christian
studies should be the same in all schools in Ireland.
How Christian studies are to be taught should be
left to the universities and university colleges
of education to expand upon. The lecturer in the
university can be either Lay or Clerical and should
hold State qualifications of a high order in Christian
studies. The panel of experts drawing up what should
be taught in Christian studies can be either Lay
or Clerical.
The Act should recommend that Christian studies
be underpinned by such freedoms as freedom of mind,
freedom of thought, freedom of expression, freedom
to be creative and imaginative, freedom to discuss,
freedom to challenge in speech or in writing, freedom
to dissent in speech or in writing, freedom of choice.
Because of that, the Act should state that attendance
at the curriculum studies is not compulsory. Where
a parent objects to what us being taught in Christian
studies or how it is being taught, the parent can
withdraw the pupil from Christian studies and have
the pupil educated privately at home, in Church,
Mosque, aSynagogue or Temple.
The Act recommends the study of non-Christian Religions
in Christian studies.
The Act recognises the principle recognised in the
United Kingdom constitution that the individual
be educated according to personal conscience. For
that reason non-Christians in Ireland should have
schools of their own, the schools being provided
by the Irish State.
The Act should make provisions for the holding of
State examinations in Christian studies, the examinations
being of a high order and are set by either Lay
person or Cleric who holds a State recognised qualification,
the examination being marked by either a Lay person
or a Cleric.
The Act should recognise that either a Layperson
or a Cleric can teach Christian studies in an Irish
State school provided the Layperson or Cleric holds
recognised State qualification to do so.
The Act should State that it is the intention of
the Irish State to promote Christianity through
schooling but not to impose Christianity on anyone
who doesn't want it.
The Act should recommend that those who have experience
of teaching and an in-depth knowledge of education
should be brought together in a panel to draw up
a National Secular Curriculum for Ireland. The curriculum
should recognise an academic, technical and vocational
education suited to the educational needs of the
individual.
The Act should state that secular curriculum can
be taught by either a Lay person or Cleric provided
the Lay person or Cleric holds State recognised
qualification to do so.
The Act should make provisions for the holding of
State examinations of a high order in academic attainment,
technical skills and vocational training.
The Act should forbid corporal punishment in schools
The Act should state that it is obligatory to hold
a morning assembly. The nature of morning assembly
is left to the school principal to decide. The Act
expects that morning assembly will contain a spiritual
and moral dimension. The Act stipulates that the
morning assembly ends with the singing of the Irish
National anthem - A Nation Once Again.
The Act States that the secular National curriculum
is underpinned by freedom of mind, freedom of though,
freedom to be creative and imaginative, freedom
of speech, freedom to discuss, freedom to experiment,
freedom to dissent in speech or in writing, freedom
to challenge in speech or in writing, freedom of
choice, freedom of behaviour. However freedom of
behaviour is qualified but the rules and regulation
of the school and by the expectations of the principal,
by the rules and regulation of the classroom and
by the expectations of the classroom teacher. The
Act should state that behaviour and discipline in
the school is the duty and responsibility of the
parents. Where a pupil or group of pupils in the
school are badly behaved or in disciplined, the
Act recommends that the principal verbally caution
the parent. If bad behaviour or indiscipline still
exists and after all psychological approaches have
been exhausted, the Act empowers the principal to
expel the pupil or group of pupils from the school.
The Act should State that Irish State school can
be all girls, all boys or coeducational
The Act stipulates that the Royal flag of Ireland
with the flag of the province in which the school
is situated be flown in school grounds. The Act
advises that it is the duty of the school vice principal
to raise the flags at the beginning of the teaching
day and lower the flags at the end of the teaching
day
The Act should State that the principal of an Irish
State school can be either Lay or Clerical provided
the Lay person or Cleric holds recognised State
qualifications on appointed.
The Act recognises integrated schools in Ireland
and recommends such schools as educationally worthwhile.
The Act recognises that some schools teach the curriculum
through the medium of Irish. The Act should recommend
such educational practise as worthwhile.
The Act should make provision for the setting up
of a State Inspectorate in both Christian studies
and in secular studies; the inspectorate should
inspect State schools on a regular basis. The inspectorate
in Christian studies can be either Lay or Clerical
holding high quality State qualifications, and be
widely experienced in the teaching of Christian
studies. Where on inspection a school is found defective
in what is taught in Christian studies, or how Christian
studies are being taught, the Act empowers the State
to dismiss the Head of Christian studies and appoint
a new head.
The Act makes provision for a State inspectorate
in secular studies the inspectors being made up
of persons either by Lay or Clerical, who hold State
qualifications of a high order and who have wide
experience in the teaching of secular studies. If
on inspection, a school is found to be defective
in what is being taught in secular studies or how
secular studies are being taught, the Act empowers
the State to dismiss the school principal and vice
principal and appoint a new principal and vice principal.
The Act recommends the school principal appoint
a Cleric or Clerics to Act as Spiritual director,
or Spiritual directors to the pupil population.
The Act should State that attendance at the secular
curriculum is compulsory.
Article
12: Marriage
The Act should recognise the Crown Irish right to
marry and raise a family. The Act confers this right
on all Irish citizens of adult years.
Under the Act Church and State are separate the
state having no powers over the Church, Mosque,
Synagogue or Temple.
This gives rise to difficulties in the enactment
of divorce legislation in the Irish State
To get around this the Act should recommend that
marriage in Ireland be two fold:
-
An Irish State marriage
- A
marriage contract contracted in a Church Mosque
Synagogue or Temple
An Irish State marriage should be a legal contract
drawn up by the Supreme Council of Irish Jurist,
giving the status of the couple in marriage the
rights, duties and the responsibilities of the couple
to one another, the rights, duties and responsibilities
of the parents to the children of the marriage and
the rights of children. The marriage should be contracted
in a solicitor's office and the solicitor should
explain the nature of the legal contract in full
to the contracting couple. The solicitor should
then issue the contracting couple with an Irish
State marriage certificate signed by the solicitor,
the contracting couple and two witnesses. The couple
will then be legally married. The Act should strongly
recommend when issuing an Irish State marriage certificate
to a contracting couple that the solicitor advises
the contracting couple to marry in a Church Synagogue,
Mosque or Temple. When such a marriage ceremony
is entered into the officiating Cleric must be shown
an Irish State marriage certificate. If the contracting
couple cannot show an Irish State marriage certificate
to the officiating Cleric, the Act should forbid
the officiating Cleric to marry such a couple. When
the Irish State marriage certificate has been issued
to a contracting couple, if one of the parties break
the legal contract in a major way, the offended
partner can have the Irish State marriage certificate
declared null and void in court.
The Act should make clear that when an Irish State
marriage certificate is declared null and void in
court that does not apply to a marriage certificate
issued by a Church, Mosque, Synagogue or Temple.
The Act should recognise that there can exist an
abiding affection and commitment between same sex
couples. Under freedom of behaviour freedom of mind,
will and choice the Irish State can issue an Irish
State marriage certificate to same sex couples,
the marriage contract being drawn up by the Supreme
Council of Irish Jurists. Where one partner in a
same sex relationship breaks the marriage contract
in a major way, the offended partner can have the
Irish State marriage certificate declared null and
void in court.
The Act should State that the age of consent to
sex is sixteen.
Where the Crown Irish or heir to the throne intends
to marry, under freedom of mind, will and choice
the Crown Irish or heir to the throne is free to
marry a spouse of personal choice, the spouse being,
moral outlook, behaviour, religious practise and
in speech.
Under the freedom of mind, choice, will, behaviour,
the sexual behaviour of adult same sex couple in
private is of no concern of the Irish State.
See
Also:
Article
1: Democracy
Article 2: The Way of
Life
Article 3: The Crown
Irish
Article 4: Rights, Freedoms
Article 5: The Legal
Profession
Article 6: Government
Politics
Article 7: Religion
Article 8: Policing
Article 9: The Army,
the Navy and the Air Force
Article 10: The Orange
Order
Article 11: Schooling
Article 12: Marriage
Article 13: The Family
Article 14: Culture
Debate:
Dual Presidency More
Realistic
A Dual Presidency: An
Improbable Solution to the Irish Problem
Federalism
