[Week 13] Essay - Philosophy of Learning and Teaching

(image from Paul Joseph on flickr)

While I don't know much about teaching and learning in general, there is one area in which I've done extensive research: the mandatory learning of the Irish language in Irish schools. Having been taken over by English, the Irish language has been in decline for many years now. In attempt to revitalize the language, a law was put into place requiring students to take Irish classes in school and to have a certain amount of proficiency in the language by the time they get out. According to research I've done and articles I've read, few students actually benefit from mandatory classes.

In general, I believe it's unnecessary and harmful to force students to "learn" something. I say "learn" with quotation marks because in many cases they don't even learn anything, they just cram in order to pass tests and get a decent grade. Requiring students to learn a language adds extra stress to their already stressful school lives which zaps them of interest they would have had for it. And when it comes to learning a language, motivation is key. 

For my senior essay, I surveyed 40 Irish people who are or had been students in Irish schools. Some of them went to all-Irish language schools, so the language wasn't really a subject to them, it was just a fact of life. Those people tended to have a much more positive outlook on the language and were far more fluent. Students who went to public schools where English was the language of instruction were more mixed. Many of them were very passionately against Irish purely because of the way the revitalization efforts have caused more stress in their lives.

Overall, everyone seems to agree that the best way to get students to learn is to make it something they actively want to learn. As more popular television shows and books become translated into Irish, young people's interest in learning the language is increasing. But if government officials and teachers continue to force it on them, I'm afraid the youth's contempt for the language will grow stronger.