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Gaelic


Lroy

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18 minutes ago, gdevoy said:

Can they eat it ? No.

Does it keep their home dry when it is damp ? No.

Will it give them assistance if they have special needs ? No.

How far back do you take it before it becomes “traditional" ?  A question in the how long is a piece of string category.

OK so far I am empathising with where you are coming from but let me ask you another set of questions

Can you eat analytic geometry ? .

Does analytic geometry keep their home dry when it is damp ?.

Will analytic geometry give them assistance if they have special needs ?

So why do we teach children in North Ayrshire analytic geometry, or history, or geography.

Largely, education is about teaching people to think, not about what you are teach  them. Teaching children Gaelic helps them to understand language structure better and in theory learn how to use English more effectively and more easily learn other languages. It was only after I did a bit of French I discovered the adjective dos not have to come before the noun and when I did Gaelic I discovered the verb does not have to come between the subject and the object. (And that there is no absolute necessity for a word for Yes or a word for no but that's another story).

I agree there is a case to be made that there is more economic advantage using Spanish or French as a foreign language but in terms of a holistic approach to learning, Gaelic is all around you in the place names etc.   

 

 

 

 

Norse place names and names for objects are scattered through Scotland and the North East of England, should we learn Scandinavian languages to understand them better too ?  I suspect Gaelic will be like most other foreign languages (and it is foreign to most Scots) taught at school then unused until they take a trip to one of the Western Isles. 

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51 minutes ago, samo said:

After the summer I'll be sending my son to the gaelic school in  Kilmarnock. 

Not because I'm middle class.

Not because of history.

But because it's the best performing school in this area and it happens to be in our catchment area.

If he can learn an other language at the same time as gaining a 'normal' education then even  better. 

 

So basically the reason for enrolling your son there has nothing to do with Gaelic, the same way that some Asian families enrol their children in Catholic schools, because they are the best performing in their area. 

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6 minutes ago, Wrangodog said:

Norse place names and names for objects are scattered through Scotland and the North East of England, should we learn Scandinavian languages to understand them better too ?  I suspect Gaelic will be like most other foreign languages (and it is foreign to most Scots) taught at school then unused until they take a trip to one of the Western Isles. 

They learn English so they can use it on trips to England. 

There are many academic advantages to learning another language, any language, at a young age. If it proves not to be very useful it is far easier to learn another language. British schools usually leave it too late before they teach any language. 

I think money being spent preserving Scots language is more of a waste than money being spent on Gaelic. 

 

 

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3 minutes ago, Prahakillie said:

They learn English so they can use it on trips to England. 

There are many academic advantages to learning another language, any language, at a young age. If it proves not to be very useful it is far easier to learn another language. British schools usually leave it too late before they teach any language. 

I think money being spent preserving Scots language is more of a waste than money being spent on Gaelic. 

 

 

Says the man living in Prague. 

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38 minutes ago, Wrangodog said:

So basically the reason for enrolling your son there has nothing to do with Gaelic, the same way that some Asian families enrol their children in Catholic schools, because they are the best performing in their area. 

No at all. One of the main factors was  that stats show kids that attend bilingual schools tend to perform better in life.

(Not to mention smaller class sizes)

My duty as a parent is to give my kid the best possible start in life so it's a no brainer really. 

 

 

Edited by samo
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27 minutes ago, Wrangodog said:

You're not paying towards Gaelic education, taxpayers ike myself are, and we weren't given a choice whether we wanted it or not. 

A bit like HS2, London Sewers or Crossrail, Nuclear Weapons in our backyard, the illegal war in Iraq.  But obviously because the spend in Scotland is about preservation and potentially expansion of a major part of our culture that’s wrong!

aye very good.

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11 minutes ago, Prahakillie said:

Plenty of people question having to pay for any education at all out of their taxes when they don't use it. 

Either because they don't have kids, or because they are wealthy Tories sending kids to private schools, or both. 

 

I'm not complaining about paying for education, just paying for education in a useless language that a tiny percentage of the population use and will ever use. Teach them about recycling, and how to save the planet, something that will affect us all, not just a very small part of a very small island. 

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1 minute ago, Wrangodog said:

I'm not complaining about paying for education, just paying for education in a useless language that a tiny percentage of the population use and will ever use. Teach them about recycling, and how to save the planet, something that will affect us all, not just a very small part of a very small island. 

The point is you don't get to decide what ever single penny of your taxes are used for or a referendum whenever a decision has to be made. 

You can elect a govt, if you don't like what they do then don't vote for them. 

You can argue with the value of a gaelic language education but I think arguing about them spending your taxes on that belongs on the politics forum. 

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27 minutes ago, Beaker71 said:

A bit like HS2, London Sewers or Crossrail, Nuclear Weapons in our backyard, the illegal war in Iraq.  But obviously because the spend in Scotland is about preservation and potentially expansion of a major part of our culture that’s wrong!

aye very good.

It isn't a major part of our culture though, it's a very small part. 

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2 minutes ago, Prahakillie said:

The point is you don't get to decide what ever single penny of your taxes are used for or a referendum whenever a decision has to be made. 

You can elect a govt, if you don't like what they do then don't vote for them. 

You can argue with the value of a gaelic language education but I think arguing about them spending your taxes on that belongs on the politics forum. 

That’s a moot point, probably belongs in both. Next time you can make your argument in Gaelic, I'm sure everyone will understand it. 

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59 minutes ago, Wrangodog said:

It isn't a major part of our culture though, it's a very small part. 

I disagree,  language is a massive part of the culture,  and while the lowlands never had a huge Gaelic population the bit that was cleared by the empire did.  It forms a significant aspect of Celtic national culture.

no matter how much you try and make it out to be inconsequential,  it is important to make sure I’m this current climate our Culture matters more than ever.

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1 hour ago, Beaker71 said:

I disagree,  language is a massive part of the culture,  and while the lowlands never had a huge Gaelic population the bit that was cleared by the empire did.  It forms a significant aspect of Celtic national culture.

no matter how much you try and make it out to be inconsequential,  it is important to make sure I’m this current climate our Culture matters more than ever.

Try checking your own posts before you stress the importance of language in culture. 

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Inverness Caledonian Thistle's highly-commendable announcement that they are to make stadium announcements in Gaelic as well as English was a very nice touch.

Publishing it on transfer deadline day, though? And having lost two of your front-line centre-backs during January? You're asking for a Twitter tanking.

"Can the Gaelic translations play centre-back?" came one reply. "No-one cares, announce a signing," read another.

"Transfer deadline day where teams are announcing new signings and this is what we're announcing," chimed a third. "Delete or announce a signing. You choose." You get the picture...

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