Their election experiences apart, some politicians are likely to have come in for a bit of a pasting yesterday at the hands of Leaving Cert students. Present Day politicians are joke was a timely option on the higher Leaving Cert. Irish paper one.
Current affairs buffs had a field day. Other essay topics included human rights, computers, refugees, the points system and the effect of the Celtic Tiger on the poor. "The essay topics favoured students who were familiar with current affairs and history," commented Ms Treasa Ni Chonaola, a teacher at St Michael's College in Ballsbridge, Dublin. "They reflect the need to read outside the course." There was some scope, too, for students who preferred to let their imaginations soar, she noted. Nostalgia and The lowly are sure to be oppressed were other options. The topics were "very demanding and challenging, and so they ought to be at this level", Ms Ni Chonaola asserted.
"Students would have found something to suit them," was the comment of Ms Maire Ni Laoire, a teacher at Scoil Muire gan Smal in Blarney, Co Cork, and vice-chairwoman of Comhar na Muinteoiri Gaeilge. "The essay topics were about things that people have been talking about all year." However, Mr Hilari de Barra, secretary of Comhar na Muinteoiri Gaeilge and a teacher at St Louis Secondary School in Dundalk, Co Louth, felt that students who were unfamiliar with current affairs would find the essay subjects testing. History students, Ms Treasa Ni Chonaola noted, were delighted with a comprehension passage on the Lusitania, which had appeared in The Irish Times. A piece on John Hume and David Trimble being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was "very reasonable". Most people were familiar with the context, she said.
Ms Ni Laoire countered that the Hume/Trimble text contained challenging vocabulary and that a glossary would have been useful. However, the fact that students were familiar with the topic made things easier. Happily, one pupil assured her that "it was grand, we were reading about them all year". Mr de Barra described the comprehension pieces as "very, very challenging". Language and vocabulary was difficult and some of the questions were too demanding even at this level, he believed. By and large, teachers were pleased with the ordinary-level paper and agreed that it was a considerable improvement on previous years. "The paper represents an improvement, but it could be better," Mr de Barra said.
"This year's paper was more suitable for ordinary-level candidates," commented Ms Ni Chonaola. However, the essay topics - When summer comes, Advertisements and An historical area in my home place - were less than appealing, she thought. The comprehension pieces, which included the current Rose of Tralee and TNaG's Sean Ban Breathnach, were viewed with enthusiasm by students, teachers said. "The questions were very direct and students were much happier than they have been for a couple of years," Ms Ni Laoire said.
But while teachers were pleased with the aural tapes - Ms Ni Laoire said her students came out of the exam smiling - a Co Wexford student rang Exam Times to complain about the tape's poor quality. "It was impossible to follow," he said, and compared unfavourably with the tapes he had heard during the year.
