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Irish Independent/Times Exam Diaries (Should be ashamed!)
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I have to go to work now, if any1 has any further problems, feel free to address them to me at the customer service desk in tesco maynooth, i'll be there till 11 tonight.
:rolleyes:
Feel free to pass on all our recommendations to Laura, every little helps.
An obvious invitation to a scrap.....
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I think we would all question her having intellect. but there's no denying that she boasts about supposedly having it
Intellect may be defined as any of the following;
A high score as measured by an IQ measure( narrow but often corrolated with what we intuitively see as intelligence).
An uncommon level of knowledge or ability in one or more fields.
The ability to solve problems easily and grasp abstract concepts relatively quickly.
From your posts MattD I am not sure where you have demonstrated any of these talents? I am sure that Ms Brady has an uncommon knowledge of the trite variety, which means as such I must classify her as intelligent. (Before you use reductio ad absurdiem bare in mind I am being sarcastic and if you do so anyway I shall bring to bear the definition mathematically of a field to bear on this thread- blinding with science anyone??)
Genius on the other hand can be defined as
An extremely high score on an IQ scale, usually 140 plus.
Acknowledgement as such by one's peers in a particular field or activity.
'A level of originality and a desire to learn by doing often marks out a person as possessing genius qualities' Sylvia Nasir, as opposed to a herd tendency so often found in humans.
Currently this board/thread is guilty of herding to the largest possible extent, drawing inferences from a small number of articles edited and changed to suit another person's agenda(that is to sell papers).
If I were to do so on this thread it would be described as trolling but yet I would have much more type to analyse for many boardsies, except for the blow-ins of course....PrivateEye wrote: »:rolleyes:
Feel free to pass on all our recommendations to Laura, every little helps.
An obvious invitation to a scrap.....
How many people do you know that attempt to start a fight using the phrase 'if you have any problems you can address them to me......'. Something more along the lines of 'I'll break your head in...' would surely more appropriate, but of course perhaps your not used to fighting, rather preferring to duel on the lawn of your fancy mansion, which I hear you fertilise using the blood of newborn babies, and as such you are totally unable to relate to any of the stresses that I as a non baby-killing humanoid experience.
Sorry none of this is actually directed at you personally, rather at the general tone of this thread.
: There is no doubting that the leaving cert is a very stressful time of one's life. And having spent a year in college I can assure you that it is not the only one, located in a structured enviroment, and usually spoon fed means that the leaving cert rewards very hard work, which is not to undermine the rewards I hope you all receive.
: As stated above human beings have an evolutionary granted tendency to herd, especially in times of stress, such urges do not justify utter contempt and personal insults, and quite frankly it is probably not too long until bans come into effect,in a democracy free speech is paramount, and if you do not enjoy her article you do not have to read it.
:Of course critical reading is important, but comment's such as 'she is failing at her brief' may not be correct, her brief is not to write an exam diary but rather to sell papers, I am too lazy to check circulation figures but have they dipped on the two weeks before the exams, or on previous years, it would be quite easy to do a statisitical test to see if she had then failed her brief.
I have never met Laura Brady, I do not enjoy her articles, but I do believe there is a market out there that does. It is ridiculous to constantly criticise one person over percieved snobbishness, intellect or lack thereof, money and the class divide etc. And to claim this is justified by her decision to write the damn thing is ludicrous. Here on boards we expose ourselves to a far larger possible audience then Ms Brady has access to, let us start a thread entitled 'I hate (person's name here)'. Personally I recommend dan719, he is loike such a dick and loike whatever is his problem.
Failing that insert Cookiemonster- Hi Debbie.0 -
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wow, seems like this thread has gone from commentary to hatemail to a philosophical argument on what people are and aren't allowed to say.
lol, ain't that the truth
I don't think that this backlash should have come as a surprise to anyone, and while those who know Laura understandably feel it's their duty to try to defend her, there's no escaping the fact that the content of her articles angered a lot of people. As has been said, we can only draw our own conclusions based on these articles, and it's for that reason that people have been making negative comments about her personality as they perceive it. At the end of the day, though, I think that when looking at this whole debacle, it's pretty clear that somewhere along the way, someone fecked up big time; either the Times for choosing someone that 90-something % of the country couldn't relate to, Laura for choosing to write the articles the way she did, or perhaps both. Even if it was all a big joke - or, at least, exaggerated to some extent - pulling such a prank in the middle of the Leaving, a very stressful time for most participants, was a very bad call. Of course, it's entirely possible that the Times knew exactly what they were doing; the aim of any newspaper feature is to get people talking, and at 22 pages, it's certainly done that ...0 -
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Ok, I'm back. and even though at first, I really didn't want to, I'm now going to try to justify my articles. The major bones of contention people seem to have with me/them is that:
A: I didn't talk about the exams enough
B. Nobody can relate to me due to my strange circumstances
C. I was overly arrogant and confident
D. I came across as a pretentious snobby rich bitch who wanted to rub my wealth in everyone's face.
So... In answer to A: I had to dictate most of the diaries over the phone during my hour long drive home everyday to meet the deadline. I did talk about the exams as much as I could but under pressure, on the phone, when you've just come out of a stressful exam, you tend to forget some things. Because of this, I had to pre-prepare a few ideas the night or morning beforehand. I was also briefed to not just commentate the exams, but talk about interesting aspects of my life (Eg. Having an iguana, snake shedding, going out to a movie, etc.)
B: While I appreciate that my circumstances are unusual, they are not unique. There are other people out there who have done the LC three or four times to get what they want. That doesn't make them stupid or mean they aren't deserving of the course they're aiming for - it just makes them really determined. When I was put forward for this by my English teacher, those in the Irish Times thought that a serial repeater would make for an interesting perspective.
C: I know it appeared that I was overly confident, but in reality, I'm literally fearing for my life and future here. I went to Sex and the City the night before English so that I wouldn't be pulling out my hair at home. Everyone seems to think it's less stressful third time around, but in fact, the pressure has been increasing every time. I did everything I could to avoid falling into counterproductive stressful mode. I shouldn't have said "200 points tucked under my pillow" etc, as I realise now how disheartening that may have been for others, but I honestly did feel that I had my two best subjects behind me and I really had to work hard for the rest of them. Bear in mind, those words were dictated when I had just come out of the exam hall, on a post-exam euphoric high.
I am not rich. My dad works hard to put me and my brother through school. I completed my first round of education in a public school. When I started to repeat, I went away to boarding school to try and do better for myself. And I do not regularly spend massive amounts of money on shoes. I included that anecdote on shoe purchasing to try to demonstrate how crazy the exam stress makes us. I appreciate that not everyone does this, but retail therapy is not unique to me. I work and save hard to be able to afford a few treasured items like nice shoes and my bed.
So now I am going to study my ass off for classics. Because its not easy.0 -
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D. I came across as a pretentious snobby rich bitch who wanted to rub my wealth in everyone's face. I am not rich. My dad works hard to put me and my brother through school. I completed my first round of education in a public school. When I started to repeat, I went away to boarding school to try and do better for myself. And I do not regularly spend massive amounts of money on shoes. I included that anecdote on shoe purchasing to try to demonstrate how crazy the exam stress makes us. I appreciate that not everyone does this, but retail therapy is not unique to me. I work and save hard to be able to afford a few treasured items like nice shoes and my bed.
So now I am going to study my ass off for classics. Because its not easy.
Yeah I doubt that its really Laura Brady, ya wouldnt talk that crap and of course you are rich, but whats wrong with been rich? I mean if your pops earned that cheddar then you should be ballin ya dig0 -
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Ok, I'm back. and even though at first, I really didn't want to, I'm now going to try to justify my articles. The major bones of contention people seem to have with me/them is that:
A: I didn't talk about the exams enough
B. Nobody can relate to me due to my strange circumstances
C. I was overly arrogant and confident
D. I came across as a pretentious snobby rich bitch who wanted to rub my wealth in everyone's face.
So... In answer to A: I had to dictate most of the diaries over the phone during my hour long drive home everyday to meet the deadline. I did talk about the exams as much as I could but under pressure, on the phone, when you've just come out of a stressful exam, you tend to forget some things. Because of this, I had to pre-prepare a few ideas the night or morning beforehand. I was also briefed to not just commentate the exams, but talk about interesting aspects of my life (Eg. Having an iguana, snake shedding, going out to a movie, etc.)
B: While I appreciate that my circumstances are unusual, they are not unique. There are other people out there who have done the LC three or four times to get what they want. That doesn't make them stupid or mean they aren't deserving of the course they're aiming for - it just makes them really determined. When I was put forward for this by my English teacher, those in the Irish Times thought that a serial repeater would make for an interesting perspective.
C: I know it appeared that I was overly confident, but in reality, I'm literally fearing for my life and future here. I went to Sex and the City the night before English so that I wouldn't be pulling out my hair at home. Everyone seems to think it's less stressful third time around, but in fact, the pressure has been increasing every time. I did everything I could to avoid falling into counterproductive stressful mode. I shouldn't have said "200 points tucked under my pillow" etc, as I realise now how disheartening that may have been for others, but I honestly did feel that I had my two best subjects behind me and I really had to work hard for the rest of them. Bear in mind, those words were dictated when I had just come out of the exam hall, on a post-exam euphoric high. I am not rich. My dad works hard to put me and my brother through school. I completed my first round of education in a public school. When I started to repeat, I went away to boarding school to try and do better for myself. And I do not regularly spend massive amounts of money on shoes. I included that anecdote on shoe purchasing to try to demonstrate how crazy the exam stress makes us. I appreciate that not everyone does this, but retail therapy is not unique to me. I work and save hard to be able to afford a few treasured items like nice shoes and my bed.
So now I am going to study my ass off for classics. Because its not easy.
Hey laura fair play of you to come on here. It's not the easiest being faced with a bunch of internet strangers! I completely admire your determination and seriously hope you get what you want, because 6th year is a bitch and you deserve it.
Good luck with the classics!!0 -
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Ok, I'm back. and even though at first, I really didn't want to, I'm now going to try to justify my articles. The major bones of contention people seem to have with me/them is that:
A: I didn't talk about the exams enough
B. Nobody can relate to me due to my strange circumstances
C. I was overly arrogant and confident
D. I came across as a pretentious snobby rich bitch who wanted to rub my wealth in everyone's face.
So... In answer to A: I had to dictate most of the diaries over the phone during my hour long drive home everyday to meet the deadline. I did talk about the exams as much as I could but under pressure, on the phone, when you've just come out of a stressful exam, you tend to forget some things. Because of this, I had to pre-prepare a few ideas the night or morning beforehand. I was also briefed to not just commentate the exams, but talk about interesting aspects of my life (Eg. Having an iguana, snake shedding, going out to a movie, etc.)
B: While I appreciate that my circumstances are unusual, they are not unique. There are other people out there who have done the LC three or four times to get what they want. That doesn't make them stupid or mean they aren't deserving of the course they're aiming for - it just makes them really determined. When I was put forward for this by my English teacher, those in the Irish Times thought that a serial repeater would make for an interesting perspective.
C: I know it appeared that I was overly confident, but in reality, I'm literally fearing for my life and future here. I went to Sex and the City the night before English so that I wouldn't be pulling out my hair at home. Everyone seems to think it's less stressful third time around, but in fact, the pressure has been increasing every time. I did everything I could to avoid falling into counterproductive stressful mode. I shouldn't have said "200 points tucked under my pillow" etc, as I realise now how disheartening that may have been for others, but I honestly did feel that I had my two best subjects behind me and I really had to work hard for the rest of them. Bear in mind, those words were dictated when I had just come out of the exam hall, on a post-exam euphoric high. I am not rich. My dad works hard to put me and my brother through school. I completed my first round of education in a public school. When I started to repeat, I went away to boarding school to try and do better for myself. And I do not regularly spend massive amounts of money on shoes. I included that anecdote on shoe purchasing to try to demonstrate how crazy the exam stress makes us. I appreciate that not everyone does this, but retail therapy is not unique to me. I work and save hard to be able to afford a few treasured items like nice shoes and my bed.
So now I am going to study my ass off for classics. Because its not easy.
That took real coarage to come back here and anybody saying otherwise is arguing against the real purpose of this debate,which is that these diaries did not depict a real leaving cert student.She shown us that she is a real Leaving cert student and is just as nervous as anybody.We need to lay this debate to rest as this is not doing anybody anygood,including Laura Brady.I hope she gets her A1 in Classics and becomes a doctor and I wish her all the best in the future. I just hope she can earn others respect as much as she has earned mine.Good Luck Laura and everybody who has commented. Hope you do well in your exams and get what you set out to achieve, like Laura Brady has.
If anybody has any issues with what i have said pm me as this is all I have to say on the matter.
Good luck everybody ,hope you all get result you need.0 -
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Ok, I'm back. and even though at first, I really didn't want to, I'm now going to try to justify my articles. The major bones of contention people seem to have with me/them is that:
A: I didn't talk about the exams enough
B. Nobody can relate to me due to my strange circumstances
C. I was overly arrogant and confident
D. I came across as a pretentious snobby rich bitch who wanted to rub my wealth in everyone's face.
So... In answer to A: I had to dictate most of the diaries over the phone during my hour long drive home everyday to meet the deadline. I did talk about the exams as much as I could but under pressure, on the phone, when you've just come out of a stressful exam, you tend to forget some things. Because of this, I had to pre-prepare a few ideas the night or morning beforehand. I was also briefed to not just commentate the exams, but talk about interesting aspects of my life (Eg. Having an iguana, snake shedding, going out to a movie, etc.)
B: While I appreciate that my circumstances are unusual, they are not unique. There are other people out there who have done the LC three or four times to get what they want. That doesn't make them stupid or mean they aren't deserving of the course they're aiming for - it just makes them really determined. When I was put forward for this by my English teacher, those in the Irish Times thought that a serial repeater would make for an interesting perspective.
C: I know it appeared that I was overly confident, but in reality, I'm literally fearing for my life and future here. I went to Sex and the City the night before English so that I wouldn't be pulling out my hair at home. Everyone seems to think it's less stressful third time around, but in fact, the pressure has been increasing every time. I did everything I could to avoid falling into counterproductive stressful mode. I shouldn't have said "200 points tucked under my pillow" etc, as I realise now how disheartening that may have been for others, but I honestly did feel that I had my two best subjects behind me and I really had to work hard for the rest of them. Bear in mind, those words were dictated when I had just come out of the exam hall, on a post-exam euphoric high. I am not rich. My dad works hard to put me and my brother through school. I completed my first round of education in a public school. When I started to repeat, I went away to boarding school to try and do better for myself. And I do not regularly spend massive amounts of money on shoes. I included that anecdote on shoe purchasing to try to demonstrate how crazy the exam stress makes us. I appreciate that not everyone does this, but retail therapy is not unique to me. I work and save hard to be able to afford a few treasured items like nice shoes and my bed.
So now I am going to study my ass off for classics. Because its not easy.
Hold on a minute, doesn't all of this contradict what you said in your first post?!
In your initial post, you said you didn't want to write a typical 'LC student stressing about exams' diary, you were trying to create a parody of yourself and you're surprised more people didn't get you were joking.
Now you're saying you would have written more about the exams, except you forgot what you wanted to say, you were being sincere and you do regret some of what you said, but it was written in a "post-exam euphoria" - which completely dispels any notion of consciously trying to be ironic or parodying the stereotypical know-it-all brat - or, with the shoe "anecdote", the stereotypical D4 persona.
I mean, I'm sorry if I sound harsh, and I don't want to prolong the argument any further, but really, either you're pretending to be Laura (there's nothing there which couldn't have been gleaned from reading the articles or the comments on here), which is a bit sad, or you really are her and you're just clutching at straws and scrambling for excuses :mad:
And that's all I have to say on the matter ...0 -
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