Sir, – The Junior Cycle Student Award is being introduced from next year (Education, January 21st), but does it really address the education system's problems? In our schools we prepare students for exams when we should be preparing them for life. We are taught only what is necessary to achieve a good grade and nothing else.
I am a fifth year student and many of my teachers are passionate about their subjects, however the rigid structure of the Leaving Cert prevents them from transferring their enthusiasm to their pupils. Learning should be an enjoyable, enriching experience, not the daily drain that students endure today.
The education system in Finland is a prime example of what Ireland could do to change. Children do not begin education until the age of seven and there are no standardised tests until the age of 16. Teachers are picked from the top 10 per cent of graduates and it is a requirement that they possess a master’s degree in education. The implementation of the system has had proven results, with Finnish children coming at the top or very close to the top in the core subjects in international rankings.
I realise fully how fortunate we are in this country to even have the chance to attend school. However, I find it troubling that young, intelligent people in my year are frustrated and impatient for the next two years of their lives to be completed so they can escape their daily hell.
The JCSA may help change this for the junior cycle in the future, but it makes no difference to the outdated senior cycle. We should not be content with a flawed system. We are given a great opportunity to be in second-level education so why don’t we perfect the experience? – Yours, etc,
IAN SMITH,
Orlagh Wood,
Knocklyon,
Dublin 16.