Help!

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Okay, this thread here is a multi-problem thing but the problems are all together.

1. I am thinking of switching schools as lets say I'm not the most popular person in my current school, I do have friends it's just that outside of that circle I'm not really liked(and I never done anything to any of them). However I suffer hugely from shyness(more so coyness but I suffer from both) so I fear switching to a school where I know no one in case it means have to go around by myself.

2. One of the reasons I am thinking of switching is so I can do TY as I'm told it can be very helpful so could ye help me here by telling me in what ways is TY useful and in what ways is it just a hindrance?

Could any of you help me?

Alana

TY brought me out of my shell, and through it I made lots of friends, the only thing was-maybe this was just my skool-but it wasn't v academically focused so when i got into 5th year it took a while for me to get into the swing of things. But in general I feel TY was a good choice for me, otherwise I would have been too young leaving skool, plus it gave me an oprtunity to get a job, get work experience and try nu things-ie photography. Bit of a doss at times, but after like JC stress(highly strung child...sigh)I needed a break, plus it helped me to grow up.

GO TY!!!

Victor

I think a lot of students find it gives them the oppurtunity to mature a little, try other things (work experience is done by most schools) and focus on the less academic subject.

Riamfada

As you grow older you will become less shy and more confident in yourself. If you are not enjoying yourself in school it would be a good idea to switch. I did transition year and i continued to suffer from the same problems as you. TY simply ( in my case ) was simply being ostracised at the zoo or halfway up a mountain.

Many people in our situation go to a private school ( ashfield , institute , bruce ect) where they meet other shy people who have left their previous school for some reason or another. I did 5th + 6th year in a pivate school where i met some weird and wonderful people. And some very good friends. And this coming from a school where i was bullied and disliked for no apparent reason.

PS : TY for me was an awful waste of time. Didnt learn a thing and finished school at 18. Had to reapeat and will be too old finishing college. Would rather have gone straight into 5th year and finished early.
Biggest mistake of my accademic life, abd i dropped outta LAW!

voo-doo-wop

Hey Man, just finished fourth year Today actually (wow). Yes you do have a complex problem don't you? Firstly there is the philosophy of **** them and get on with it. hmm that seems harsh, first off on the friends front people are often awkward (in your case) and almost soul-destroyingly evil at this age i don't know why. Making friends ('cos i'm soooo experienced -naff-) is a mixture of luck, compromise and "skill".
People forget your moments of goofiness just as quick as they happen, if you dwell on it it can force you into a shell. Surely you have some sort of "gimmick" to tempt possible friends humour, trust (i don't actually know you so do some of the work and fill in my blanks). Thing is this must appear to be on offer or at least exist (nobody ever trusts the silent dude in the corner *sob*).
With regard to becoming a trannie (my term) DO IT!! It really does serve to enrich you as a person. Granted it kinda forgets you as a student for a while too. Be very particular about the schol however, my school's programme was good, some are brilliant and some are so utterly terrible that kids almost die inside!! The co-ordinator is of tantamount importance, try a school where it's compulsory, this way the year structure is usually solid and the programme fuller.
Apologies for the big words (well I'm sorry any way), that's the hands talkin' not the yapper. Hope that helped [cross fingers motion]

funk-you

IMO ty is just a year off that you could have when you finish school to "find yourself"(f*cking hate that term) i would(and did) just go straight to 5th year and a lot of my mates went into ty, they're constantly saying it was great but they wish they'd gotten school out of the way. also if you need to repeat the leaving or a year in college that'll be another year. ive finished school and college and have my first year in the world under my belt and to be honest it's the most liberating feeling ever knowing you are qualified, experienced and at the drop of a hat can do anything or go anywhere i want whereas a few of those mates who went into ty are still in college dying to get out saying they wish they hadn't done it.

i know i sound very off-putting but...... "unless you have a specific real reason to do ty other than you just want a break-dont do it."
-the immortal words of my mate to his sister a couple of weeks ago.

Riamfada

here here

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Private School, money doesn't grow on trees(my parents make a total of about €60k a year gross) and I do have friends it's just that outside that clique I don't really speak to anyone and they don't speak to me.
BTW I currently go to a technology school and I have no interest in construction or engineering.

LundiMardi

personally i don't see a point in TY at all!

If you want to come out of your shell then join some clubs, go out and meet people etc. No need to change schools, that's a bit drastic!

moridin

I'd agree with a lot of what Alana and Voo-doo have already said - if it's run well than TY can be a lot of fun, and help you to become a little bit more relaxed about who you are and your place in the school.

I did TY in the second year that it was introduced (I think). Beforehand I was pretty studious, didn't really give over much time to other stuff, and like you I was pretty shy and didn't get on with that many people. But I think the experience of TY helped me a lot, and afterwards a lot of the teachers in the school treated us a bit more like adults than the other students.

It's pretty important that you get somewhere that the programme is run well though

Cutie18Ireland

Ty is the best ever.... really brought me out of my shell and i made some terrific friends!! some i'd never have evn considered as possible friends so go for it!!

Jonny Arson

My advice to you is to stay at your school at give TY a shot.

In my secondary school for my first 3 years I felt quite lost and struggled to settle in. I was quite shy and I would be jumping in from one group to another so I never really knew who my friends were and it got to the stage where I wasn't arsed with going into school. Despite the temptation of switching school I gave TY a shot. It was completely different as we did so many different subjects such as Media Studies, Photography, Public Speaking and Personal Development. It was a very relaxed year and our yeay became alot more united because our classes were no longer streamed so I got to know alot of people who I had rarely spoken to during the first 3 years. There was no pressure on us in TY so the year recharged our batteries after the JC. Also by doing TY you are a year older for the LC which is proven to be benificial.

In 5th and 6th I finally felt I became a part of my year. I had gotten t oknow nearly everyone in my year (about 70 of us) and I had the biggest laugh of my life. In 5th/6th year you will be in so many different classes with so many people due to different subject choices and levels so you will get to know people alot better. There were people who I never spoke to during my first 3 years who I am now great friends with. I would have still been one of the quieter ones in my year due to the vast amount of crazy people who I had the pleasure of going to school with but I grew out of my shell alot more during these final 2 years. I still wish I had pushed myself during the final 2 years as since I have started college I've began to realise that your school days are the best years of your life. People will begin to mature alot from 16 onwards. There were people who were right arseholes during my first few years and by the end they became so sound. Do your best to have as much confidence in yourself. Get talking to people... cool kids and the geeks. Be casual with people because if you did become too pushy people may run scared. I can tell you for a fact that people your age are very self centered and school is a big popularity contest unfortunately. keep your head held high and the last few years will be the best years of your life.

Best of luck!

cuckoo

To TY or not to TY...

I was a little bit older than most of my year, which meant i turned 19 the summer after the Leaving. Being 18 in 6th year....i was crawling up the walls in such a hurry to get out of the place, the 16 and 17 years were complaining about problems with ID in pubs, and i was sometimes looking around thinking 'i can vote, marry, buy drink - and i'm freezing on a hockey pitch being shouted at by the PE teacher while other ppl my age are in college/working'. TY was compulsory in my school, and we did some fun stuff, but a lot of 'filling in the time' stuff as well.

It all depends on what your school offers for TY, if you'll be happy having 3 more years of secondary school, and what other schools you are thinking of moving to. If the other school has lots of space because loads of ppl have left - is that a good sign?

Also, things do get better in school as you get older, people seem to cop themselves on a bit and grow up, and be less bothered and more secure within themselves, so it does become a happier environment.

If you can honestly identify your school as the problem, then move if you can honestly say the next one is better. And, if you move to a new school and do TY there it would be a chance to get to know your new year before you all start the LC stuff in 5th year. But, also think long and hard about maybe going into 5th year somewhere.

Elessar

I'd like to chime in here with a story of my own.

Back in 2001 (iirc) someone came to my school to do TY as his school down the road didn't do it. I was in 5th yr at the time. I got to know him over the course of the year. Not too well but I saw him around. He was fun, outgoing and pretty well-liked. By the end of the year, the start of summer, he invited myself and some of my friends around to his house. After that we hung around nearly all the time. Me and him even went to stay with a relative of his overseas for 2 weeks. In fact, the summer as a whole was one of the best of my teen years. I was a shy kid back then and to hang around with someone like that was really fun. It just goes to show you that doing TY/starting in a new school can help you go places and meet new friends you would have never even thought about before.

Unfortunately by the end of the summer I was a year ahead of him, we went our seperate ways and the friendship just sort of drifted apart. We still see each other occasionally but I think I'll remember that summer as one of the times I ever had.

Personally I didn't do TY as I thought it was a waste of time, but I don't discount it totally. Ask the TY year head/co-ordinator about the syllabus (projects) you'll be doing in TY and make a choice from that. As others have said, it should at least help you come out of your shell.

Fake Edit: On a side note, do NOT take a year out after the leaving, as I did, as it's the biggest waste of time ever. I worked for the year and made mountains of money (for an 18 year old) but I was generally unhappy about it and all my friends were either in college or still at school. All I did was work, which was boring as hell for me and I was with older people all the time. So, unless you have a definate plan (like travelling maybe? That seems popular these days), stay away from it.

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Firstly THERE IS NO TY IN MY CURRENT SCHOOL.
Secondly my exams are starting on wednesday therefore I have to push this to the sideline for the next fortnight, Will that leave it too late to switch?
Thirdly I'm from Longford does anyone here know anything about schools around Longford?
I have to go to bed now so I'll finish this post some time in the next week.

Kazaanova

I'd advise you not to leave your school. Two reasons, first of all, you're in school for you, **** everyone else, when your education is all said and done you probably wont remember any of them. Unless you're being seriously bullied, I wouldnt go to a different school just because you're not popular. Theres no guarantee that you'll be better off in another school. If I was you I'd take what you've got now. Secondly, you're in school now and you've got friends, and only two years left, one of which will fly by. You could be a lot worse off. I dont know what you're hoping to get out of TY, but trust me, whatever you get out of TY can not compare to what you'd get out of taking a year off after you've done the leaving cert.

The only thing I got out of TY was the ability to appreciate the time we have. Biggest waste of anything I've ever done in my life. Know why I did it? 'Cause everyone else was doing it, it was optional. It also got me out of the habit of studying which took me 2 and a half years to get into. All TY courses are different of course, mine was pretty good, I just didnt like it, and knew I wouldnt. Its not some magical year that will turn you into a different person. For example if you're shy and want to get out of it(you will naturally), dont wait to do a drama class in TY, skip TY and do a drama class outside of school for yourself.

If you really have to go to another school, take a good look at the TY course before you do it, be sure you like it. Really, TY wont give you anything that you cant get by yourself. Is it worth giving up a year of your life just to "have a bit of a doss"? The people who say that TY was a great experience for them, probably would of felt the same about 5th year if they had skipped TY. I really dont think its anything to do with the year itself, but a mixture of maturing, settling in at your school, finishing the J.C. etc.

And put it this way, if you do TY, you may very well get something out of it. But if you dont do it, you're not going to lose anything, you will gain an extra year though.

arbeitsscheuer

Grimes wrote:

Many people in our situation go to a private school ( ashfield , institute , bruce ect) where they meet other shy people who have left their previous school for some reason or another. I did 5th + 6th year in a pivate school where i met some weird and wonderful people. And some very good friends. And this coming from a school where i was bullied and disliked for no apparent reason.

Yeah, this is pretty much what happened to me as well.

I also did TY and have mixed feelings about it. Academically and Emotionally it was a f**king nightmare, total waste of time, and I wish I hadn't had to go through it - But I needed that year of inertia to make up my mind bout what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. So during the year I had a good look at all the options, (cos let's face it, I didn't want to end up somewhere that was even worse than where I was leaving!) and made the most of it.

But if you do decide to switch to somewhere like Ashfield, don't expect to just pick up friends just like that *clicks fingers*. It took me a few weeks before I even spoke to anyone, and a good 4 months before I'd made any proper friends. But the friends I made then, 4 years ago, are still my mates now.

But that's just what happened for me, maybe I got lucky. You've got to decide whether the risk involved in jumping into a completely new environment is worth it, all we can do is give our experiences and opinions on the matter.

For me, switching schools was the best decision I ever made.

Alana

TBH i wouldnt go to ashfield, I live near it and some of my friends went there...it's not known as hashfield for no reason, plus the institute rocks, really good skool, teachers give a sh1t bcos there ass is on the line, and they do care. give ty a chance tho and then after, try those kinds of skools if it doesnt work out..

arbeitsscheuer

Alana wrote:

...it's not known as hashfield for no reason

LOL... tbh I think there ain't so much of the wacky-backy there any more - back in my day the place was great for the stuff, but it's different now... But it's still pretty good, I'm sure. And the quality of the teaching and notes is v good, almost university quality; actually I remember my bruv's gf nicking my Classics notes cos she'd missed a lot of lectures for that college course and had to write an essay - which of course she then passed no problem. Never gave me my notes back tho, the wench...

Anyway, I went to Ashfield and loved it. But who knows what switching schools could hold in store for you? In the end, is the risk worth taking? Is it that much of a nightmare being in your current school?

LegacyUser

Do people not read these posts?

He said that his parents cannot afford to send him to a private school!

OP - I think you should change school and do TY year. It was good fun for me, and me got mixed with different classes, so I got to know way more people.

The thing is that you might come up against the same cliques in the new school.

Anyway, weigh things up between your current friends and a brand new school where you might stick out like a sore thumb, or you could become happier with more friends. Nothing is guaranteed I'm afraid.

But fear not. I guarantee you that (once you are even slighly social and friendly), when you go to college and everyone is new, you will become a new person. That might not be so reassuring at the moment though... )

Jonny Arson

I think some people have been hired to promote private schools on this thread? :rolleyes: Private schools are better for education but you will always have a better laugh in non-fee paying schools anyway.

Back to the thread. OP: Sorry I misunderstood you about TY not being available in your school. In that situation you have got to ask yourself how much do you dislike your current school or people in it? Have you got to the stage where you dread getting up every morning or take days off school because you dislike the people? If you are feeling like this you may be better off switching. If it isn't as bad as that maybe you should stay. You only know best there mate and I understand what a tough choice you are facing. Lots of people leave school after 3rd year so I'm sure you will have no problem finding another school. My best advice (since I think you are in 3rd year right?) is to concentrate on your JC for the time being and then you will have about a month or so to sleep on it. Talk to your parents or friends or even try to see a school councellor if there is one in your school.

Whatever your decision is its gonna be a brave decision to take so I wish you best of luck dude and good luck for the exams.

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Yeah I'm cocentrating on the JC atm, how much do private schools cost anyway?

Victor

I imagine €2,000+ for day students, more obviously for boarders.

alantc

Zane from MTV2 wrote:

I think some people have been hired to promote private schools on this thread? :rolleyes: Private schools are better for education but you will always have a better laugh in non-fee paying schools anyway.

Irrelevant to the thread, but why do you say that? Private schools would have a lot less scum in them.

Me, I moved school to skip transition year. Best thing I ever did. I ended up in a much better school. I had to get up before 7am and get a train to school for 2 years but i enjoyed it much more than the school I had been in.

I did my leaving cert at 17 and most of my friends were older than me already and some were 19 finishing. Then I failed a year in college and now we're all gonig to finish at the same time. Having a dos year at 20 was way better than a dos year could've been at 15. Moving school also gave me a new circle of friends.

If you're going to do transition year, make sure you've heard about what it's like from people who did it in that school.


.

arbeitsscheuer

alantc wrote:

Private schools would have a lot less scum in them.

Ooof, now there's one hell of an assumption that's just bound to offend somebody, if not everyone... Mainly because it's purely and simply, just plain wrong.

But it's a quarter past two in the morning, so I'm too tired to back that up wit the personal experience I have of national and private schooling.

G'night. :cool:

alantc

SebtheBum wrote:

Ooof, now there's one hell of an assumption that's just bound to offend somebody, if not everyone... Mainly because it's purely and simply, just plain wrong.

But it's a quarter past two in the morning, so I'm too tired to back that up wit the personal experience I have of national and private schooling.

I never went to a private school but I sure remember all the scum in my pre-junior cert school. That was one of the good things about moving, the new school was in a richer area. It also split us up into A, B and C classes and the few undesirables were in the C class.

*Page*

I changed schools for the opposite to your reason.. i too was shy slightly introvert. i got bullied. but i had my mates.. i moved school and it was fine. ye i didnt know many people at first but then i got to know 1 girl. then more. go to another school you can always go back to your old school if you dont like it!

and talk to your year head!


i left end of 3rd year, i made up my mind before my jc . an it was fine

______

I'll describe my school:

It is a technology school - BTW I have no interest whatsoever in things like engineering, carpenteering(what a great fake word)
There are only 25 people in my class
I hate a lot of them
I get on alright with about 8 of them
2(maybe 3) of them I would deem to be friends
It's not in dublin - It's in the Midlands of Ireland
I may yet be forced into engineering for the LC in which case I'm leaving it.
It has a few shall I say sh*t teachers, However it does have some great teachers that have a good rapport with the students and get all(well most) of 'em good results.




...also, I've noticed I haven't posted in this website in the last few months(I re-registered), come the summer I'll try to come here more often and [HTML=www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000AI45P/104-6570699-7230313?v=glance]who knows I may even desperately try to promote Tom Verlaine's band Television.[/HTML]
I spend a lot of time on [HTML]www.computerandvideogames.com[/HTML] and [HTML]www.allmusic.com[/HTML] though so I may not manage to be on often.



Psycho Killer - Talking Heads

*Page*

whats so hard. when i changed schools i had to go to a different town, a 30 minute walk to the bustop and then a 10 minutes on a bus and then a 10 min walk to the school!
I knew nobody there.
I was also a big smelly rocker (not really smelly but you know what i mean).

within a week i found people that i got on with and there i was set!!

changing schools isnt as big of a problem as walking into a class room full of people you cant stand!

simu

Well, I found TY to be a total waste of time - there was no challenge for an academically-minded student like myself, most of the programmes were poorly-planned and we had to do a lot of social and charity that brought out my inner misanthropist (nothing against charity work but there has to be willingness on the part of the volunteer to do it imo) . I hated every minute. However, you don't want to be in college when you're only 17 (makes social life difficult) so maybe you should do TY to avoid this or else take a year out after the LC before college to avoid being underage there.

I changed schools after TY because I had grown to hate my first secondary school and no longer had any thing in common with people I was friendly with when younger. Things were a bit better in the new school because people had no preconceptions of me but I still didn't enjoy it because like most Irish schools, it still had a very oppressive atmosphere.

Well, that's my experience. Just remember - the saying that your schooldays are the best days of your life is a total lie.