Goldfish essay fails to brighten up 'dull' higher papers

Junior Cert English: The Junior Cert higher level paper was described as an accessible yet dull paper by English teachers yesterday, with the unusual topic of goldfish appearing in two sections.

In the first section students were required to read a passage entitled "In Praise of Goldfish" which was an edited version of a piece originally broadcast on RTÉ Radio One's programme Sunday Miscellany.

Students were then provided with a varying list of essay titles inclusive of discussing a real or imaginary pet, or the "talking goldfish".

Bill Ryan, a teacher in Castlepollard Community School and TUI subject representative, said the essay titles were "poor" and failed to challenge and interest students.

Paper two was regarded as predictable but contained drama excerpts which were not compelling and posed difficult questions which would have left students "struggling".

"The unseen poem on Van Gogh's yellow chair wasn't engaging and was somewhat surreal," said Mr Ryan. He conceded that while the two papers were generally "dull", they did however offer "catch-all questions" .

The poetry section which offered students the chance to write about a poet they would most like to invite to their school was welcomed by teachers as an open and imaginative question.

However, PJ Sheehy, a teacher in St Kevin's CBS in Arklow, Co Wicklow, and ASTI subject representative, said students may have felt it necessary to bullet point their reasons as opposed to writing a reflective piece due to the particular phrasing of the question.

"But for the student who prepared well, they should score very well on these papers today," said Mr Sheehy.

The ordinary level paper one was perceived as being too simplistic in parts in that it offered essay titles such as "My Computer" and "Winter".

In other sections teachers complained that some of the terms used required further explanation and would have left students struggling to guess their meaning in a question.

The foundation paper was described as an excellently-balanced paper which was straightforward and well laid out.