I totally understand why education is needed to ward off rasicism, quash ignorance and promote inclusion. Does this reek of perpetuating a negative Irish stereo type or am I just getting defensive?
Surely there are better approaches than presenting biases like this? Who signs off on this rubbish?

by earth-while

47 comments

  2. Family A is like what you’d expect from 1800s Ireland. Load of shite really. Family B’s life is too good to be true.

  3. Wait til you see what lobby groups and NGOs want for the new primary school curriculum.

    [Draft Primary Curriculum Framework | NCCA](https://ncca.ie/en/primary/primary-developments/primary-curriculum-review-and-redevelopment/the-primary-curriculum-framework/draft-primary-curriculum-framework/)

    [NWC_Submission_on_the_draft_Primary_Curriculum_specification.pdf (nwci.ie)](https://www.nwci.ie/images/uploads/NWC_Submission_on_the_draft_Primary_Curriculum_specification.pdf)

    [Draft-Primary-Curriculum-Specifications_NCCA.pdf (into.ie)](https://www.into.ie/app/uploads/2024/06/Draft-Primary-Curriculum-Specifications_NCCA.pdf?_gl=1*13wbw54*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTYxNzY0Nzg1MC4xNzI1MDQ0NTQ2*_ga_V3S1J2P1JB*MTcyNTA0NDU0NS4xLjEuMTcyNTA0NDU3Mi4wLjAuMA..)

    [LGBTQ+ Identities – Belong To – LGBTQ+ Youth Ireland](https://www.belongto.org/support-for-me/advice/lgbtq-identities/)

    [https://www.belongto.org/checkthefacts/](https://www.belongto.org/checkthefacts/)

  4. There is a extremely blatant and obvious bias from whoever authored the piece. No doubt about it and it’s not really called for.

  5. I see SPHE is still a joke class all these years later.

    About two weeks into SPHE in the mid 00s the teacher gave up and turned it into an extra English class, and we were delighted. Our English teacher was great and even he realised it’s a load of nonsense.

    Not the concept of SPHE itself but the way it’s taught. Who writes this shit?

  7. I think it’s safe to say it’s ridiculously stereotypical to both sides.

    Why does everything have to be so black and white?

  9. I like how family A chopped down their tree in traditional Irish fashion

  10. I remember in 5th class of primary school, raising my hand and pointing out that our book had ‘pizza’ spelled ‘pitsa’. At 10 year of age, I was flabbergasted at the stupidity of adults who were tasked with designing something meant to educate children. From that point on, I assumed every schoolbook was written and proofed by morons.

  11. How much cringe can be packaged into two pages. What is this class exactly?

  12. Family A not having a single relative living abroad is weird when they’re supposed to be some kind of Irish stereotype. I would have thought most Irish families would at least have a cousin in Australia, Canada, USA or the UK.

  13. Can we all just have a cup of tea and get on with each other ☕️

  14. Family b is from D4 and Family a are from healy raeburn country😂

  15. Okay so traditional means hating everything, being sad and eating the same thing every day, being diverse is really interesting, fun, positive. Got it.

    How about it’s okay to enjoy the comforts of home and not everyone wants to try new things all the time.

    Some people like new experiences and some people prefer familiarity. There’s room for everyone, there’s no reason to stereotype people like that.

    I say that because to me, living with family B would be a nightmare because I like what I know. That doesn’t translate into me being a grumpy conservative.

  17. Were living through those times people will look back on as ludicrous, if anyone left that is

  19. This is actually racist.

    Family A ooks like an American who only watched Irish films from the 1950s was asked to describe what a typical Irish family is like. All they are missing is a leprechaun.

  20. It looks like they just mugged ‘Where’s Wally’
    🤣

  21. Which SPHE book is this?

    What are the questions?

    As a SPHE teacher I would guess the point of these “case studies” is to prompt discussion- Not to say one is right and one is wrong.

    When you’re teaching 12yr olds you do have to spell it out for them at times!

    Also I can tell you there are more than a few Family As where I’m from 😂

  22. Flor gets his wonky eyes fixed at great expense and then heads off to a war zone.

    And of course they play rugby. Have to look down their noses at the poors.

    And the sister skis so much she can get a job as an instructor.

    This is actually hilarious.

  23. The person who wrote this has parent issues and was most likely bullied.

  24. Thank god I don’t do SPHE anymore as this is such a joke of a question

  28. Grew up in rural Ireland. Yes its stereotypical but Family A rings the bell alright. Had a bit of a chuckle at the memory of my Dad and I walking down Queensway in London and he looking in the windows of the Chinese restuarants and remarking: “You couldnt pay me to eat that stuff!”.

  29. As someone who specialises in editing for bias in children’s books, this is horrendous and not okay at all. OP, could you send me the name of the publisher? Will see if anyone in my network knows them and can have a word…

  30. Whoever writes this is some gobshite. I get that you hate Irish culture but don’t bash people who enjoy it. What are the chances that whoever write this isn’t even Irish, or they must be a self loathing Irish person.

    Thanks a lot op now I’m pissed off. Yeah more culture is good, more Irish culture is great, why should we apologise for enjoying Irish things.

    That Irish comedian said it right ” I’m Irish I don’t have white guilt, when we wanted our potatoes picked, we picked them ourselves”

  31. Kinda comes off as racist? Replace the Irish family with one from another culture and it would really read bad.

  32. Genuine question. Was there ever an extended period of time where Irish people *weren’t* being systematically discriminated against? Or is this just something we’re always going to have to deal with. And why is it that the moment we finally escaped from foreign empires trying to destroy our way of life, after a long period of bloodshed, when we finally achieved an independent Ireland where we can live peacefully and without being persecuted and shamed for being Irish, we immediately pick up the mantle of our former oppressors and proceed to discriminate against ourselves for being Irish? Why do we self-hate so much?

    I’m sorry but whether it be in the name of a ‘glorious British empire’, or in the name of progressivism, or in the name of diversity, this is discrimination plain and simple. There was a large amount of thought and consideration that went into these pages, and these pages are being seen by children in schools. Replace family A with literally any other ethnic group, and people would lose their minds.

  35. Pure drivel.

    May seem harmless but this is textbook indoctrination.

    Only way this piece is acceptable is if the accompanying questions were designed to help students critically analyze things and realize that not everything is so black and white. Somehow I doubt this was the case though…

    Edit for the downvoters:

    Indoctrination by definition is “the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.”

    So as I said, if they aren’t supposed to be picking holes in the clear bias here then it is indoctrination by definition

  36. Neither of these are realistic to real life. It’s a terrible representation of traditionalist vs progressive people.

  37. We really don’t need to import this kind of bollocks. The reality of life for well adjusted people is in the middle of this type of crap.

  39. Is there a family C where the cool diverse family drag their daughter to Sudan for FGM, or are we only allowed to make negative stereotypes about Irish people?

  40. You aren’t supposed to agree with what’s presented you’re supposed to critically engage with it and analysis it.

    A bunch of redditors getting offended by something so inoffensive on the nicest Friday evening all summer.

  43. This is just absurd. Who on earth thinks is a good idea to shit on one group of people in order to teach some sort of tolerance?

    Bizarre

  44. This is preposterous nonsense. Why can’t we get another maths class every week instead of this state-endorsed cultural-eradication bullshit. SPHE is a joke. Thank god we skipped over half the curriculum as it wasn’t part of our Catholic ethos.

  45. I understand the point but this is still a very strange thing to put in a book. Like the point could have been made better and less … ‘weird’?

  46. What the fuck is this? Seriously. I even did a DEI course in work today and this is appalling.

  47. Are we supposed to hate Irish culture in order to not be racist now? What?

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