Innovation in Action at Glanbia
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Volume 32 Number 1 October 2008 Newsletter of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors unch La of R P E POLICY PA THE Are FREEDOM Students Innovation to say in NO getting ACTION SMARTER? trinity college dublin Open Day Wednesday 10 December 2008 6th year students, parents, teachers and guidance counsellors are invited to attend. Activities include mini-lectures, demonstrations, tours of laboratories, information stands for all courses, as well as informal discussions with students and staff. The full programme of events will be available on www.tcd.ie/Admissions/undergraduate in late November. The above image shows Front Square in Trinity College. It is taken from a 3-D interactive model of Trinity College and Dublin city centre which was produced by undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Department of Computer Science. www.tcd.ie/Admissions/undergraduate http://itunes.tcd.ie www.tcdlife.ie/trinitylife Institute of Guidance Counsellors October 2008 Guideline is published three times a year (October, Contributions of articles or advertisements February and May) by the Institute of Guidance to: Counsellors. Contributions and advertisements are Fred Tuite, Guidance Counsellor, inthisissue welcome. The Editors reserve the right to amend or Heywood Community School, abridge any contribution accepted for publication. Ballinakill, Co. Laois. Guideline at the Helpline .....................................................4 Items for inclusion should preferably be sent in PC Tel: (057) 8733333 Fax: (057) 8733314 Breaking Free Again ...............................................................5 format on disk, CD or email to the address below. Email: [email protected] Psychotherapy and the Spiritual Dimension ..................6 Typeset articles or advertisements are best sent in Are Students Getting Smarter .............................................8 The deadline for the next issue of Guideline Adobe Acrobat format. Innovation in Action at Glanbia....................................... 10 Magazine is 14th January 2009. Articles (which The opinions expressed in the articles are those of may be edited) and advertisements should be with Career Interview ................................................................... 12 the contributors and not necessarily those of the the editor before that date. Helicopter Parents ............................................................... 13 Editors or the Officers of the Institute of Guidance Cyber Bullying ....................................................................... 13 Counsellors. Our advertising rates are as follows: Kilkenny Gets Ready ........................................................... 14 Acceptance of advertisements does not constitute Size ........................................................ Colour Maths Teaching..................................................................... 14 e an endorsement of the products or services by the Full page ................................................................ 600 e Thanks ..................................................................................... 14 Institute. Half Page ............................................................... 400 Quarter Page ........................................................e300 Launching the IGC Policy Document ............................. 15 Every effort has been made by the editors to Inclusion of a flyer with the mailing: Policy Paper Launched ....................................................... 16 ensure that the information is accurate, however Single page ...........................................................e600 The Myth of the Mozart Effect ......................................... 18 no responsibility can be accepted by the Editors or e DL size (when folded) ...................................... 700 RCC - Understanding Sexual Violence .......................... 19 the Institute for omissions or errors that may have between 20 and 40 grams Sex Education ....................................................................... 20 occurred. Larger than DL and/ ...........................................e800 or heavier than 40 grams Golf News............................................................................... 22 Editorial Board Heavier items may cost more. No VAT on The Freedom to Say No ..................................................... 23 Fred Tuite, Michael C. Roberts, Gerry Flynn and advertisements. Agency fees are not included. A Trip to the Capitol ............................................................ 26 Ailish Greed. The Rehetoric of a Knowledge Society ......................... 27 Institute of Guidance Counsellors, Cover photo: At the launch of the Policy Paper on Tim Gleeson .......................................................................... 28 Head Office, 17 Herbert St., Dublin 2 a whole school guidance and cuunselling service Mia Delaney Johnson ......................................................... 29 Tel: (01) 676 1975 were IGC President Eilis Coakley, authors Breeda Fax: (01) 661 2551 Coyle and Arthur Dunne and Sr Una Collins, who Pink Feather Pen .................................................................. 30 Email: [email protected] launched the document. See pages 15 to 17. Men are from Mars ............................................................. 30 IGC/HEI/CAO Conferences 2008 Date Start Time Locat.5ion Refreshments 4th Nov 10.00am Waterford Tower Hotel: HEI presentations begin at 10:30am. Refreshments will be provided at 10am, 11.30am and at 1pm. 5th Nov 10.00am Limerick Radisson Hotel: HEI presentations begin at 10:30am. Refreshments will be provided at 10am, 11.30am and at 1pm. 6th Nov 09.30am Maynooth Glenroyal Hotel: HEI presentations begin at 10:00am. Refreshments will be provided at 9.30am, 11.15am and at 1pm. 11th Nov 10.00am Cavan Kilmore Hotel: HEI presentations begin at 10:30am. Refreshments will be provided at 10am, 11.30am and at 1pm. 12th Nov 10.00am Donegal Mill Park Hotel: HEI presentations begin at 10:30am. Refreshments will be provided at 10am, 11.30am and at 1pm. 13th Nov 10.00am Westport Westport Woods Hotel: HEI presentations begin at 10:30am. Refreshments will be provided at 10am, 11.30am and at 1pm. These conferences are private and are not open to the public. Admission is reserved to Principals and Guidance Counsellors. Full details are in the September mailing from CAO. We look forward to seeing you all in November. 3 Institute of Guidance Counsellors October 2008 Guideline at the Helpline Breaking free The helpline showed one glaring facet of the CAO application system: it assumes applicants are thinking rationally This year was the first time for me working on one of Parents too were at the fore at the silly CAO choices the Helplines. Previously I had been available at my their children made. One parent told how she was school around the time that the results and offers tempted to rearrange her son’s choices after he had came out but I was persuaded to travel to Dublin to gone to bed and even had a huge row with her help to man one of the helplines and I was curious husband over it. Now that the reality of his choices to know if what I had see in my own area was was sinking in he was left in hope of missing higher reflected in the national picture. choices he had put down to try and get the lower choice he really wanted. Another caller told how her I’m not sure what I expected to hear in the course daughter only put down the courses leading to one of my stints there, but confusion was one of the career area and no alternative courses should she key features. One thing that seemed to throw a not make any of those, which now looked likely. lot of people was the points system. Never mind the fact that it was printed in the paper they got the number of the helpline in, they still needed The helpline showed one glaring facet of the another human being to interpret or calculate it CAO application system: it assumes applicants are for them. There was a lot of confusion over the fact thinking rationally. Alas that is often far from the that the Department of Education prints a “helpful” case. Whether through immaturity, ignorance or conversion of percentages to grades at the bottom stubbornness many candidates make a total mess Fred Tuite of the results sheet. Now while the percentages of their applications. They put down courses in the mirror the points most of the times they do differ wrong order for what they really want, they adopt a Editor (especially for Ordinary level) and quite a number “this course or nothing” approach, or they scatter were confused by this. Perhaps the Department random courses (often based on their presumed could start including the points system onto its results) never thinking of what would happen if Leaving Cert printouts instead. they got offered one of them or whether they really wanted to do them at all. Perhaps it is due to the One other factor that I found was in the words of the fact that schools take away most of their decision old political cliché “the air was full of chickens coming making, or that they can’t or wont face the reality home to roost”. So many parents (and it was mainly of leaving school, friends and home for college or parents who rang in) were saying things like “It was get so caught up in the hype of college applications a difficult year”, “There were a lot of problems”, that they can’t think straight, and refuse to change “There were a number of issues” all explaining the even when their parents or Guidance