What’s The Problem?

You have probably had this argument with many teachers in school, but what are the main problems in general with the leaving cert?

When I run courses for Leaving Certificate students I always ask – “What are the problems with the current system?”

Take a moment now to think of what some of the major problems you think there are. For example:
  • Too many subjects to study for.
  • Many subjects not relevant for real life working.
  • Irish Honours course far to long.

They’re just some, but think of a few more, think back to those arguments that you’ve had with your teachers about some of the subjects and the set up of the system. Try and think of at least 3, but what you may find is that the more you think of the problems the more you will come up with.

This exercise can be frustrating to do, you’ll find all the problems with the system and probably get a little annoyed.

Oh boy
photo credit: quinn.anya

Now, start to think of everything that you could or want to improve with regard to your own studying and work. Some people say focus or motivation, or others talk about planning and being better organised. Again come up with around 3 thing that you would like to be better at with regard to school work and exams.

Now go back to the list of school problems and ask yourself which ones can I directly impact right now? Which ones can I change immediately, or which ones can I start to influence?

I’m going to imagine that you cannot change the hons Irish Course, or the exam timetable or the amount of subjects. Stinger.

But look now at the list of areas that you could do with improving yourself on. My guess is that you can immediately start to improve those areas and that you have direct control over them, unlike the broad problems.

Here’s the main point;

What you focus on you will get more of.

The more you think about the problems, the more you’ll find, the more you start looking at how you can prepare yourself for your exams the more ways you will find for that.

So what are you better off doing? Focusing on the problems, or focusing on the things you can directly influence in your life? You can’t change the weather but you can buy a coat so that you’re ready for when it rains.

As irrelevant as some of the subjects and exams are you must prepare for them because at the end of the day, they are what you are going to be sitting in a few months time. Good poker players know that they have to play the hand there dealt and not rely on the cards to win it for them 100% of the time.

But you can learn some of the best learning strategies and motivational approaches at www.ios.ie – if you get a big enough group going there is a large discount so have a look and let me know what you think.

😉

7 thoughts on “What’s The Problem?”

  1. There’s alot wrong with the Leaving. C. Like I think the points system is quite unfair because less than a B in an Ordinary Level subject is worth bugger all points. Secondly, compulsory subjects really shouldn’t be part of the curriculam for L.C students. 16-17year olds are mature enough to know what subjects they are like, what subjects they will benefit from and need for college and the future. English, Irish and Maths – yes, they are all important to a certain extent, but I really don’t think it’s necessary to have a L.C H/L standard in each of the three. After the JC, students should get an opportunity to have control over their studies. JC is all about compulsory subjects; there are too many of them and students have little choice. However, the LC is far more important in the longrun, so I think that students should therefore have more choice. Perhaps it should be compulsory for students to keep on ONE of the THREE (Eng, Irish, Mat.)? After this, students should be able to choose to keep on the remaining two also, one of the remaining two, or none of the remaining two. Finally, I think 7subjects is WAY too much! Especially when they only count 6! What’s the point in learning off the entire L.C syllabus in a whole extra subject that wont even be counted in the end? I know it’s there as a backup, but shouldn’t this backup be optional for students? I think 4-5 subjects is plenty for L.C students to focus on.. 3 of which DO NOT have to be English, Irish and Maths. Also, I think that there should be much more marks given for projectwork and practicals to the L.C course so that students can get good grades in their good subjects without having to rely almost entirely on the written paper.

    1. agree with pretty much everything you’ve said there! in a nutshell, i think the LC is heading towards being 100% project / continuous assessment based however we might not see it in our lifetime 😉

      the changes being made to the system are happening at a snails pace which means the entire exam structure is out of date as has been since the 90’s…

      i mean no technology / IT subject despite the fact it’s one of the biggest industries (and growing) in the world right now…

      also, take a subject like Art – where is the digital art / design in the leaving cert? it’s non existant which is criminal in today’s world.

    2. yeah even if we don’t see the l.c changing, i hope it happens someday!
      yeah it probably has been out of date since then..like in certain areas and subjects many students fail every year yet nothing is changed in the system.. i.e maths. over a thousand failed lastyear and the curriculam has remained the same..?

      i agree with u. technology/i.t skills are a necessity in today’s world..you need IT skills for practically EVERY career!! Students can graduate and get a good L.C while at the same time being completely computer-illiterate and struggling in the outside world of technology for the rest of their lives!!

      Also agree about digital art design..this is an INDUSTRY just like any other yet it is not even slightly dealt with in schools.

  2. There's alot wrong with the Leaving. C. Like I think the points system is quite unfair because less than a B in an Ordinary Level subject is worth bugger all points. Secondly, compulsory subjects really shouldn't be part of the curriculam for L.C students. 16-17year olds are mature enough to know what subjects they are like, what subjects they will benefit from and need for college and the future. English, Irish and Maths – yes, they are all important to a certain extent, but I really don't think it's necessary to have a L.C H/L standard in each of the three. After the JC, students should get an opportunity to have control over their studies. JC is all about compulsory subjects; there are too many of them and students have little choice. However, the LC is far more important in the longrun, so I think that students should therefore have more choice. Perhaps it should be compulsory for students to keep on ONE of the THREE (Eng, Irish, Mat.)? After this, students should be able to choose to keep on the remaining two also, one of the remaining two, or none of the remaining two. Finally, I think 7subjects is WAY too much! Especially when they only count 6! What's the point in learning off the entire L.C syllabus in a whole extra subject that wont even be counted in the end? I know it's there as a backup, but shouldn't this backup be optional for students? I think 4-5 subjects is plenty for L.C students to focus on.. 3 of which DO NOT have to be English, Irish and Maths. Also, I think that there should be much more marks given for projectwork and practicals to the L.C course so that students can get good grades in their good subjects without having to rely almost entirely on the written paper.

  3. agree with pretty much everything you've said there! in a nutshell, i think the LC is heading towards being 100% project / continuous assessment based however we might not see it in our lifetime 😉

    the changes being made to the system are happening at a snails pace which means the entire exam structure is out of date as has been since the 90's…

    i mean no technology / IT subject despite the fact it's one of the biggest industries (and growing) in the world right now…

    also, take a subject like Art – where is the digital art / design in the leaving cert? it's non existant which is criminal in today's world.

  4. yeah even if we don't see the l.c changing, i hope it happens someday!
    yeah it probably has been out of date since then..like in certain areas and subjects many students fail every year yet nothing is changed in the system.. i.e maths. over a thousand failed lastyear and the curriculam has remained the same..?

    i agree with u. technology/i.t skills are a necessity in today's world..you need IT skills for practically EVERY career!! Students can graduate and get a good L.C while at the same time being completely computer-illiterate and struggling in the outside world of technology for the rest of their lives!!

    Also agree about digital art design..this is an INDUSTRY just like any other yet it is not even slightly dealt with in schools.

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