Pressure mounting — three weeks to Leaving Cert exams

IT’S officially three weeks to the Leaving Cert and as I wrote that it gave me shivers. The CAO has also reopened its change of mind scheme and has announced course points are going up because there are more people.

This means more stress, more anxiety and probably higher fees.

The points race system is outrageous. I’d say everyone is sick to death of hearing about students protesting about college fees.

But I still call on every student to stand up and fight, make the government listen.

Everyone who is preparing to go to college is already having a huge hole burnt in their finances.

Us Leaving Cert students are going out searching in a limited jobs market.

Everyone now is so stressed and overburdened they are going to be exhausted emotionally.

The course that you thought you had in the bag because you were averaging 440 is now in the balance because more people are now after your place.

As I write this article I look at my school journal in a horrified manner, knowing I have all my homework to do (which takes me three hours) and another six hours of study.

There aren’t enough hours in the day for me.

Learning should be fun and exciting and when you wake up you shouldn’t have to take a day off to study.

All I’m saying is that it’s fine for people who have photographic memory, but for people like me who need to carefully examine every word for it to work, all I can say is this education system sucks. The fact Minister Ruairí Quinn cannot see this shows he’s also oblivious to students.

Our entire system needs a huge change, especially the transition from secondary to third level education.

Every year the gap is becoming considerably bigger for students to jump from secondary school to college and quite simply some students cannot afford this jump.

It’s about high time Ruairí Quinn forgets about his reforms and obsession with maths and science and realises he needs to look at the core issue.

What do the students want? Is this really feasible for everyone?

I hope that when I have kids, they will have an education system that they are proud and excited about and wake up to the world with a smile and excitedly shout ‘school today!’.

Because at the moment, me shouting ‘school today’ is more out of frustration and angst than happiness and joy.