The Daddy Thread

i would be nervous by themselves tbh so hopefully you can find some class mates walking the same way.

i think a lot of mothers covertly follow them anyway the first few times

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Yeah itā€™s a bit of a head fuck. Canā€™t get over sheā€™s at this stage either is probably part of it.

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Lads, our son, the youngest, is starting his LC year on Monday. I am dizzy as to where that time went to begin with, but my real niggle isā€¦the lad hasnā€™t a scoobie on what he wants to do in 3rd level. Our 2 daughters had a good idea at this stage, the eldest has her degree and working and the middle lady is beginning 2nd year college in a couple of weeks. Anyone else been here?

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Accounting would always stand to him if he likes that kind of thing.

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If you want the names of a couple of well respected career guidance counsellors, drop me a PM. There is a long waiting list for one of them so you would need to get ball rolling quick. Will also cost you a few quid.

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Does he have a broad mix of subjects picked for the leaving? There are a few subjects you can do in a year but need to start now if you needed to fill a requirement for a science subject for example. You would do business in a year easily enough with a good teacher too

@fenwaypark will pm you the name of a decent business teacherā€¦

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I disagree about getting business done in a year. Its a very long course.

Pretty much. He switched to Chemistry mid way thru last year. His Chem teacher was happy for him to do so because he knew his ability. Doing higher level maths also and holding his own at it. Grades are good in general but heā€™s no 500 pointer.
The difference between he and the girls is like night and day.

Appreciate that

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Heā€™s better off not going to 3rd level if he hasnā€™t a clue what to do. 60% of courses out there are dogshit (Arts ,Social Care, Marketing, etc) and there are no jobs out of them, they exist to make money for the Universities. Worthwhile courses are in IT, Accounting and Finance, Law. Donā€™t let him do any bullshit course just because he ā€˜likesā€™ something. A few years on building sites or trying a PLC course might steer him in the right direction.

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I didnā€™t have a notion what to do in third level, a good career guidance teacher pointed me in the direction of quantity suveying which I had never even heard of, thankfully I havenā€™t looked back since, have had great experiences working both abroad and at home in the profession, I would take @fenwaypark advise and speak to a good CG guru

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Iā€™ve kinda said that to him to get him to see the bigger picture and look at his options.
Thank you

:rofl:ā€¦

Youre right to a degree but thereā€™s nothing wrong with getting an education . Are You suggesting college should be industry lead, and whatever that might be at a particular time?
Schools are already reduced to rote learning, now youā€™re suggesting that colleges be reduced to training for a job. Where do we produce critical thinking? Youā€™re suggesting a society of lemmings.

Theyā€™d have to overhaul secondary school or better again fall in line with the states where at college a lot if the time you minor in one thing and you then major in your chosen fieldā€¦ Better again would be if the jobsworth courses youā€™re suggesting incorporated modules of arts/social studies/ critical thinking etc. throughout them, giving students the best of both worlds.
Youre right that thereā€™s a load of shite but once you have a degree you can generally use it to do another course later in life. Jobs for life are largely gone. People are upskilling or completely changing path regularly nowā€¦ a degree can help here.

On the other side, how many kids truly know what they want at 17. In my arts a chap went straight to postgrad in medicine in UL. Another went to speech therapy and a mate went to OT. It was a longer way around but for them it was better to be in the system , maturing and getting a degree.

Everyone gets to their destination differently, whether itā€™s studying ancient mummification or computer scienceā€¦ The important thing if taking on a course thatā€™s not job specific is the awareness that itā€™s only part of a means to an end. The problem is lotā€™s of kids do courses for the sake of them and thatā€™s it, no reflection or stock taking as they progress along it.

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Has he thought about shoving his thumb up his hole?

I did it in a year. I also studied economics and accounting so maybe my situation was different.

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Itā€™s possible if you are very capable academically but for most it is not.

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Iā€™m speaking in very broad terms, and of course thereā€™s a place for Arts as well. I think too many of them are offered as they are cheap to run and our 3rd level are fighting for every penny. A degree in Geography wonā€™t do the majority of graduates any favours long term, but put them on a longer road to eventually paying a mortgage. Realities of life donā€™t kick in until well after college so no harm to steer kids a small bit.

Iā€™d agree.

I think the whole system needs an overhaul. Weā€™re heading more and more towards job specific courses which is fine, but not at the expense of an educationā€¦ Find a way to do both.

But yeah, a lad heading to maynooth for 3 years to study ancient Irish fairly tales :rofl:.

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Iā€™ve put that to him yea. He might get back some of my tax money :grinning: