Don’t you love it when everything you predict comes up on the paper???

Woops, sorry to all you Boland-Buddies! I actually just saw my questions, then half way through the exam my humanitarian side kicked into gear and I, panic-filled, realised Boland wasn’t there- really sorry to all you guys and dolls who were convinced she was going to drop in for a few hours!

All in all, I think that paper was deadly!!!! Really happy! No longer will I have to uncover some undiscovered truth about Shakespeare that will awe my examiner (sorta sucks that I want to go into English!) and as I sit hear singing “So long, fair well…” to English Paper 2, I’m thinking I might have actually wangled a B3-B2 in it! I don’t see how I couldn’t get a B because it really went as well as possible…so if you’re my Correction Examiner, watch out! I WILL find out where you live!!! Muhahahhaahhahahaha!!!!

But it in all seriousness, I’m pleased with my performance. Everything I wanted to come up came up and that is it. We are finished!!! Hope everything went well for all of you!!!

Back on Monday with the beautiful Irish reflection! Only Ord level so not really stressing but next week is gonna be llllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggg!

Till then,

Ian

English Paper One started at 9.30 this morning and as I sat there, I worried. What if this doesn’t happen…a second time? What if I’m stuck without a college course? What if I become a failure…again?

As soon as I saw the topic of the paper (The Future) I relaxed. What a beautiful impetus for students to act upon. But I couldn’t smile just yet. Oh no, there was questions to be done and I had to do them!

I decided on doing Question B first and chose my question from Text 1: A Personal Future. I thought it went pretty well and I couldn’t stop writing until I forced myself to move on to my Question A from Text 3: An Imagined Future. I’m going out to buy Farenheit 415, by Ray Bradbury, as soon as these exams are over- what a brilliant extract!!! Captured me from the moment I read it!

My final piece was the Composing and I chose 2.:“You’re a new neighbour, aren’t you?”. I really feel my time blogging for Allhonours.ie helped me here and it wen’t according to plan. I ranted and raved about how neighbours don’t respect each other anymore and wrote it like a column article from a newspaper. It went brilliantly….I think!

All in all, a brilliant paper! And if today’s was anything to go by, I wouldn’t be worrying too much about tomorrow. I would reccommend getting a good night’s sleep though. I never slept before my exams in 2008, but this year I did (and will continue to do) and if I’m honest, I admit it really does boost performance. Try knock out the caffeinated drinks too and drink plenty of water. I’m only saying this because they seemed to work for me today. I felt like the energiser bunny- I could of gone on for hours!!!

Most importantly, please don’t worry if things went (or go) badly for you. Life is not about exams and an examiner cannot define the type of person you are by reading 10-12 pages of your work. We all know people who are successful, wealthy and have everything, but most of the time, these people tend to be unhappy with their lives. This paper, ultimately, got me thinking, “What does the future mean to me?” And my answer: I’d rather be happy with family and friends who love me than a 600 points Leaving Cert student with very little happiness!

Bonne Chance mes amis!

Ian

Shall I presume to believe this is the end of something great, or only the beginning of something greater? We are all feeling immense pressure right now but its important to see the light through the everpresent rain. We can do this. We will do this.

I myself am drawn to anxiety like moths to a flame but I refuse to give into my fears. Not this time. This time I’m better prepared and more mature. This time I’ve experience in exam technique and last-minute cramming. This time I know I’m not the only one going through this, and this is the most comforting thing of all.

I want to thank all of you for every kind word, strong advice and sincere assistance through this last (very fast) year. There were a lot of things I was unsure of with regard to the Leaving Cert but knowing that every one of you are experiencing what I’m experiencing made the experience a little easier to withstand. I’m going to enjoy sitting the Leaving Cert with such intelligent, incredible and imaginative people.

In particular, I would like to thank the creative force that blogged alongside me. I grew so much this year (not physically, but personally) as a human being thanks to all of you. Hearing your ideas spurned me on to create my own and I’m thankful that I could be part of the first Allhonours.ie Blog family!

I want to thank Patrick Barry for allowing me to divulge dispairing details of my experience with the Leaving Cert this year. I’ve had a great time alongside all of the people who wrote with me.

Now I want to wish each of you the best of luck in your exams. Stick to your plan! Don’t be over ambitious or over generous with your estimations but look at each exam with focus and clarity. Its not important what you know, its important how you use it. I really hope each of you do well enough to get your first choices but, and this is most important, don’t distress if you don’t achieve what you aspire to. At the end of it all, most of us are only finding out who we are now, and we can’t expect ourselves to know what we want to do with our lives. We are going to experience so much in this life and we will all have experiences that we don’t want to have, and ones we will. Don’t stress if you don’t get what you want, just push on and discover something new. Ultimately, what I want to say is, life is best played unpredictably. What you may think you want now may end up being something incredibly different.

Most importantly, be different, be risky, be happy and be yourselves.

Bonne Chance,

Ian

I am so s-c-c-c-ared! (Teeth chatter noisily…)

I seriously have not thought this through! I mean, what if I don’t obtain the grades (i.e. points) I need from these examinations? What if I slide into a stupor of self-pity? What if the world becomes a perpetually black dwelling, where not even Gollum or Dracula come out to play? Or, what if we all just take a moment, sit back and meditate, and simply relax? Will we spontaneously combust; our poor fragmented souls unable to take the pressure of taking a break?

No! We will simply live on, however the Leaving Certificate turns out for us. Life simply must continue, and we should be grateful. There are all kinds of access courses, night classes and experiences to be had in this world, so if we don’t achieve our goals, there will always be pastures new and invigorating for us to move on to. No matter how hard we try, if it is simply not meant to be, it is simply not meant to me!

In hindsight, we are incredibly lucky to live in a society that values education; that encourages young people to fill every potential; that has made earning a degree a neccessity, yet also an attainable goal. So everyone: RELAX! We have between 5-7 weeks left, and with a little effort we shall do well. If we don’t do as well as we expected; it may be the end of one road, but there are so many others out there to travel. We stress too much! Take solace in the friends that are experiencing what we are experiencing now. Speak with older brothers/sisters/cousins who have been through what we’re about to go through. And, most importantly, irrespective of what kind of relationship you have with them: rely on your parent(s)!!! They are the greastest support you shall ever have and a simple chat over a cup of tea (whiskey-laced, or otherwise ) will make them feel more included, and you feel more supported! But, whatever you choose to do, it better NOT be worrying! Or else….(Laughs demonically in background…)

My experience, like yours no doubt, has been to this point about Orals and Practicals! So, how did I do? Well….

Gaelige: I entered my old school, practically retching on an empty stomach and a mind full of fear. I adore the language, yet I’m not fluent (nor anywhere near it!), and so I was ”brickin’ it” ! Yet, the examiner was a wonderfully approachable woman who made me feel quite at ease (well, as much as could be expected!). Bidi Early was her choice of poison and reading that passage intoxicated me with anxiety…at first. After a few seconds, I had an epiphany: what is the worst that can happen? She isn’t likely to get up and slap me across the face, backhandedly, for making a grammatical error! Is she?….Well, no she didn’t! Then we talked about my family, friends, area ( she was really impressed with this), school and subjects, next year et cetera… I wasn’t doing brilliantly and she knew this. She asked me about the weather and I -STUPIDLY! – didn’t prepare anything on it!!! Aside from that, I still think I struggled though, but I told her AS GAELIGE that I’m studying from home, without any teachers and she seemed to pity me, as if she was going to mark me easily because of this fact! I, in turn, put on the “puppy-dog look” (which, with years of training, never fails to receive sympathy! ) And I think it worked!!!! She turned to me at the end, and said, “Well done! You needn’t have been nervous. That was an excellent oral (in Irish of course)”!…Or at least thats what I think she said….

Le Francais: This was a little too easy for my taste! I was first in and I think I may have overheard a discussion between the examiner and the teacher of the school speaking about my nervous disposition, how he was to only ask me easy questions, and how I was studying from home, which was really annoying – maybe I imagined it! – because I quite enjoy French, and I hope to do well in it come June! As well as that, my family and I have taken French students for the past 8 years so my accent is pretty flawless (no conceit intended!), so once I finally got into the room and started speaking with him, I’m sure he proabably thought, “Are they having me on?” Yet, he asked me no difficult questions (mainly about family and friends etc) and I had a seriously brilliant answer for the recession but nooooooooooooooooo, as much as I tried to introduce it, he wasn’t giving in! Now I’m worried he thinks I’m an Ordinary Level student (in which case, I’d  probably get high marks!), but I’m a Higher Level student (and I’m scared I’ll only get low marks because he refused to talk about difficult topics!!!) Grrrrrrrr….

Music: Ok! 50% up for grabs for singing six songs and clapping back a rhythm- not as easy as it sounds though! My voice gave up half-way through my last song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But other than that, no complaints! I think I might be walking into the written exam with a pass (40%) under my belt…..hopefully…..

History R.S.R: My study: “Harvey Milk & The LGBT Civil Rights Movement”! Seriously had to cut it down in the end and still managed to reach 1,638 words…(one’s maximum is 1500!) But I think it is a good project; controversial, inspirational and enjoyable…hopefully the examiner will correct it with the same enthusiasm!

I am nervous for the other examinations, yet, I’m not overly worried. I do a bit of study every day (between 7-9 hours) and if I don’t achieve what I want, well I don’t care! I’ve tried, and am trying! No one can ever say I didn’t, or am not! Life is far too short to be hung up on exams. I intend to be happy and content alongside my friends and family in life. Anything else is a bonus. But not a necessity!

A toute a l’heure!

Ian

March! Friggin’ March! Hold on a moment….

Yeah, it’s just as I thought, my heart is contemplating shutting down and locking up for good – but in all fairness on Larry (random name for my heart), he has been working overtime on ye oul’ stress levels! Gone are the days of yore when one could read Shakespeare’s King Lear leisurely, or write out a baffling Tableau de Conjuguez – from this moment on, we are now confined to actually doing something productive, maybe in learning something – but this takes time and effort, and poor oul’ Larry is probably not up to it! I mean I’m seriously considering holding a sign above my head saying, “If found, please return to September 1st 2009″.

This year has flown by in a tornado of exam papers, worry, ink, foreign languages, C.A.O forms, laughter and Ben&Jerry’s Ice Cream – at least Dorethy ended up in Oz, singing and dancing with the Munchkins after she had been spun off her heels- all I’ve got is a headache . And to cap it all off (Side Note: I want a nice green cap! *He stares into space, distracted) …Woah! Sorry about that…As I was saying, to cap it all off, my synapses and neurons are working perfectly which means every morning I’m reminded by these little nuggets of baffling protein -(I think they’re constructed of protein? God, my bio paper is going to SUCK!)- that we only have a short amount of time until the exams (As Caoimhe was only too nice to point out…Oh Caoimhe? You’re off my X-Mas Card List!) and we really need full steam ahead. Ooh pretty light……

Really, I must stop getting so distracted! So, how is everyone coping? I can almost hear the clock (we shall call him Tim) tick tock, as if laughing at the beads of perspiration that blossom like dew upon my brow (Watch out Yeats!!), until I feel capable of punching Tim in the face – thankfully, aforementioned synapses remind me that Tim is made of glass and punching him would be a very bad idea! Seriously though, if March is here already, after I procrastinated that it wouldn’t be here for ages, why, that means that tomorrow is June 9th! (This is not logic! Merely, it is my brain). But, I think I make a valid point -even if it is wayward ; we’re at the finish line now and I can almost taste the hot-cross buns – Woah! Tangent again – Easter is nearly here. What did you give up for Lent? What is your desired Easter Egg?- So, another few months hard studying is all that is required from us. Pity the new season of Desperate Housewives has begun. Pity I’ve decided to re-watch all the previous seasons. Pity Education must take the burden of deprivation. I promise to love you one day Education, but really, there is only another few years in D.H. – you wouldn’t want me to miss out now would you? I’m talking to a word- tad worrying, is it not?

Maybe reading Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has had some sort of effect on me? I could be a reflection of the Mad Hatter. (You may all be wondering why on Earth I’m reading a children’s book for? Simply because I can! I love children’s books – it could be my brain remembering, and longing for, a simpler time! A time where one was allowed to be stupid and not worry about the strain of making a complete fool (or as we say in the country: a complete arse!) of one’s self in one’s Music Practical) Worrying really that our Orals, Practicals etc are only a month away….that is it! My heart has gone haywire!!…….*mother calls “Ian? Ian!….Ian lies still….

Bet I scared you huh? Anyway…anyone else excited for Tim Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland or am I the only one that gets excited when this man gets behind a camera!? Pure genius- I cannot wait!!!

So, word to the wise: don’t over do it people! As long as you go to school, study each night for a few hours (including homework) you’ll be fine!

A bientot,

Ian

How often do we think of our future? Or rather, dream about our future? Probably far too often. You more than likely spend a lot of time drifting off in Double Biology imagining holding a degree in French Law, how many children you’ll have, or maybe you just contemplate what you’ll be having for lunch that day? Whatever the case, how many of you actually spend your valuable time thinking of nothing, but just enjoying the present you’re living in?

This year will be the last year most of you will spend in a secondary school. Usually we are so caught up in the stress of exams, the worry of results, and the  prospects of college that we lose sight of what is in front of our very eyes: the last time we will ever be in sixth year in a secondary school. If I could go back (and let me assure you that nothing would prevent me from going back if I could) I would tell all of those that have meant something to me over the past six years the significance of their role in my life. Where would I be now had I not known them? And more importantly, who would I be now? The majority of us become our friends, and they; us, so how would my life be different now had I not been friends with them then? Its really now that I ask this question that I realise the absolute importance to cherish the time we have with those around us. Far too often it becomes too late and we forget to remember those that are right before our eyes.

Exams will happen. College will happen. Friends such as the ones you know now may never happen again. So celebrate the friendship: laugh, cry, get ridiculously drunk, eat copius bags of chocolate, watch the latest weepie because you know only your best friends will watch it with you, laugh some more, spend a ferocious amount of money on THE DRESS (the one that only comes second to the one you will wear when you marry), spend a half an hour styling the short hair that you tell everybody you don’t straighten but know that they know you do, kiss girls, kiss boys, break girls’ hearts, break boys’ hearts, take comfort in your friends’ arms when you have your heart broken, sing even if you “cannot” sing, dance even though you know that we know you “cannot”, gossip, whisper, shout, be bold, be bad, be good, be helpful, be careful, be honest, be happy, help each other through the stress and strain of the Leaving Cert year, guide each other on the way to college, and tell them that you will never ever forget them even if you do lose touch because, above all, losing touch will happen.

Au revoir, mes amis,

Ian

P.S.: I hope you all did brilliantly (are doing brilliantly) in your mocks. I decided that I’d post a blog after most of them are over. Happy Valentine’s Day (I hate commercialism!) See you soon!

Salutations!

Wall-E (my appropriately name laptop) came home safely today. I was a little worried to be honest, because it was “touch and go” for a while, but he is safe and sound (I love personification).

Anyway, I would like to wish all a belated Happy New Year, and a very belated Merry Christmas.

Instead of asking you how your cheeks lit up in the cold, or how crispy (yet moist) the family turkey was, or describing my family’s 2009 yultide experience, I wanted to know if anybody really thought of those less fortunate than ourselves this year (well last year, but you know what I mean)? It is something that I just couldn’t escape as my family sat to open up wonderfully colourful presents; laughing to dismal Christmas cracker jokes; bickering over which seasonal movie to watch on the t.v.: “Home Alone” or “The Grinch” (”The Grinch” happens to be a favourite at our house!) and I kept feeling we’ve a lot to be thankful for that just seems to remain unacknowledged, ignored or even forgotten about.

Maybe I actually ‘grew up’ without realising it, and that the facade that is the ‘magic of Christmas’ has finally been revealed for what it truly is: Commercialism at its most deadly. Am I being cynical or realistic? When did Christmas become a time to spread wealth instead of  goodwill? A time when people constantly try to out-do one another’s generosity? Or when children grow up associating the birth of Christ with ‘Santy-time’? Have we really become such materialistic morons? And where does it begin: with the parents?, or with the children?

I thought a lot about how it might feel to not have a home this Christmas. To be living in the cold, without shelter or food, and particularly; family. What is Christmas to the homeless, to the poor, to families who’ve “lost” their sons and daughters, mothers and fathers? Surely, they cannot find enjoyment in playing pass the parcel, can they?

And what has Christmas become to us, the young minds of Ireland: do we welcome this new Christmas and allow it to be a holiday based purely on gift grabbing?; or do stand up to our friends and families and say “Bah! Humbug”, because let’s face it, anyone who thinks like me is called a Scrooge?! Ironic though, isn’t it? Christianity teaches us to always think of another’s plight, whereas modern society teaches us to forget about plight altogether!

And I’m sure there are those out there that are probably muttering to themselves, “Well what have you done that is so great?” and I’ll be honest in admitting that I’ve done nothing. But this isn’t a message about thinking about others or being charitable. I simply just think that we take far too much for granted in this life. Here we are, all of us, worrying about what type of exam results will get us into college, but there are those out there that worry about whether or not they will eat on a given day, whether or not their mother or father will come back to get them from the “Home” they live in, or whether or not they will be forced into prostitution or thievery by pimps and blaggards. Scoff all you like, but this is the truth that faces many hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) of children every day and we feel hard done by because we’re given the opportunity to get an education, and a life outside of any environment we may reside in now. I think that is quite a lot to be grateful for, don’t you?

*

And what did everyone think of the Leaving Cert. Timetable? Personally, I love it! English on the morning of the 9th and then, on the evening of the 10th: brilliant! Irish on the 14th and 15th, French and History on the 16th, Biology on the 17th and Music on the 24th…think I might actually do well this year!

My External Candidate application form came yesterday. It was so confusing! IF this and BUT that, and THEREFORE something else- but thankfully, I just have to bring it up to the school and then it can be posted off to the department. Wish Me Luck!

How is the study going? I must admit I’ve done very little but I anticipate by the time February rolls along, I’ll have finished English, Irish and Music for good (already finished English) and will only have to worry about revising for them. History however, is not goin as well as I had hoped. Will just have to stick with it though. My R.S.R is finished: “The Life and Times of Harvey Milk” (its copyrighted so no plagiarism please (joke!) ).  French is actually o.k. (for the moment) and Bio is going well too. We still have five months so if we keep on top of things, we should be ok. Anyone drawn up plans till exam time…?…No one….No…neither have I…he he…that’s stupid…

Its great to be back!

Slán leat,

Ian

Bonjour allhonours.ie! Comment allez-vous? Moi, je vais trés bien! Well…sort of! Let me explain.

Two weeks ago, after posting my last blog, my laptop started acting funny. It didn’t get up and do a tap-dance or sing “At last, my love has come along”, but all the same it was very different. I assured my brain that it was nothing to worry about and that it was simply having a “bad day”. Come Monday morning, there was a definite change. My poor laptop – aptly named WALL-E – decided it simply wasn’t going to get up for school and remained dormant under its covers of  black and silver. I popped on Sky News that evening, and lo-and-behold, there was a woman speaking about computers being visited by the “Black Screen of Death”.

Basically, there are certain computers that have Windows7 or Vista installed into their programmes, much like us with the neo-cortex in our brains. My poor WALL-E just happened to use his ‘brain’ and allow this ‘visitor’ entry into his home. Now I have a ’squatter’ who refuses to leave the confines of my link to the outside world and thus, I am confined to reading books to stimulate some sort of imagination during the evenings.  Now this isn’t all bad. I’ve been able to quickly read through the poetry of T.S.Eliot, Derek Walcott, W.B.Yeats and Adrienne Rich.

However, any communication with civilisation has been discontinued but, contrary to my preconcepted opinion of a world without technology, I’m rather enjoying the lack of internet modem. I’ve recently begun listening to Mozart (we’ll get to that in a minute) and am considering that the worst possible thing to happen to the human race was, and continues to be, the Age of Industrilisation and Technology. We have become a race that depends majorly on outside sources obtainable by the click of a button. Rté alone must spend so much on research using the internet and sources that were not so easily attainable in years of yore. And schools are instilling courses and techniques that employ the use of logical thinking, providing very little imagination and creativity to be required by their students, which, in the long run, makes it inevitably harder to learn. How many of us can truly envision living in a concentration camp? Or imagine the animals (such as lions, tigers and bears – Oh my!)  in each feeding stage of a Food Chain? Most of us learn off definitions by the tens and twenties but how many of us actually ask the obvious question: what does this mean to me?

The obvious answer would be that, in the long run, we see ourselves in the college of our choice. Ironically, that would be the WRONG answer. Wouldn’t it? Why be committed to something that doesn’t involve you? Why learn something by heart if it isn’t actually moving your heart? Where are the modern-day Yeats and Chapmans, the commonplace da Vincis and Deanes, the instrinsically gifted Einsteins and Bachs, and the people that thought logically and creatively at the same time? I know that we are taught from an early age to forget imagination and to start thinking systematically but must we forget that age where there were endless possibilities, multiple answers for one simple question? When the sun was a big yellow face in the sky, when the boogie-man still existed, when we could be a singer one day and a mutant ninja turtle the next? People will probably look at this and think, “But that is when you’re a child. We’re adults now.” Why did it have to change? Why did society make us believe that dreams, the majority of the time, remain as dreams? Why can’t we believe in big purple dinosaurs and bears living in big blue houses? Why do we view things in an analytical and precise fashion when so little of life is precise, and so much of life is unpredictable?

I ask these questions because I’ve been frustrated for a long time with the education system in this and most other European countries. I think creatively and my imagination is second to none because its mine. I believe everyone is the same. We all have independent personalities, thoughts and opinions. Look at the bloggers of this website. We are all dealing with the same anxieties and strains, not to mention living the average Irish lifestyle. Yet we each write about these similar issues with unique ingenuity, intelligence and opinion that is unparalleled by the previous, or subsequent blogger. However, when it comes to the Leaving Cert examinations we are asked to learn what other people have written, think how other people have thought and let our own innate abilities lie dormant. How many of your English teachers have compared your writing talents to Chaucer and Friel; French teachers that have told you that you’ve defied logic by accepting a language so naturally; Maths teachers that have told you you’re a prodigy in theorems  and functions? Any of you? And why not? Why should we believe we’re any less than “the greats”? Surely they themselves started out as we do: people with dreams, ambition, determination. Yet they are “the greats” for one reason and one reason only: not because they were born genius, but because they refused to believe that the only genius that existed was before them, and thus, they became genius themselves.

This blog has been inspired by a book I read quite recently. “Accelerated Learning” by Colin Rose. If you read one book during this most strenuous time, let it be this one. I have learned possibly as much as I did throughout my entire academic career. It expresses ideas that each of us can bring a new light to. It teaches us that we are all different, and furthermore, should embrace that difference; not supress it.

I think it is time we started thinking like “the greats”. Yes Keats, Einstein and Dante are wonderful but so are Ally, Sophie and Katie. So is anyone else that refuses to allow society condition the richness in which their lives are lived. We are not robots, we are remarkable human beings, able to embrace any culture, language, art, literature, music and science. All we must do is believe we’re great and eventually, it is inevitable that this is what we shall become.

Happy Blogging,

Ian

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday: there is never enough time to get what you want done, is there? And as I asked in my first blog, ‘how much time is enough?‘ I’m spending 33hrs 45mins studying a week (including “class time”), and still I have a LOT to get through! And how do I know if I’m taking the L.C. seriously enough? I sat in shame watching ‘The Late Late Toy Show’, seeing that young boy called John Joe speak so perfectly about the literature of Roald Dahl – on a side note: how cute was his little laugh? – and thinking to myself, “I’m screwed!”  There is no way Shakespeare will get something so wonderful from my brain come June next year. I’m stressing about orals, aurals, practicals, written papers, C.A.O. forms, examination papers, future college prospects, acceptance into a college, open days, exam results, and simply wondering if I’m doing everything correctly!

However, I am receiving a C.A.O. form and a external candidate  application form this week in the post, and I will hopefully begin work  on my history research project this week too! I also received news this week that “took a load off”. My old secondary school contacted me and told me I could sit my examinations there, so phew! And U.C.D. open day is next friday – I can’t wait for that. Anyone else going?

But I am a little exhausted. I’m worried this year I won’t do as well as I’m anticipating. I don’t want a lot, just enough to get me into a university, hopefully U.C.D. But night after night I lie, tossing and turning, unable to sleep because I think of the alternative prospect: having to repeat again, wait till I am a mature student, or settle for less. Is it too early to be suffering from butterflies in the stomach?

However, with regards to study, I did get a LOT done. King Lear is finished, as is the comparative study, basic French grammar is nearly finished, and I’ve also written a good bit of notes too! Yet, I only hope I’m employing the correct study techniques. What is the best form of learning?

I do not believe that the examinations are simply memory tests. Subjects like English, French, History, Gaeilge and Music are designed to exhibit  flair, intellect, opinion, cultural, social and political awareness, and some degree of personal response. If they were memory tests one would not be required to understand any of these concepts. We would  just write answers on a page based on what we’ve committed to memory, and let us be honest: what is interesting about that? If we perform as conformists, we lose all personal identity. My opinion would not be something that would matter to anyone, and even if it doesn’t as it is now, it matters to me.

On the other hand, what if being a robot is what the examiner expects? What if a person, like me, strolls into the examination, expresses his/her opinion in a clear, but controversial manner, and yet loses marks for being unique? Is identity important when writing a response to the study of John Keats’ poetry, or should one simply do what has been seen and done before, if doing so earns an ‘A’? Was Robert Frost right when he said ‘I took the road less travelled by and that has made all the difference’? Or was he merely speaking of himself? Should we do as he did if, in the long run, we remain true to ourselves; or should we conform to sample answers and committing essays to memory if, in the short run, it gets us to our first choice college?

Au revoir mes amis,

Ian

Should I be blissfully satisfied that the blues(-inducing) brothers “Jedward” have been finally flung bobble-headed-first from the x-factor?; or should I regret my hostility toward them, as I now contemplate the fact that the only entertaining act of the x-factor has now been eliminated? True they were high-haired, self-concerned, clueless “wannabes” but they were good at it, and they seemed to enjoy every moment, which is most important. As well as that, they had more bad press than all of the other contestants combined and yet, their pale Irish faces still bounced back on screen smiling every Saturday night at nine o’clock! -(Almost sickening wasn’t it?)- But, they were more entertaining than even some of the professionals that have appeared on the show throughout the series. I must ask though: were they brilliant because we are simply patriotic towards them; hate-to-love them; or are we just aware that no other Irish duo could kill some of the world’s greatest songs and get away with it? Whatever the case, I’m sure the show will lose a vast number of viewers as a result of tonight’s results. All in all, I will miss them, for what they were worth!

I will now confess that I have become a die-hard “Twilight” fan! First I loved the travels through “Narnia”, then the adventures of “Hogwarts”, now I adore the escapades of “Forks” -(the placename, not the inanimate objects! ) Although I haven’t finished the books, Meyer is like the J.K.Rowling of teenage fiction: precise, detailed, imaginative and ultimately: legendary. – (Bit much?) – But still, she is a really, really, REALLY good writer! And there is still three books to go- SCORE! …I really need to get a social life

With regards to study, I didn’t do a lot this week. Mainly Walcott’s poetry – (which I love!) – and study on what is quickly becoming one of my favourite subjects: Maths! That’s right, this maths-phobe is learning more maths with the help of a little d.v.d-ROM and a little study.

What happened to change my unlucky past with maths, I hear you say? Well, I recently acquired a ”digitalGrinds: ACCELERATED LEARNING MATHS” disc with the request that I review it for the company. I popped it into my computer and clicked Arithmetic (something I used to ABHORE!). But I must admit I’m learning a hell of a lot more with this interactive disc than I ever did from six years of secondary schooling and two years of one-to-one grinds. With that, I’m inclined to tell you that I never worked strenously hard at maths, possibly because I never understood the basics (which, again, is through no fault of any teacher I’ve ever had). Yet, that is NO PROBLEM for the “digitalGrinds” disc(s).

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know (or HAD TO know for the Leaving Cert., because let’s face it: not many of us WANT TO know much about maths) is explained exactly as it appears on the paper in June. Every sort of problem is tackled with the same precision and detail as a one-to-one grind would be, with one exception: cost! I used to pay a great deal of money for grinds but this disc(s) only costs €65- (which saves a packet, particularly in these difficult times) – and yet, every single question is covered from Algebra to Vectors, Arithmetic to Functions and Differentiation and it becomes easier as you go along. All of the theory is explained thoroughly and simply and applied to example paper questions. One is encouraged to attempt the questions themselves and even if one gets the answer (or format) wrong, one is shown exactly where they may have gone astray. For instance, I went through the Arithmetic lessons, then I took out the papers today and did all of the Arithmetic questions with ease, whereas before, I constantly got part (b)’s and (c)’s wrong. There are also rewards one earns after completing each question: videos, songs etc; that have nothing to do with maths I might add!

It’s a worthwhile course if you can get your hands on it. Look up www.digitalgrinds.ie or telephone the company on (065) 6833003 to find out more. I’d like to point out that I’m not being paid or supplemented in any way to advertise this maths program by either allhonours.ie or digitalgrinds.ie; I merely know what it’s like to struggle in a difficult subject and thought I’d let “y’all” know about it, because let’s face it, you don’t want to get six or seven ‘A’ ’s and one big fat ‘F’  in your results. Sincerely, it is a good program and if you are worried about maths I believe this is the way to learn. You may not like it if you’re a techno-phobe, or you’ve been taught how to answer questions in a specific format and find it difficult to change your ways but honestly, it’s not a difficult course to follow if you’re willing to put in a little effort. Sometimes we just don’t get along with our teachers or we are sat beside the most disruptive student for the year and thus, we turn to any means necessary to get our ‘A’: these discs are worth a try if you’re totally flummoxed with Funtions and tormented by Trigonometry! Give it a go

On that note, I shall leave for another week. And this week, I’ve promised myself I’ll complete last weeks TO-DO list and return to my normal routine of study, stress and sandwiches.

Have a good week fellow students,

Ian