Lost

DaSilva

Im pretty lost, im 17, in 6th year, and doing shíte. Ive missed so much of this year (bcz of a small problem) thats just not funny how bad I am at most subjects, same thing happened last year but i was able to do ok by dropping most subjects to pass level. But its one month to christmas and Ive got no hope for the christmas exams. I was thinking about leaving school and working for the rest of this year and then repeating 6th year next year, but a few things are going against this.. Firstly im fond of the idea of being another year in school, ive done 4th year so another year would be alot. Secondly my parents dont give a shíte, my dad is off in some country workin, and my mam is not "legaly obligated" to help, well thats the words she uses.

I would prefare to do something that would not require my parents as I want to get out of this house asap doing something worthwhile without being in debt to my family one way or another.

Anybody been or is in a similiar situation? Because im well lost.

MDR

First Off. I would point out that you _need_ your leaving cert no matter what you do in life. Whether you do it now or later, your gonna have to do it at some point.

What was the background to your mum saying that she wasn't 'legaly obligated' to help. Was it in the course of any arguement or what ?

I don't think its to late to get things back on track now, with a firm effort on your part, its wether a) your are in a position to make that effort and b) if you are willing to make that effort.

Could this just be good old fashoned LC year depression mixed up with some teenage angst, showing through or in the situation really that bad ... ?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

don't worry about school exams, they're bull**** really. the only exams you should be worrying about now are the leaving cert ones. see if you can get extra help from teachers, or maybe get a tutor in some subjects...


from now to the leaving is plenty of time to go over all the material of every course, specially at pass .. it's just gona take a bit of work an hour or so (more, if you're up to it) a night revising... spending time over the holidays... going over old exam papers.. it can be done.

and as for not wanting to repeat 6th yearh.. if you don't apply yourself this ear, and get a **** college course next year.. you might end up repeating that or changing to another course.. so that's a year lost any way... an extra year in school, to get 4 more years in a course you're really going to like is well worth it


nay worries mate, you can pull it off

Seraphina

sorry to bust your bubble man, but about 50,000 people(thats roughly the number of people doing the leaving cert every year isn't it?) are in the same boat. ive done absolutely no work since i started secondary school, ive just never needed to. so ive had a hard time this year trying to adjust to actually DOING anything. start off nice and slow, spend time doing your homework thoroughly and properly and work up to revision. teachers can probably give you help if you ask them, thats what theyre paid for. whatever you do, dont drop out and work. you wont go back to school for at least 5 years. the joys of a paycheck will overcome your desire for education, until you realise you cant get a decent job without the leaving cert and when you go back to school you wont be able to remember ****.
good luck!

Dampsquid

Get off your arse and do some study! You have 6 months to the leaving cert, and there is no point complaining about how crap you will do.
You don't seem to except responsibility for anything you do in life, (ie. Parent don't seem to care) You have to do it for yourself.

Wook

Originally posted by Dampsquid
Get off your arse and do some study! You have 6 months to the leaving cert, and there is no point complaining about how crap you will do.
You don't seem to except responsibility for anything you do in life, (ie. Parent don't seem to care) You have to do it for yourself.

very motivating.....extremely helpfull...
as previous posters have said..you need a leaving certificate..you will hate it later in life when you dont have that..and remember there are always people worse off then you are and in more difficult situation..but for you personaly do it because you have a reason..find one for yourself..

DapperGent

First off six months is a huge amount of time more than ample to get ready for your LC especially at pass level.

Second don't listen to the LC hysteria and those twonks doing 5 hours study a night. The LC is not that hard, seriously, it depends on how you approach it.

Get organised, set targets and be delighted with yourself if you do 2 good hours worth of work on a night. Some concepts may seem impossible to grasp, they're not, all are reachable if explained correctly or properly concentrated on. Either find some one to explain them to you or concentrate properly on them. Always start at the ****ing beginning. If you are behind go back to the simple stuff and work up, you'll fly through it and it'll give you confidence.

Don't do pass in subjects you like. Don't do pass because you're behind. Don't do pass because you're afraid to fail. Do pass in languages if your crap at them. Don't do pass in Maths, English or the Sciences. Theres no point. Acquiring points at honours level is easier and the exams are structured better.

If you're home situation is unpleasant or uncomfortable the best way to become independant is to get a good job and to earn good money. This requires good qualifications. Get out the CAO stuff out and find what you want to do. Or at least something you'd find acceptable doing.

If you do end up repeating the year you'll be a awful lot better off for having tried hard this year. I was in a vaguely similar situation a few years back and you can get out of it if you want to and if you prepared to try.

Remember your leaving cert and subsequent academic career are one of the few things that are inherently your own in life. Don't give a bollox about what other people are doing just concentrate on creating an achievement for yourself. If you do that you'll have done well.

Good luck.

Kell

First off- THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES TO THE LEAVING CERT.

Take myself and my best mate. We did average to poor in the leaving. I went and did three weeks of a portfolio prep course in some tec for art college and then went and got a job in the restaurant business. Did that for five years and worked in the best places in Ireland and Britain and ten years on I have been in the IT industry for the last four years and I wont tell you how much I earn at this stage. My best mate signed up for a Fas course after school, got work out of that, signed up for another, more work out of that, then did a city and guilds and then a diploma, and I wont tell you how much he earns either (both figures are rather hi).

Anyway, the main point I am trying to get across is that there are alternatives to the beaten track, it all just depends on how determined you are to succeed or realise a dream. Goal setting along the way helps i.e. decide you want something (large or small) and set yourself a timeframe of when to achieve it and then work your ass off for it. I agree with Mordeth- School Exams are ****** and are used by various institutions as a stick to beat you with. I cant remember the last interview I was at where someone asked me "How did you do in your leaving cert". The only thing an employer is interested in is experience and personality.

WhiteWashMan

the above is not helpful.

you need a LC no matter what. if you cant provide one in an interview for mcdonalds they will think you are either too stupid to be in school, or couldnt be arsed. either way, even mackyD will tell you to bugger off.

and if you cant get a job in mcdonalds, well, need i say more......
if you are going to fail them, then fail them. but at least put your time to some good. learn some things you like. but dont just drop out because you are not motivated.
just think, aftre that you have to get up at seven thirty for the rest of your life and go to work and you dont have 3 month summer holidays.
think how the rest of us bloody feel....

thedrowner

i usually try and go with the shortcuts
what id advise you to do, is look at past papars and see what you need to know, and what you can afford to leave out, and then get help, study yer arse off. if you have the money, try going to revision courses, as they will give you loads of notes, and leave out a lot of the crap you dont need to know. if not, copy the notes off friends

its all so much easier when you know what your goals are, and what you need to have done.

hedgetrimmer

First off, I have to agree with what most have laready said - 85% of employers in this country will not consider an application from anyone without a Leaving Cert, and I am not aware of *any* pensionalbe jobs that one can go into without even a poor LC.

Secondly, I understand an appreciate your fear and the difficult situation at home - this is all the more reason for doing a good LC, it will get you out with good prospects.

Fear can be harnassed productively. It is *only* Christmas. Forget about teh Xmas exmas, the real thing is a few months away. Focus yourself. Do day-by-day timetables, and even if you only follow them every second day, that's still a lot of work. Put things on paper - you'll be surprised how much it focuses you. Even 1 or 2 hrs a night. Again, most people I know don;t start studying for the LC until after Xmas, so use this time to relax when and where you can, and make and follow a resolution to hit the books in the new year

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

he doesn't really need a leaving cert.. he could do an apprenticeship or something

Shiminay

My 2cent...

Finish school and do your LC. I can't stress this enough.

I did appalingly bad in my LC (just about passed), but I still scrapped my way into college and I now earn a very tidy monthly salary

Talk to teachers and explain that you're concerned that you're falling so far behind - the one thing that infuriates a teacher is laziness, and if they think you're being lazy (and lets face it, teachers have a habbit of assuming the worst) they'll give you hell, but if you tell them you're in trouble, 9 times out of 10, they'll help you out. You have to remember, it reflects badly on them if their students fail. There's a hell of a lot of time for you to get a really good grade in the LC.

Sounds like your parents aren't much help at all. That's unfortunate. But it's up to you to put them in their place and do it without them. Lot's of people have to do it on their own, so you're no different - welcome to the real world!

Anyway, if you get arse in gear, you'll be sound.

Turner

Originally posted by Mordeth
he doesn't really need a leaving cert.. he could do an apprenticeship or something

Good advice. Barman/plumber/chippy (carpenter)/plasterer/panel beater/mechanic. All of these are very well paid jobs now a days.

Dasilver, speak to you career guidance counsellor and ask his advice. You can always go back and do your leaving cert at any age if your other interests dont work out.

Its time to make a decision, a very important one so think hard about it.

Chief.

Trojan

Originally posted by Chief---

Dasilver, speak to you career guidance counsellor and ask his advice.

That's good advice,

Originally posted by Chief---

You can always go back and do your leaving cert at any age if your other interests dont work out.

That's bad advice.

While technically possible, it's not very realistic. It is very very difficult to go back and do exams etc, especially at night (yes, I have been in a similiar but not identical situation). This may perhaps have worked for you Chief---, but most people will not be able to go back and study for the leaving cert at a later stage (think of it - imagine giving up 1 or 2 years of a full-time job just to get an LC).

My advice to the guy/girl is to kick ass for the LC - do your best this time around and don't consider repeating or quiting at this early stage. I agree with everything Kharn has said, and also, like him, I did a crap LC, but have a relatively good job right now.

Good luck. Don't give up.
Al.

damnyanks

Do your leaving I just did it last summer and thank god!! Dont take a year out and go back it would be the worst thing ever.


If its college you would want to go onto just make sure you pass English and maths O or H doesnt matter.

Once you do that its quite easy to get into college alot of places dont fill up (not the good places though:))

Sev

School, and the leaving cert, etc. like most things is entirely based on confidence; if you think youre not good enough, that theres too much work to cope with, that youre running out of time and youve no chance to keep up, then youre screwed. If however you see the leaving cert for what it is, foundation concepts of far larger and more intricate subjects that youll look back and laugh at in college, then the Leaving Cert will pose no problem.

I have always been of the opinion that a volume of work simply expands to fill the time frame people give to it. If you feel overwhelmed by the quantity of work required of the leaving cert, it is simply because that is the general idea that schools convey - that the leaving cert is this huge, elaborate, body of work that will take continuous dedication and commitment to be the all important testament to your existance. I have always believed that anyone could pass Leaving Cert chemistry, for example, with an A grade if they were given the Chemistry book, 3 days to study everything in it, and 200 grand cash incentive; its as simple as that. My advice is to see the leaving cert for what it is, a whole lot easier than you think - dont be caught up in all this "YOU HAVE TO STUDY 10 HOURS A NIGHT, YOURE RUNNING OUT OF TIME, MOCKS ETC." scaremongering.

Of Course that could just be my excuse to procrastinate. If I was only given one year to study all the course work on the Leaving Cert, I would probably achieve the same marks, I would put the same ammount of work/study in, just drag it out over a longer period. Think about Irish.. how long have you been learing that god-forsaken language. Personally Ive been learning Irish since Senior infants.. hmm like what 13 years, and Im still not fluent I should know at least 3 more languages by now. The Education system is ridiculously inefficient.. what exactly was the purpose of Primary school??

I believe if you can view the Leaving Cert with this kind of intellectual superiority, that its all child's play and youre beyond all of it, then youll have that increased confidence to tackle anything it throws at you... apart from English.. thats just a retarded subject, Ive no idea where to start studying that.

Of course, thats just my opinion and my mentality, perhaps it only applies to me, so take it with a pinch of salt. I think im just a closet elitist who best expresses himself on web forums.

Sev

BTW, Im in 6th year too, so everything I have said is pure opinion and not based on any experience. Just more reason take more salt in that pinch. Should I do particularly bad in the LC.. Ill eat my hat.

Karl Hungus

Frankly, don't listen to the 'Leaving Cert is the be-all/do-all of everything' rubbish that a lot of people seem to be spouting here. I'll wager that they all have their certs and know **** all about what would happen if they didn't.

Now, I'm not saying dont do your leaving, but dont beleive in this rubbish. Quite frankly, it is scaremongering, as sev said already. personally, I don't have a leaving, I have an NCVA equivelancy, and this was ample to get me any job I aplied for, and get me into a post leaving cert course.

I'm 20, and I got where I am today just as fast as anyone who had their leaving. Got a lovely degree in art, and I'm going on to do Graphic Design next year. I also got an NCVA degree in computers, which is also amply to get me a job in that area, if I so wanted.

But trust me, when people say 'Do yore leaving or die poor and lonely!' they're no-nothing hearsayers.

Edit: You can do an NCVA course easily, as it's modular grading based on the work you do while in the course. No study, no exams ect. It's easy to fly though it in about 6 months. Although the leaving equivelency took a year.

YoungNastyMan

DONT WORRY, the leaving cert is one of those things in life that you can do again. So what if you fail(although do give it a bash) Dont worry about points and getting into a course(having said thats its good to have a goal) just concentrate on passing it,There are loads of oppertunaities, for people who have low leaving cert points. I advise going to see a good Guidence Councellor(Not those ****ty ones, that most schools supply)I did alrite on my leaving cert, got offered a place, but didnt take it up. Im now doing somthing i really enjoy, Sure its taken me an extra year to do the course i want. But hey, its all worked out.

P.s. I failed all my christmas exams in 6th year. And in easter started applying myself, and got a fairly respectible 345 points.

Dont get me wrong the leaving cert isnt a breeze, You do have to put in a lot of hard work. But soon all your friends, and school mates will start studying,they'll be no more nights out, and you'll just be sitting home, with nothing else to,but study.(that was my experience anyway)

RicardoSmith

6 months is a huuuge amount of time to get to grips with your leaving certificate.

WhiteWashMan

Originally posted by AngelWhore
Frankly, don't listen to the 'Leaving Cert is the be-all/do-all of everything' rubbish that a lot of people seem to be spouting here. I'll wager that they all have their certs and know **** all about what would happen if they didn't.

ah yes, they voice of reason and experience....

Originally posted by AngelWhore
Now, I'm not saying dont do your leaving, but dont beleive in this rubbish. Quite frankly, it is scaremongering, as sev said already. personally, I don't have a leaving, I have an NCVA equivelancy, and this was ample to get me any job I aplied for, and get me into a post leaving cert course..

so, its easy for you to spout rubbish about not having a leaving when you have an equivalent yes?

ok smart boy, if you dont have the equivalent, then what do you do?

Originally posted by AngelWhore

I'm 20, and I got where I am today just as fast as anyone who had their leaving. Got a lovely degree in art, and I'm going on to do Graphic Design next year. I also got an NCVA degree in computers, which is also amply to get me a job in that area, if I so wanted..

a degree in art.
that will get you any number of highly paid jobs i'll wager.

by the way, where are you today?
and tell me, if you were to get that job in computers, how much would you earn?

Originally posted by AngelWhore

But trust me, when people say 'Do yore leaving or die poor and lonely!' they're no-nothing hearsayers.

and trust me more, you are better off with a leaving than with out one.

Originally posted by AngelWhore
Edit: You can do an NCVA course easily, as it's modular grading based on the work you do while in the course. No study, no exams ect. It's easy to fly though it in about 6 months. Although the leaving equivelency took a year.

why cant you do both?

Wolf

I found/find myself in that kinda situation all the time. Im very lazy and usually end up doing everything at the last minute. What I would say to you is that dont over hype the exams.

You have more than enuf time to ace those exams really two months is enuf time to pass the leaving. What I would say to you is stop saying you are crap at the subjects and be honest. Its just because you havent been going.

If you want to pass and I strongly recomend that you do try to pass just start reading over the note. Dont try to learn anything off be heart just start reading them ok. Then once you have read everything do it again. This isnt liek studying this is just simple reading. You will be really surpized what goes in.

Remember the reason that you arent going to school is because you are crap at it and you are crap at it because you arent going. See a patern there? What you will find with a touch of work that you will do better in class and start to enjoy school alot more.

Also, if you end up failing them so bloodly what life goes on and there are many and varied different opertunities in life. One person I know let school at 15 and is a millionaire now but getting the quals make it all easier and if you dont do it now you WILL regret it later in life. Well all the best now get back to work dammit

Typedef

Finish your leaving Cert for sure.

In any case don't panic. See, in real life just do what everybody else does and lie through your teeth on your CV.

It's a lot like maustrabation that, everybody does it, but only 'some' admit to it.

leeroybrown

I think everyone is pretty much in agreement. Finishing your Leaving Cert is by far the best option.

I wouldn't advise dropping out and going back. That will almost inevitably lead to a situation where you'll be tempted not to bother. The LC is the most important qualification a person can get. It opens the way to move into everything from Degrees to Certs, PLC's etc. You can survive without one but to be honest life becomes a lot easier when you have one.

You seem very down about the whole thing, especially thinking that your chances are low because of the wasted time. That is really wrong. Remember that most of the time you've spent in school so far has just been collecting knowledge (on paper for the most part) that you'll end up studying. So looking at it that way, 80% or more of what's been done in most subjects can be replaced with a photocopier and a good few evenings reading.

Remember that very few people have any serious study done yet. It's not as hard as you might think. All the Leaving Cert consists of is a huge volume of "learning off". I really didn't do any work for the LC other than half-assed homework till after the Mocks ... and that was for 7 Honours Subjects.

If I were you I'd talk to some friends and get the home work, missed notes, etc. Then talk to a teacher or two about how you've missed a lot and want to catch up. If you put in some work it'll all be grand in the end.

RicardoSmith

If I was you I'd write down the things you would like to do in life and what you need to do in order to achieve that. Then trace that back to the leaving certificate and see how that will help you in the future. Perhaps knowing that you you have a long term goal that you are working to, and knowing that the leaving cert is a part of that will motivate you better.

If you are struggling with subjects perhaps a new approach to them is what you need. I'd have a hunt around in easons for alternative books and study material that is more interesting than the stuff you are currently using. Even ask your teachers that you are having a problem with your subjects and perhpas you could try learning it in a different way. I remember reading King Henry the IV for the Leaving cert and it was pretty dull. Then I saw the Polanski version of it and that Japanese samurai version of it. Both which are excellent. From then on when dealing with questions on the play I simply remembered the films and it was easy to remember who was what and why they did certain things.

Wolf

Originally posted by RicardoSmith
6 months is a huuuge amount of time to get to grips with your leaving certificate.

Bah and hum bugery leaving cert is a piece of p1ss. I only revised for about 1/2 of them and im a work shy git! I did well enuf as well.

The thing is to have confidence in your own abillities. If you go in going "Im going to fail (SOB)" Then you will fail no matter how hard you worked. If you do **** all and go in going I dont give a **** ill just answer what I can and bugger to the rest, you will do well. I did alot of last years exams pissed and passed very well (Uni).

I recomend doing a reasonable amount of preperation and the just giving it a lash.