The first Junior Certificate exam in three years has received a mixed reaction from teachers and students, with two questions on the higher level paper drawing fire.
English teacher Conor Murphy said he was “furious” over some of the questions on the paper, including one on “upshots” and “downshots” in film and a question that required students to answer on three poets.
”We just came out of Covid, the students had numerous lockdowns,” Mr Murphy said, on Twitter. “Answer on three poems? This is a dirty, dirty trick to play on 15-year-olds.”
Mr Murphy also questioned whether students would know what an upshot or downshot is in film. “A downshot? Seriously? And this is a State exam? I mean, come on, if they don’t even know the correct terms. I’m dumbfounded. They should immediately give every student an extra 50 per cent. This will cause confusion for those that know the correct terms.”
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Nessa O’Meara, subject representative for the Teachers’ Union of Ireland and a teacher at Coláiste Eoin, Hacketstown, Co Carlow, agreed.
”The poetry question that asked students to discuss three poems while referring to content and language under the theme of hope was unexpected, and some students may have found this difficult,” she said.
She added that many students had mixed reactions to the question which asked them to choose between a novel or a play they studied.
“Students in Junior Cycle study a Shakespearean drama [and] a modern drama, as well as substantial work and time on novels, so some students were disappointed they could not showcase their knowledge,” Ms O’Meara said.
But Jamie Dockery, Studyclix.ie subject expert and a teacher at Tyndall College in Carlow said the paper offered students an opportunity to engage with a range of different written and visual stimuli.
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”The broad range of topics was very pleasing to see, including the fact that students were asked about their studied film and were given the chance to discuss either a novel or play ensuring that time spent covering these in class was not wasted,” Mr Dockery said.
“As a teacher, my only concern would be the fact that some students may have struggled to answer such a wide ranging exam in the two hours they were afforded.”
One of the questions asked students to read a passage set in space from a novel by Douglas Coupland and to answer whether it was a hopeful piece of writing.
Online, students had mixed feelings about the paper.
“Most of it was fine but that three poem question and the space question were evil,” said one student on Twitter, to a chorus of agreement.
On the ordinary level paper, Mr Dockery said that it was both fair and accessible, giving the candidate plenty of scope and opportunity to express themselves.
“Students were offered the chance to give advice to incoming first Year students; to explore an extract of a novel and respond with some creative writing of their own,” he said.
“Again, like the higher level exam, this was incredibly broad with plenty of choice – questions on film, drama, fiction and poetry all featured. Some candidates may have struggled to finish with the two-hour timeframe.”
Try this at home:
Junior Cert English, higher level, paper one
“Do you think that poets offer readers hope through their poetry? Explain your views with reference to at least three poems you have studied. Refer to both the ideas and the use of language in the poems you discuss.”
