LEAVING CERT IRISH PAPER 2 HIGHER AND ORDINARY LEVELS:THERE WERE some new and tricky elements in the higher-level second Irish paper yesterday, according to Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland subject representative Robbie Cronin.
With the much-maligned Stair na Gaeilge consigned to ancient history, the new-look Irish paper 2 held few surprises, and was deemed fair, although it was not without its problems.
Comprehension, which used to be a part of paper 1, has been moved to paper 2. The pieces chosen divided opinion among teachers – some found them interesting while others felt the texts needed an update.
The first comprehension piece was about an Irish American Olympian named Jim Thorpe who won two gold medals in the 1923 Olympics.
“I just think that students could be given something a bit more contemporary,” said Teachers’ Union of Ireland representative Ruth Morrissey-Casey, a teacher in St Michael’s Community College in Kilmihil, Co Clare.
“When you look at the kind of subject matter in the ordinary-level paper, it’s a lot more youthful and interesting than the history-laden pieces that the higher-level students have to deal with.”
Overall, the questions based on the piece were “fair”, Mr Cronin said.
The final question on the piece was a new addition to the exam, and the latter part of it was too taxing, according to teachers.
“For a maximum of 10 marks, students had to say what the text reveals about the mindset of both the American people and the mindset of the IOC [International Olympic Council],” Mr Cronin said.
“It was a very challenging question given the time constraints,” Ms Morrissey-Casey agreed.
Ordinary-level students had a good start with two “very interesting” comprehension passages. One was about sports presenter Evanne Ní Chuillin and the other was about tennis player Daithí Ó hEithir. “They were just very relevant to young people,” Ms Morrissey-Casey said. “They were relevant and accessible.”
The questions and language used were straightforward, said Clare Grealy, Irish teacher in the Institute of Education.
The prose questions, on Hurlamboc, were a departure from previous years.