Letters to the Editor: Time to put an end to Leaving Cert bonus points for higher level maths
Leaving Certificate higher level maths candidates were 'blindsided' by an 'undoable' exam paper.
The carrot is 25 bonus points. Of course, the bonus points only kick in if maths is one of the six subjects used for overall CAO points
calculation. In addition, although 30% is the minimum required to pass a higher level paper, the bonus points are denied to any candidate with less than 40% in higher maths.
Anecdotal evidence indicates that many students are haemorrhaging points in their other subjects by spending countless hours struggling with higher maths. Their study schedule is skewed by the lengthy time spent on maths, to the detriment of their other subjects.
For two years, the worry, the anxiety, the stress of higher maths is a weight on their shoulders.
Many students have a natural aptitude for higher level maths. They enjoy the logic, the analysis, the algorithms, the problem- solving and the abstract concepts.
Many other students, likewise, excel in other subjects. Ordinary level maths is an adequate entry requirement for their course interests.
Surely, a young person with a gift for art, French, economics, or any other subject is to be valued as much as a good maths student.
In that context, it’s due time to put an end to the 25 bonus points.
Is it fair that one candidate can potentially score 625 points while another candidate can potentially score only 600 points in the same exam? To add insult to injury, higher level maths candidates were presented with an undoable paper one which totally blindsided them in the early days of the Leaving Certificate exam.
The shocking experience to which these young people were exposed on June 9 will affect far more than their maths grade.
All the damage limitation talk about normal curves and front-loading marks is poor consolation to the young people whose confidence was shattered and whose anxiety spiralled after a maths exam which was above and beyond the appropriate and established level of difficulty.
Michael D Higgins holds the post of President of Ireland, with
the associated duties and responsibilities. At the same time, he is a citizen of Ireland.
All of our citizens have equal rights of expression and equal rights to think and discuss issues which may affect our lives.
Listen very carefully to the wise words of our President Mr Higgins — especially Tánaiste Micheál Martin. The President is again to the fore on a vital issue confronting our nation.
Any perceived deviation from our tried and tested neutrality in favour of the killing machine which is Nato will be seen as marking us down for the birds-of-a-feather category going into the future.
For Éire to be considered a “legitimate target” by countries outside of the saintly West would be an unspeakable betrayal of our people. Such a great man is Michael D Higgins.
The word on the ditch is that changes are coming for those who enjoy firing cartridges into feather and fur. Each year, September 1 sees the commencement of the open seasons order (OSO) which sets out a list of 21 bird species, four deer species, and one hare species that can be hunted during a defined hunting season throughout the State.
The OSO death warrant includes birds on the amber or red conservation list, which indicates their population status are of environmental concern.
A Department of Heritage document, published in September 2002, entitled ‘Annex II Bird Species on Open Seasons Order — NPWS Management Board’, presents two options to overhaul the OSO. They are:
Option A: The removal of 13 species (red grouse, mallard, teal, gadwall, wigeon, pintail, shoveler, scaup, tufted duck, pochard, goldeneye, golden plover, snipe) from the open season order; or Option B: The removal of seven species (pochard, scaup, goldeneye, pintail, gadwall, shoveler, red grouse), shortening the open season for golden plover/snipe/jack snipe and “review species on an ongoing basis”.
While any of these actions would reduce bird killing, even allowing for the fact that not all threatened amber or red bird species are included within this proposal, the Government’s biodiversity protection plan must include a ban on shooting of wildlife.
Now is the time for real environmental action, while removing firearm conservation from the green agenda.
The hunting of birds/animals is a self-appointed right that should not be viewed as a given.
Heritage Ministers Darragh O’Brien and Malcolm Noonan are the two politicians who oversee the OSO. If these two residents of Custom House, Dublin, want to rise above parish pumpery and don the statesman jacket then they must adopt a high-horizon approach to protecting our wildlife. Because conservation without protection is just a conversation in an empty field.
Rory O’Donovan asks: “What happened to the promise of a plurality of views, mentioned so often in the quest to repeal the Eighth Amendment?”
The answer is simple: A plurality of views is respected in law, as evidenced by the legal right of any medical practitioner to refuse to provide abortion care based on a conscientious objection. Doctors, like everyone else, are perfectly entitled to hold any views they wish. They are not, however, entitled to impose their views on others, and use this right to deliberately obstruct other people’s right to access legal healthcare.
The obligation to refer a patient to a willing provider should not only remain but must be enforced.
So now we have the truth. It’s official: The rash of data centres owned by international companies consume as much electricity
as Ireland’s entire urban population.
So to offset the resulting emissions, the rural population is banned from burning peat or
having fires, and farmers must cull their herds. Where will the
madness end?
I live in a house that has an A2 BER rating cert. My previous home had a B2 rating but it was much warmer and easier to heat.
I had a thermal-imaging test done. The results show that the main problems in relation to heat retention are to do with the windows, doors, skirting boards, and cold spots in walls.
The house has a mechanical ventilation system. As a certain level of air tightness is required for the effective use of mechanical vents, the current drafts may be affecting the vents’ efficiency.
I have spoken to the company who did the BER assessment on the estate; also the SEAI. I just have to sort out the problems myself.
I have done some research into the BER certificate and I have come to the conclusion that there is a need for an alternative method of assessing homes
