#ClarificationNow: ISSU Campaign for Clarity on the 2020 State Examinations
The Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU), as the national representative body of second-level students, is calling on the Minister for Education and Skills to provide clarity on the contingency plans being arranged for the 2020 State Examinations.
The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the nation of Ireland and the ISSU recognises the huge effort and steps the government is taking to protect the public. The ISSU continues to follow, support and promote the Health Service Executive guidelines for the well-being and safety of all our members. However, in these unprecedented times, for thousands of examination students across Ireland, there is an immense feeling of uncertainty and anxiety as each student eagerly awaits for information regarding their exams.
The ISSU is asking the Minister for Education and Skills, to include the student voice in finalising these contingency plans. The ISSU is requesting to be involved in setting a clear deadline for when these decisions will be disseminated to the public and to assist in providing clear steps to be taken to ensure fairness and quality for all students and stakeholders involved.
President of the ISSU, Ciara Fanning commented “This is a hugely difficult and confusing time for everyone, but particularly for students who are due to sit State Exams in June. Having built up to these exams this year and previous school years there is huge pressure to perform well, and students are now unsure when they will be sitting the exams or if they will happen at all. This makes it incredibly difficult to focus on study and preparation for the exams. We need clarity immediately on the State Exams to put students at ease and reduce the immense stress and confusion they are already feeling at this time.”
Student welfare is paramount at this difficult time and reinforces the need to receive clarification as soon as possible on proposed plans that will impact the students' futures. The ISSU will continue to advocate that students, as key stakeholders in their education, are consulted and included in any decisions to be made regarding their education in the coming weeks and months.
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
Survey: Leaving the Leaving Cert / Ag fágaint na hÁrdteiste
We're gathering students thoughts on completing the Leaving Certificate exams and we want to hear students honest opinions of their recent exam experiences.Please complete our ISSU Leaving the Leaving Cert survey and help shape ISSU policy! Táimid ag bailiú smaointe faoin Árdteist ó na daltaí a ndearna é i mbliana (2015).Le do thoill, comhlánaigh ár suirbhé Ag fágaint na hÁrdteiste agus cabhráigh linn polasaí AMLDE a chruthú!
Lead up to the Leaving Certificate Results (Part 2)
Student Engagement & Development Officer - Rebecca Dempsey
In the months leading up to the Leaving Cert, students turn to past students for advice. The CAO has been a topic of conversation within the ISSU office as a few officers have recently sat their exams. It’s a strange thing to look back on, as 6 years later I now have a better understanding of the system. It wasn’t until 6th year that it really hit me that I would have to make decisions for my future. College was the next step in life and I knew that that’s what I wanted but choosing a course, “the course”, was extremely difficult.Looking back, I honestly had no idea what I wanted to study. I had researched and shadowed a few people in their workplaces to gain some ideas but I really didn’t know. I enjoyed Physics and Geography in school but I really liked Maths, English and Business Studies. I found Irish and French difficult, but I knew that if I ever wanted to study Primary School Teaching I would need to do well in Irish. I made the decision to drop to Ordinary Level Maths and to keep Honour Level Irish. I couldn’t handle both at Honours Level and it was a good decision for me but if I could go back, I wouldn’t have made the same decision. I know now that I would have enjoyed learning Irish if I had reduced the stress that I had created around it. In hindsight I should have gone with my gut, instead of trying to keep up with my friends or to please others.I switched between so many courses, that in the end my CAO Application was a cocktail of different courses. It illustrated my interests, or what I thought my interests were and I pretended to be happy with that. I mentally compared my options to my friends when I should have taken the time to consider a course that I would actually enjoy. So after the change of mind period my CAO looked like this;
On the first round of offers in August, I was offered Science in DCU and Pharmacy Technician in AIT. I accepted DCU and that was where I was going. There was a big problem with this decision though and that was that I had no interest in studying science. I had it on my CAO because it was all I had a read about in the months leading up to the Leaving Cert. Science was spoke about as the best area to work in and that is where the jobs would be, or so people were saying at that time.I was unhappy with my decision but I thought that I didn’t have any other options. That was until my Mum sat me down and told me to read a column in The Irish Times which was written about CAO Vacant Places. I can remember her clearly saying, “Read this, and then read it again”. I had never heard of Vacant Places or how it worked and I was happily surprised to read about course vacancies and see that new courses were available. I spotted Mathematical Sciences in Dublin Institute of Technology and I knew that that was what I wanted to study. I always enjoyed maths and I was interested and keen to learn maths in a different environment. I decided on that course, updated my online CAO application and a week later I was offered a place. I now have a Bachelor of Science Honours in Mathematical Sciences and I know from my college experience that I want to teach second-level students in the future.My experience in college was extremely tough and at times I felt that my course was too difficult but I never gave up. I was lucky to have the option of undertaking work placement during my degree and I was fortunate to find my place and interest in student politics also. I've taken a lot more than just my degree out of DIT. A degree may be a piece of paper but it is an invaluable piece of paper that no one can change or take away from you. It is a fantastic feeling to graduate and to feel proud of your own achievements. I think everyone deserves the right to feel that way and there is an abundance of help available in college also, all you have to do is ask for it.If I could give my 17 year old self some advice, I would say to read as much information as possible when it comes to the CAO and to consider the Vacant Places option. Taking a year to work or repeating the leaving cert is an option too. I would tell myself to go with my gut instincts and believe in myself more. I didn’t know what I wanted to do at that age and I’m happy that I didn’t. I had to take a chance and I’m glad that I did. The CAO offers may seem daunting but there are routes and different options available. It can work out; take it from someone who has been through the process. The very best of luck to you all!Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.More information can be seen on the CAO website https://www.cao.ie/The ISSU advises students and parents to use the National Parents’ Council post-primary (NPCpp) free phone exam helpline (1800 265 165) to seek independent advice from qualified guidance counsellors. This will be available from 10 am 12th of August, more details will be shared next week.
(Part 1) Lead up to the Leaving Certificate Results
Deputy President - Joanna Siewierska
My CAO* experience began way back somewhere in Transition Year guidance class when our counsellor, Ms Fagan, opened up qualifax.ie and cao.ie and asked us what would we like to do in college. We all smiled and thought, what is she on about; sure we have two more years to go...Fast forward to September of last year, and as we prepared to go to the Higher Options event, the nerves began to kick in. I came back with a nice stack of prospectuses and different coloured pens and total confusion. There was so much to choose from. I also attended the international colleges fair in UCD* with some friends, which I enjoyed a lot but it made the choice of possible colleges and courses seem endless.For some time, medicine in Italy seemed like the perfect undergraduate experience however I changed my mind about that pretty quickly. Later, a scholarship in UCC* attracted my attention, but in the end I decided to take advantage of the fact that I live in Dublin and have easy access to a broad choice of excellent colleges and universities. Still, the choice of courses was massive!From Science to Drama, English to Computer Science, I was hovering over every course that had anything to do with any of my interests. It was tough. The one thing that I knew was that 6th year was draining me and the only way I could manage it was by staying involved and active outside of school in the hope to distract myself from the inevitable exams.Staying involved was one of the best decisions I made in 6th year, despite many people warning me against it. I got the fantastic opportunity to spend a weekend in Brussels with some friends from Youth Work Ireland in October and in November ISSU sent me and a friend to Bratislava for three days. I loved those experiences because not only did I get to escape and experience new cities, I also got to learn more about European politics and in particular about the Student Union movement around Europe. They were great opportunities to see life beyond exams and school and I found them very motivating to study and to aim high.During 6th year I was also involved in some work with the Junior Minister for Equality. As time went on I realised that social issues, equal rights and working together to make the world a better and fairer place for all was something that I was really passionate about. I suppose, to some extent, I was already slowly working towards those goals on a small scale, and I really wanted to continue doing so. I began thinking that in order to make a real difference in the world you need to be a decision maker, someone who is involved with governments and people who run countries and decide on what is fair and what isn’t. In that way, you can become a part of making changes in laws and policies which, once implemented correctly, can have a direct effect on the lives of many people. Obviously, this is a really simplified image, but basically, it was my belief that to achieve equality and social justice in the world you need a solid knowledge of law and then apply it. So, when I saw the course titled 'Law with Social Justice' in UCD, I fell in love!It wasn't easy choosing UCD. As a younger sister of a devoted TCD* student, UCD was the enemy. But, having visited the Law open day in Trinity, I knew that it wasn't the right place for me. It just didn't feel right and the social justice modules really appealed to me. For a while I considered other options, I had been to Maynooth University before and I was a regular at different events and conferences in DCU*, but I felt I could achieve higher points than those required for many of their courses. In the end, I decided to be ambitious and brave and put down UCD's Law at the top of my CAO. Later on, actually on the day of the CAO deadline, I went on a proper tour of the UCD campus and I was even happier with my choice.After the exams I was exhausted and didn't really care about anything other than getting back to normal. In the time coming up to the exams, and during them, I was certainly not my usual self. I was agitated, moody and tired. Soon after my last exam, I managed to get a part time job and I settled into a routine which helped balance the mood swings and relax the nerves. Now, as the results are getting closer, I do feel some nerves creeping back but nowhere near as much as I did during the exam season. I'm a bit of a workaholic, so between my job, ISSU work and other engagements, there's not much time left in my day to worry, only a few hours to sleep. I'm doing pretty well and feeling good.For now, I have requested time off work on results day and the day after. Regardless of what news I'll find in that envelope, I plan on celebrating surviving the Leaving Cert with friends. I will worry about where I'll be going in September later. I know that the CAO offer is a big deal, but it's not the end of the world. Second round offers, checking papers and getting new grades, vacant places in courses; there are plenty of ways to sneak into that dream course. And if not, then who knows, maybe my second choice (or whatever else comes) will be better!I feel like even though university or college is important now, the education that we get, regardless of where we get it and in what field, will only take us as far as we work for it . No fancy reputation or shining facilities will mean anything if you don't put in the work, and equally if you get into a course in a smaller institution or get an apprenticeship, if you work hard, you can achieve great things.So my advice to all of you waiting for results with me is this, don't worry too much about what you'll be doing next year, worry about how hard you will work to make the best of it! :)Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.CAO* - Central Applications OfficeUCD* - University College DublinUCC* - University College CorkTCD* - Trinity College DublinDCU* - Dublin City UniversityThe ISSU advises students and parents to use the National Parents’ Council post-primary (NPCpp) free phone exam helpline (1800 265 165) to seek independent advice from qualified guidance counsellors. This will be available from 10 am 12th of August, more details will be shared next week.
Leaving Certificate Japanese
Leah - Ordinary Level
Ah yes. The sweet thoughts of my final exam. Actually, no. The Japanese Exam itself was not sweet, in my opinion. However, the thought of it finally being my last and final Leaving Cert exam was sweet like honey. I was very unlucky in the fact that I would have not one, but two exams on the 19th but I chose to grin and bear it.It was an extremely long day today for me which seemed to also be running out of time - especially when it came to my Japanese exam. I know for a fact that if I had chose to take the Higher Level Paper, I would be kicking myself in the shins right now. So I am glad I dropped down only a few weeks ago.The Japanese Paper consisted of a lot of Katakana, which was to be expected. The first two comprehensions weren't too difficult, I didn't think. Most of the answers you could almost guess. The Grammar section on Question 2 was also somewhat easy and the culture question was the usual level of ease.When it came to the remainder of the paper however, I was challenged. I gave the third Comprehension my best shot but I could not answer the last parts without putting Hiragana where Katakana was supposed to be - or vice versa.By the time it came to the Aural Exam, we had reached the home stretch. This part of the exam was easy, but I was tapping my foot, begging for it to be over. When it hit 5, I ran out the door fairly promptly. I was free!All in all, the Leaving Certificate is a pain for 2 long years but when you're finished, it's almost as if it didn't happen. I hope everyone gets the results that they're hoping for and remember: if it's important to you, you'll find a way. These head-wrecking exams do not and will not define you. Everything seems impossible until it's done and until then, we may as well enjoy process as much as we can.Please note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union.