Eemer Eivers
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eemereivers.bsky.social
Eemer Eivers
@eemereivers.bsky.social
930 followers 750 following 180 posts
Research consultant | Interests: equity, evaluation, education, early school leaving (fond of the letter E!), anything Wexford.
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Reposted by Eemer Eivers
gregpak.net
"Yes, the killing happens now, but there'll be plenty of time later to write very moving stories about the shape and shade of the bones."

The precision of this. My god.
Photo of a page from Omar El Akkad's ONE DAY EVERYONE WILL ALWAYS HAVE BEEN AGAINST THIS that reads: Some of the least established writers I know, the ones who have to work all manner of side jobs just to make ends meet, are actively putting their literary careers at risk by calling for an end to the wholesale murder of a people. Meanwhile, so many of the most established writers are either totally silent or engaged in the tritest finger-wagging about just how terrible it would be for the art if we get too shrill about this sort of thing. Yes, the killing happens now, but there'll be plenty of time later to write very moving stories about the shape and shade of the bones.
August 13, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by Eemer Eivers
asherlangton.bsky.social
Silicon Valley is lighting hundreds of billions of dollars on fire to generate this slop.
facebook + • Meta Al Why plastic sheeting? The plastic sheeting in the interview room is likely there to protect against potential mess or damage, but given the context of Ghislaine Maxwell's situation, it's probably a humorous exaggeration implying she's a bit of a "mess" herself. The Onion's satire often uses absurdity to make a point.
July 25, 2025 at 3:46 PM
eemereivers.bsky.social
🚨Minister Givan has appointed me to a panel to review aspects of Northern Ireland's school funding model. I worked on the last major review (way back in 2012-13) & have published on effects of different models, so looking forward to it!
🔗 www.education-ni.gov.uk/news/indepen...
#edusky #speirgorm
Independent Panel to review Baseline School Funding announced
Education Minister Paul Givan has announced the independent panel to undertake the Review of Baseline School Funding Provided Through the Common Funding Formula (CFF).
www.education-ni.gov.uk
July 3, 2025 at 10:00 AM
eemereivers.bsky.social
I'm not generally a big fan of the clergy but Brother Kevin will be greatly missed. The incredible work of the Capuchin Day Centre in providing meals and supports to those in need is quite a legacy. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
#RIPBrKevin #SpeirGorm
July 2, 2025 at 11:32 AM
eemereivers.bsky.social
Another @irishtimes.com article flogging the services of private schools. Research shows NO academic "added-value" from them. Want your child to succeed? Read & talk to them as much as possible, as young as possible. Be a parent, not an investor. #SpeirGorm #edusky
www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2...
School fees: how to save €50,000 to pay for children’s school or college costs
When should you start saving? ‘When a child is born’
www.irishtimes.com
July 1, 2025 at 10:49 AM
eemereivers.bsky.social
Thrilled to announce the 10 finalists in @museumofchildhood.bsky.social #Bloomsday young writer competition.

Caterina's entry was the judges' fav:
museumofchildhood.ie/sarjena/
And she's still in primary school! Wow.

She just pipped ... 1/2
June 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
eemereivers.bsky.social
Apparently coordinated political assassinations at this early stage in Trump’s dismantling of democracy is beyond my worst imaginings. Just awful.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Jun 14
Walz announces that Rep. Melissa Hortman is dead as a result of a "politically motivated assassination"
June 14, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by Eemer Eivers
eemereivers.bsky.social
Rare to write about bloomers, cycling, sexism & State Exams in one article! Blog on the almost total absence of teen girls cycling to school, why it matters & what we must do.
🔗 museumofchildhood.ie/where-are-th...
#cycling #school #SpeirGorm
@dublincycling.bsky.social @roisiningle.bsky.social
Image shows a young Victorian woman wearing a form of bloomers, being gleefully pushed on her bike by female friends, dressed in more conservative clothes
June 11, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Reposted by Eemer Eivers
josiah.writes.news
"Barbara Santini is a psychologist who has been quoted hundreds of times in news publications around the world - including the Telegraph, BBC and Independent - and who, I can now state with certainty, does not exist."
pressgazette.co.uk/news/fake-ex...
Journalists are adding extra checks to keep ahead of the fake experts
Fake experts and SEO: How journalists must adopt new checks to keep one step ahead of AI-generated responses provided by fake experts.
pressgazette.co.uk
June 11, 2025 at 9:11 PM
eemereivers.bsky.social
Rare to write about bloomers, cycling, sexism & State Exams in one article! Blog on the almost total absence of teen girls cycling to school, why it matters & what we must do.
🔗 museumofchildhood.ie/where-are-th...
#cycling #school #SpeirGorm
@dublincycling.bsky.social @roisiningle.bsky.social
Image shows a young Victorian woman wearing a form of bloomers, being gleefully pushed on her bike by female friends, dressed in more conservative clothes
June 11, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Reposted by Eemer Eivers
trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social
Today I asked AI to summarise an academic paper. The actual results were the opposite to what was hypothesised (and to what others had shown). The AI summary assumed the study had found what everyone else had found. Hot tip: don’t use a stochastic parrot to summarise an outlier paper. #academicsky 🧪
June 10, 2025 at 7:30 PM
eemereivers.bsky.social
The Irish summer is a no-show, so channeling a bit of Greece to cheer me up. Homemade Freddo Espresso, the coffee of the Gods! Not a bad effort for an ιρλανδέζα but it doesn’t taste the same in the rain.☔️ ☹️
June 8, 2025 at 3:31 PM
eemereivers.bsky.social
Our @museumofchildhood.bsky.social blog for #Bloomsday!
A chance encounter with a Joyce book in a dusty Indian library changed Jinan Ashraf's life forever. Her journey from Kerala to @nlireland.bsky.social @dculibrary.bsky.social
#JamesJoyce #BooksChangeLives
museumofchildhood.ie/reading-joyce/
June 5, 2025 at 8:46 AM
eemereivers.bsky.social
1/2
A busy Education team in @museumofchildhood.bsky.social. After prelim scoring, we had an *8-way* tie for the last place to get through to the final round of our Bloomsday Writing Competition! Cue a second round of ratings. We are wrecked!😅
#Joyce #Writing #YoungAuthor #Bloomsday
June 4, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Reposted by Eemer Eivers
donalh.bsky.social
Heartbreaking piece from Palestinian writer and translator Alaa Alqaisi.
We screamed through every outlet we had — in Arabic and English, in poems and press releases, in death tolls and testimonies... And we got the answer. We got it loud and clear.

arablit.org/2025/05/23/w...
We Knocked Until Our Hands Broke
Gaza-based Palestinian author Alaa Alqaisi asks herself the question posed more than half a century ago at the end of Ghassan Kanafani’s “Men in the Sun”: Why didn’t they knock on…
arablit.org
May 28, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Eemer Eivers
sarahwebbwriter.bsky.social
Some amazing new Irish children's books out in May for all ages.

Thanks to @bexsheridan.bsky.social for creating the @irishkidsbooks.bsky.social posters.

Please do share this post and let everyone know about these brilliant new books. Together let's help children #discoveririshkidsbooks
Book covers - May new titles for age 3/4+ Book covers - Irish children's books for age 8+ out in May.
May 6, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Reposted by Eemer Eivers
halfwayupbooks.bsky.social
1/ Thrilled that the new Milly McCarthy has landed - she’s off to the Gaeltacht - a rite of passage for many!! You can order Milly McCarthy’s Wild Atlantic Antics at halfwayupthestairs.ie/product/9781... or pick up a copy in store! @leonaforde1.bsky.social
@sarahwebbwriter.bsky.social
May 22, 2025 at 12:26 PM
eemereivers.bsky.social
Finally sharing pics of @childrensbooksireland.ie Reading for Joy Forum. It highlighted some good work in Ireland to support reading. ANNDD I'd a keynote on the Reading Communities evaluation (great to get a physical copy of the report!). Between MOLI, enthusiastic readers & sunshine, a great day!
May 22, 2025 at 3:21 PM
eemereivers.bsky.social
Fair points about non-attendance. The simplest way to improve attendance is to reduce massive illness rates. Since 2020, most countries have shown large increases in missed days in school/work, from kids & adults. Surveys won’t fix it, but cleaner air just might. #edusky #SpeirGorm
cleanairie.bsky.social Clean Air Advocacy Ireland @cleanairie.bsky.social · May 20
"We have the tools to reduce the number of infections in schools, but we are simply not using them properly, or at all."

We have issued this press release in response to the "highly alarming" school absence figures (from 2022-23) released yesterday by the Minister for Education.
Page one of the press release reads as follows: PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ISSUED 19/5/2025 by CLEAN AIR ADVOCACY IRELAND ~ BEGINS ~ Clean Air in Schools could boost Attendance ● Illness is the leading cause of School Absence in Ireland ● Fall in Attendance Shows Need for Urgent Action on Clean Air in Schools The recent School Attendance report from Tusla shows a dramatic increase in school absence, and is an urgent warning sign which should not be ignored by the Department of Education. The high level of absenteeism is being driven by illness, and this should trigger immediate action to improve indoor air quality in schools to reduce the spread of common airborne infections such as flu, RSV, and Covid-19. Illness consistently accounts for around 60% of absences in schools, and that remains the case in the latest report for the 2022/23 school year, with illness accounting for 61% of known absences from Primary Schools and 59% of known absences from Secondary Schools. In the 2022/23 school year, absences from Primary Schools were 46% higher than the 18-year average from 2003 to 2019. Absences of longer than 20 days are 128% higher than the same 18-year average in Primary Schools, and 43% higher in Post-Primary Schools. Clean Air Advocacy Ireland is calling on the Department of Education to implement guidelines for schools to manage the air quality in indoor spaces such as classrooms, canteens, staff rooms, and toilets. Improving indoor air quality through monitoring, ventilation and filtration has been shown to effectively reduce the transmission of common airborne Page 2 of the press release reads as follows: ...illnesses. We have the tools to minimise airborne pathogens and reduce the number of infections, through mechanical ventilation and air filtration, but we are simply not using them properly, or at all. There is also existing legislation in Ireland which governs indoor air quality in workplaces, and schools are places of work for teachers, assistants, and other support staff. Employers, including school boards, have a legal obligation to monitor indoor air quality and to implement changes where the air quality is below acceptable levels. Kieran Ryan, a member of Clean Air Advocacy Ireland, says the Tusla school attendance report indicates that something is going badly wrong in terms of sickness levels in Irish schools. “If we’re talking about increased absences in schools then we need to address the elephant in the room, which is an overall increase in illness at a population level. As well as common illnesses such as RSV and seasonal flu, Covid-19 has now added to the burden of illness faced by students, parents, and teachers.” “We know that many of these illnesses are spread via airborne transmission, so when children are packed into poorly-ventilated classrooms sickness spreads like wildfire. Infected children then bring the illness back to their own homes, and this seeds the further spread of illness within the community. If we can reduce transmission in schools, then we can reduce the overall burden of disease within our communities. It’s a win-win.” “It is not the duty of school principals or teachers to be their own public health experts or ventilation engineers: They must be given effective guidance & resources by the Department of Education to ensure that the indoor air quality in schools is safe. The Department is failing school employees and students by not issuing such guidance or resources.” ~ ENDS ~
May 20, 2025 at 8:55 PM
eemereivers.bsky.social
For National Childhood Services Week
@museumofchildhood.bsky.social are hosting a read-along & draw-along with Tarsila Kruse.
🔗 tinyurl.com/5a8z9369
Access it any time, all you need is a Little One & something to draw on. Prepare to feel happy!
#CSW25 #Reading #ShapingYourDreams
May 20, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Reposted by Eemer Eivers
bloomsdayfestival.bsky.social
Ringsend & Irishtown Community Centre is proud to present Bloomsday Villages: Ringsend & Irishtown on June 12-16th.

The events are free and open to the public unless otherwise indicated. For more information, please email ringsenddistricthistorical@gmail.com.
May 19, 2025 at 9:05 PM
eemereivers.bsky.social
My "Every Child a Reader" evaluation is out! When schools get 1,000 books & a Champion of Reading:
➡️ Changes in pupil behaviour, teacher attitudes
I discuss how we must:
➡️ support primary school libraries
➡️ address lingering FX of lockdown on some pupils
childrensbooksireland.ie/sites/defaul...
May 19, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Reposted by Eemer Eivers
paygap.bsky.social
You can find out how many of these employers have pay equity and female representation at senior levels by visiting paygap.ie
May 18, 2025 at 4:40 PM
eemereivers.bsky.social
Nice to be in today’s Sunday Business Post. My thoughts on importing Trumpugee academics. Our gov’t might first try to properly fund the sector, offer a decent living wage & career path for PhDs & post-docs. Post-docs are leaving research because of terrible pay & conditions. #speirgorm
May 18, 2025 at 2:24 PM
eemereivers.bsky.social
Just to note that if you are a primary teacher, we will accept photos of handwritten entries. You do NOT need to type them for entry. Once we can read them, that's all that matters! (In response to some worried queries)
eemereivers.bsky.social Eemer Eivers @eemereivers.bsky.social · May 16
🚨**Deadline Extended***

By request, we’re adding a week to our Bloomsday competition. Deadline extended to Friday May 23, high noon! Please share. #reading #writing #Bloomsday #speirgorm #edusky
May 16, 2025 at 1:26 PM