Episode 7

Good GRACE!, Poland Bans Home, Warming to the Smartphone Ban

This week we talk about the divestment of the first Catholic school to Educate Together, followed by the findings of the Grace report, indicating a discrepancy between the religious beliefs of teachers and their roles in Catholic schools. While one commentator blames the teachers, another blames the whole Catholic community.

Next, I discuss the Polish government’s ban on homework for primary students, questioning the relevance and format of homework in Ireland’s education system. I haven’t changed my stance since I recorded my podcast on the topic several years ago!

https://anseo.captivate.fm/episode/episode-39-scrap-homework

Lastly, I confess to warming to Minister Norma Foley’s stance against smartphones in schools, advocating for a broader approach that includes legislation to protect children from harmful content. While I don’t believe it’s the school’s role to lead on it, I’m very nervous of what the future generation is going to look like if we all don’t do something.

  • 01:06 The Good Grace Report: A Deep Dive into Religious Control and Education
  • 05:37 The Shocking Reality: Teachers' Beliefs vs. Catholic School Ethos
  • 18:27 Rethinking Homework: Lessons from Poland's Bold Move
  • 24:44 Smartphone Ban Debate: A Necessary Measure for Child Safety?
  • 30:20 Wrapping Up: Reflecting on Education, Religion, and Technology
Transcript
Speaker:

MacBook Pro Microphone & FaceTime HD Camera-6:

Hello?

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Hello.

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You're very welcome to if I were the

minister for education, a regular

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podcast, where I go into the world

of primary education in Ireland.

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And let's, what I would do

if I were the minister for

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education, this is Simon Lewis.

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On today's show good grace, the

future of primary education in

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Ireland, Poland band's homework.

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So should we, and why I'm warming

to Norma Foley's smartphone ban.

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If you are interested in subscribing to

the podcast, you can go to any of your

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podcasting apps and subscribe to if I

were the minister for education, you can

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also find out more from on shot dot Nash.

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Where you can tune in to add the

puncture podcast notes and you can

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subscribe to at the new stature that

I sent out every two weeks with more

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views and news, and also some ICT tips.

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I also share, and I also share some

extra bits and pieces on my Feedly

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kind of Irish education news, which

you can search for as well on Feedly.

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Where I scour the internet for stories

about the education system in Ireland.

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So let's get on with it today on go to

our first story, which is the, which

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is called good grace and give you a

little bit of a background before we

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get on with things which started off.

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The last, a few weeks in primary

school education have been quite

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interesting if you're interested in

patronage and religious control of

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schools, because for the very first

time, After 13 years after it's it's

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launched the patronage imperialism.

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System.

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Or project.

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Garnered its first educate together school

to be divested from a Catholic school.

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This would seem amazing to most people

who think, there's a huge number of people

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in Ireland that believe that there's

loads of educated kids cause, and they're

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growing and the Catholic church are

handing over schools to educate together.

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I bet, but actually the very,

very first open Catholic school.

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So not a disused Catholic school was

handed over by the Catholic church to

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educate together for the very first

time in:

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After the patrons and pluralism forum.

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It was launched.

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Many of you would say, ah, yeah,

but Lots of schools have opened.

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The real truth is.

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Fewer than 20 schools have transferred

over from the Catholic church to

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multi-denominational providers.

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Most of the 20 schools that

have Transferred over were

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schools that were closing.

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They might've had six

students or eight students.

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At most.

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Most commonly so some of you might be

living in county, Kerry by temperature.

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We've had four schools.

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A hundred owed from the Catholic

church in the last five or six years.

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Yes.

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And all four of those indeed

were handed over by the Bishop

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to the community national school.

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But all of those NGOs are

very small schools that we're

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probably going to close.

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And don't exactly.

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Aren't exactly what you would

call the, the intentions that

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divestment was, which was two.

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Ah, divest.

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I suppose mainly in urban

areas at big schools or as.

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As in, from Catholic patronage over to

educate together or to this community

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national school and the community kind

of national school pretty much has had

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the monopoly on being paid back divested

to, there was one girl Scott as well.

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Got divest to and Tala, but really this

is a functioning Catholic school that

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has moved over to educate together.

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And I say this as the backdrop.

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Really in a way, because, um, there's

a lot of perceptions out there about

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multi-denominational education in Ireland.

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Insofar as that people think there's a

lot more of it than there actually is.

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And I think they may think that I suppose

maybe because these small bodies have

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loud voices, there's been a lot of public.

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I suppose a lot of public pressure.

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To, lessen the amount of influence the

Catholic church and other religious

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bodies have on the patronage system.

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96% of primary schools still are under

a religious control nine about 89.7%.

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Now.

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To the Catholic church and.

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I guess there's a, there's been a lot of,

it has been a huge appetite as Ireland.

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As Ireland, as a society

becomes less religious.

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The last census, 2022, only

69% of the entire country

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even identifies as Catholic.

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And we asked we have 90% of the schools.

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And if you even go bed down at the

figures a little bit more, if you're

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aged, I think it was at age 25 to 29

in the last census, which is basically.

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The age people, these people

will be becoming parents.

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Now only 53% of them identify as Catholic.

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So we're coming into this

kind of weird misnomer.

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Have a system where, you know,

a lot of half of the people.

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In the schools no longer identify as the

religion of those schools were not the

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country that my mother and on many liker.

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I remember my mom saying

to me when I was young.

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That Arden's is a country of

95% Catholics, 5% Protestants.

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And the rest of us are Jewish Ash.

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That was hurtful.

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One of her wonderful little jokes.

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And I wish that she, it

was it's changed now.

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The, this country has changed immensely.

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We have the fastest growing belief system.

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If we can call it that is

atheism or no religion.

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And Our schools are very happy

very slow to adapt to that.

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And I guess, this is this has

been made even, more pointed.

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By study.

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That just came out last week,

called the grace report.

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Now the grace report has always be, is a.

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Is from Mary immaculate college, a very F.

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I know it's a very Catholic

university in Limerick.

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It's the teacher training college at

Catholic teacher training college on

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every so often they come out with reports.

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Which are very good.

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And this one is no different.

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They basically surveyed over four

thousands of massive study, 4,000

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teachers in Catholic schools.

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And I remember when this came out,

I was puzzled by why they were only

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serving coffee survey and Catholic.

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Teachers, but I'm very glad they did

because the results of that study.

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The results of that study

were really interesting.

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And there was, there were.

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And I guess you can S if you're watching

on my screen here, if you're tuned

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in, on YouTube you'll see that, but

if you're not the Irish time gives

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the headline from that great support.

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Basically younger teachers in Catholic

schools are less likely to believe

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in God or attend religious services.

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This study has, caused shockwaves,

despite it not being shocking news.

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I think if you worked in an Irish

primary school these days, the number

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of people who would, work in Catholic

schools and say, oh yes, I'm a

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practicing Catholic and their interview

and all the polls, ethos and so on.

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But in reality, in the staffroom.

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Most of the T you know

many of the teachers.

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Absolutely reject a lot

of Catholic teaching.

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There's very few.

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Irish teachers who.

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Don't live in sin in inverted

commas, or would have a problem

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with someone cohabitation.

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There is a very few Irish, like

most Irish people in society.

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That would frowned upon someone who

was divorced or going through divorce.

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There's very few.

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Irish primary school teachers, I

would imagine who would be not using

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contraception and things like that.

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And of course,

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Plenty of Irish primary school teachers.

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Who are gay and you've got plenty of our

school teachers who would believe in.

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Abortion rights for women.

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And essentially, I suppose

it came as no surprise.

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What so ever.

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To me anyway, at least

that That most that on.

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At least half of primary

school teachers in Ireland.

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Do not practice the Catholic faith

and they are teaching children.

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They're teaching children the

Catholic faith, not as a subject,

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but they're passing on that

faith to children, their job.

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And I think people forget this.

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A lot of people.

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And I think maybe it is it's.

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This is all part of it too.

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I think people forget that if you are

a teacher in a Catholic school, your

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main thing, the main thing that you

were supposed to do that's to permeate

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throughout the school day is that you

are supposed to pass on the word of

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God, to those children in your care.

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And I think a lot of Irish primary school

teachers even reject that and say, oh

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no, we don't do any of that anymore.

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But the thing is, that's

what you're supposed to do.

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And in some ways it very much ties in.

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I know, I think I've had plenty.

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Of arguments over the years.

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With teachers who say, put

out the reality on the ground.

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Sometimes we don't do any of that.

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Try, barely teach religion,

or I barely do this.

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And sheriff.

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Couldn't a sec that never happens

in the staffroom and so on.

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And their problem.

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And I suppose there, and I guess what this

leaves us in a situation is you've got.

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Expectations from your patron bodies,

that you will be upholding the

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ethos, which is passing on the word

of God, to the children, praying

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with the children, believing PA

I know this guy, I was sent this.

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A really good video from a friend of

mine by a guy called Robert Nugent.

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Who's a lovely guy or

very nice, funny enough.

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It's a weird I, it was

sent to me by someone.

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And this guy, Robert Nugent, I actually I.

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I've met him a couple of times.

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I was really good friends with

his sister in college, and I

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was actually at the wedding at.

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I at my friend's wedding where I've

left to where I met him last, but

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he's somebody who's really strongly

Catholic and really deep in his faith.

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And he's really, he.

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This study.

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Has really made genuine Catholics

very cross because they believe.

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You know that if you were to be

a Catholic school, you should

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be a genuinely Catholic school.

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I'm not just some sort of a, I

know this term is as, is banded

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about a bouncy castle Catholic,

because it's very disrespectful.

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To genuine Catholics the way I suppose.

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Their religion is being treated, in

some ways, it's abuse, a Bible story.

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It reminds me, I remember when I was young

though, I went to a Jewish school and we

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would have been learning about the Bible.

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There was a story, and I

remember fairly clearly.

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It was the golden calf in the Bible.

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So I can't, I like my memory's

a bit hazy, but I think Moses.

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Is it Moses probably Moses went up to

Mount Sinai to meet God as one does.

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And when he came down he saw that

the Israelites were worshiping this,

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they built a golden calf and they

were worshiping this golden calf.

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And I suppose the analogy of that

story is that they had taken this,

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relay their religion, and they

had essentially made a false idol.

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And I think in some ways this is

what's happened with Catholicism

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in schools such no one is taking

it very seriously anymore.

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And the golden calf essentially

are the sacraments that people are

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essentially sending their kids to.

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Catholic schools, they're outsourcing

their religion and to schools.

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So they're asking schools to

essentially do do the religious

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parts of a couple of big parties.

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They like the idea of the communion.

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They liked the idea of the

confirmation, but they don't really

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like the idea of the religion.

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And it's a very odd thing there.

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Almost made a culture of it.

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And in fairness the Catholic church have

turned a blind eye to this for many years.

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And.

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Rightly, I think a genuine

Catholics are very angry.

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At their church leaders for allowing

their faith to be essentially desecrated

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by people who don't care about us.

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And they're left in this

sort of situation where they

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effectively have a school system.

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That isn't really Catholic,

but it's Catholic only a name.

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You have essentially a lot of their

missionaries, their teachers, which

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that's, they're supposed to be

missionaries for the Catholic church.

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They're missionaries.

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Our essentially unbelievers.

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Teaching.

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I suppose a lot of people who are

unbelievers because again, very less than

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30% of the population even go to mass.

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So you've got unbelievers.

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Teaching unbelievers.

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To believe.

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In some way.

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It just doesn't make sense.

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And that's my, as this guy,

Robert knew Robert Mnuchin

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said faith is not subject to.

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I mean in the last few, the last number

of weeks, I've heard people saying,

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these people should just get on with it.

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If you're teaching in a Catholic

school, you get on with it.

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You teach the religion, even if you

don't believe in it, or you should

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be able to teach the religion,

even if you don't believe in it.

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And I thought that line faith

is not a subject was really

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a really clever sentence.

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I.

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I really liked it.

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And it sums things up to me.

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And I think the Catholic church

have a lot of thinking to do.

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I've spoke spoken to a few friends of mine

and a few people online about this who are

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genuine Catholics, who I call genuine Cox.

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They believe in their

faith really strongly.

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And and I really, I enjoy these

conversations because they really

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th these are intelligent people.

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If you really think about their faith

at large and live their faith every

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day, And they're, they're angry.

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They're really the one

thing they have in common.

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Most of them anyway is a really

angry at their own church in a way

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at themselves, in some ways that

they've allowed this to happen.

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But the main thing they all agree on is

we have way too many Catholic schools.

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We've lost our way.

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We need a space for genuine Catholics

to be genuine Catholics and to

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be unapologetically Catholic.

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So a lot of the rhetoric right now from.

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These people here is, I don't know

this guy, but he wrote her a letter

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in the this is a guy Alexander

O'Hara and the times he was really

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angry about the about these results.

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And he actually was blaming

teachers for not passing on

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the faith and none done that.

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That does parents will be rightly

disgusted, but parents aren't rightly

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disgusted thing is they're sending

their children to Catholic schools.

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Not because they believe in

the Catholic faith that much.

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And in fact, we the Genesis support for

is, again, an in-house Catholic survey.

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Only 9% of parents actually send

their children to Catholic primary

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schools because they're Catholic.

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And, the, all the other reasons were more

and more important at the NATA only 9%

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because they were genuinely Catholics.

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So we have a kind of a situation

which is a gas on surprising.

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To, to most people.

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And this it's so unsurprising.

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He was actually looking at a study

from:

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the Irish primary principal's network.

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I won the IPN.

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We're doing really interesting things,

one of the things was they were talking

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about right at the road of religion

and education, even back then, this

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is just after the publication of the

forum of current ism and patronage.

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And what I found really interesting

from their study on this was at dosh.

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Most people they stood, they surveyed,

again, thousands of people most believed

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there needed to be less influence.

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Our religion and education,

there should be schools should be

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multi-denominational was the was a result.

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However, most people believe sacraments.

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Most parents, this is a study of parents.

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And so on, those parents wanted that.

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Should there should be

multi-denominational schools.

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They said they also wanted to

sacraments to happen in school.

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So it was a bit of a paradox.

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Shall we say, and this and in some ways,

That, that, that gives me the message.

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The parents don't actually,

they, I actually the sacraments

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and they want to put, they don't

want to put in any of the work.

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To raise her children

and for those documents.

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And they have as I said, made a

golden calf of the situation and

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we'll see this, as we move into into

the month of may, which is, even.

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I'm saying this now that it's already

in Ireland is known as communion season.

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And what you'll see there

is parents are stressing.

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Not over religious things, but

over being able to get a bouncy

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castle, getting their house ready,

losing weight for the big day.

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And things like that it's.

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They've turned, religious very serious

sacraments where you're promising

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a priest that you are continuing

your journey through Catholicism.

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They have turned this

into, a secular wedding.

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In a way that I don't

mean Sackler in a bad way.

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There is nothing Catholic about the

communion and confirmation anymore.

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I see that as a very sad thing.

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For genuine Catholics as someone

with no skin in the game.

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I've, I have I just feel very

I can understand why they're,

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why they would be disillusioned.

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And I wrote an unpublished

letter to the Irish times saying

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that, this isn't surprising.

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And I think essentially the Irish

education system, the Catholic

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education system is really has

been built on a foundation of

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bouncy castles and helium balloons.

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Really in the last 20 years,

really just full of hot air.

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And no substance.

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And of course I said, then that genuine

Catholics must be very deflated.

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See, I'm good at these ponds.

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I'm a real dad joke here.

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But I think really, . It's

something to reflect on.

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I think the future of Irish

education, this is really, sent

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shockwaves though it shouldn't have

it's there in black and white now

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that teachers under the age of 50.

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Um, only 41% of them.

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Even do.

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Religion.

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Once a week in their classroom,

that's shocking and wrong.

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And if you're going to teach in

a Catholic school, I just feel

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you should, if you should do it.

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But if you don't believe in

it, how can you, faith is not

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a subject and Under just 51%.

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I'd say sorry, 49%.

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Say they're not committed

to practicing Catholics.

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Half teachers do not

believe in a personal God.

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It's pretty bad.

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I think it was an 18 or 19%.

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Essentially say that they don't

go to church, except for being

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a big days or whatever it is.

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So it's.

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It's pretty bleak.

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If you are leading Catholic churches

and that half of your missionaries,

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don't believe in the message something's

going to have to happen and it's

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going to have to happen quickly.

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This may be good news.

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We're weirding of, for the government.

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Who are hopelessly and doing nothing about

the whole thing because it's because they.

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When something is hard, do nothing

was, I think Richard Nixon's mode

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apparatus, and I think the government's.

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We're certainly doing that or not.

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Read Richard Nixon.

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It was running Ronald

Reagan in the states.

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And this might push forward

their plan to divest 400 schools.

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I think the whole divestments

The program is it's just useless.

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It doesn't work.

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We need a better system.

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I'm putting myself out

there to anyone listening.

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If they are that I have the solution.

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And I'd love to do it.

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I think we need we, it starts with a

big thinking with the stakeholders.

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I would love to run that because I

genuinely think we can get the answer

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together if we all work together.

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And we really dig deep

about our commonalities.

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And I think we can come up with an

education system that works for everybody.

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Anyway.

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Speaking of governments at the Polish

government got in the Irish news because

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they got rid of homework at primary school

level I'm much like Ireland does as dead

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again, don't nothing really interestingly,

the Polish governments at do have a say

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in what happens in their education system.

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Unlike Ireland.

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Where we have a department of education

who doesn't, who has very little

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say in what goes on in classrooms,

they have, they provide education.

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They provide for education.

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They don't provide education,

the department of education,

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or they provide for it.

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So they give money to private bodies.

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Such as the Catholic church.

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To provide education and they don't

really have a say on homework and

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they never ever give a comment

on us, but essentially the, this.

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The district is a very

long article by Liam Nolan.

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About Poland, the Polish government.

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Getting rid of homework.

384

:

It led to it didn't actually

lead to much discussion.

385

:

I really thought I'd be on every

radio station talking about this.

386

:

But I think in some ways, The

topic of homework has been

387

:

done to death in Ireland.

388

:

And in some ways there's a

sort of a general agreement

389

:

amongst most people that.

390

:

You either wanted.

391

:

Very much or you don't

want such very much.

392

:

So it's very polarized.

393

:

So if the likes of the

journalist Jan Hogan campaigning.

394

:

From a parent point of view saying she

hates homework and she wants a band.

395

:

Because she's very busy.

396

:

And then you've got other parents

who are saying, no, we need homework.

397

:

Cause we don't know what's

going on in schools.

398

:

And they could be doing anything in there.

399

:

Kind of stuff.

400

:

And we want to know what's going on all

flavors in between radio, I've been going

401

:

on a journey with homework for many years.

402

:

I did a podcast about it, maybe I

think five years ago where I concluded.

403

:

Still where I am at the moment.

404

:

That I don't see the points of traditional

homework in Irish primary schools.

405

:

We need to re-imagine homework for

the 21st century and whether we should

406

:

have number one, whether we should

have it at all, or if we are to have

407

:

homework, what does it look like?

408

:

And I've always, I suppose I

came to the conclusion very

409

:

much from a good study there.

410

:

A number of years ago about homework.

411

:

If we were to have homework, you

should have, it should involve choice.

412

:

It should be personalized.

413

:

And when I say choice, by the way

the choice to do it or not do it.

414

:

Choice around the topic of what it

is and make sure it's of interest.

415

:

If it's a, it can't be just,

it needs to be thoughtful.

416

:

It needs to be meaningful.

417

:

And so on.

418

:

So there's a lot of

questions around homework.

419

:

That needs to be answered and

we still haven't really had

420

:

a proper discussion about it.

421

:

And again, similarly to

religion in schools, I think.

422

:

When it comes to homework in our

schools, We need to re-examine.

423

:

Properly what it looks like.

424

:

We need to talk about it.

425

:

We need to look at the studies that

are there, bring people together

426

:

and, decide what does homework look

like in Ireland in the 21st century?

427

:

Should it be project-based if we

have it, should we have it at all?

428

:

There's all these, I suppose

there's all these big questions.

429

:

In potent, if people are interested and

the news of it's essentially being decreed

430

:

by the Polish government has been mass.

431

:

On surprisingly.

432

:

With people being very happy and

people have been very sad about it.

433

:

David interviewed parents,

they interviewed children.

434

:

They interviewed teachers.

435

:

From both sides of the equation.

436

:

And predictably.

437

:

As I said, both of both sides.

438

:

Our representatives but.

439

:

I would think.

440

:

Not very much deep thinking about it,

it's the same sort of arguments you'll

441

:

that you'll hear in RNN from most people.

442

:

I it's good to practice what you do

in school or it's a waste of time.

443

:

We should be, children's would

be out playing, they're not very

444

:

deep thoughts about homework.

445

:

We have to, we have to really think

more deeply about what the benefit is.

446

:

And Of one homework.

447

:

What does homework mean anymore?

448

:

And, has the word become so poisonous

that we need to change it to something

449

:

else that accurately reflects what it is?

450

:

Children essentially assessing themselves.

451

:

Is there something I need to

practice that I didn't get in school?

452

:

So the teacher might say, let's

just pick a very simple example.

453

:

Because I want to go more through

the thought process rather than

454

:

the actual content of the homework.

455

:

So your times tables being.

456

:

Let's pick something controversial.

457

:

Okay.

458

:

A teacher let's say, and I'm not

saying this is good or anything

459

:

like that, but let's say the teacher

is teaching the five times tables.

460

:

And you're a child in our

class who goes, yeah, got it.

461

:

And, There's no point in

you being given a sheet of.

462

:

A hundred, five times tables on

a sheet of paper that you have to

463

:

fill out because you're not learning

anything new because you've got it.

464

:

Equally, there's no point in

you going home and practicing

465

:

them because you've got it.

466

:

However, if you are a child who's

just struggling a little bit, you've,

467

:

you just, you've got some of them.

468

:

You've got the easy ones that say

the easy ones in inverted commas, but

469

:

there's a few that you don't know.

470

:

Dan, is it a good idea for

you to practice them at home?

471

:

And I would suggest it probably is because

it is something you will need to know.

472

:

In life you will, it is handy to know.

473

:

Your multiplication facts.

474

:

And if you haven't got them, it

would make sense to me that you

475

:

might practice them at home.

476

:

And you can do that in lots

and lots of different ways.

477

:

And I'm just saying.

478

:

These things aren't black and

white, E individual kids needs to.

479

:

I need to assess where they're

at in a particular thing.

480

:

And then do it.

481

:

Let's pick a different example.

482

:

Let's say a project on the Vikings

because everyone does projects on Vikings.

483

:

How are you going to present that project?

484

:

Okay.

485

:

So might say, you know what, I

don't fancy doing that project

486

:

and that should be fine.

487

:

Some of them might be going to, I've

always wondered what food Vikings eat.

488

:

Go off and find out.

489

:

Another kid might going.

490

:

Joel.

491

:

I really to, I'd love to build a

long boat or I'd like to make a

492

:

shield or I'd like to make a helmet.

493

:

That's the kind of stuff I

think we should be looking at.

494

:

When we're talking about

homework, we need to give choice.

495

:

We need to make it meaningful.

496

:

And we need to make sure that, people

are working with their own novel.

497

:

What will make this useful?

498

:

I would love.

499

:

For example, the one who's making is

how much might be showing off, His

500

:

is his or her skills in in design.

501

:

And do you know or what

made the helmet you.

502

:

It wasn't a good design for a

helmet, I was not the helmet at all.

503

:

We, I think we all could picture a

Viking helmet in our heads there,

504

:

but while it's that, what it actually

looked like, there is a question

505

:

that you might do for your homework.

506

:

I don't know.

507

:

I might do it for my homework.

508

:

I'm curious, now that I'm saying it.

509

:

There's lots and lots

of talk about homework.

510

:

I think it's an interesting topic.

511

:

I think we need to think more deeply

about these things and maybe I'm

512

:

coming up with a theme here because

I've been thinking a little bit more

513

:

deeply about smartphones and their use.

514

:

For young people now.

515

:

I haven't changed my mind in that.

516

:

I think it's ridiculous for

a child to own a smartphone.

517

:

It's it's dangerous.

518

:

I've.

519

:

I've I've I've compared it to

giving a child a gun, essentially

520

:

your I, wounds, you give a child

as smartphone for themselves.

521

:

You are essentially taking away

their innocence and you are

522

:

giving them access to things.

523

:

They should not be a, they should not

have, I haven't changed my mind on that.

524

:

What I was most annoyed about.

525

:

Was at the minister for education Norma

Foley essentially asking schools to

526

:

manage this, um, this whole situation.

527

:

And if you remember from, it's always in.

528

:

I guess there I've been doing this.

529

:

My newsletter for, I think

I'm on the 10th newsletter.

530

:

And I'd say eight out of 10 of

them have mentioned Norma Foley's.

531

:

Who's the minister for education.

532

:

Crusade against smartphone

use and open till now.

533

:

It's really she's been weak.

534

:

I feel.

535

:

Basically, these social contracts.

536

:

With parents signing these, social

contracts with their schools on

537

:

getting schools to bond smartphones.

538

:

It's because there's not a

single school in the country.

539

:

I don't think that had I was allowing the

use of smartphones during the school day.

540

:

I know I was disappointed by that.

541

:

And I was critical of her and, for

really doing nothing particularly useful.

542

:

My, my argument really was that.

543

:

There's no point in getting

schools to do these things.

544

:

You need to be stronger.

545

:

And you need to be talking to parents.

546

:

You need to be talking to the people

who make the smartphones or sound smart.

547

:

You need to be talking to the social media

companies where a lot of this dangerous

548

:

stuff is happening, where, for example,

on Tik TOK or Snapchat or any of the

549

:

other ones, it's not just designing to

those, but Tik TOK and Snapchat are the

550

:

two of the more popular apps for children.

551

:

That if the algorithm there is

essentially, if you're a, if

552

:

you're an unknown, I just want

to go back to an article there.

553

:

Sorry.

554

:

It's this one.

555

:

Particularly teenage

boys are being bombarded.

556

:

So if they, if Tik TOK knows

or YouTube knows that you are a

557

:

teenage boy, You within minutes are

getting misogynistic and violent.

558

:

Content on your phone, you're

getting as to which is just not okay.

559

:

And that influences young males

to believe those messages, these

560

:

violent messages are from our

messages, toxic sort of anti-feminist

561

:

messages and real extreme messages,

pornography, all this sorts of stuff.

562

:

And that doesn't happen by accident.

563

:

And there's a guy and I haven't

got it here on my screen, but

564

:

there's a guy who's involved and

I don't know his organization.

565

:

I actually used to play

tennis with them as a kid.

566

:

His name is Johnny Ryan.

567

:

And he, I think he wrote a

book years and years ago.

568

:

And I was like, oh, I play tennis

with that guy, but he's become very

569

:

big in the idea of I think internet

security and things like that.

570

:

Well-respected personality

in terms of technology.

571

:

He believes, he says, I think there

was a program and he said that these

572

:

algorithms could be switched off tomorrow.

573

:

Where you are fed.

574

:

This information, depending on your age

and your gender and all the rest of us

575

:

girls I suppose it goes into the article.

576

:

I don't know.

577

:

Girls are being bombarded with

self-harming videos and things like that.

578

:

It's really gross when you

think of it, like really.

579

:

I'm really worrying.

580

:

I suppose so, nobody knows that this, none

of this is surprising and none of this.

581

:

You know, his And it should

be surprising to anybody yet.

582

:

Parents are still buying their

children's smartphones and children

583

:

are allowing their kids to access.

584

:

Content.

585

:

Ah, that is amazing.

586

:

There's, I think the, in India, UK,

Something like 30% or 30 to 40% of

587

:

children aged five to seven, have

their own social media accounts

588

:

on things like Snapchat, Tik, TOK.

589

:

That's not it.

590

:

It's absolutely not.

591

:

And because there are, because they're

under 13, they have to pretend they're 13.

592

:

So they're getting this

misogynistic, they're getting this.

593

:

Aggressive.

594

:

They're getting the sexualized content to

their phones to five to seven year olds.

595

:

So going back to Norma Foley.

596

:

Going back to normal Foley,

I suppose what I'm doing.

597

:

I guess I'm saying I'm warming.

598

:

To her crusade is because she

is starting to move away from

599

:

asking schools to deal with it.

600

:

And she is putting it up to the companies.

601

:

What I would suggest is the next step.

602

:

For the minister on.

603

:

And her entree government partners

really is to start putting in

604

:

laws and start paving the way.

605

:

For laws that much a someone under

18 shouldn't be allowed to have

606

:

alcohol on their person or shouldn't

have a cigarette on their person.

607

:

They shouldn't have.

608

:

A smartphone on their person.

609

:

And if they are.

610

:

The responsibility lies with the

person who sold at dot item two.

611

:

The child or to the adult who has

bought it for the child, that's

612

:

where we need to move to it.

613

:

I just can't.

614

:

I.

615

:

I did a lot of things.

616

:

I don't understand.

617

:

And in my day, the big thing was

parents buying 18 videos for their

618

:

young children to watch in their highs.

619

:

This is worse.

620

:

This is absolutely where it's.

621

:

This is basically.

622

:

Buying you're buying your child to go and

activate, it's so dangerous and it's and

623

:

it's not have the parental controls even.

624

:

Oh, it is exacerbating.

625

:

So I am warming to the idea,

but y I'm warming to it.

626

:

Isn't.

627

:

I suppose there's an education on the

way I'm warming to it, because I suppose

628

:

the minister is moving away from getting

schools to deal with the problem, to

629

:

getting, to actually putting in the laws

and to actually do something about this.

630

:

So look, they are my three stories

for today at the good grace report

631

:

which I think has sent shock waves

to genuine Catholics and rightly and

632

:

hopefully this will spark some change.

633

:

I've got loads of other stories relating

to the role of religion in education.

634

:

Our.

635

:

On in the newsletter, which you can sign

up to by going to onshore.net/subscribe.

636

:

And I've also obviously a podcast

there on homework which is a good

637

:

number of years old at this stage.

638

:

But it's still relevant, I think.

639

:

And the smartphone bond really, I suppose

we're going to have to think of a little

640

:

I suppose I'm going to think more on

that and maybe publish a few articles on

641

:

why I'm warming to the idea of a band.

642

:

Look, if you've enjoyed at this

episode, please do subscribe on

643

:

your favorite podcasting app or that

Spotify or what is apple podcasts?

644

:

I think it's called or any of

the other podcasts and things.

645

:

I use a snipped.

646

:

Recently I've moved from Castbox

to snipped, which I quite like.

647

:

For listening to my own podcast to

listen to podcasts around the country.

648

:

All the show notes from this podcast

will be available on shot dot Nash.

649

:

Right now, if you're a, if you're

there on, on shot dot Nash.

650

:

Go ahead and get to it.

651

:

And as a society, if you are

listening or watching this on YouTube,

652

:

please add, give a review because

it helps other people to find it.

653

:

And please recommend it to

your friends and family.

654

:

And that's it for me.

655

:

Thanks so much for listening.

656

:

All the very best take care.

657

:

Bye-bye.

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Show artwork for Anseo.net - If I were the Minister for Education
Anseo.net - If I were the Minister for Education
An Irish Primary Education Podcast

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Simon Lewis