Failed accademically.

LegacyUser

Hey all, I'm 18 nearly 19 and in my leaving cert of secondary school and I'm really concerned about the future. for the last 6 years I haven't payed one bit of attention in school especially in 5th year. Now I mean I learned absolutely NOTHING last year so this year Im just stuck. I wanted to learn but I cant push myself to do it, I have no motivation and to be honest learning the stuff in school just sickens me. I went through terrible depression for the last 2 years because my mother took me off my medication, it was only this summer when the doctor put me back on it. It has helped me a little bit but I still have 0 motivation to learn. I find (and have always found) the things we learn in school extremely hard especially maths, Im currently doing foundation maths and even finding that hard and the fact that the school didnt supply a teacher until November 1st didnt help either. Im just going to put our there that I have ADHD, Aspergers, Discalculia and Dyspraxia to help you get a better understanding of how difficult I find education. (yes they are all diagnosed by the doctors/psychologists so dont say Im self diagnosed because I get that a lot from people).

Right getting towards the point. Im pretty sure I have failed the leaving cert already, well at least with the whole maths area. I cant get into any college in Ireland (besides about 20 courses which I have 0 interest in) any IT/Uni either. the only things I have left are PLC courses which in my opinion are just a waste of time and wont get you anywhere (or so everyone tells me). Now see Ive always wanted to get into a job that helps or serves people, eg ambulance service, pilot etc etc but Ive come to accept that Im not getting any of them. Ive strained every resourse available to me to see if I can get any sort of decent college education or job in the future and so far its all been a big NO.
I dont know what Im going to do with my life. Do you it would be wise to repeat the leaving cert next year in a better more specialized school (like yeats college, if they will even take me) even if I will be 20 and try take on the Ordinary maths? Dont tell me to take it on now because its too late at this stage, I will have to start from scratch, Im just not up for that kind of pressure with the mocks only 2 months away. Or would you recommend taking on a half assed plc course that might not get me anywhere?

Im so confused and angry, every day my mind is just spinning with the thoughts of how Im such a failure and can get nowhere in life. Oh and may I add that I have not a single interest in any physical form of work so dont even go there. I need advice on what to do, and please just dont give me the whole "everybody in leaving cert feels this way blaa blaa" because Im not everybody else. Sorry for rambling on like this I need to vent a little. Does anyone even get what Im trying to say here because I know I have moaned about more than 1 problem, can anyone relate? Ive been on the brink of suicide but I dont think id even be able to do that right!

LegacyUser

Have you seen a careers guidance councellor?

LegacyUser

lkjl wrote: »

Have you seen a careers guidance councellor?

Yes many times. She is absolutely useless and of no help to me.

muboop1

Well..

This might sound cruel, but before you write off this year and invest in next etc..

Say you did repeat the LC...

Whats your motivation going to be next year?

Will you work harder?

Will you work at all the remainder of this year or put it on long finger?

Mate, you need to focus on this year. Work your ass off. Get as good as you can get. Then after you do that, look at next year... If you can't motivate yourself now... u wont then...

Miss Fluff

seriouslyconfused wrote: »

Right getting towards the point. Im pretty sure I have failed the leaving cert already, well at least with the whole maths area

The Leaving Cert is another whole six months away so you are being a bit defeatist. Even your thread title suggests you already have resigned yourself to the fact you have failed.

You can pass your LC, pass your foundation course maths and get onto your chosen career path but you have to be committed to it and take every bit of help offered to you.

If your career guidance teacher is useless, then go to another teacher whom you trust and have a good relationship with. You should also get extra assistance in maths if you have particular difficulty. If you fail maths it is not the end of the world as you can apply to colleges in the UK or in Northern Ireland but why don't you give the LC your very best shot? You'd be amazed what you can achieve in six months...

LegacyUser

It can be very difficult to try and figure out your life plan, especially as the Leaving Cert approaches which adds to the panic; That is how i felt anyway back when I was doing the LC.

You absolutely must give the exams your best shot this year, I've learned it is always best to do a job right the first time around (what have you got to lose?). Don't get caught up in what others are aiming for, you can only achieve your best and you will know deep down if you have given it your all. It doesn't matter if it is 600 points or just passing your subjects, starting from now get your head down and give the exams a good crack!

Once the exams are over you have plenty of choices and a lot of things on your side. You are still very young, you have time to decide what you want to do and can weigh up your options. There are many others much older than you that haven't a clue what they want to do. You could consider deferring further education for a year and taking time to try out different types of work. Explore your interests and consider voluntary work as you said your interested in a job that helps others.

College is not the only route to a good job and happiness, but if there is something you want want to study of course go for it. Many people graduate from college and struggle to find work or can't find a job they like. It is important to pursue your interests. And of course there are plenty of people without degrees that are very successful.

maybe you need to push your guidance counselor by really explaining your situation and asking him/her the tough questions or whats really bothering you. I know when I met with my counselor back when I was in school I just wanted to get out so I went through the motions and didn't ask questions.

Just keep your cool, and try your very best. There is nothing wrong with needing to vent, maybe you should talk to your parents or friends to vent in person too

seriouslyconfused

seriouslyconfused wrote: »

Hey all, I'm 18 nearly 19 and in my leaving cert of secondary school and I'm really concerned about the future. for the last 6 years I haven't payed one bit of attention in school especially in 5th year. Now I mean I learned absolutely NOTHING last year so this year Im just stuck. I wanted to learn but I cant push myself to do it, I have no motivation and to be honest learning the stuff in school just sickens me. I went through terrible depression for the last 2 years because my mother took me off my medication, it was only this summer when the doctor put me back on it. It has helped me a little bit but I still have 0 motivation to learn. I find (and have always found) the things we learn in school extremely hard especially maths, Im currently doing foundation maths and even finding that hard and the fact that the school didnt supply a teacher until November 1st didnt help either. Im just going to put our there that I have ADHD, Aspergers, Discalculia and Dyspraxia to help you get a better understanding of how difficult I find education. (yes they are all diagnosed by the doctors/psychologists so dont say Im self diagnosed because I get that a lot from people).

Right getting towards the point. Im pretty sure I have failed the leaving cert already, well at least with the whole maths area. I cant get into any college in Ireland (besides about 20 courses which I have 0 interest in) any IT/Uni either. the only things I have left are PLC courses which in my opinion are just a waste of time and wont get you anywhere (or so everyone tells me). Now see Ive always wanted to get into a job that helps or serves people, eg ambulance service, pilot etc etc but Ive come to accept that Im not getting any of them. Ive strained every resourse available to me to see if I can get any sort of decent college education or job in the future and so far its all been a big NO.
I dont know what Im going to do with my life. Do you it would be wise to repeat the leaving cert next year in a better more specialized school (like yeats college, if they will even take me) even if I will be 20 and try take on the Ordinary maths? Dont tell me to take it on now because its too late at this stage, I will have to start from scratch, Im just not up for that kind of pressure with the mocks only 2 months away. Or would you recommend taking on a half assed plc course that might not get me anywhere?

Im so confused and angry, every day my mind is just spinning with the thoughts of how Im such a failure and can get nowhere in life. Oh and may I add that I have not a single interest in any physical form of work so dont even go there. I need advice on what to do, and please just dont give me the whole "everybody in leaving cert feels this way blaa blaa" because Im not everybody else. Sorry for rambling on like this I need to vent a little. Does anyone even get what Im trying to say here because I know I have moaned about more than 1 problem, can anyone relate? Ive been on the brink of suicide but I dont think id even be able to do that right!

Right. An awful lot of this sounds like me in the darkest days of my life. You need to return to your Educational Psychologist and tell him what you've told us. You need to start drawing on specialist supports which are available to you. You need to do this now. Now. Chief among those supports are HADD, and the support organisations for your other illnesses.
I'll do this quick as I could easily write a book on it. I had much of the above and disabling epilepsy (12 attacks per day). Got 1 honour and 1 pass in my LC, which was one pass more than I got in my Inter. Left school in 1991 with nothing to show for it. Repeated my LC a few years later, the same year I underwent major brain surgery to cure me of epilepsy. The surgery was a success. I sat five honours papers in the LC four months later and got them all. Still didn't have enough points for my chosen course in uni but they allowed me in under an Access programme for people with disabilities. In university, I chose subjects I absolutely loved and stayed well away from subjects like maths which held me back. I flourished in those subjects. A few years later and I finished in the top 10 of both my years of some 200 students each. Won an academic PhD scholarship, and was later awarded a doctorate for my research.

Three things:

1) The Leaving Cert is a horrible, backward, intellectually narrow examination. Have a read of Howard Gardner's Frames of Mind: Theory of Multiple Intelligences to see the various types of intelligence which our education system doesn't rate highly. It's important to broaden your understanding of intelligence next time you might try to put your intelligence down. Yet the LC can label, as you know, a child a loser or a winner at 17 years of age. At any rate, you can always go to college as a Mature Student when you reach 23. No matter what anybody says, the LC is not the end. There are far more options available now.

2) More constructively still, you need to see your educational psychologist again or at least contact him and ask for his advice. You need his/her Ed. Psych. report. That will enable you to access a wide variety of supports from resource teaching to learning support. Then, armed with that Ed. Psych. report, you can apply for a third-level place via the DARE (Disability Access Route to Education) program (website). This is an extremely useful, and informative, website. I'd strongly advise you to go through it and even ring them up and explain your situation (confidentially).

3) Seek a specialist class. I wasn't getting anywhere in a conventional class so for my repeat LC year in the 1990s I went to a place called Roslyn Park College in Sandymount (website). I did what they called at the time a 'Pre-University Course', which was basically the Leaving Cert for people who wanted to go to university. However, the classes were much smaller with incomparably better resources and supports. They were specifically designed for students who had an SEN, and I doubt that's the case with fee-paying schools like Yeats College etc. Furthermore, as with you, maths was causing me serious problems so I got an opt-out from it and this did not affect my ability to get into university - I did honours in all the other subjects. Further still, for the first time I sought extra time in the exam as prior to this any time I sat an exam the pressure would induce an epileptic seizure and I'd fall asleep in the middle of an exam, as bizarre as that sounds. I was always too proud to ask for that extra help. You have to start being fair to yourself. All four of those learning difficulties put you at a huge disadvantage in an exam situation. I would strongly advise you to ring Roslyn Park. If they do not still do that course, somebody there will know of a similar course.


There's a very good documentary on YouTube here that might give you hope. It's made by a Dublin guy who has Asperger's Syndrome but who is a student in TCD. He talks about life in college and living with Asperger's. He's managed over 500,000 hits so far. You're not alone - you just have to start accessing all of these supports more.

Best of luck!

SparkyTech

Hi OP,

Wow. Your situation sounds very much like my own not so long ago!

I do empathise with where you are coming from, but having been there myself I know you can overcome this. Im not trying to be blunt but I do want to help you so I won't sugarcoat.

seriouslyconfused wrote:

I wanted to learn but I cant push myself to do it, I have no motivation and to be honest learning the stuff in school just sickens me. I went through terrible depression for the last 2 years because my mother took me off my medication, it was only this summer when the doctor put me back on it. It has helped me a little bit but I still have 0 motivation to learn

The LC is full of boring mundane irrelevant material that has no relevance to what matters in the real world. The only reason any of us do the LC is because its a rite of passage to get into college, get a degree, and have a decent job so you can support yourself and bceome self-sufficent. Its a means to an end, nothing more. Rather then focusing on your lack of motivation to learn this trivial stuff because it bores you, see the bigger picture here. Whatever college course or carearr you want to pursue, a decent LC will stand to you and make it much easier to obtain.

As for meds, they will help you get to the stage where you are able to get motivated but they will not MAKE you motivated unless you really WANT to be. Ive been on anti-depressants and it took me a long time to realise that, simply put, tablets will enable you to reach a point where you are emotionaly balanced and able to do the work, but only if you push yourself with a bit of willpower. Medication can help with moods, tiredness and anxiety, but it wont make you physicaly open the book in front of you unless you will yourself on.

Im just going to put our there that I have ADHD, Aspergers, Discalculia and Dyspraxia to help you get a better understanding of how difficult I find education. (yes they are all diagnosed by the doctors/psychologists so dont say Im self diagnosed because I get that a lot from people).

Don't define yourself according to a label. I have mild Aspergers & Depression. The world dosn't make exeptions for it though. Only you can fit in with the norms of society, not the other way around. Im not saying it isn't tough, I know whats its like to feel irked, fustrated and misunderstood, and feel burdend academicaly, but you have a choice in how you respond to what life throws at you. Rather then resigning yourself to failure and leaning on your afflictions as a crutch, why not face up to them, awknowedge that they do make life a little more difficult sometimes, but you are still going to work hard and try your best while accepting all supports available to you from your parents/teahcers/gp/counciller etc...? You can sink or swim and it sounds like you'd rather sink then attempt to grasp the lifeboat and hang in there to see how it might turn out.

Im pretty sure I have failed the leaving cert already, well at least with the whole maths area. I cant get into any college in Ireland (besides about 20 courses which I have 0 interest in) any IT/Uni either. the only things I have left are PLC courses which in my opinion are just a waste of time and wont get you anywhere (or so everyone tells me). Now see Ive always wanted to get into a job that helps or serves people, eg ambulance service, pilot etc etc but Ive come to accept that Im not getting any of them. Ive strained every resourse available to me to see if I can get any sort of decent college education or job in the future and so far its all been a big NO.

I dont know what Im going to do with my life. Do you it would be wise to repeat the leaving cert next year in a better more specialized school (like yeats college, if they will even take me) even if I will be 20 and try take on the Ordinary maths? Dont tell me to take it on now because its too late at this stage, I will have to start from scratch, Im just not up for that kind of pressure with the mocks only 2 months away. Or would you recommend taking on a half assed plc course that might not get me anywhere?

I dropped to Foundation Level maths on the DAY of my LC! Still manged to get into 3rd level and a course I wanted. While its true that alot of courses do require maths as a requisite, there are still plenty that don't you are eligable to apply to. You say your guidance counciller is of no use, talk to another teacher who you get on well with ans ask them for their advice. Research the interweb and the relevant uni/college websites, see www.qualifax.ie. There are ALWAYS options or backroads into what you want to do. Bear in mind you can always change carearr direction/course/uni transfer or do a masters later in life if you don't get your immediate choice first time around.

Don't be so quick to dismiss PLC courses entireley, some people in my course (B.A) got through to college on the baisis of how they did in a PLC and their LC's combined which made them eligable for a place. Aside from that, even if it comes down to it and you do have to take up a PLC, its far better then the alternative. Would you rather come out of education with some sort of cert/diploma and have a chance of securing a decent job and having the satisfaction of knowing you achieved something? OR be on the dole/trying to find a job in the current economic climate. Thats the reality of Ireland in 2010. Its either education or most likley social welfare if you don't have any experience or qualifications.

Coming back to the ''Ive failed'' mentality, you still have the bones of 5 months to put things right and get a decent LC. Stop procrastinating and do the best you can. Oh and the mocks are only a trial run so just look on them as a test run, id be more focused on the real thing. Make a study plan, orgonise your notes and ask your tutors for help. If you repeat next year with the same negativity I can't see how your prediciment would be any better from what your facing at the moment. Aside from the fact you would still be stagnating with the same material (which you've admitted already that you loathe), you wouldn't be moving on in life and progressing twords your future. However bad you might be feeling at the moment about facing up to the LC, it will be just as bad if you have to do it all over again, would it not?

Im so confused and angry, every day my mind is just spinning with the thoughts of how Im such a failure and can get nowhere in life. Oh and may I add that I have not a single interest in any physical form of work so dont even go there. I need advice on what to do, and please just dont give me the whole "everybody in leaving cert feels this way blaa blaa" because Im not everybody else. Sorry for rambling on like this I need to vent a little. Does anyone even get what Im trying to say here because I know I have moaned about more than 1 problem, can anyone relate? Ive been on the brink of suicide but I dont think id even be able to do that right!

If you are avert to any form of physical work how do you expect to cope in the workplace?

Suicide is not the awnser or soultion to your problems. Im sensing alot of guilt and sadness, when really your life should be happy and fufilled. Look, your'e only 19. Your life hasn't even begun yet. There's always shi*e thats going to be thrown at you, but there's plenty of fun and enjoyment to be had along the way aswell. There is no ''magic switch'' that will change your outlook or mentality when you are 20, 30, or 45, the change has to come from within and with the support of your peers and a professional if needs be. Please continue to see someone to talk things through and don't bottle it all up.

Im not everybody else

No, but like everyone else you do have to find a way to life your life independently and take responsibility for your own actions rather then using excuses and others as a crutch for what you have the power to change yourself.

I hope you make the best of this year and manage to get a decent LC, for your own sake.

Best of luck

Deus Ex Machina

I am in the process of failing academically at the moment. In my case it is due to an emergent lack of motivation, there were points in my past when I was motivated to study, at least extrinsically. I think it is due to the nature of the academic environment, as I read and study a great deal outside college, but find it very difficult to study something for the purposes of exams. I think there is a place in the world for all sorts of people, and just because you don't succeed in the academic environment doesn't mean that you won't live a happy and fulfilled life.

Chuchoter

You are not out of the game yet, OP, 6 months is a long time or you could do what one or two people are doing over on the LC forum and go back and repeat from 5th year. You could also just repeat 6th year next year. If I don't get the points I need I am prepared to repeat, and I will be 19 the second time around, almost 20 for the actual exam. Loads of girls in my year will be nearly 20 the first time round.

I am not going to sugarcoat the rest of what I'm going to say to you. You are not different from the rest of us. You are just making endless excuses and frankly, they don't matter and will never matter in future careers. Motivation is very tough for everyone. I suffered with quite severe depression for about 3 years. I spent most of last year sleeping and used to wish I could just hide under my bed every day and no-one would make me do anythign. This year I have turned things around to a large extent, things still have to be done. You can get through this.

As they say, success is 1% intelligence and 99% hard work, and this is coming from someone who has seen several CTYI 'gifted' kids fall to nothing out of sheer laziness, not lack of ability. You have the ability, you just need to fight the habits and perceptions you have of yourself to see that success. You are not a failure.

And also, screw maths, you have 6 other subjects. Play to your strengths.

spinandscribble

You need to set aside what the doctors say and your defeatist attitude. If you don't believe in yourself noone else will. Noone's going to save you or give you the course you want. You need to pick a goal, focus everything you got on it. A number of the conditions you mentioned have links with hyper focus, PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS focus on those, I know ALOT of people with similar issues and they don't let it get in their way they excel over it. Don't look at what you didn't do or what he/she said.

PLCs are NOT a waste of time UNLESS you go in willy nilly and pick something from the top of your head. The right plc, the right attitude will get you into a IT OR UNI here or in the uk. I remember seeing stuff in my local plc noticeboard about pilots recruitment fair. You need to take control of your life and don't give up because you have a awful guidance councilor. I don't mean to be rude but thats a lame excuse, I personally have never heard of a really good one except for private ones and everyone I knew in school did their own research online/contacted colleges ect.

I really wanna shake you because you're giving up on life before you've even given it a go. Life's hard, noone said it would be easy but if you gave yourself some goals in life and put your all into achieving them you'd see why its worth living. The ups are only good compared to the downs. You need to find a direction, the ambulance/pilot careers are achievable goals and sound exciting.

Spunge

seriouslyconfused wrote: »

I cant get into any college in Ireland (besides about 20 courses which I have 0 interest in) any IT/Uni either. the only things I have left are PLC courses which in my opinion are just a waste of time and wont get you anywhere (or so everyone tells me).

Just wanted to say, depending on what you'd like to study this isn't true.
When i was in school i used to joke about doing PLCs with my classmates and looked down on them. In the end some stuff went down and i wasnt able to attend my original college course. A year or two after that i did a 1 year PLC in computer programming and i was able to get into the Computing Honours degree in DIT just based on that, im in 4th year at the moment. Also there were a lot of people in my class who after doing a 2 year computer PLC or higher certificate were able to advance straight into 2nd year of my course. I dont think you can get into a university with a PLC (could be wrong) but you can get into DIT or the other ITs.

Just wanted so say that because i would have been of the same opinion in school and wouldnt have even looked at a PLC but they really are useful. And far more enjoyable than repeating the leaving cert for sure

LegacyUser

Don't give up so easily, I'm a bit on the older side now but I made a complete mess of my leaving cert and was very lucky to get a place on something similar to a PLC course. It was repeat the leaving cert of take this Mickey Mouse course I used to sneer about, completing the course to Diploma level having worked my ass off for 3 years got me exemption from 2 years of a university degree course (the university were only interested in my PLC qualification and not the leaving certificate), and I managed to complete my degree having just spent 2 years in University. All together it took 5 years (1 year longer than it would have if I had been automatically accepted into the University).
Here's the good news, with a diploma and degree prospective employers will never ask you about your leaving cert, they just assess what qualifications you have.
So don't panic, what I would advise is ask about the PLC courses and find out which courses are recognised by the NCEA (National Council for Education Awards) and which ones are recognised for exemption from certain universities or institutes of technology. Phone the university to confirm what you've been told just to be sure.

All is not lost, if you have ambition there is always a backdoor!

_sparkie_

Spunge wrote: »

Just wanted to say, depending on what you'd like to study this isn't true.
When i was in school i used to joke about doing PLCs with my classmates and looked down on them. In the end some stuff went down and i wasnt able to attend my original college course. A year or two after that i did a 1 year PLC in computer programming and i was able to get into the Computing Honours degree in DIT just based on that, im in 4th year at the moment. Also there were a lot of people in my class who after doing a 2 year computer PLC or higher certificate were able to advance straight into 2nd year of my course. I dont think you can get into a university with a PLC (could be wrong) but you can get into DIT or the other ITs.

Just wanted so say that because i would have been of the same opinion in school and wouldnt have even looked at a PLC but they really are useful. And far more enjoyable than repeating the leaving cert for sure

exactly, a few of my friends did plcs and it turned out to be the best decisions they ever made. there are so many ways to get into the life path you want you just have to stick with it. 6 months is a long time too, could you maybe afford to get some one-on-one grinds in maths?