ISSU Education Officer wishes Leaving Certificate students of 2020 the best of luck in their examinations
The Education Officer for the Irish Second-Level Students' Union, Alicia O'Sullivan, would like to send well wishes to all students beginning examinations today, Monday the 16th of November, for the Leaving Certificate 2020.
"I want to wish every student who is sitting the Leaving Certificate, starting today, the very best of luck. It takes courage, strength and bravery to do what these students are doing. We hope that by sitting these exams they get to where they want to go in life and can move on fully from what has been a difficult experience for any young person."
History Is Here To Stay
The Minister for Education Joe McHugh recently announced that he intends to keep history at a compulsory subject at Junior Cert level, which is glorious news for myself and fellow history enthusiasts.
The Minister for Education Joe McHugh recently announced that he intends to keep history at a compulsory subject at Junior Cert level, which is glorious news for myself and fellow history enthusiasts.
I may be biased as someone who has had a love of history instilled in me from a young age and is hoping to further study it at third-level, but I believe that history remaining compulsory is a good thing for all students, from those who love it to those who loathe it. I know some people may think that history is a bore and unnecessary. They are entitled to have these opinions, but I truly think that this decision is for the best.
First of all, one of the main reasons that studying history is so important for young people is that they learn about the country they live in and our story as a nation. I think it is critical for young people to learn about Ireland’s history in relation to Great Britain and our journey to independence, while also learning about women’s history, including the suffragettes and other aspects, to note how far the country has come in the last century— what battles we’ve fought and won.
On the other hand, I also agree with the point made by the Minister for Education, that we should also learn about the dark side of our history, such as the state’s mistreatment of women. Including the many scandals involving mother and baby homes, abuse of children and discrimination towards minorities such as the LGBT+ community and the Travelling community. It is vital for young people to learn about the negative parts of our history as well as the positive parts. It is essential to show them that Ireland has made mistakes, that we acknowledge these mistakes, learn from them and know we can never go back to the way certain things were. Therefore I also agree with Mr McHugh’s point that history should be taught at a young age to make us “well-informed, active citizens who understand the importance of history in shaping the future” *
I also want to bring in a point made by my fellow ISSU writer Charles Gallagher that although some people may think the Irish history curriculum is biased against the British, myself and Charles both agree that the “curriculum is not biased and that it is merely common sense and patriotism” considering Ireland’s horrific history with the UK.
Not only is it important for Irish history to be taught, it is also necessary to learn about other areas of history such as Columbus and the mistreatment of Native Americans and the cruelty shown towards African American people in the USA. It is important to study these other areas of history to understand the struggles of other people and to respect other countries and races.
To finish, I will reiterate my opinion that history remaining mandatory is in fact a good thing, despite the arguments against it, for all of the reasons I have mentioned above. I hope I will be able to continue studying and cultivating my love of history for as long as I can and that this decision by the Minister for Education will awaken a love of the subject in many more young people for years to come.
By Kate Duffy
Students Should Not Be Forced To Sit State Exams During Medical Emergencies
The Irish Second-Level Student`s Union (ISSU) is calling on the Department of Education & Skills and the State Examinations Commission (SEC) to put in place a provision allowing students who are experiencing medical emergencies at the time of their Leaving Certificate exams, so that they have the option to defer the exams and sit them in July along with students who deferred exams due to bereavement.
President of the ISSU, Ciara Fanning commented on the issue, saying “We at the ISSU want students to be able to reach their true potential in the education system. This means allowing students to be in a fit state mentally and physically, whilst sitting the exams that are the culmination of 6 years of second-level education. In no way should students still be feeling the effects of medical emergencies or strong anaesthetics whilst sitting the exam. We are calling on Minister McHugh and the SEC to change this and change it fast so no more students are forced to sit their exams during medical emergencies. These students deserve empathy for their situations and respect in the way they are treated.”.
Ms. Fanning noted that there are many stories of students who had to sit their exams while experiencing medical emergencies. The ISSU has been told stories of students who have been forced to sit Leaving Certificate exams having just given birth, having been in a car crash and having undergone serious operations.
The ISSU recently released a video featuring one of these students, Amy Richards, who sat her Leaving Cert this past June ( Video Link: http://tiny.cc/nex89y ). Amy underwent emergency surgery for acute appendicitis at 1am on the morning of English Paper 1. The surgery lasted four hours, finishing at 5 am. Moments prior to beginning her English Paper One exam she was informed that she was in fact lucky to be alive, being told she had a blood infection, a gangrenous appendix and a large abscess in her stomach.
Having undergone a serious operation during which she was under general anaesthetic, it is clear that Ms. Richards was not in any state, either physically or mentally to sit a Leaving Certificate exam. It is cases like this that the ISSU wishes to cease from happening. Students experiencing serious medical emergencies during their exams must be shown empathy, and the respect for their health that they deserve. This can be done through the extension of the July deferral scheme for bereaved students to those who are experiencing medical emergencies.
Check out the video with Amy Richards here: http://tiny.cc/nex89y
ISSU meets An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar
ISSU Welfare Officer Eric Ehigie meets An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at the Future Jobs Summit at the Aviva Stadium
Member's of the ISSU National Student Executive were delighted to have participated in the Future Jobs Summit at the Aviva Stadium which brought together over 160 stakeholders from all aspects of society to discuss what jobs and careers will look like in the future. Over 65% of professionals surveyed believed that their skills will be inapt or out of date within 4 years. We need to ensure that students are adaquately equipped with the relevant skills to adapt and diversify as they will have to in the future. This means reforming the leaving cert to ensure that creativity, critical thinking and analytical skills are promoted and part of the curriculum.
Members of our NSE quizzed An Taoiseach and the Minister for Education on LC reform and insisted that the student voice must always be heard.
One year on from the Junior Cert
Saoirse Kearney shares her experience & study tips for the Junior Cert
The Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate are both very important and very stressful exams, but a lot of the time the Leaving Cert overshadows the Junior Cert as there’s hype over the CAO and college. This may be the case but the Junior Cert is important in many different ways. It’s the first time that you experience what a State Exam is like and the amount of preparation that is involved. It’s a very stressful and sometimes traumatic experience for a lot of people. I completed my Junior Certificate in June of last year. I chose The Higher Level paper for all of my 10 subjects, and received a total of 6 A’s and 4 B’s. I am proud of my grades but this bothered me as my aim was to get A’s in every subject.In the final weeks coming up to the Junior Certificate I started to panic as I feared that there wasn’t enough time to study every topic in every book for every subject. The thoughts of having to complete 14 exams which totaled to 32 hours in an exam centre, all in 10 days was terrifying. Listening to other peoples study routines and how much they were studying also worried me, but I realised at the end of April last year that the same study plan doesn’t work for everyone and that you’re the only person that can decide the amount of work and study style that is best for you.Study TipsBy this stage in the year all your language orals should be completed and your practicals should be finishing up in the next week, so now all your attention turns to studying. All through 2nd and 3rd Year we are always told different ways to study and what was the ‘most effective’ way of studying. Some of these included spider diagrams, flashcards, buzz words and memory cheats. But again, it’s up to you to find what study method suits you best. I personally found flashcards useful for subjects like Science, Home Economics, Geography and Spanish. For Spanish and Irish I did vocabulary tests every few days on different topics, for example.
For History I found memory cheats very handy. Let’s take the "People in History" Essay question with the topic of Christopher Columbus, I made a cheat to help me remember key points to use in the essay.• My memory cheat would look something like: Columbus Got Frightened In Norway Cos 33 Sailors Captured Him For AttackingAlthough this cheat has no relevance to the topic of Columbus, it’s catchy and easy to remember. Now I knew that the first letter or number of every word in the sentence stood for an important point so in the exam I could develop each into one or sometimes a few sentences. Below is what the letters really stand for.• Columbus Genoa Ferdinand Isabella Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria Canary Islands 33 days at sea San Salvador Cuba Hispanola Failed to find the spice islands Amerigo VespucciI also used cheats for Business and Science and overall found them very helpful.Breaks, Sleep and EatingI know what it’s like when you feel like you can’t afford to lose time to take a break or other times you feel like throwing the towel in and spending the rest of the year on a permanent break, but it’s essential that you have a good schedule for breaks. Last year I made sure I took at least a ten minute break every hour to an hour and a half, this may seem like a lot of time to be wasting but trust me you’ll feel re-energised by taking a few minutes to rest and by doing so you’ll be able to take in more information.If someone was to ask me “what’s the most important thing when studying”, I would say sleep. Study and Homework can sometimes go late into the night but I think it’s essential that you get at least 7-8 hours uninterrupted sleep each night, especially in the last two weeks coming up to the exams. During the exams I would advise to sleep even longer and to take naps after exams if possible. I’m not going to lie, you will be very tired in the last week before exams and during the exams so try to get as much sleep as possible. If you are waking up sweating with the worry over your exams then don’t worry you’re not the only one, a lot of people have sleepless nights coming up to exams. It’s important to talk to a friend or family member if you’re stressed as this may help to reduce stress.Also food is very important. Unfortunately, I turned to sugary foods like chocolate and cakes last year as do a lot of people, but I wish I had stuck with healthy foods. I would suggest having a good healthy breakfast every morning. This can be a problem for a lot of girls especially as many don’t eat breakfast at all but it’s vital that you have breakfast as you will be more alert and be able to take in more information. Porridge is a good choice as it is a carbohydrate and releases energy slowly, therefore it will keep you energised until lunchtime. In addition to porridge also have at least two pieces of fruit for breakfast.Also, try to exercise every day, go for a walk, get fresh air, practice your favourite sport. Taking an hour or even half an hour every day to do something to take your mind off study will help you in the long term.MathsI think overall Maths can be the most daunting exam for people. It’s not like other subjects where you can memorise definitions or points, people fear maths as the questions are unknown and sometimes you can’t really prepare for certain questions. You can memorise your theorems but chances are a theorem may not come up in your exam. The only thing you can do to prepare for maths is to practice, practice, practice! Even if this means doing the same question over and over again, the only thing you’ll do is improve and become quicker at answering questions. I know I sound like a teacher but practicing questions helps. Most maths teachers choose the Edco examination papers, these are helpful but my maths teacher chose to get exam papers from educate.ie, I found this company’s exam papers incredibly helpful as they not only had the past exam papers but they had many practice papers and they also had twice as many questions to practice than the Edco papers.The MocksMocks can be an eye opener for most people, sometimes you may not do so well in a subject that you are good at, in others you might get a better result than expected. What I will say is not to take your mock results for granted, they are only a tester, they don’t symbolise what you will get in June. For example, I got the highest result in my year for Home Economics in my mock, I won the Junior Cert Awards for both English and Home Economics in my school, and I was also praised for my cross stitch project and my cooking by many teachers. When it came to the final weeks of study, I didn’t spend much time on Home Economics as I thought I already had an A in the bag. When results came out, I got a B and I was certain that whoever was correcting my paper had made a mistake, but after getting my paper rechecked my result remained at a B. To this day I regret not spending more time on Home Economics and for taking my mock result for granted.Tips for the exam day• Have a good sleep the night before• Eat a good and sufficient breakfast• Make sure you have all equipment needed for exam eg. Pen, ruler, calculator, etc.• Remember your exam number• Arrive at your exam centre at least 20 minutes before your exam is due to start• Wear a watch- it’s vital that you’re aware of your timing during the exam• Prepare a rough plan in your head for what order you plan to answer the questions in• Stay calm• Read over every question before you hand up your paper as once you hand it up there’s no going backAt the end of the day, just stay calm and know that there is only so much you can do, we’re only human. We’re not supposed to remember absolutely everything we’re told especially when we’re gaining huge amounts of information at one time like in the Junior or Leaving Certificates, but you can work on ways to remember certain material and ways to look after ourselves during an intense time of studying. Talk to your teachers or parents/guardians if you are worrying or stressed, they’re all here to help you.Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. If you are interested in becoming an ISSU Exam Blogger, contact info@issu.ie with your name, school year and contact details.
CAO Applications - Deadlines & top tips!
What you need to know about the CAO
It's that time of year again when 6th year students are deciding upon their college options. The CAO officially opened for online applications on November 5th 2015.Start filling out your CAO as soon as you think you're ready, don't rush into it but don't leave it until the last minute. It's easier (cheaper) and quicker to fill out your application online on the CAO website. It would be wise to register early and get the discounted online rate of €25 before January 20th @ 5.15pm. Once you've registered you can go back later and add or change courses until the first closing deadline; February 1st. After this date any changes made incur a fee.
Dates for your diary
January 20th at 5:15pm- Closing date for early bird price €25 CAO application (it is €40 after this date).- Closing date for early bird HPAT-Ireland price €120 (it is €190 after this date).February 1st at 5:15pm- Closing date for €40 CAO application.- Late registrations for HPAT-Ireland are accepted costing €190. The HPAT-Ireland test will talk place nationwide on February 27th 2016.
Restricted Courses - make sure you apply in round one
For anyone who's interested in restricted courses i.e. courses that require a portfolio, interview or aptitude test you need to make sure that your choice is listed before February 1st – it may be too late after that date for restricted courses.Don't panic, once you've register you have until March 1st @ 5.15pm to submit your final round 1 application. Late applications are accepted up to and including May 1st – but try not to leave it this late if you can – extra fees apply. You should expect to receive a paper copy of your statement of applications during the last week in May.After the Leaving Cert you have until July 1st to change your CAO if you're really unsure of a course. Always consult your career guidance counsellor before making changes like this at such a late stage. CAO round offers will be made available at 6:00 am on the 22nd of August 2016.
Deciding what to apply for:
* Look at lots of college brochures and get an idea of what courses interest you. If your school doesn't have prospectuses ask them to order some or phone the college yourself and ask to be sent one.* Make sure to check the basic entry requirements for the courses you're interested in. This info will be in the prospectus. For example, many Irish universities require that you have minimum grades in Irish and English as well as the necessary points.* Consider what you want to study AND where you'll be happy living. If you want a taste of city life then check out Dublin, Belfast, Galway, Limerick, Cork, Derry and UK universities. If you're more comfortable living somewhere smaller look at what's on offer in places like the University of Ulster at Coleraine or Sligo I.T.* Once you have an idea of what you're interested in, call the colleges and ask if there's someone you can talk to about the courses on offer.* If possible, visit the universities or colleges you plan to apply for. Most universities have open days, which give you an opportunity to visit the college. There is usually a tour of the facilities and information about everything the university has to offer.* You can usually download the university or college prospectus from their website.
Useful websites:
QualifaxCareers Portalwww.cao.ie
Top Tips!
* When filling in your CAO make sure to put the course you really want to do as first choice. NOT what you think you'll have the results to study!* Fill out the CAO form in plenty of time. Don't forget there is a ‘change of mind' form that you can use if you decide you want to apply for different courses.* Practice filling in the CAO. Make a photocopy of each one and get a teacher or family member to check that everything is filled in properly before you post them off. Or apply online and get someone to look over the application before you finalise it.* The more research you do, the more confident you'll feel when you finally get to that chosen college!* Finally, this is important so swallow your pride or shyness and ask the career guidance teacher to help you. Spend time researching the best options and deciding what you really want to do!