Sir, – Here we go – three weeks of wall to wall (page to page, if you will) coverage of the Leaving Certificate.
Last-minute tips, student diaries, guides for parents and, most egregiously, exam rehashes. One of the biggest things I emphasise with my own Leaving Cert students is when you walk out of an exam hall that exam is over and discussing it serves no good purpose because it can’t be changed: on to the next exam.
What purpose does all of this serve? Nothing, but to fill media space and causes stress for all parties concerned in the meantime. The Leaving Cert is a set of exams. That is it – a set of exams. The amount of media coverage and hype about them does not happen in other countries regarding end of school progression.
Students do what they need to and life moves on without any analysis.
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Moreover, the very media that encourage this hype will then move to how stressed students, parents and teachers are regarding same. The Leaving Certificate is important but it is not the only path: it’s time to stop feeding the monster and have a normal, quiet, relaxed exam period. – Yours, etc,
NIAMH BYRNE,
Fairview,
Dublin 3.