David Hopkins
@davidrhopkins.bsky.social
👨🏫English & History Teacher
📚Author of Verse OL for Educate.ie
🏸Part-time player of sport. Full-time viewer of sport.
🎶Eurovision fanatic
📚Author of Verse OL for Educate.ie
🏸Part-time player of sport. Full-time viewer of sport.
🎶Eurovision fanatic
Pinned
David Hopkins
@davidrhopkins.bsky.social
· Jan 31
“…the tender gravity of kindness”
Naomi Shihab Nye
Naomi Shihab Nye
Reposted by David Hopkins
The UK's Supreme Court has ruled that the Christian religious education taught in schools in the North is unlawful.
It added that to teach pupils to 'accept a set of beliefs without critical analysis amounts to evangelism, proselytising, and indoctrination'.
jrnl.ie/6879415
It added that to teach pupils to 'accept a set of beliefs without critical analysis amounts to evangelism, proselytising, and indoctrination'.
jrnl.ie/6879415
Christian religious education taught in schools in Northern Ireland unlawful, says UK Supreme Court
It had been argued that the right to withdraw from religious education prevented any breach to religious freedom protections under the European Convention on Human Rights.
jrnl.ie
November 19, 2025 at 12:49 PM
The UK's Supreme Court has ruled that the Christian religious education taught in schools in the North is unlawful.
It added that to teach pupils to 'accept a set of beliefs without critical analysis amounts to evangelism, proselytising, and indoctrination'.
jrnl.ie/6879415
It added that to teach pupils to 'accept a set of beliefs without critical analysis amounts to evangelism, proselytising, and indoctrination'.
jrnl.ie/6879415
NEW: Good schools make good trachers
If teachers don’t always improve with experience, the problem isn’t them. It’s the environment. Schools that get better do so because they make feedback clearer, practice more deliberate, and culture more trustworthy.
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
If teachers don’t always improve with experience, the problem isn’t them. It’s the environment. Schools that get better do so because they make feedback clearer, practice more deliberate, and culture more trustworthy.
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Good schools make good teachers
What kind domains, wicked traps and school culture mean for improvement
open.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Reposted by David Hopkins
“Darkness is drawn to light, but light does not know it; light must absorb the darkness and therefore meet its own extinguishment.”
― Edna O'Brien
― Edna O'Brien
November 4, 2025 at 10:53 PM
“Darkness is drawn to light, but light does not know it; light must absorb the darkness and therefore meet its own extinguishment.”
― Edna O'Brien
― Edna O'Brien
Time to cop on to ourselves now. A campaign ran with dignity and empathy needs to be promoted and celebrated at every turn, not bastardised for column inches.
October 25, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Time to cop on to ourselves now. A campaign ran with dignity and empathy needs to be promoted and celebrated at every turn, not bastardised for column inches.
I have read this story umpteen times and it never grows old.
I'll Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Play Moate, Co. Westmeath Again). Only a couple of years before his 1993 comeback, Meat Loaf was reduced to touring the provincial towns of Ireland: here's a brilliant piece on how that went for him www.loudersound.com/features/mea...
October 18, 2025 at 9:10 PM
I have read this story umpteen times and it never grows old.
Reposted by David Hopkins
Clip from our most recent episode of The Basic Income Show where we talked about Ireland's basic income experiment results and how artists increased their incomes from doing art thanks to their income base and how it benefited the economy and reduced welfare spending. Essentially it was win-win-win.
Ireland's basic income experiment resulted in higher incomes and the economy benefited $1.39 per $1
YouTube video by Scott Santens
youtube.com
October 5, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Clip from our most recent episode of The Basic Income Show where we talked about Ireland's basic income experiment results and how artists increased their incomes from doing art thanks to their income base and how it benefited the economy and reduced welfare spending. Essentially it was win-win-win.
Reposted by David Hopkins
I've been collating the response to the launch of the Primary Curriculum all week and I wasn't surprised to note that almost every media response was of a "missed opportunity" more...
September 26, 2025 at 6:50 AM
I've been collating the response to the launch of the Primary Curriculum all week and I wasn't surprised to note that almost every media response was of a "missed opportunity" more...
Reposted by David Hopkins
This report is entirely valid, and I welcome it. However, glancing at the Key Stage 3 curriculum, I can see how it's happened -- there's little emphasis on social history or non-political biography
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
School history lessons minimise the role of women, report finds
Campaigners say key stage 3 curriculum plays to misogny and teaches a ‘false version of the past’
www.theguardian.com
September 24, 2025 at 3:38 PM
This report is entirely valid, and I welcome it. However, glancing at the Key Stage 3 curriculum, I can see how it's happened -- there's little emphasis on social history or non-political biography
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by David Hopkins
I get it. It's daunting to learn from scratch players, teams, tactics. But with the World Cup on the horizon, there has never been a better time to get your head around Canada being better than South Africa. We present, A Guide to Women's Rugby for fans of the Men's Game-
youtu.be/HkOECTLYqkA?...
youtu.be/HkOECTLYqkA?...
A Guide to Women's Rugby for fans of the Men's Game
YouTube video by Squidge Rugby
youtu.be
August 21, 2025 at 6:40 PM
I get it. It's daunting to learn from scratch players, teams, tactics. But with the World Cup on the horizon, there has never been a better time to get your head around Canada being better than South Africa. We present, A Guide to Women's Rugby for fans of the Men's Game-
youtu.be/HkOECTLYqkA?...
youtu.be/HkOECTLYqkA?...
For any English teachers looking for that ‘back to school’ prompt for a leaving cert class, have a look at this offering from the elusive Líadan Ní Chuinn.
amp.rte.ie/amp/1525340/
amp.rte.ie/amp/1525340/
Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn - read an extract
amp.rte.ie
August 18, 2025 at 11:17 PM
For any English teachers looking for that ‘back to school’ prompt for a leaving cert class, have a look at this offering from the elusive Líadan Ní Chuinn.
amp.rte.ie/amp/1525340/
amp.rte.ie/amp/1525340/
Reposted by David Hopkins
Join us in remembering #NellMcCafferty on the first anniversary of her death on Thursday, 21 August 2025.
A reception will be held at 6:30pm, with the event following at 7pm. Limited remaining tickets available here: www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...
youtube.com/shorts/kLcwK...
A reception will be held at 6:30pm, with the event following at 7pm. Limited remaining tickets available here: www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...
youtube.com/shorts/kLcwK...
Trailer | Legacy in the Library: Celebrating Nell McCafferty 1944-2024
YouTube video by National Library Ireland
youtube.com
August 15, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Join us in remembering #NellMcCafferty on the first anniversary of her death on Thursday, 21 August 2025.
A reception will be held at 6:30pm, with the event following at 7pm. Limited remaining tickets available here: www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...
youtube.com/shorts/kLcwK...
A reception will be held at 6:30pm, with the event following at 7pm. Limited remaining tickets available here: www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...
youtube.com/shorts/kLcwK...
Reposted by David Hopkins
Mary McAleese has strongly criticised Pope Leo XIV’s first 100 days, saying his pontificate has been cautious, conservative, and "anything but forward thinking"
jrnl.ie/6791048
jrnl.ie/6791048
‘Bog-standard patriarchal’: McAleese says new Pope’s first 100 days ‘anything but forward thinking’
McAleese criticised the new pontiff for a cautious and conservative start, labelling it a retreat from Francis’ legacy.
jrnl.ie
August 15, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Mary McAleese has strongly criticised Pope Leo XIV’s first 100 days, saying his pontificate has been cautious, conservative, and "anything but forward thinking"
jrnl.ie/6791048
jrnl.ie/6791048
One of the highlights of my summer so far. Make a day trip to see it while it’s off the West End!
Absolutely loved ‘Sing Street’ @lyrichammersmith.bsky.social last night. A joyous production, packed with superb performances & gorgeous songs. We already loved the film but it is absolutely not necessary to have seen it to adore this show. Standing ovation. Catch it if you can.
Lyric Hammersmith Theatre (@lyrichammersmith.bsky.social)
World class theatre in the heart of Hammersmith 🎭❤️
Now showing 👉 Sing Street
https://linktr.ee/Lyrichammersmith
lyrichammersmith.bsky.social
July 26, 2025 at 10:04 AM
One of the highlights of my summer so far. Make a day trip to see it while it’s off the West End!
Reposted by David Hopkins
Ten years ago, on this day 15 July, the Irish Oireachtas passed the Gender Recognition Act 2015 (An tAcht um Inscne a Aithint, 2015).
It was a piece of legislation that allowed me to live my life authentically & I'm forever grateful.
Despite what others may have you believe, the sky did not fall in.
It was a piece of legislation that allowed me to live my life authentically & I'm forever grateful.
Despite what others may have you believe, the sky did not fall in.
July 15, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Ten years ago, on this day 15 July, the Irish Oireachtas passed the Gender Recognition Act 2015 (An tAcht um Inscne a Aithint, 2015).
It was a piece of legislation that allowed me to live my life authentically & I'm forever grateful.
Despite what others may have you believe, the sky did not fall in.
It was a piece of legislation that allowed me to live my life authentically & I'm forever grateful.
Despite what others may have you believe, the sky did not fall in.
Reposted by David Hopkins
Reposted by David Hopkins
'Short stories are our natural mode. We have been reading and telling them our whole lives.'
Wendy Erskine on the short story form: thelondonmagazine.org/essay-wendy-...
Wendy Erskine on the short story form: thelondonmagazine.org/essay-wendy-...
Essay | Wendy Erskine: 'Short stories are our natural mode.' - The London Magazine
An essay by Wendy Erskine on the short story form, reproduced with permission from 22 Fictions: New Writing from Desperate Literature and Brick Lane Bookshop.
thelondonmagazine.org
June 19, 2025 at 2:37 PM
'Short stories are our natural mode. We have been reading and telling them our whole lives.'
Wendy Erskine on the short story form: thelondonmagazine.org/essay-wendy-...
Wendy Erskine on the short story form: thelondonmagazine.org/essay-wendy-...
June 9, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Reposted by David Hopkins
Daniel O’Connell lies in a hero’s grave, his wife Mary in an overgrown tomb
‘The neglect of Mary’s grave is a metaphor for the continual airbrushing of women out of Irish history’. #speirgorm
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
‘The neglect of Mary’s grave is a metaphor for the continual airbrushing of women out of Irish history’. #speirgorm
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
Justine McCarthy: Philanderer Daniel O’Connell lies in a hero’s grave, his wife Mary in an overgrown tomb
Ireland has shown due respect to Daniel O’Connell. But where is the respect for his wife?
www.irishtimes.com
May 30, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Daniel O’Connell lies in a hero’s grave, his wife Mary in an overgrown tomb
‘The neglect of Mary’s grave is a metaphor for the continual airbrushing of women out of Irish history’. #speirgorm
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
‘The neglect of Mary’s grave is a metaphor for the continual airbrushing of women out of Irish history’. #speirgorm
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
Reposted by David Hopkins
The opportunity to have your say remains available until Friday May 2nd. That’s 4 more days. Please seriously consider voicing your thoughts before the closing date.
April 28, 2025 at 6:10 PM
The opportunity to have your say remains available until Friday May 2nd. That’s 4 more days. Please seriously consider voicing your thoughts before the closing date.
Oddly late in the day for 2025 group but a welcome change.
It will be easier for Junior Cycle students to achieve the two top grades in their exams under changes to Junior Cycle grade bands announced by Minister for Education Helen McEntee.
Bands for top Junior Cycle grades to be widened
It will be easier for Junior Cycle students to achieve the two top grades in their exams under changes to Junior Cycle grade bands announced by Minister for Education Helen McEntee.
www.rte.ie
April 22, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Oddly late in the day for 2025 group but a welcome change.
For a little over a decade now school leadership in Ireland has been drowning in a way not proportionate to other roles in society. The 🚩🚩🚩appear annually.
The people responsible for the educational journey of our young people (and much more) are not okay.
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
The people responsible for the educational journey of our young people (and much more) are not okay.
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
April 18, 2025 at 7:53 AM
For a little over a decade now school leadership in Ireland has been drowning in a way not proportionate to other roles in society. The 🚩🚩🚩appear annually.
The people responsible for the educational journey of our young people (and much more) are not okay.
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
The people responsible for the educational journey of our young people (and much more) are not okay.
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
This is a really interesting perspective that I must look into more if anyone has any recommendations.
The TV show Adolescence is being weaponised in the effort to ban phones and social media for kids – but this only highlights the UK's abject failure to build online spaces that aren't manipulated by algorithmic gamification.
Bad Education
The TV show Adolescence is causing a rush to ban phones for kids. We can do better than that.
mssv.net
March 24, 2025 at 7:42 PM
This is a really interesting perspective that I must look into more if anyone has any recommendations.
Reposted by David Hopkins
The rise of Ireland was The Story of 2024, from wooden spoon favourites to beating the Black Ferns. We dig into Ireland, which players to watch, how far they can go, and whether wins against France or England might just be on the cards...
youtu.be/0FUU7hvMhe4
youtu.be/0FUU7hvMhe4
So what should we expect from Ireland? | Women's Six Nations 2025
YouTube video by More Squidge Rugby
youtu.be
March 22, 2025 at 11:36 AM
The rise of Ireland was The Story of 2024, from wooden spoon favourites to beating the Black Ferns. We dig into Ireland, which players to watch, how far they can go, and whether wins against France or England might just be on the cards...
youtu.be/0FUU7hvMhe4
youtu.be/0FUU7hvMhe4
Reposted by David Hopkins
Gareth Southgate says the lack of positive role models for young men has created a void which is being filled by 'manipulative and toxic influencers'.
DCU's Prof @debbieging.bsky.social and Dr @elainebyrnes.bsky.social appeared on @drivetime.bsky.social to discuss this.
Listen: launch.dcu.ie/4iI8Ez7
DCU's Prof @debbieging.bsky.social and Dr @elainebyrnes.bsky.social appeared on @drivetime.bsky.social to discuss this.
Listen: launch.dcu.ie/4iI8Ez7
Lack of positive role models for young men
Former England football manager, Gareth Southgate says the lack of positive role models for young men has created a void which is being filled by 'manipulative and toxic influencers'. To discuss this ...
launch.dcu.ie
March 20, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Gareth Southgate says the lack of positive role models for young men has created a void which is being filled by 'manipulative and toxic influencers'.
DCU's Prof @debbieging.bsky.social and Dr @elainebyrnes.bsky.social appeared on @drivetime.bsky.social to discuss this.
Listen: launch.dcu.ie/4iI8Ez7
DCU's Prof @debbieging.bsky.social and Dr @elainebyrnes.bsky.social appeared on @drivetime.bsky.social to discuss this.
Listen: launch.dcu.ie/4iI8Ez7
Reposted by David Hopkins
(New). On the draft curriculum specification for Leaving Certificate English:
www.juliangirdham.com/blog/leaving...
#edchatie
www.juliangirdham.com/blog/leaving...
#edchatie
Leaving Certificate English Draft Specification — Julian Girdham
Initial thoughts on the Draft Curriculum Specification for Leaving Certificate English (February 2025).
www.juliangirdham.com
March 19, 2025 at 5:02 PM
(New). On the draft curriculum specification for Leaving Certificate English:
www.juliangirdham.com/blog/leaving...
#edchatie
www.juliangirdham.com/blog/leaving...
#edchatie