grinds for leaving cert any good??

whyohwhy

son is entering leaving cert yr and is not so good at certain exams ..is it best to get a former student or teacher to help!! has anyone suggestions and are grinds pricey

yurmothrintites

Grinds can range from €15-€35 depending on the qualification of the person giving them anthe amount of people in the grind. Grinds with former students can often be a letdown as most have no real experience in teaching so I would recommend a devoted teacher if you can find one. Try shared grinds if money is an issue, I did my LC last year and I found the most benificial grinds were group ones (but that's just me)

If you or your son knows any students who have recently done their LC it might be an idea to ask them for notes on subjects.

KeyLimePie

grinds are only as good as the teacher and the student!

The Walsho

I think people turn to grinds too easily. There is no substitute for hard work.

But yes, if a student is struggling to understand certain things, they can be beneficial.
I would say a teacher would always be best. A person could be the most knowledgable, accomplished student in their field, but that doesn't mean they can teach.

The institute do evening/saturday grinds throughout the year, and some week long crash courses during holidays. They're known for being pretty good. Their website is www.ioe.ie (it's down at the moment).

KnifeWRENCH

Well a former teacher would probably be better as they would have had prior teaching experience.
A former student may be excellent at the subject, but if he/she isn't a good communicator then your son won't really benefit much.

I have no idea how much they cost. I assume it varies quite a bit.

devinejay

I didn't do grinds myself but a few of my friends did and yes they can be beneficial. The institute have a lot of great teachers who give good notes. From what I gather it's like extending your school week, with (mostly) higher quality teaching. It's good for someone who is committed as it becomes a steady chip away at the work load, there is however the issue of price which is for your own deliberation.
The week long crash courses are good for getting your study in order coming up to the final crunch, there is an exam focus, concise notes and a broad overview of the course materials given in a short space of time which can be eye-opening. That said it isn't all that much use to someone who is maybe struggling with a subject, it is more aimed at improving what you know and streamlining your study.
As for private or group study, I would definitely recommend getting a teacher to help. It can make the world of difference. For the guys I know who did this it was often as a substitute to a sub-par teacher in school, and it gave them a real boost. If your teacher isn't up to scratch there isn't much a past student can do, if your son is willing to work and the teachers are doing a good job he'll have no problems.
The only other bit of advice I can give related to this would be with respect to what level he does. It's worth doing honors for as long as is possible, but after the mocks (so we're talking only a few months before the exams) it's worth considering pass in anything you're still struggling with. At this point it's all about getting ready for exams, not trying to keep your head above water. I opted to do pass Irish and the relief in terms of workload was very valuable.

I hope all this helps and I'm sure your son will do fine!

ahaaha

As a teacher first things first. Minimum charge for a grind is thirty euro for an hour - that will probably get higher in the year ahead. So think about the extraordinary amount of money you are going to spend in different subjects over the course of the year.

When taking this into account you must ask yourself is your son really working?? It may be difficult for you to know so best bet is contact your school and get each teacher to fill out what we call a 'progress report' - basically a piece of paper with all teachers commenting on his workrate - after all why waste so much money if the effort is not being put in??

However if your son is doing his best just needs that extra bit of help clarifying a few things go with grinds. i give many grinds and must say majority of them are hard workers but just need that little bit extra one on one time, or have a 'poor teacher', and they have all done brilliantly.

Definately go down the teacher route as they are more exam paper focused (past leaving cert students may not be familiar even with the term curriculum!!!). Try and get a teacher that was recommended to you and one that has been teaching for at least a few years and not one just out of college - they also are not so familiar with the curriculum. and i hear courses run by the private colleges at christmas, easter etc. are very good also - but a bit pricey.

Hope this helps and i wish your son the very best in 08/09

whyohwhy

thanks to all who replied i never sat my leaving cert so im not so up on it .i knnow he has studyed but its they way ppl study i think that could be a prob as sitting in his room i dont think works as when it comes to some exams he struggles and then panics with certain subjects .some techers have said he has the abilty to do better. thats why i was thinking grinds way to go group or one on one ..when wud grinds start near the mocks is it?? sorry for sound ignornant haha but i want the best for him .i wudnt go 4 teachers in his school as they constantly changing :rolleyes: not easy been a parent haha

brianthebard

Teachers always say the child could do better,ask them what are his weaknesses and how can they be improved.Nothing wrong with college grads giving grinds in my biased opinion,the info on the curriculum is out there and available to everyone.You can start grinds whenever you want op but keep in mind how much they will cost.I started most of mine around december or january.

TheDriver

Never get a teacher from the same school to give grinds to your child, asking for professional battling! Also, pay for 1:1 grind with his list of questions ready and pay a good teacher for it, will be worth way more than some people who sit through group grinds all year and never actually get to the crux of their troubles (some people need the group ones, don't get me wrong, but make sure you address the issues you want). I would say 30 euro may not get you much, 40 seems to be the more going rate down here and you can't get grinds a lot of the time as most teachers don't bother doing them anymore. Keep away from students who got 600 points in their leaving as nothing beats a good teacher as they have the experience of exam focus and also the communication skills to both encourage and also spot where your child might be dossing or lazing.
Remember if you call out someone to fix your cooker, you pay a lot more than what you pay a qualified teacher for over an hour for intensive work.

gaeilgegrinds

As a teacher & someone who gives grinds I firmly believe they are turned to far too quickly. Students who are either not studying hard enough and want someone else to do the work for them will gain little or nothing from grinds. I only take 3 students a year for grinds & I choose them very carefully. Students who have missed time, simply do not understand the material or are very shy in class & find asking questions difficult but who really want to work are ideal candidates.
I always suggest asking a teacher & make sure they are qualified in the subject they are giving grinds in. Otherwise you might aswell throw your money away. They need to have been at inservices throughout the year & in my opinion corrected papers to be up to date on the system. Grinds should be geared towards a student's weaknesses & also based on papers in my opinion.
Best of luck to you & your child, they are lucky to have someone genuinely concerned for them around.

ahaaha

whyohwhy wrote: »

thanks to all who replied i never sat my leaving cert so im not so up on it .i knnow he has studyed but its they way ppl study i think that could be a prob as sitting in his room i dont think works as when it comes to some exams he struggles and then panics with certain subjects .some techers have said he has the abilty to do better. thats why i was thinking grinds way to go group or one on one ..when wud grinds start near the mocks is it?? sorry for sound ignornant haha but i want the best for him .i wudnt go 4 teachers in his school as they constantly changing :rolleyes: not easy been a parent haha

i think you should start the grinds before the mocks - maybe after his christmas tests to see how far he has come along. you are definately right about the method used to study - we had a school inspection lately and that was the one thing the inspectors say - children do not know how to study anymore.

ask him to study hard and proove that he is trying his best before his xmas tests and in return if help is needed you will help him. Gaeilgegrinds is right, grinds are turned to too quickly as a quickfix but at the end of the day you are his mom and want the best for him.

very best of luck

yay_for_summer

Does he do after school study, supervised in school? Just because you said he finds it difficult to study sitting up in his room - I was exactly like that, but I did supervised study every evening and got much more done. I don't know about the grinds, but I know that studying in school afterwards as opposed to at home definitely helped me, I wouldn't've done half as much work at home.

geminilady

teach is prob the best, i paid 20 euro for an hour, with 4 other students. sometimes they can be a waste of money cause it can be easily slip into the routine that your alright that you have the grinds to help but you really do need loads of work along with them.
hope your son is enjoying his summer cause it will go really quick! i certaintly thought it did before my lc year

KnifeWRENCH

yay_for_summer wrote: »

Does he do after school study, supervised in school? Just because you said he finds it difficult to study sitting up in his room - I was exactly like that, but I did supervised study every evening and got much more done. I don't know about the grinds, but I know that studying in school afterwards as opposed to at home definitely helped me, I wouldn't've done half as much work at home.

Supervised study was very beneficial to me doing my LC. Luckily my school provided it for free (along with free food!) but other schools make you pay for it so it can be expensive.

As for grinds being turned to too easily, I'm not sure how true that is. The only people in my year who got grinds were those who genuinely found material difficult and were willing to work to improve their grade. Students who weren't studying had no interest in getting grinds anyway.
A guy in my year did HL French grinds. Before doing them his average grade would have been maybe B3/C1. He went on to get an A2 in his exam. Our French teacher wasn't great so I'm fairly certain that the grinds made the difference for him.

I didn't get grinds myself, but in principle I do support them. They are a great idea if the student is willing to work at them.

brianthebard

ahaaha wrote: »

i think you should start the grinds before the mocks - maybe after his christmas tests to see how far he has come along. you are definately right about the method used to study - we had a school inspection lately and that was the one thing the inspectors say - children do not know how to study anymore.

+1 I ended up teaching my grinds kids how to study,along with everything else.So many of them think reading a text over and over or making long pointlessly detailed notes are the only ways to study.