3rd & 6th Years receive seminar on how to study effectively

This week the junior cert and Leaving cert girls received a talk from Jim Cremin. He came to talk to the girls about study skills and the junior cert. Jim left secondary school twice, the first time because of the stress it caused him but also because of issues at home. The week before his first day of school he had lost his dad. With school stress on top of this, he decided to leave school and get a job. However, this job wasn’t for him and he went back to school to complete his junior cert before leaving again in 5th year, again, unable to handle the pressure and finding it extremely difficult to study. He began working again and spent the rest of his time playing hurling. This went on until the school decided they wanted him back and got him a part time job in a laboratory. He went on to go to college and get an honours degree in chemistry.

After completing college he decided to start research on how we study and study techniques, as studying had been a huge struggle for him through school. He wrote a book based on this research. He now travels to schools to teach them his techniques. With our girls, he taught them these techniques using memory games and telling the stories of big influencers. He also discussed with them how the brain works, and how it works when study is being done. He also spoke about Einstein, and how he had the same amount of brain cells as any other human and that talent like his is learned, not natural. Bill Gates and the Beatles were also a topic, all admitting that their talent was achieved from hours of work, not naturally. Jim says he was only good at hurling because he spent hours in the day practicing. This was an attempt to prove to the girls that they can learn how to study and take stress off of studying for their exams. He then went on to speak about our survival brain and how that is the cause of excuses not to study.

In the end, I think I can say that all the girls walked out happy, and with a different view on their study and their exams and I’m certainly glad I got to attend the talk. Thanks to Jim for taking the time to speak to our junior cert classes coming up to their exams.