ASTI - Ireland's main second level teachers union

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ASTI President Jack Keane gave some words of advice to the country’s Leaving and Junior Certificate students today:

“While it is perfectly normal to feel some anxiety, it is really important to keep things in perspective over the coming weeks. No one exam is going to make or break you as a person and while exams are important they are not everything. Your worth as a person is not tested by any examination.

“My advice to students is to take each day as it comes and avoid looking back on an exam once you have finished, or catastrophising about an exam you have yet to sit.

“Take care of yourself during the exam period. A balanced routine is vital to maintaining clarity and stamina during the exams period.  You should have plenty of breaks built into your revision time. Eat well, get enough sleep, get out into the fresh air if you can, exercise, relax, and allow yourself plenty of time to get organised before going into the exam hall so that you don’t feel rushed at the last minute. And of course, as every teacher says, read the exam questions very carefully before answering!

Every exam student has equal value

“116,527 students from up to 160 different countries worldwide begin their Leaving and Cert exams today.  They come from all kinds of backgrounds and up to 15% of them have particular examination support needs, including special educational needs.  Each and every one of our exam students is equally valuable and in Ireland we can be proud of the fact that Irish schools encourage and support students regardless of who they are, where they come from, or their particular abilities and disabilities. This is reflected in the recent report on retention rates in second-level schools which showed that Ireland has one of the lowest student drop-out rates in Europe. Students are more likely to stay in school when they feel supported.

“Now more than ever it is vital that we continue to offer a quality education to all our young people. This requires adequate investment in our schools. There is no fat to cut from the second-level education sector and the ASTI will vehemently oppose any proposal for further education cuts.”

The ASTI is Ireland’s largest second-level teachers’ union representing 18,000 teachers in schools around the country.  

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