How to get son to take Junior cert seriously

LegacyUser

Going anon for this. My son is sitting his junior cert exams in less than 3 weeks and he hasn't studied at all. He did well in his mocks with very little study and he thinks the real thing is going to be the same. He came home with his mock results, delighted with himself even though I knew he could do better and he got really annoyed with me, saying I was putting him down. (He's 15 and a master at diverting an argument from one topic to another) I told him I wasn't putting him down, not at all. I tried to explain that if he had put the work in and got those results, in other words had done his best, I'd be delighted. However I knew he HADN'T done his best and that was why I was at him. Every day I try to get him to study and I can hear myself through his ears, it sounds like I'm nag nag nag the whole time. As soon as I open my mouth, he throws the eyes to heaven and sighs. But if he doesn't study and things don't go well, I know he will kick himself. I know the Junior cert is unimportant in the vast scheme of things, but it is his first experience of public exams so I think he needs to give it a go. I know it sounds like I'm a pushy mammy - I'm not, honestly I'm encouraging him to keep playing gaa and going training to get him out of the house, so it's not as if I have him on lockdown. Any advice? Should I leave him alone and see what happens? Or should I keep reminding him the exams are less than 3 weeks away?

LegacyUser

To be honest....sometimes failure is the best lesson.Will he be doing Transition Year?

I guess at this stage, all you can do is have one extremely serious conversation with him about what happens next year if he gets low grades - will it put him in pass classes or anything (I'm sorry, I don't know what way his school operates?) and the potential consequences that might have. I guess after that, keep reminding him the exams are coming up - but at the end of the day, they are his exams. He's not doing them for you, he's doing them for himself. You're not sitting the exam with him or for him. They will be his results, not yours, that people will be asking about. I'm not saying this as a criticism of you, but as something you could try saying to him.

I know the JC doesn't matter much in the greater scheme of things, but as you say, if he has the capabilities, then he also needs to have the cop on to realise he needs to give it his best shot.

Sorry, that's probably not much by way of practical advice! You're not a pushy mammy. Just a mammy

deisemum

I feel your pain, been there for both Junior and Leaving Cert. My older son did sod all for his Junior Cert but got very good results. He did very little for his Leaving Cert but got a better than average result with a big surplus of points for his college course. One thing I noticed the more we nagged him the less he'd do. My husband was fairly stressed over it.

When he was in 2nd and 3rd year there were talks for parents on study skills. We were told that often those who don't put in a lot of hours studying can often do better than those who'll spend hours and hours studying because they've got better learning and study skills, that when they're in class it's active listening and a quick refresh of that subject that night. I've lost count of the number of times teachers I know have said sometimes if a child doesn't do well in the Junior Cert they'll often work better for the Leaving Cert and do very well and it can go the other way too.

Fortunately my second son has always been very motivated and he works hard and he's doing his Leaving Cert next year.

spurious

The problem is not the Junior Cert.. It's an exam designed to maximise success and he probably WILL do well without much work, particularly if he's literate, has the projects/practicals done and shows up.

The problem is when he does well in the JC with little work and thinks the same will happen in the LC (an entirely different exam, set using entirely different principles). The 'but I got an A in my Junior' mantra echoes round many classrooms.

The statistics are worth looking at in terms of success rates one exam to the other.

blackbird 49

spurious wrote: »

The problem is not the Junior Cert.. It's an exam designed to maximise success and he probably WILL do well without much work, particularly if he's literate, has the projects/practicals done and shows up.

The problem is when he does well in the JC with little work and thinks the same will happen in the LC (an entirely different exam, set using entirely different principles). The 'but I got an A in my Junior' mantra echoes round many classrooms.

The statistics are worth looking at in terms of success rates one exam to the other.

I would definitely agree with this especially 2nd paragraph

mrpdap

A bit off topic but what to do with a bright, intelligent child who has zero interest in school. I mean zero.
He is enthusiastic, inquisitive and great company all of which is fantastic and what matters in the long run.
He is just about ticking over in grades.
Really, I feel that the whole system is wrong for him but what are the alternatives?

freshpopcorn

What age is he?

AMCCORK

Same problem in my house. When we try to push get the whole amateur dramatics " Oh woe is me my lifE is awful ye are putting me under pressure" etc etc etc. Same lassie is so naturally bright it's a shame. She is getting bs without putting major work in and if she put in the work and got the exam technique right it would be As. I am now just trying to point this out to her and remind her that if she really does want to do medicine she should be an A student now. I'm resigned to hoping the junior cert will teach her a lesson so she can turn it around for the leaving. In other ways she is a great kid into sport and not into the drinking hanging around culture that lots of the classmates have started so for now I'm accepting that that's a bigger win and hope to keep her on the straight and narrow from that side the academic will sort itself out with maturity I hope!

blackbird 49

freshpopcorn wrote: »

What age is he?

It says on the OP he's 15