You are putting a ton of pressure on teenagers to be successful for one exam. Years of hard work could be messed up if they have a bad day. Show us where else we do this? how many teenagers have committed or attempted suicide due to this exam?

the exam needs a reform, the whole education system needs a reform – 13 years of Irish and most people can’t speak a few words, never mind holding a conversation.

“there has been a “national obsession” in Ireland with the “points race””.

The points system has created this obsession. It’s an archaic measurement that awards rote learning, does little to analyse important strengths like critical thinking & benefits the wealthy who can pay tutors to stuff information into Turlough after rugby practice.

It is time to overhaul the entire system and create a progressive measurement that appraises learners throughout secondary school.

Another day another Simon Harris headline. Well done Jane great journalism. Simon will give you another scoop soon.

There is certainly better methods nowadays to measure success. A memory exam where you churn out repeated answers is no real way to measure one’s ability. It consists of looking up old answers and questions and repeating it over and over and hoping it pops up. It doesn’t teaches you how to think, critical examine, form arguments and refute others.
The focus is way too broad too.
What relevance has woodworking got to a future doctor?
Why does an engineer need to understand Irish?

These exams don’t define anyone. Schools are point driven and those who don’t make the grade made to feel worthless.

The obsession is not with points race but with university admission, so much so that we now have new universities coming out of the swamps, who, are now handing out such high grades to keep everyone feeling intelligent. The standard of education at third level in Ireland has collapsed unless the course is sponsored or overseen by outside commercial interests. That’s not what a university is. (The literacy of graduates is perhaps at 1980s 2nd level standard). The problem was within the college sector itself who wanted to be like Thatcher’s new universities but were still only polytechs in thought and procedure. Look at DIT….. still the same ole baloney unless you want to do architecture or repair glasses. They all wanted to be “lecturers” and what changed? Their address.

The Leaving Cert will change when the teaching unions decide to let it change.

Far from being the rich kids friend, the CAO points system is the poorer students’ friend or ally. All other systems will allow the ‘elites’ to make their sneaky little phone calls and ‘quiet word in your ear’ etc. All the continuous assessment/project work/interview etc is all open to abuse. The CAO, may be tough, but is essentially not open to abuse. No professors/politicians/moneyed folks etc, can get a single additional point for their little darling. Worth asking yourself why ‘privileged’ simon harris never misses an opportunity to badmouth CAO system. Hardly a man of the people. #You DontKnowWhatYouGotTillItsGone

Heard this the other day.
We in Ireland teach our kids to do exams and not educate them on the subject.
In Finland no state exams. And it works.

”A bad workman blames his tools” Of course the L.C. is not perfect but it is the best we have, hopefully just for the short term. Any alternative will only be a tweak on the L.C. because it is and has to be a ‘competition’. I have seen it from both ends and the difference between private and public education is, frankly, shocking.

In ‘public’ schools, the emphasis is more on the teacher passing on the information and hoping for the best exam results. Bad results have no consequences for the teachers. Teachers, seem to believe that their only job is to teach the curriculum, not the child. There is little emphasis placed on the confidence of the student. Just look at the ways schools handle bullying, disruptive children in the classroom, ‘discipline’ or even trying to encourage children to find their best talents.

Students in ‘private’ schools are encouraged every step of the way, bullying has zero tolerance, videos of class lessons and notes are given in addition to class time and free. The whole system is much more focused on the individual.

Some might say that this is all about money and aren’t I lucky, I am!!!!. But given that most of the teachers we have are trained together, why can’t both systems be the same? The Dept of Education and the teacher’s unions are more interested in trying to put the blame on everything else rather than their own inadequacies.

And too many parents are happy to be negative about the educational system and use schools as a babysitting service, rather than tackling the real issues but most importantly boosting the self confidence of their child and being positive about the brilliant education system we have.

Simon Harris did not even go to university and he’s somehow qualified to be a minister of higher education ? He only gained the health ministry because of loyalty to enda Kenny, and has done very little since to justify high office and has presided over more than a few disasters ,like the children’s hospital.

Snow flakes

Yes it is cruel. We don’t have the facilities to allow people do what they want to study. We should have smaller amount courses that are actually career relevant to facilitate all who want to do them instead of a point rat race system.

Only the weaklings are complaining and failing.

The leaving cert suits the well off who can pay for grinds and the perfect answers for their kids when they sit this memory test exam. In a normal work environment we process large amounts of information that we reference and are not expected to memorize. The leaving cert does not reflect this. Its a rigged system designed to open doors for the few into the high earning, high status degree courses.

If we bring in continuous assessment you might not get something genuine. A test like that brings a lot of pressure but it gives a clear indication of an ability to prepare and accurately recall information. I’d like it reformed to award more critical thinking skills.

The points race is for the rich kids only. Just another example of poverty having no voice at all.

I said it before, and i’ll say it again.
I cannot believe that the man who couldn’t have been bothered to finish his college degree and who dropped out of higher education, is now the Minister of Higher Education.
Previous reporting such as “Harris, who studied Journalism at DIT Aungier St” was actually misleading and incorrect, as he dropped out half way through the course.
But hey, if you good with the gab, and can come up with soundbites such as “speed trumps perfection” then you will rise to the top.
We are looking at the next FG Leader here folks, and possibly the next Taoiseach in 6 years time.
You have been warned.

That lad is like a pimple on my body, that I know I have to squeeze

Its the seniors in dept of edication have been keeping this model for years advising whichever minister happens to be in power at the time against any change.

This sounds more like he’s going to say he’s got a plan in place and then he’s going to TRY and just take the money