A chara, – I would like to know what “crude measuring instrument” Ann Marie Hourihane employed (Opinion, August 13th) in researching her thesis that “the people who do best in life, and who have the best time, do not tend to have done terribly well in their Leaving Certificate”. I am sure that the students anxiously awaiting their results this week would be interested in reviewing her findings, which appear to dismiss their efforts as misguided and probably futile.
If it is the case that the evidence for her theory is purely anecdotal, then I suggest that the hard-working students should not allow her comments to devalue their achievements, academic and otherwise, when they find out their results today. It takes a vast amount of hard work and dedication to achieve good results in the Leaving Certificate. Quite apart from the academic challenges which students face, they are required to develop qualities such as focus, determination, attention to detail, time-management and work/life balance. It is necessary for them to master difficult concepts and apply themselves over an extended period of time towards achieving a particular goal. These are attributes that are generally considered essential in an employee, and, indeed, in a self-reliant adult.
I do not dispute the proposition that there are things about the Leaving Certificate that could be improved, and I note in particular the recent criticisms of the maths syllabus. However, I would take issue with the inference that we can all be like Katie Taylor. It is Ms Taylor’s very singularity which makes her notable, and her magnificent achievements are down to her own exceptional talents and hard work.
The majority of us are likely to be reliant on more conventional career and life paths.
Finally, I have been amused in recent days at the manner in which Katie Taylor’s magnificent Olympic success has been appropriated by a number of elements in support of their own agenda. Their contortions would have been worthy of the North Greenwich Arena. – Is mise,
A chara, – I thought of all the students who will receive their Leaving Certificate results this week, when John Joe Nevin said he felt like “a failure” immediately after winning his silver medal.
John Joe had done his best but not reached the goal he had wanted! This will be the experience of thousands of young people today when they receive their results.
There will be those who have given their all but won’t reach the points they need for their desired third-level course.
They must be supported and encouraged.
For some there may not be success in the results at all, but the success was that they completed their Leaving Certificate, no matter how many points they got.
Going on past experience we will not hear about these students, their families, community or the schools that have given them this sense of achievement. Their photographs will not appear on the front page of the national papers and the so-called media league tables will not acknowledge their success.
Therefore it is up to those of us who are privileged to be part of their lives as staff members within our schools and their families to acknowledge that they have had success. It is our responsibility to support them in the future as they continue to develop their IQ and their EQ (social emotional intelligence) as members of our society. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – Is it not ironic that on Monday we welcomed back our Olympians with such aplomb yet today students receiving their Leaving Certificate results in this country will not be accredited for having followed a course of physical education since the beginning of their primary education?
As we all bask in the shadows of the achievements of Katie Taylor and her fellow Olympians, our thoughts will eventually turn to questions relating to planning and allocation of funding, provision of resources and facilities for our elite athletes.
Although it is vital that such questions be addressed, it is also important to acknowledge that sport, elite or otherwise is by definition a hierarchically organised, rule-bound, highly competitive activity that does not actively engage with a huge proportion of the Irish population.
Where investment is really needed is in the area of physical education in both our primary and post-primary education systems. Yes, we have some wonderful athletes and school sporting achievements, but school sport and school physical education are very different entities and should in my opinion be viewed and treated as such.
Each year students strive to get through an education system with extremely poor levels of health and skill-related physical fitness, yet are expected to perform in an arena that demands huge levels of strength and endurance, balance, co-ordination and flexibility.
Periodically reports will be published regarding increasing obesity levels, decreasing activity levels and improper dietary habits. etc. We all know the facts! Ministers, local authorities, school management bodies, teachers, parents, students – is anybody prepared to take on and hold on to this baton or will we wait until after Rio 2016 to take up this discussion again? – Yours, etc,