A Method Behind the Madness

Upon arriving at Ballinteer, the first thing I noticed was how unorganized the school was..... or so I thought. Instead of a traditional school day encompassing 6 to 7 class periods of teaching the same subject and the same students at each time of the day, my new schedule went a little like this....

I have my 1Y Geography LG students on Mondays at 1:35, Tuesdays at 9:20, and Thursday at 10am. I have my 1Y World History SH students on Mondays at 2:55, Tuesdays at 11:35, and Wednesdays at 11:35. I have my 1Y Geography SH students Mondays at 11:35, Wednesdays at 9:20, and Fridays at 12:15 etc, etc....... confusing, huh?? I was so confused and puzzled at why 1) a class didn't meet every day and 2) they met at different times of the day.

Soon to find out, there's actually a method to this madness!!! Ms. MacAliden, the deputy principal, explained to me the reasoning. For starters, there has been countless research done which suggests students have varying times of the day their optimal "learning" occurs and also certain times where they are more alert. Since every student operates and learns better at different times, schools have created schedules that alternate what time of the day classes meet so each student's learning is maximized. Hypothetically, if a class meets three times a week, each meeting time would be at a different time of the day. It makes so much sense now! WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT??!

Also, my question of why classes didn't meet everyday was also answered. I'm not sure if I explained before, but there are three different standardized tests Irish students take. The first one is the "Junior Certificate", then the "Senior Certificate", and last they take their "Leaving Certificate". Each subject has their own portion of the standardized test. The main subjects that count the most are English, Irish, Mathematics, and Science. These classes meet 4 times a week. The next most important subjects are History, Geography, Religion, etc. These classes meet 3 times a week. Then there are subjects like Workshop, Foreign Language, Business, etc. These classes meet 2 times a week. It totally makes sense! The subjects that are most important on the standardized tests meet more often than the others!!!

After talking about all of this, Ms. MacAliden gave me some old "Junior Certificate" tests they had from the past. HOLY COW these kids are smart! Here are a few questions from the World History portion.... see if you can answer them! (by the way there are only 4 multiple choice questions out of 30, and this is the Junior Level, so you take this when you're 14!!)


Select one of the people described below. Write about that person. If you wish, you may use the hints to help you in your answer.

(i) A Religious Reformer from the Reformation
HINTS: *early life     *ideas     *difficulties     *spread of the religion

(ii) A worker in an English city in 1850 
HINTS: *working life     *life in the city     *entertainment     *efforts to improve living standards

(iii) A soldier fighting in World War Two
HINTS: *Name of the leader in charge of his country     *the actual fighting     *leaders of other countries     *reasons for victory or defeat