by Cathy Lee
The day that has, is or will loom over us in Ireland is the day of the Leaving certificate results. The nervous race to that school that you either loved, hated or slightly tolerated to receive a large envelope that would reveal the letters and numbers that represent your time at school, academically speaking anyway. It’s a time that still haunts the nightmares of some but is no doubt something memorable. For me, that’s all that it is: a memory. This time last year was when my battle with the Leaving Cert ended and I had the sudden realisation that maybe it doesn’t live up to all the hype. For example, since moving to a different city and starting college, the intrusive question of “what did you get in the Leaving Cert?” has rarely been heard.
That’s the thing, once you’re free from the walls of the secondary school classroom, not many in the outside world care much about the C3 in Geography or B2 in Home Economics. It’s just not relevant. Now I’m not saying that your Leaving Certificate doesn’t deserve some pride, it does – you obviously put time and energy into it. But believe me the Leaving Cert does not define you or your future capabilities, even if you’ve been brain-washed to think that it does. Take my case for example. To get into journalism in NUI Galway, the CAO 2014 requirement was 430 points. In my Leaving Cert I was five points short of this mark. Thankfully I got in on a fellowship scheme where 40 points were added to my score after a process of interview and application. But the point being, did those five points mean that I wasn’t the right person for the course? Do points define you in such a way as to undervalue you?
In terms of the Leaving Cert being relevant to us, I really don’t think that it is. For the majority of school attenders, the subjects they’re studying are not the routes of their future plans. If we look at the increase of students choosing IT courses, a basic coverage of such subjects often doesn’t take place in secondary school. The Leaving Cert seems to be an unchanging beast that demands the rote learning of outdated subjects that don’t undergo much change. But students must adapt to learning subject courses for two years that they may never look at that again after that, all for the cause of gaining points. Is this what education is? I know in college, tutors are looking for independent expression, innovative ideas and creativity but because of the training involved in the Leaving Certificate system, some students lack these skills from the get-go.
The Leaving Cert demands huge choices, big decisions and the increased pressure of competition. The CAO points system seems to be the craze of the Leaving Certificate, the focus of the classroom and what matters to most of the students. This is another system that appears to never change. Every year the pressure is packed on students to meet the demands of entry to college courses. But this too also has an element of unpredictability as trends go changing easily and the points you aim for are no longer the correct requirement. Now if that isn’t something that could mess you around, I don’t know what is.
I think the word that sums up the Leaving Cert experience is “unpredictable” which is ironic given the amount of money grinds classes can suckle from people claiming they can predict what’ll be on the papers. You really don’t know what lies ahead of you and not knowing where you’re going is daunting and adds to this pressurised time. It’s so important to have a lifeline of support around you during this challenging time that seems to be a sort of rite of passage. Finishing school, sitting the Leaving Cert, attending the debs and then starting a new adventure entirely. Within a short length of time there’s so much new learning and coping skills needed to deal with it all and it’s certainly made easier by a decent set of friends or family around you.
To all those who received Leaving Certificate results I wish you the best and leave you with this: “Don’t take life too seriously, nobody gets out alive anyway”. So whether you’re feeling positive or even if you aren’t, remember that you present yourself to the world, not those figures on that page.
Cathy Lee is a Leaving Cert survivor (2014), student journalist of NUI Galway (2015) and Wicklow native.
