LC Written Examiners, 2022

Good advice from spurious.

Just to add, I was an examiner for JC HL French the year before I did my teacher training, i.e. only on the basis of my degree. I even got a ton of extra scripts, so with the acute shortage this year, I'd imagine anyone who wants work will find it.

I would've liked to do it again, but I'm just too busy with lesson/material preparation for next year. And it's my first summer in teaching in Ireland, so it's nice to have time to unwind :)

I've used a mouse and a stylus on my 2 in 1 laptop. Honestly, with the repitious movements, a real mouse is preferable, on a mouse pad ......you are mostly clicking and the mouse is a bit better for dragging the ticks......especially when they are near each other. A separate keyboard can help too! Sometimes a change is as good as a rest and an hour with the stylus can break the monotony though!!

Definitely make sure you have a stand for your laptop or a monitor at head height, looking down and focusing will destroy your neck. The second screen could be handy if you scanned the scheme or had the notes up on it.

Give yourself lots of breaks too, your eye will get very tired! But it is 100% better than paper corrections, much easier to pack away at the end of the day and get out of your sight and no daily trips to the post office!

I got a text asking for my prsi details and it was mentioned that it was so they could give an advance.

We're getting very well paid this year, LCHL subject, though I think I'll earn mine as I've just corrected 1 exam online and its taken me all afternoon. 210 is our cutoff for the extra for over allotted amount. It was great not having the trek to Athlone, the overnight and the hassle of collecting bags of papers, bringing them home, opening and counting them. It's also great not to have to do any adding up.

My guess is that it will be a welcome surprise if money lands in people's accounts and keep them marking. If it had been stated in a letter and then was weeks late/didn't happen everyone would be grumbling.

I think my old advance was 1200, that's a strange drop! I assume it'll be taxed this year like the superintending!

Not telling people is definitely smart. We seem to be ok for correctors currently, but I suppose we won't know if there is a problem til the end! I have to say the extra covid money is really keeping me doing it, I wonder will they loose a lot if they get rid of that next year! The bad weather currently is definitely making it more bearable!

🤣🤣 I could be getting the same as you this year, I haven't a clue! But it was a nice surprise that I was getting anything

In fairness I think my advance for JC was around 700 and maybe less the first year I did it. It jumped a good bit when I went to HL LC! I never really understood how they came up with them anyway, always seemed arbitrary. The JC corrections were more time consuming and annoying but a third of the price per script. And the advances seemed the same, almost randomly generated, sort of scaled JC to LC

Not yet.

Ya I realised that when I saw my payslip for the advance too... I mean logically I know that you only come out with around half but it's soul destroying to see.

I feel particularly sorry for teachers not getting paid for the Summer who are marking at the moment. 288 Euro won't go far. I remember getting handed a cheque for 1200 Euro at the end of the marking conference not too many years ago. I find online marking fine but a full exam ie paper 1, paper 2 and the aural section is taking me 20 minutes more or less which is the same as the time it took me to mark with a red biro. I don't miss the queuing in the post office or having the sofa taken up with exam papers for the month of July. However I am finding it very very intense, not difficult just intense. I think this will be my last year at it. 33 Julys taken up with marking is enough.

The advance really makes no odds to me now but I remember that 1200 being really important when I wasn't being paid for the summer. Just seems random to change a system which was of benefit to the most vulnerable correctors financially.

The online is different alright, I don't miss the random trips and paper cuts but it's hard to concentrate on a screen for so long........and when I have a long question in the wrong field there may be some swearing

Pros for me are not having my house taken over with scripts, not having to count them, order them, pull out a sample. Not having to go the post office. Immediate feedback on scripts from advisor, advisor being able to pull a script up on their computer when I have a question, rather than having to read it out. No marking sheets, tots, scrud60s.

Cons, having to stop after the random sample and each 50, and wait to get clearance to continue again. It can mean random days off when I don’t need them, and then pressure on a weekend, when I’d rather not work. Not knowing how many scripts I will have to do.

Benefits outweigh the drawbacks for me.

It would probably be after each 100 for JC, it usually works in 100s, while LC works in 50s.

I'm LC and it was 100s then 50s! I didn't like it either, I would often do a very long day if it was raining or I had something on at the weekend or I was just in the humour and I was waiting a couple of times for papers to be released, nearly a day at one point. I can't really remember that being an issue last year. The flexibility is a really important part when your sitting inside in 30 degree heat!!!!

When will the LC results be published this year ?

You have to write how many scripts you marked and how many conference days you had. If you had to contact your AE a lot - phone calls/messages. Personally, I haven't claimed phone/sms with a long time.