Why I wish I celebrated on Junior Certificate Night
As anyone who knows me will assure you, I aim high.Growing up I had Bible verse 6:7 from the Book of Galatians drilled into me, the words "You reap what you sow" being quoted at every opportunity; Christmas dinner, birthday parties, Sunday lunch. It was made very clear to me at a young age that if I refused to work hard I would never make anything of myself, and it's with this instilled logic that I have always tried desperately to realise my full potential, whether it be inside or outside of school.Now, I enjoy learning immensely. I loved my Junior Certificate subjects. I adored my teachers. I got on well with my classmates. But I would be lying if I denied that Verse 6:7 is what motivated me to work during the three years of Junior Cycle. "The Pursuit of Excellence" is what my father would refer to it as, but perhaps a more honest label could be "Fear of Failure". I was hyper-aware of the successes of others, and cripplingly self-aware when it came to my own flaws. To this day I refuse to ask for help in class when I don't understand something, in the fear that I be seen as unintelligent. I study up on chapters before the class covers them so that I might impress a teacher when I can answer their questions on new material perfectly. I'm constantly worrying about the possibility that I may not succeed, that I won't have an amazing job, that I won't be able to have a beautiful house, that I won't see the world, because I was lazy as a student. This is my biggest fear, and this fear is the reason I pushed myself with my work the way I did.The three week period of the Junior Certificate was indeed the worst three weeks of my life, and I still get unsettling nightmares where I can't answer questions or I forget that I have French in the morning and History in the evening.Thankfully these incidents didn't happen (now I know that even if they did, it wouldn't be that big of a deal!). I did all the things that the ISSU exam tips advised me against... I didn't exercise, didn't take study breaks, didn't sleep well. During two hour breaks between papers I told my friends I was getting lunch with my mother but revised my notes erratically in a toilet cubicle instead, writing out definition after definition, trying desperately to retain everything, despite already having studied everything a hundred times before.My coping mechanism for this miserable time was to imagine myself in a parrell universe, on a island surrounded by turquoise water and bright white sand. This is what essentially got me through those sleep-deprived, stress filled days, pretending I wasn't actually in the real world. Not a very healthy state of mind.At the end I was practically sub-human. I hadn't had a proper conversation with another person in weeks, hadn't relaxed, hadn't gone put with my friends to the cinema or gone on sleepovers .It took me about a month to get back to normal, where I felt as good as I had before my Junior Cert pres, before I had the constant worry of state exams on my shoulders.Results week came around, and everyone was planning outfits, venues, which restaurant to go to, which house to get ready in. I firmly declined all offers, despite my friends pleas. I was so worried about not doing well that I made sure there could be no one around me to ask me what I got, because telling them I did badly would be mortifying. I planned to isolate myself rather than be with the girls I loved on such a special night, because I couldn't risk feeling like a failure.On the day of results, I got the grades I had fantasised about, and I achieved the highest marks in my school year. I cried as soon as I saw the neat row of letters... Not from happiness as such but I was relieved. In my mind, anything less than the highest would have been a disappointment. As I recall it, i realise how twisted that was, to be more relieved that I didn't fail than happy that I succeeded.And as I had planned, I spent that night at home, on my own. I had ruined a few months of my life to achieve the grades I wanted, and now that I had them, I didn't even celebrate my hard work. I didn't feel the need to either, because as everyone had told me, "the Junior Certificate doesn't mean anything". I was informed that even though my grades were great, the Leaving Certificate is the only thing that matters anyway. I spent that evening on social media, looking at all my school friends enjoying themselves, and feeling rather empty.I wish I had spent time with my friends during the lead up to exams and on those breaks between papers. My best friends are there to confide in, and to trust, and they have the ability to make me think about things logically and calmly.I wish I had spoken to my family during the weeks of the Junior Cert, when I was just a few inches away from a potential breakdown. I didn't have to treat my mind and body the way I did, I placed results above my wellbeing.And I really wish that I could have pushed away my fear of failure, which still permeates my attitude to school, and celebrated an achievement I should have been very very proud of.In Irish society, getting your results means a lot. Even if the Junior Cert isn't the be all and end all, (and it definitely is not) finishing the Junior Cycle is significant. you are moving on to your last years of secondary school, you are getting closer to coming of age, you're growing up. You're not some little girl or boy straight out of National School anymore, and the next few years will be full of change, of new influences, of new people, and of new beginnings.Perhaps if I measured my "success" in moments of happiness rather than credentials on paper, I could have made that occasion a night to remember.The day you get your Junior Certificate results is not the day to "chill on the sofa and watch some TV". Take it from someone who's done it, you will regret it so much.Whether you are happy or unhappy, or even if you feel completely ashamed of your marks, my advice is that you should still do something. Something which is special to you, something different, something which you will remember and which will landmark this special day. Jane M. Hayes Nally is the President of the Irish Second-Level Students' Union. Jane is a 6th year student in St. Mary’s High School Midleton, Co. Cork.The Irish Second-Level Students' Union is the national union for second-level students in Ireland. The ISSU works towards an education system in which the views, opinions and contributions of students are respected in which students are recognised as an official partner in creating an education that is centred around and caters best for students.
Officer Blog: OBESSU General Assembly 2016
Ellen O'Rourke, ISSU International Officer
Blog: Transition Year Work Experience
Saoirse reviews her Transition Year Work Experience in the ISSU Office.
Every Wednesday from April 6th to May 11th this year I worked in the ISSU office in Liberty Hall as part of my Transition Year work experience. During my time in the ISSU office I got to do a wide range of administration and secretarial work which I found very interesting and beneficial. I worked closely with the ISSU's General Secretary, Rebecca Dempsey, along with members of the NSE (National Student Executive).Walking up to Liberty Hall on the first day I was unsure of what to expect. I didn't know a lot about the work that the ISSU and National Student Executive did on a daily basis. I signed in at the front desk of Liberty Hall and was told to go to the 9th floor where the ISSU office is located. As I opened up the door to the office, I was greeted with a friendly and welcoming hello from Rebecca. I was first brought to the desk that I would be working at for the following few weeks, then I got a tour of the office and was given a brief but informative overview of what work was done in the ISSU and the type of work that I would be involved in.From the first day I completed many different types of office work and I personally found that my computer skills were developed greatly. I developed my computer skills by using the various databases, using Excel to make tables, and using Microsoft word to write blogs and creating lists. Other work included typing, printing and sending letters out to Student Councils throughout the country, and proof reading letters and documents. One of my main tasks whilst working in the ISSU was writing a blog piece. I really enjoyed writing my blog piece on the topic of the Junior Certificate as it was something different that I had never done before and I also enjoyed hearing feedback from people who had read my blog and had taken something useful from it.Writing the blog was one of them things that I only expected to be a small project but it turned out to be something much more. The blog was not only on the ISSU website but SpunOut.ie posted it on their page and have asked me to write for them again. In addition to that, my school uploaded it onto the school website where it got lots of attention from exam students. Because of this, I have been asked to tutor many Junior Cert students in a number of different subjects. If I wasn't asked by Rebecca to write the blog piece, none of these opportunities would have been opened up to me. That's why I think Transition Year is a great course to take part in, so many opportunities are opened up to you that you never thought would be.I learned so much from working in the ISSU and out of all the places I did my work experience in this year, the ISSU was no doubt one of my favourites. The people involved in the ISSU are some of the nicest people I have ever met, especially Rebecca who I worked closely with. I felt so comfortable working and talking with them. I was only in the ISSU for 6 weeks but in that short space of time I learned so much and developed as a person.I would definitely recommend working in or with the ISSU for work experience next year or any year after that to Transition Year students. You'll learn a lot of valuable skills and get to work in a new environment with lovely people. It was sad to leave the ISSU as I finished my work experience module but I've gained so much from it and would definitely work with them again if the if the opportunity came up.Note: Saoirse attends Ashbourne School in Ashbourne Co. Meath. You can read her article on getting through the Junior Cert here: http://issu.ie/2016/05/one-year-junior-cert/Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.Zeminar is an event for Generation Z, particularly those aged between 15 and 19, and their parents, teachers, mentors and coaches. It will take place from 11th - 13th of October 2016. For more information see www.zeminar.ie
Admission to Schools Bill 2016
Education (Admission to Schools) Bill Explanation
There has been lots of talk about the changes to the Admission to Schools Bill that will affect entry to primary and post primary schools nationwide. We’ve broken down the jargon, to (hopefully) explain clearly what it all means.So let’s start at the beginning;What is it?2011 – A discussion paper on school enrolment was launched and this was discussed at a public consultation.2013 – After this consultation a Draft General Scheme for an Education (Admission to Schools) Bill along with two other drafts were published.2014 – These were referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education & Social Protection and the public, parents and education stakeholders were given the chance to provide feedback on them. After this feedback was gathered, a report was completed and was published on the 5th of March 2014. A few issues were raised but on the 25th of March 2014, the Government gave approval for drafting Education (Admission to Schools) Bill.2015 – The bill was published on the 8th of April 2015 BUT the bill was not passed through the House of the Oireachtas before Dáil Éireann was dissolved on the 3rd of February2016 to allow for the election of a new government in the General Election which took place in 2016.So what does this mean?The draft bill has been discussed and debated recently as many people (including us in the ISSU) feel that it is needed but that it still doesn’t provide for all of the changes to the law that many people believe are necessary. It doesn’t prevent students being discriminated against on the basis of their religion or non-religion. Many people and organisations have been campaigning and asking for further changes to be made to the bill.However, this week the bill was approved by the government BUT without including a provision to remove the ‘baptism barrier’ which prevents students that have not been baptised from gaining entry to certain schools. The legislation is expected to be drafted by next week and the amendments that will be brought forward to change the law on school admissions include the following:
- Denominational schools (schools that have a faith ethos/that follow a certain religion) which are not oversubscribed (still have places), must admit all students who apply regardless of their religion;
- The government will ensure that a child with special needs is given the opportunity to attend a designated school by the National Council for Special Education or Tusla
- All schools will be required to publish their admission policies, including details on how they will provide for children who decline to take part in religious education;
- Waiting lists will be banned. This means that children can only apply for a place in a school one year before admission;
- School admission fees will be banned;
- Discrimination in school admissions will be banned BUT schools of a faith ethos (96% of primary schools) will still be allowed to give preference to students which practice that faith.
The above are welcomed changes, however it is disappointing that discrimination on the basis of religion has not been properly addressed. As we mentioned in our Equal Access to Education post (http://issu.ie/2016/07/equalaccess/), we believe that all children and young people, regardless of their religious beliefs, should have the choice and option to attend their local school. While there are more multi-denominational and non-denominational second-level schools than non-faith ethos schools, such multi-denominational and non-denominational schools are not located in every area in the country so will not always be a student’s local school. This forces second-level students to travel to a school further away if the local school gives preference to students that practice a religion and so does not grant other students a place on the basis of religion even if the non-religion practicing students had applied for a place first. This will still be allowed to happen under the new legislation as schools will still be allowed to discriminate on the basis of religion.There is a need for Government to ensure that action is taken to ensure that the legislation is amended to outlaw this religious discrimination in schools. This change would ensure that we have schools which respect the values of inclusivity and equality and that these values would be promoted among young people through experiencing different cultures in school and having the chance to make friends from different religious and cultural backgrounds. This would be a really positive change for Irish society! Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.Zeminar is an event for Generation Z, particularly those aged between 15 and 19, and their parents, teachers, mentors and coaches. It will take place from 11th - 13th of October 2016. For more information see www.zeminar.ie
Equal Access to Education
The Irish Second-Level Students' Union welcomes Education Equality's gathering yesterday and calls on the Government to implement proposed legislation to ensure that schools can no longer discriminate on the basis of religion.The ISSU believes that all children and young people, regardless of their religious beliefs, should have the choice and option to attend their local school. 80% of migrant children currently attend just 23% of Irish schools. It is vital that young people are not discriminated against on the basis of religion so that religious segregation is not allowed to continue in our education system. The government must introduce legislation now to ensure that Ireland has an education system which is free from discrimination and division. We must instill values in our children from a young age through inclusive schools to ensure that Irish communities and the wider Irish society are built on values of tolerance, integration and equality.We have been involved with the discussions and conversations in relation to the Admissions Bill to education. We will continue this work and hope that positive changes for admissions to schools will occur in the near future.For more information you can see Education Equality's website here: http://www.educationequality.ie/ Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.Zeminar is an event for Generation Z, particularly those aged between 15 and 19, and their parents, teachers, mentors and coaches. It will take place from 11th - 13th of October 2016. For more information see www.zeminar.ie
Officer Blog: OBESSU Convention on Education and Work
Joanna reviews her trip to Brussels for the Convention on Education & Work.
Thank you to the Organising Bureau of Student Unions for organising this convention!
OBESSU - What is it again?The Organising Bureau for European School Student Unions (OBESSU) is an organisation which connects and supports student voice on a European level. It was set up in Dublin 30 years ago and today OBESSU is a 22 member strong body, which works tirelessly to advocate for student rights and bring European student unions together for training's, conventions and study sessions to discuss various topics relevant to them. OBESSU is best defined by its political platform, a document which sets out the main objectives and stands of the Bureau, available on their website. It’s a vibrant and super engaging organisation which does amazing work for students. Find out more here - http://www.obessu.org/ #EduWork 
The OBESSU convention on Education and Work ran from the 24th to the 28th of May in Brussels. This convention brought participants from countries such as Czech Republic, Finland, Slovakia, Romania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, to name a few. I represented Ireland through the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU).We came together to discuss recent developments and reports regarding the discourse and actions that EU institutions are adopting on the topic of education and work… Basically we brainstormed and explained situations in our own countries, what we believed in and what we wanted to see happen. Then we investigated what EU bodies are saying on these topics and how we want to respond to them.These conventions are brilliant for really getting to understand a topic and for me, it showed me how EU debates and decisions influence Irish politics on the topic of education and its’ links to work. So, what did we do in Brussels? 
The week began with getting to know each other and getting to know statistical information from different countries, as well as chatting about our experiences and attitudes towards education and work in our countries. There was an online phase before the convention, and some of the research that we carried out there was used to make a map of youth unemployment and NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training) young people.To be honest, I found it difficult to focus just on the unemployed group of young people and their experiences of education, when in my opinion NEETs are a group with much bigger issues. Also, it quickly became evident that when it comes to living in poverty and difficulties in accessing both education and work, there are particular groups in society who face this problem more than others. Migrants, and especially migrants from non-EU countries are the most vulnerable group. But, this convention dealt with education and work on a European level and national level within our countries and organisations. So from day two, we focused on this theme. Some of the highlights :) 
It was great that during the week we got to talk to a panel of MEPs and a panel of stakeholders, representing EU institutions, trade unions, youth and corporations. Both panel debates were very interesting and gave us a real chance to engage with the European discourses and get good insights into the topic.We had sessions on work of national institutions, OBESSU and other youth organisations who lobby on a European level, discussing skills for the labour market and many discussions on links of vocational education to work and shaping curricula and attitudes in schools towards providing pupils with skills needed for work.Different student unions had very different things to say about how vocational education is regarded in their countries and how curricula are either incredibly outdated or re-designed in favour of the needs of the labour market. I also found it interesting how much emphasis the EU is putting on the ‘skills agenda’ or what’s called ‘skills mismatch’. These terms are used to explain why our schools need to change how they teach in order to prepare students for the labour market, because currently the ‘mismatch’ occurs for some graduates from school/college and it means that students have skills that don’t suit the needs of the labour market… Which I 100% disagree with!!Education is for life, not for labour markets. Skills should be adaptable. School should focus on producing creative, critical and healthy individuals who have the abilities necessary to face challenges of life. Students should be taught to manage and organise themselves and most importantly, engage in life-long learning beyond formal education. This ‘mismatch’ is not an issue of student knowledge and skills, it’s an issue of the labour markets adaptability and being able to make the most out of the potential of the graduates that we have. And, it’s also an issue of some school systems still being based on an old-style industrial model of learning material off by heart, without any continuous assessment or critical thinking skills. We need education reform and for labour markets to adapt for students, not for students to adapt for labour markets.It drove me crazy to look over the EU research in this field! But what’s important to remember, is that at OBESSU trips I am representing the students of Ireland, not my personal beliefs, so I tried my best to focus on the discourse in Ireland and what we have been hearing from students at various events and our AGM on this topic. OMCs and other interesting things to research! 
For anyone interested in how EU education policies are formed and how they influence national agendas, I highly recommend looking up the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) group on Education. These groups don’t make binding laws, but their discussions influence politicians from around Europe, who then bring what they discussed and learned in the OMC back to their home countries to continue the conversation. The conversations around education and work are based on different perspectives in the OMC - not just education to fill labour gaps, but also education as something that is our human right and that is necessary for life, not for work.So, after many discussions, which went on long past the dedicated session times and really opened my eyes to the topic of education and work, it was time for conclusions and drafting plans for our home organisations!I brainstormed a bit with friends from the Czech student union and got a lot of inspiration from the Finnish reps. I then sat down to write my plan. There was a ‘local phase’ aspect to the convention. This means that all of the participants will try to incorporate the topic of education and work and the learning that they have gathered over the week into the work plans of their organisations. This is a bit tricky, because as a representative of ISSU I couldn’t make decisions on behalf of the whole union. However, I could brainstorm ideas and learn from the other organisations and form a proposal to the National Student Executive (NSE).I thought that a blog outlining the event was a must, but I also considered actions such as writing letters to the minister for jobs, commenting on the skills-agenda in Ireland and encouraging education for life discourse, and not education for work language; for example there is a lot of incentivising done to Irish students to take STEM subjects, not because there is a boom in interest among young people in maths, science and technology subjects, but because there are jobs in them. This encouragement to get an education with the goal of getting a job in a field is not right. Education should be for life. When students are making choices about what fields of study to go into, they should have the freedom to chose the topics that they feel most passionate or concerned about and which they enjoy. We want students to be happy and fulfilled by their studies, not to get caught in a course because they feel forced into it, or like it is the only option in order to make money some day. We can see the negative effects of this in the high dropout rates of students who took up STEM, when it wasn’t right for them.Effective guidance counselling, work experience programmes and tasters/shadow opportunities to experience what different education paths and fields are like are so important for students to help them make the right choices for themselves. And most importantly, students must have the freedom to chose what will make them happy and fulfilled as a person. No one should be setting an agenda for education. Human rights are not debatable.I feel strongly about this topic and I would be more than happy to work with the NSE on designing workshops on this topic for use in student council meet ups and our Regional Councils in September/October. It would help us reach out to students with this topic and make them aware of it, as well as empowering them and our organisation in order to take an active part in the discussions with Irish politicians about it.My plans are drafted in my learning notebook from the week and ready for proposal at the upcoming student executive meeting. Also, if anything in my blog sparked your interest or you have any questions and the link between education and work, about OBESSU or how ISSU engages with other second-level students’ unions and then with our own grass root members in order to shape policies and action plans - drop us an email at info@issu.ie or joanna@issu.ie :) I’d be happy to answer!Then it ended… Time for the next project! The week in Brussels ended super emotional, as always. But, I was lucky because less than 48 hours later I was back in the European capital! I am currently a part of the 6-person prep team for OBESSU's Summer School ‘Democracy and Active Participation’ which will take place in Kosovo this July! The prep team met for 2 days and it was a very intense yet interesting experience. For more updates on the summer school and what I learned while sitting on the prep team, keep an eye out on the ISSU social media and follow myself and our President Jane on Snapchat from July 2nd, and see for yourself what the summer school will be like! Snapchat @issu4u Photo Credits: OBESSU http://www.obessu.org :)Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.Zeminar is an event for Generation Z, particularly those aged between 15 and 19, and their parents, teachers, mentors and coaches. It will take place from 11th - 13th of October 2016. For more information see www.zeminar.ie