This site hosts the Pol-Soc Podcast, aimed at Leaving Certificate and Transition Year students sitting the new subject of “Politics & Society” which was examined for the first time in June 2018. It is presented by Dr. Jerome Devitt, a teacher of Politics & Society, History, and English, a teacher in The King’s Hospital, a boarding school in Palmerstown, Dublin. Jerome also teaches Politics & Society and English at the Institute of Education, Leeson Street.

The site’s goal is to make accessible and useful content that serves two masters: helping students prepare for the upcoming exam, and helping students prepare for the real test…. ‘Life’. This is a long-term project. I’m only lowly teacher and can’t devote myself full-time to the endeavour. If I get 4-5 episodes made every year that will add up to a substantial resource in the long term. So please, don’t get too frustrated if the podcasts don’t ‘drop’ as frequently as you like. There are also a number of ‘Screencasts’ with supporting material that students can access for free, as well as a huge amount of revision notes, writing advice, and exam suggestions that should help students negotiate this new subject.

You’ll notice that in every episode we have a section called “The Students Strike Back”. This is a conscious choice to ensure that the students aren’t ‘preached’ at, but rather can see themselves as part of the learning process. (“Nothing about us, without us!” ) The input of students is highly prized here on the podcast, and any student, in any school, is welcome to submit an Mp3 file for inclusion in this section. (This might even be something that you consider doing as a part of a Citizenship Project??!!??)

You might also notice that the podcast implicitly aims to present a gender-balanced range of voices. This is also a conscious choice, and a goal that we’ll aim to meet throughout the life of the podcast. Individual episodes might lean one way or the other, but the overall pattern should balance out over time…

If you’re an expert, and think you might have something to contribute and/or might be available for an interview, then please get in touch. We’ll take all the help we can get!

Please consider supporting the podcast here.

Web designer: Kate Devitt (my 14-year-old daughter, who basically taught me from how to build a WordPress site from scratch!)