What is the point of and what is TY?

Echoplexia

I will be old enough to pass straight to fifth year it when it comes (Currently in second year) and I'd like to know if there is any benefit to doing it.

Troxck

Well, I'm a current TY so I have only had a few weeks of it, but so far I love it. Obviously the best part is little to no homework but this does not mean you don't do work. In most subjects, Geography for example, we are doing the EU, then we are given a certain country and we must do a project and presentation on it, this will bring us up to Christmas. It's like this in other subjects too, obviously depends on the schools.
You also get the chance to try new subjects or subjects you dropped. New subjects we get to try are Chinese, Spanish, Home Ec, Media Studies and YSI. So far the two languages and Home Ec have been great!
There are also things like Gaisce that you can do, I recommend to do this, I have only started but I like it. With this you can pick up new hobbies that you have been interested in or have dropped when you were younger. The Gaisce is very beneficial but also would look pretty good on a CV.
Guest speakers come in too, along with trips both foreign and at home. Going to plays and to adventure centres like Delphi etc.
Work experience is also really good. You can find out what you like. You may say you'd love to be a Primary Teacher, spend a week at a local school and hate it. You now know you can take it off your CAO. Also helps you pick what subjects you would like to keep on.
But most importantly, what you put into TY is what you get out. If you doss in every class and never do projects, you'll be bored out of your mind within a month.

STEEL COMET

TY is meant to be great in some of my friends schools but i cant understand how they think so! my school is bad which means ty is desperate in it..... i find day to day that we are just doing the same things and im bored out of my mind..... i regret not going into 5th year to sum it up "if ty is ran well in a school its great but if not its a disaster and a waste of a year"

Echoplexia

It just seems like a year to forget what's important to me.

Jan Hus

Pointless exercise in futility.

missguided

There are benefits, plus it's a nice break. It's much more teamwork and practical based, and I really don't think I would have liked to go straight to 5th year from 3rd. There are so many more subjects and courses available in TY. You get to know people so much more, as you're kind of thrown in to classes and activities with people you don't really know. I'd really recommend doing it, it was a great experience. It really depends on the quality of the TY programme in your school though.

You're only in second year as well, you shouldn't set your mind on not doing TY at this early stage.

13spanner

I'm first year college now, and I'm very happy I did it.

It depends largely on what kind of effort your school puts into TY, as while my experience of it was a good one, some schools are known to organise very little, and the result is a year wasted.

LauraMcN

I did Ty last year, It all depends on the school you are in and of course your class. If you have a really close class like mine was, it will be the best time of your life, and if your school does loads of things with ye, like take trips and charity and all that it will be really rewarding, also,you probably get certs in ECDL and CPR and all that which is really good. You will also do work experience, thats good for maybe getting a part time job or something.
Also, when you get into ty, all the teachers seem to have the craic with you, they dont take everything so seriously and they actually treat you as an adult. they will talk to you about maturity, while in ty, i didnt have a clue what they were on about, but since coming in to 5th year, i can really understnd what they mean, some of the people that didnt do ty, to me, are immature, just in some of the things they do, or something, i dont know?! :L
on the downside, its another year in school, that the only thing that i regret about doing it.

Mr. G

I didn't do ty but it really is a big step up from Junior Cert. To be honest at the start of fifth year I didn't realise what was coming for me. But its grand now. You will find the senior cycle a lot different to the junior cycle though.

I disagree to a certain extent with Laura. While some who didn't go ty are immature there are a few that are not immature. I know what you mean alright.

Ty is good if you have a good year. You will bond really well with it.

Just make sure you keep studying in TY, especially maths, is my advice.

Aya 1

You've got plenty of time to think about it.
Im in 3d year and i think i would rather study hard for these couple of years and not go to TY (knowing me ill probably forget all my junior cert stuff)
Then i could have as much a break as i wanted (of course then there's college to think about:p)
But don't stress about it just yet

Karl96

TY is an excellent year to build confidence and self esteem. It provides you with the opportunity to improve your social, communication and presentation skills. As well as that its a different type of learning and is very worthwhile.

RebekahCharles

I did T.Y this past year and I have to say it was one of the best years I have ever had. You do so any new things that if it wan't for T.Y you probally wouldn't have done them. Example of things we did this year were fist Aid, the Gaisce, YSI, sailing and meeting a film writer.
If you are worried about getting out of the study mode I was told by my principal that you will get out of it in 5th year aswell. Just go for it as you will never know what you will miss and the memories you come out with are brilliant. It is also a great year for building up your C.V.

MomijiHime

There's more to live than study. Yes, study is very important but I think TY is a year to relax a bit more and enjoy and work on other aspects of life such as your social life and skills such as cooking/sports/ art or music.

phil devlin

It was a total waste of time for me did it back in 2005. All we did was sat around all day and did f all work. Maybe things have changed since then it could have gotten better but from my experience total waste of a year.

spurious

phil devlin wrote: »

It was a total waste of time for me did it back in 2005. All we did was sat around all day and did f all work. Maybe things have changed since then it could have gotten better but from my experience total waste of a year.

It depends very much on the school and the cohort of students. If they are the types to sit around and do nothing, then that is what they will do.

Part of the whole idea of TY is that students initiate some of the activities.
In many cases, it only needs a small group of students with a bit of go in them to have a great TY for the whole group.

Troxck

spurious wrote: »

It depends very much on the school and the cohort of students. If they are the types to sit around and do nothing, then that is what they will do.

Part of the whole idea of TY is that students initiate some of the activities.
In many cases, it only needs a small group of students with a bit of go in them to have a great TY for the whole group.

I think TY separates the dossers from the workers and gives everyone a fair chance to show their skills that they might not have been able to do so. You also get to know teachers better which would be beneficial for Leaving Cert as you'd get along better with them and vice versa.

I got a whole lot out of TY and mostly because of we weren't spoonfed. We actually had to work and it was really worthwhile as we gained a better work ethic. So saying it ruins how you work is ridiculous.

Spurious is so correct in what they say, I couldn't agree more

Hello 1996

Im just after finishing TY and without a doubt, it has been the best year of my school life by far! It is a year where you have endless opportunities available and a great chance to mature. It also gives you a taster of different subjects available in 5th year, which really helps with your subject choices. You also get to go on work experience, which looks great on your CV and will give you an advantage over those who went straight on to 5th year!

However, you only get out of TY what you put in. There was people in my year who sat down at the computer and went on Twitter every day, instead of doing projects, etc. Suffice to say, they have gained nothing from TY... Be aware that these are the people who say TY is a doss year! DO NOT LISTEN!! DO TY!!!