|
Schools Broadcasting Begins: 1937-1941.
Schools Broadcasting began in 1937. It ended in 1941 because teachers were having trouble acquiring batteries. The programmes were mainly focused on the primary school curriculum.
Before Irish broadcasting began in 1926, there were high hopes expressed by cultural bodies that it should be used by the state as a part of "nation building". This would include using the radio to promote Irish language and culture.
However, practicalities got in the way. Firstly, there was no agreement by the Department of Education to allow School Broadcasting as part of the curriculum or even as an adjunct to it. Fearful of the cost of providing sets to schools, the department procrastinated for nearly a decade. Apart from providing army band concerts for schoolchildren, the department fought shy of any proposal for such a broadcasting scheme.
The army band broadcast experiment was tried between February and May 1936. The results were mixed: pupils in rural schools generally liked the broadcasts, but in city schools, where wireless sets were less of a novelty, children were bored with the programmes. Nonetheless the Director of Broadcasting Dr Kiernan persisted and managed to persuade the Department of Education to continue.
Under the general organisation of Kathleen Roddy, a formalised scheme for primary schools was established in January 1937. A printed programme was circulated to schools. This time, the programmes included speech and music with a special emphasis on spoken Irish and Irish music. Other subjects included folklore, Irish stories and proverbs, Irish history told through ballads, travel talks, nature study, choir singing, tin-whistle lessons and features about orchestral music.
Although the standard of the programmes was high, the response from schools was disappointing. There were difficulties with regard to the most suitable programme time. The programmes were not specifically linked to the curriculum. There was not a uniform school day, break times differed, and this led to difficulties for teachers.
Between 1937 and 1941, the full development of the Schools Broadcasting scheme took place in Radio Éireann. The contributors' list was impressive, including Aindrias Ó Muimhneacháin, Walter Starkie, Peadar Ó Dubhda and Seán Ó Súilleabháin, the folklore scholar. In 1937, Ó Súilleabháin arranged a competition for school children to collect local folklore and riddles. To assist teachers, the words and sol-fa of the songs were printed in the booklet.
Reaction to the programmes remained muted. Wireless sets had to be provided by the teachers or relied on the goodwill of local wireless dealers. This affected the number of schools who could benefit from the broadcasts.
The listenership declined sharply at the start of the war. Fuel shortages and shortages of batteries meant that many of the teachers who had formerly brought their own sets to school by car were no longer able to do so. By 1941, the scheme was becoming unsustainable and schools programmes ceased.
Although the programmes were stopped, many of their contributors were retained by Radio Éireann and contributed to the new (revived) children's programming of the 1940s.
There was an attempt to revive the schools broadcasts after the war, but the proposal was rejected by the Department of Education. It was not until 1964 that formal broadcast teaching resumed with "Telefís Scoile".
|
