"Forced" that's a bit harsh Bren....em encouraged???

Nobody ever says that Irish kids are 'forced' to learn English or Maths at school! The only people I ever hear using the word 'forced' in relation to Irish are people who think it is a waste of time - and clearly Brendan is very, very far from that view point.

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Don't they? Quite a few mathematicians would agree that the current school mentality destroys young people's enthusiasm for maths. Current English teaching methods also tend to leave students rather inadequately skilled at English.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

I absolutely agree with you about Maths and English; the only point I was making is that some people here will sometimes complain that children are 'forced' to learn Irish, but nobody seems to question the wisdom of making everyone learn English and Maths at school. I am not suggesting for a second that Irish children shouldn't learn them; I just happen to believe as strongly that Irish children should learn Irish also.

I just think that the word 'force' regarding the learning of Irish implies a negativity about the language that I know you do not have - otherwise you would not do what you do for the language on ILF.

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