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Minister David Stanton T.D. Launches the Irish Second-Level Students' Union's Charter for Inclusive Schools

DATE: 22.3.17 - 12pmMinister David Stanton T.D. Launches the Irish Second-Level Students' Union's Charter for Inclusive SchoolsThe Minister with special responsibility for Equality, Integration and Immigration, David Stanton TD was on hand today to launch the ISSU Students' Charter For Inclusive Schools. The launch took place in the Clock Tower Building in the Department of Education on Marlborough Street.Minister Stanton stated “ I applaud the initiative taken by the ISSU in developing the Charter – I believe successful integration can be achieved by migrants and non-migrants working together and that students can be active participants in the process.”In November last year, the Irish Second-Level Students' Union hosted the Tool's For Inclusive Schools event, in conjunction with OBESSU's (Organising Bureau of European School Students' Unions)  'Seeds for Integration' and National Youth Council of Ireland 'One World Week' focusing on the integration of migrant and refugee students in second-level schools across Ireland. The aim of the event was to consult with second-level students and create a 'Students Charter for Inclusive Schools'.Although schools in Ireland are now more diverse than ever (with one in eight students having been born abroad) the Irish Second-Level Student's Union felt that this issue was not talked about or celebrated in schools. The ISSU Student's Charter for Inclusive Schools is an agreement imagined, designed and written by students who want to make our schools more inclusive of students from migrant, refugee, and minority backgrounds. The Charter also calls on key educational stakeholders to take concrete steps to promote inclusion at second-level education.The Charter features points such as:

  • As students, we want a curriculum that adopts a critical perspective towards privilege and history
  • As students, we do not judge or fear differences in viewpoints

And

  • As students, we call on the Government of Ireland to 'cherish all children of the nation equally' and remove any barriers in schools admissions policies.

 The event, organised by the ISSU International Officer, Ellen O'Rourke was attended by representatives from second-level schools and organisations working in the educations sector as well as organisations representing migrant and minority groups in Ireland.The Irish Second-Level Students' Union will distribute a copy of the Charter to any School's Student Council that wishes to display the Charter in their school.-ENDS- 

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Women in Leadership- If She Can Do It, So Can I.

Sarah Harte is our ISSU Regional Officer for the West of Ireland.She was recently elected at our Regional Council in Galway this year. Here, Sarah shares her thoughts on women in leadership.As today is International Women’s Day, it is the perfect time to celebrate and highlight the importance of role models to young women and girls. The power of role models often goes unrecognised but they can have an immeasurable effect on the lives of young people, particularly girls. It is important to be able to see someone who you can identify with in a position to know that you can make it there.Historically, the vast majority of leaders in this country have been men. This often meant that women and their achievements were not acknowledged or written about leading to a lack of women that girls could look up to. That is not the case anymore as more and more women rise to the top of their fields. The playing field is becoming more equal but there is still hurdles facing many women. For example, just 22% of all TD’s at present are women and this is a record high. There are always certain challenges facing people who aim for power but men and women tend to face different attitudes and challenges. Having a lack of self-confidence can hold you back as it is the fundamental basis of any good leader. If you do not have faith in your own ability it becomes difficult to expect others to. This is something that is learned from early on in life. Putting yourself forward to head up a project in school may reflect into putting yourself forward for election in the future. This is something that some of my friends struggle with, some of the most intelligent girls I know underestimate themselves and therefore hold themselves back. As children, we emulate what we see in others and this does not end as we age. If you see self-confidence you will learn to mirror it. We mimic these behaviours without ever realising it from the people we watch. That is why it is important that there are women we can look up to. Another behaviour that we learn is the different ways in which we talk about ambitious men and women. Often, men are commended for taking the leap and putting themselves out there, while women are penalized. There are certain words and phrases that are reserved for strongly opinionated or outspoken women and I have been called a few of these in my time.Personally, I have always been drawn to strong women as people that inspire and motivate me. Films, TV shows and books with women at the helm have interested me since I was a child and in the last few months I have read books by and about Mary Robinson, Malala Yousafzai and Hillary Clinton. I admire these women greatly for their resilience, perseverance and sheer mental strength despite different adversaries. One thing that the above-named women have in common is that they all have varying levels of a high profile, political or otherwise. This is not the case with all role models or even most of them. They do not have to be the first female President of Ireland or the first woman with a real shot at winning the White House. They can be a local politician, a teacher or a Foróige leader. Someone who takes an interest in your future, who wants to see you get on well because maybe someone did the same for them. Their words of advice are the ones that you remember and they are the people you don’t forget.That is why it is just as important to have role models as it is to be one. I know that my 14-year-old sister learns more from me than she’ll ever admit. I feel like I owe it to her to set as good an example as I can. I know that she is watching me. I have had so many people look out for me and I know that they are there for me if I need them and that is something I will always be grateful for. 

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Meet The Officers! 2016-2017

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Meet Our Officers: Philip Crowe

 Hi. My name is Philip. I'm a transition year student at the Abbey school in Tipperary town. As Secretary of the NSE (National Student Executive) it is my job to take the minutes of every meeting and to make it available to the rest of the NSE and to organise NSE meetings once one has been called for. Also, I help to organise Annual Assembly and if any other officers need support with an event they are running I assist them in organising it.  I ran for the position because I believe it is vital that student voice is heard and that students should be involved in the decision-making process on issues that will affect us more than anyone else. Also, because I'm in TY, I can devote more time to ISSU than I would be able to in other years. I started as Secretary in December but I still plan to do the best I can as Secretary in the upcoming months. Hopefully I'll see you all at Annual Assembly.

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Meet Our Officers: Glen Kiely

 I am a 6th year student of St. Munchins’ College, Limerick. I am passionate about education and learning, student voice, photography and fitness. I was appointed as Education Officer in August, with the hope that I could address the problems facing second-level education in Ireland today. I ran for this position because I felt that, with the ISSU, I could be an advocate for students and our education! During my term in office, I hope to confront various issues. I will be undergoing meetings with education spokespersons and publishing my, and the ISSU’s, thoughts on relevant matters. I hope to further student’s stance in their own education. That’s it from me, Glen.

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Meet Our Officers: Joe Mee

 My name is Joe and I'm a transition year student attending Scoil Ruain Killanuale. I am dyslexic and practice no religious. As a result of being different, I felt isolated and even bullied. I then did research on the topic of dyslexia and found many students had as bad or even worse school experiences. Talking with my peers and reading research on minority groups, I found one distressing fact. If you are different you will not be fully accepted in our education system. Therefore I want to help represent the minority's, giving a voice to those that often cannot be heard.  I want to help achieve a school system that allows all students to achieve their full potential.I hope to have a productive year and encourage anyone that is in a minority group to come forward and be heard.

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