Completing Leaving Cert. Outside of School

FlashAllen

Hi,
I just graduated 5th year and start 6th year in September. 5th year was a massive struggle for me because my house was always loud and there were heated argument literally every hour. Studying was a nightmare and because of this my summer exam results plummeted.
I turn 18 in October which, if I'm not mistaken, means I can drop out of school without my parents permission. I don't necessarily want to do this, But it's the best course of action. I was perfectly fine In classes last year and was getting good feedback from teachers but as soon as I came home there was no time for school and I would find myself copying homework from other class mates or writing fake notes to my teachers excusing me from assignments.
I want to complete the Leaving cert in June 2018. I have all the material from 5th year prepared but nothing for 6th year.
I plan on studying in the library during the day, when everyone is away, and possibly get grinds or evening classes for the new material.
I know this post is a mess but is there any advice you can give me on how to drop out, register for the exam and prepare for it also?
Thanks

beveragelady

If you're going to get up every morning and go to the library why wouldn't you just go to school? If you feel you've burnt your bridges with your teachers with forged notes and copied homework you can start afresh in September. It won't matter what opinion your teachers have of you, you'll be in class and your work will be corrected like everybody else's.

spurious

You will need a lot of money for grinds. You will also need teachers to sign off on a number of projects etc. depending on what subjects you intend taking.

The problem doesn't seem to be school, it's odd how school is what you intend to ditch. The same problems will still be there, plus more.

FlashAllen

It's not so much the class or the teachers opinions of me. I can't study at home because of the arguments and other factors. I meant I'd be studying during the day (library closes at 5) because I can't focus at home. If I wasn't going to school I could try my best to get a job and pay for the grinds. I'd still be staying at home but I'd be studying when there's no one around and go out to classes instead of struggling with study at home in the evening.

beveragelady

I still don't get why you're intent on eliminating the thing that is most likely to get you through the exams.
You'd be better off going to school and never doing a tap outside school than trying to struggle through all that material on your own if it really is down to one or the other.
Almost all schools offer after-school study, could you do that?
It seems to me that you're not thinking clearly about how you'll manage a job, grinds and study. And that's if you manage to get a job at all.

randylonghorn

FlashAllen wrote: »

Hi,
5th year was a massive struggle for me because my house was always loud and there were heated argument literally every hour. Studying was a nightmare and because of this my summer exam results plummeted.

... I was perfectly fine In classes last year and was getting good feedback from teachers but as soon as I came home there was no time for school.

spurious wrote: »

The problem doesn't seem to be school, it's odd how school is what you intend to ditch. The same problems will still be there, plus more.

FlashAllen wrote: »

I can't study at home because of the arguments and other factors. .

beveragelady wrote: »

I still don't get why you're intent on eliminating the thing that is most likely to get you through the exams.
You'd be better off going to school and never doing a tap outside school than trying to struggle through all that material on your own if it really is down to one or the other.
Almost all schools offer after-school study, could you do that?

I agree with everyone else, dropping out of school is the last thing you should be doing.

It sounds like it is the "sane" portion of your day, and it's providing you with some structure and some normal social interaction (very important for your sanity in LC year) ... apart altogether from the actual teaching, access to teachers for questions, feedback on your work, project supervision, and the normal things a school provides.

It's the other part of your day you need to focus on addressing.

Some thoughts ...

- if after-school study IS provided, that seems like a no-brainer.

- if library is open until 5, and is reasonably nearby, there's probably a window of 45 minutes or so there each day. Be disciplined, walk in, find a corner and use your time effectively. (Many local libraries will have one late evening per week; check on that.)

- is there a mate or mates who you could call over to say one evening a week and study there? ... either together or separately? And I don't mean play computer games, I mean STUDY.

- EAR-PLUGS!!

It might also be no harm to confide in someone at school who you can trust, someone senior on the staff if possible. You don't have to tell them a lot unless you want to; even just that you "find it very difficult to study at home because the house is always crazy" can mean the difference between an attitude developing of "Flash can't be arsed doing his homework / studying!" and "Flash struggles to get homework / studying done because of outside factors" ... and that's all the difference in the world in a teacher's mind!

Skatedude

Ear plugs dont always work in some situations like these. If you are in the house during an argument, You can't always block it out, even if you can't hear it, you still feel the need to be aware of it in case you need to step in, even if you don't want to. but every situation is unique.

People who have ever lived through it would probably get it.