Robert McDermott, an English teacher, suggests that the Leaving Cert examinations could begin with a different subject instead of English to make the situation easier for students.
Robert McDermott suggests the Leaving Cert examinations could begin with another paper instead: 'They talk a lot about innovation in education'McDermott, an English teacher, is in no way uncertain that having English as the first examination for students does not make the situation any easier.
“They talk a lot about innovation in education. Well, here’s one thing: why don’t you mix up the exam a little bit? Why don’t you start with something different? ” he asks.
“And I think a lot of it is they want the English papers done so that they can get to Athlone so they can be scanned, so they can be sent to the examiners. Because it’s a lot of writing, but it’s a hell of a lot of reading.
”My Leaving Cert: The school secretary took me to lost property and kitted me out with a new uniformOne question McDermott is often asked as an English teacher is: “How much should I write? How long does it need to be? ” The guideline may be four pages, but the reality is often determined by the size and style of the student’s writing, he says.
“I always say, ‘If you answer the question, have you got your introduction? Have you got your six main body paragraphs? Have you got your conclusion? Have you got your thread going throughout that?
’” It’s tough beginning with a heavy writing subject, McDermott says. Especially in the age of phones and technology.
“The writing is a slog. And in the 25 years I’ve been teaching, talking to kids after Leaving Cert English, they look like they’re punch drunk. They look like they’ve done 10 rounds. They’re bewildered by the whole thing.
Their hands hurt. They’re just like, ‘My head is swirling with words and quotes by writers who are long dead’. ” For students heading in to paper one on that first day, McDermott says if they are unsure then “do the personal essay”. When it comes to the short story, he says “you’re not going to make up a good story on the day.
AsWhereas for the personal essay, McDermott says: “Everybody has or had a mam or dad and a granny and grandad. And they all have holidays that they love. We’ve all been winners and losers. And tell that story, that up and down”.
He advises that if students choose to write their essay from “the mouth” that they follow a style similar to poet Paula Meehan who he says is “hotly tipped” to come up in Paper 2. ”It’s a much more down to earth, talking in a language that we can understand. Be understood", he says.students, he says two hours “is too short to write that paper”, but he advises students to at least attempt all the questions.
To all exam students, his advice is to not follow the format of the paper. What if first-day nerves kick in and students worry about the level of the paper they’re sitting?
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