Gaelic teaching

[Ghostrider]

Our foreign trade seems to have centred around the Norwegians, Danes, Russians and to a lesser degree the Poles now for quite some time, so for the current and future good of Shetland's economy thinking about teaching some/all of those if we're going beyond just English would be a wiser choice to start off with.

 

That said, if folk hve the wit to ensure the Nats don't get back in in May, this whole Gaelic broo ha ha will almost inevitably be quietly and quickly swept under the carpet. Its blatantly obvious its just a Nat sweetener to try and keep the west coast and their isles onside. Remember, they didn't exactly give a resounding backing to the "Yes" vote down there.

 

That said, I suspect unless some phoenix rapidly rises from the ashes, we will probably be stuck with them for another term (pity help us). Not because they're any good, but because any potential opposition has managed to implode and perform electoral suicide.

Edited February 10, 2016 by Ghostrider

[hjasga]

 

 

 

 

I'll repeat my main point which is that under no circumstances should Gaelic be brought into, or taught in Shetland in any form.  It's bad and pointless enough that the bairns are forced to learn French never mind Gaelic.

Why?

 

Well, if you can't understand "why" then there's no point in explaining it to you.

 

I asked a genuine question as it's not a view I've often heard expressed before. 

 

If it's so irrational that you can't even explain it succinctly then I suppose I don't care after all. 

 

 

Ok, apologies for being a peerie bit hasty.

 

I remember being forced to learn French at the AHS and feel that it's as irrelevant now as it was then. 

 

There may be some historical tie between Scotland and France but it certainly doesn't apply to Shetland.

 

I'm angry that our historic ties with Norway are quietly ignored in the (Shetland/Scottish)education system and the Shetland schools meekly tow the Scottish Education line and teach the bairns French instead.

 

Sorry Whalsa, I maybe misunderstood.  I agree that under no circumsnatces should Gaelic be allowed into Shetland in an official capacity.  If a parent wants to teach their bairn Gaelic in the privacy of their own home that's up to them.

 

 

 

I'm not aware of anything from Government level suggesting bairns must learn French. They simply must learn a second modern language (and now must have opportunities at a third language, in Shetland's case set to be Mandarin Chinese). 

 

My point is, if we wanted all Shetland bairns to be learning Norwegian, I don't think there would be any rules or laws preventing the SIC from doing that. I expect the issue is more that there aren't that many Norwegian teachers available in the UK and that French teachers are a lot more readily available. We see enough trouble rerecruiting for those posts without reducing our pool further. 

[hjasga]

Our foreign trade seems to have centred around the Norwegians, Danes, Russians and to a lesser degree the Poles now for quite some time

 

Go ask Shetland Seafood or our various large scale fish traders if they think French is a useful language. I bet they will say yes. All do major trade with France.