I think a lot of the mental illness for young boys is that the education ladder deprives them of responsibility until way past maturity.
Ireland's big school secret: how a year off-curriculum changes teenage lives
61–70 of 141 posts
Re: Ireland's big school secret: how a year off-curriculum changes teenage lives
#62Sounds like a great idea. In England, I've seen education get consistently more rigid and inflexible over the years. All about tests, tests and more tests. Teachers leave the profession, children turn off. And as it consistently fails to produce better results, the answer is always to do more of what has failed. Bring something like this to England, please!
Is this not the same as a gap year? I’m Irish but unfortunately never bothered with TY. I live in the UK now so I’ve a limited understanding of TY and the ‘Gap year’.
A gap year is normally between the end of secondary school and starting college (so 18-20 or so). TY is between junior cycle (junior cert, or inter cert if you're older) and senior cycle (leaving cert). So 14-16 year olds (who couldn't legally take a gap year)
Re: Ireland's big school secret: how a year off-curriculum changes teenage lives
#63TY was good to me, but I think it could have been better. As the article says, each school does it differently. We did a mini company, where we created knick knacks and tried to sell them. But the entire class of 30 students was one company, which was therefore quite badly organised. I remember the teachers saying that they wouldn't do it that way in future years. There was also orienteering.
And we still did some academic classes. Maths, anyway. And I think some others.
In my school, most of the kids didn't do TY, so there was just one class in TY, which meant that the maths, in particular, was fairly basic: there weren't enough of us for streaming. And jumping back into higher level maths in Fifth Year was, frankly, a bit of a shock to the system.
Re: Ireland's big school secret: how a year off-curriculum changes teenage lives
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
unweighted GPA, relative class ranking, and SAT/ACT for college admissions - sort of like what the UCs do UC admissions decisions don't use SAT or ACT scores. Relative class ranking is a poor measure for students who gained entry (by merit) to a selective high school. Like if you do well in middle school and get into Lowell by the skin of your teeth, should you be penalized for being in the bottom 10%?
> UC admissions decisions don't use SAT or ACT scores. Ope. I forgot that changed after COVID. Pre-COVID SAT/ACT was required. > Like if you do well in middle school and get into Lowell by the skin of your teeth, should you be penalized for being in the bottom 10%? Someone is always going to be penalized no matter what. Most schools in California as well as nationally are not specialized or gatekept via entrance exam…
Most schools in California as well as nationally are not specialized or gatekept via entrance exams like Lowell was.
Imagine the top 10% of middle school students in SF go to Lowell. Half of those will be in the bottom half of the graduating class.
So 5% of students in SF (half of the best 10%) might not get into their UC of choice, just because they managed to get into Lowell.
That's a lot of students' futures we're talking about. Why penalize half of the best students in SF?
Re: Ireland's big school secret: how a year off-curriculum changes teenage lives
#65The Cillian Murphy reference seems off. He might have been too old when it was mandated in 1994, even though it was available earlier. Anyone know for sure?
Re: Ireland's big school secret: how a year off-curriculum changes teenage lives
#66Sounds like a great idea. In England, I've seen education get consistently more rigid and inflexible over the years. All about tests, tests and more tests. Teachers leave the profession, children turn off. And as it consistently fails to produce better results, the answer is always to do more of what has failed. Bring something like this to England, please!
Is this not the same as a gap year? I’m Irish but unfortunately never bothered with TY. I live in the UK now so I’ve a limited understanding of TY and the ‘Gap year’.
The Gap Year is a year-long deferral from university or college. Sometimes, it occurs directly after finishing High School, and other times, it occurs in the middle of your course.
Many countries allow young people (under 30) to live and work in-country under a Working Holiday visa. Both are effectively Young People travelling (aka backpacking).
Re: Ireland's big school secret: how a year off-curriculum changes teenage lives
#67I think a lot of the mental illness for young boys is that the education ladder deprives them of responsibility until way past maturity.
Out of curiosity, why do you think that's a problem for boys, in particular?
Re: Ireland's big school secret: how a year off-curriculum changes teenage lives
#68[dead]
Re: Ireland's big school secret: how a year off-curriculum changes teenage lives
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sounds like Bill Gates has gotten a hold of your school system as well.
sounds like you have something to say but can't be bothered to say it
Gates Foundation put an outsized amount of money into getting support for Common Core, standardized testing and merit pay for teachers.
- https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/got-dough-how-billio...
Re: Ireland's big school secret: how a year off-curriculum changes teenage lives
#70In TY in 1998 I: worked at an architect's, an archeologist's, a hospital, an epidemiological research institute where I got to use _my own computer_ all day - decided I needed to work with computers, got a summer job there. earned the President's Award medal had one class where we stripped an engine over the term got my first aid certificate learned how to develop film took night classes touch typing (on an electric…
I often mention to people that graduate research helped me mature for this same reason. Prior to grad school, I just followed the strict well-defined path modern schooling tends to have - spend most time studying, very limited investment in hobbies and out-of-school friendships, get good grades, focus only on moving to the next year. My grades were great, but it left me as an underdeveloped anxious mess of a person w…
> but also won't exploit you the way an employer can
Eh, my experience is the opposite. A lot more exploitation in grad school than in industry. It's a lot easier to change jobs than change professors/universities.
I recall multiple cases of formal/semi-formal interventions where other professors or the department had to force an advisor to let the person graduate (they wanted to keep milking them for more papers).
And then when you do graduate, forget a career in research if you can't get recommendation letters from him.
But otherwise, I agree. A ton of benefits if you go to graduate school and don't have an abusive advisor.
(I also took a year off after high school. Never understood why everyone said I was making a big mistake...).