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
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.
Junior Certificate Music
Jane - Higher Level
After being delighted with my music practical I had looked at my whole music situation fondly, that was, until I walked out of science on Thursday and didn't open a music book until last night. I think everyone else being on their holidays had definitely made me feel less stressed about music.After a big study session I went to bed last night very worried. I didn't want to let my teacher down who I get on very well with. It wasn't that bad, I have to say. Set songs were fab, the William tell overture came up, which I kind of rambled with when talking about what made the music sound like rain drops and wind. (Study the hell out of set works second years!!)Irish music was okay too, although again I kind of stretched it when talking about The Corrs, because I literally don't know anything about them. Dictation was well, dictation. It's never been my favourite question and I bet I did horribly in it but anyways. I haven't looked at a book for choice works or songs since about may I'd say but I actually got it right (miracle) the listening part of 5 was pretty hard too. The rest was a breeze, I was happy with all the melody writing etc.If I could do it again I definitely would not have left it until the night before, I hope my procrastination doesn't drag my grade down on my practical.Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.
Junior Certificate Religion
Gearóid - Higher Level
I came into the exam after a long science and a two and a half hour lunch, I wandered into the religion exam hoping for the best. I started with the short questions which I found quite simple. The picture question was the same as usual, and the document was somewhat easier than earlier years.In the long questions, I did the Communities of Faith, Question of Faith, Celebration of Faith, and The Moral Challenge questions. I found I had the ability to complete these. Sadly I didn't realise the time passing and I had spent one hour at these.As the long question worth seventy marks, I had only left fifteen minutes to complete this. I wrote slightly over one page on question one on Northern Ireland which incorporated the two Christian denominations of Catholicism and Protestantism.Overall, I enjoyed this paper, not too different to the past papers, I hope it shows in September.Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.
Junior Certificate Science
Gearóid - Higher Level
I walked into the science prepared however I was feeling a little nervous. I started with the biology section. I thought the biology section was like the exam papers I suppose, however I felt question three on the bees and the apple tree was somewhat different but manageable.I went onto chemistry then. The short questions were again not too hard. It seemed that the SEC are trying to be up to date and put a question about water and water treatment on the paper.The physics section went worse than usual. Question 8 on the refraction of light was not easy but I think I got through it. The short questions were good, one or two tripped me up.Overall I did not think the paper was too hard and I hope the marking goes my way.Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.
Junior Certificate French
Jane - Higher Level
I was 4 and half hours into my history cram session this morning when I looked up at my exam timetable and realized, with a sinking feeling in my stomach, that it was French in the morning and history in the evening.I really did my best to look over my letter vocab as efficiently as I could, and because I thought I had two hours of a break before hand, I didn't get a chance to look at any other vocab. I went into the exam pretty stressed because of all this. While I have no great love for the language, I do have a great love of my French teacher, she's such a fab woman and I really really didn't want to let her down. The only reason I do well in French is because I want to get good grades and I confess, part of that is so she'll be happy with me.So anyway, I sit right next to the tape in my exam centre and the 2015 JC French listening comprehension comes on. It's not so bad. I understood the majority of the French, and think I got most answers right, save for maybe one or two. Next was the reading. Again, I liked it, it was easy enough, although I did have the heartbreaking feeling of; I should know this. Then the French note came up. Ugh. I would have preferred a postcard because my note dragged me down a bit in my pre. I thought the letter was grand. I could apply the paragraphs I'd learnt to it. Though the question part where they asked "ask her if she will work for the summer" was hard, I just kind of winged it. Most of the French candidates had left the building by the time it was 12 o'clock, but I never leave early, it's just against my beliefs! I think if you get 2 and a half hours for an exam, you should use them and so I did, and had to ask for extra paper to finish my letter.I'm pretty disappointed coming out of JC French. I feel the work I had done in the past three years, the hundreds of words I had learnt off as vocab, the studying for my letters, hadn't been shown. At the end of the exam, I sat there thinking how much I would have loved to have done continuous assessment for my Junior Cert French. Quel Dommage!
Art - Higher Level
Beginning with the aural, I was surprised how long it took, in comparison to Irish. Forty minutes! Anyway, I thought part A, B and C of this were pretty manageable if I remember correctly, with the exception here and there. Part D was pretty tough I thought. Part E was alright again. Unbelievably, we were informed of the mistake at the end! Overall, I thought the listening was a bit harder than I expected and might have brought my overall grade a bit down.I then did the writing questions to regain a bit of self esteem. I found the letter to be very good and was delighted the holiday in the summer appeared. I used as many useful phrases as possible. The note was manageable too if my memory serves me right. I thought these questions went well.The reading comprehensions were a bit of a mixed bag. Mostly, I thought they were good but I have to say I dropped a few marks here and there. I was a bit surprised I could understand the later ones as well as I did, because I'm usually poor there. Though I can't really be certain how well I did. Overall I was happy with how French went, and I just want to leave it at the back of my mind for the summer.Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.