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>Ferrier sat his Leaving Certificate exams last month at Schull Community College and is due to attend university in the Netherlands. pretty normal to graduate

>Ferrier sat his Leaving Certificate exams last month at Schull Community College and is due to attend university in the Netherlands. pretty normal to graduate high school and attend university > works as a curator at the Schull Planetarium I don't know what responsibility this holds how he got the job so it's hard to say. >has won 12 science fair awards I don't know the award scheme so hard to say. Even if he won 1st place 12 times, a science fair is hardly difficult to win since you are basically competing against semi-motivated highschoolers. >speaks three languages fluently This depends on the language. Some people get 2 languages for free from home and learn another to fluent level in high school. Not really a mind-blowing accomplishment. >plays the trumpet at orchestra level, This is really the only one that required consistent effort. >had a minor planet named after him by the MIT Lincoln Laboratory." meh Out of all these, the only thing I wish I had is the ability to play the trumpet.

themarkn 7y ago
Luckily the young dude has no need to prove himself to you, and hopefully he never reads this comment. Being engaged enough as a teenager to win stuff, have a job, become actually fluent at languages (Irish high school does not make you fluent), do your grades in music, and choose then qualify for a university outside Ireland - none of this is easy or the "default" that is expected of children growing up there. The default is you either stay in the town you grew up in or attend one of several major Irish universities free of charge with a bunch of your friends. After which you get a job in one of the bigger cities, maybe emigrate for employment reasons, or indeed head on back to your home town anyway and look for work there. That's normal. You're doubtful of this kid's accomplishments but you have no context for the surrounding culture or how hard these things might have been for him individually. I grew up there. It's not easy to stick your neck out and try to achieve things or be interested in success as a teenager in a rural school in Ireland.
- frabbit 7y ago
  attend one of several major Irish universities free of charge Those days are long gone thanks to the neo-liberals. Impressed by this guy's accomplishments. His parents and environment are doing something right.
  - frabbit 7y ago
    In case anyone is confused: although the "fees" are covered under many circumstances you nevertheless need to pay a "student contribution" "service charge" of around 3000 euro at most institutions. So, it ends up being the same as fees were a few decades ago anyway. A lack of popular support for the truly free education movement (some name like FEIS if I remember correctly) while it looked like the Celtic Tiger was going to provide every Irish(wo)man with a rental property in Bulgaria led us to this pass.
coldtea 7y ago
We didn't learn much about him from this comment, but we learnt 1-2 things about you :)

themarkn 7y ago

Luckily the young dude has no need to prove himself to you, and hopefully he never reads this comment. Being engaged enough as a teenager to win stuff, have a job, become actually fluent at languages (Irish high school does not make you fluent), do your grades in music, and choose then qualify for a university outside Ireland - none of this is easy or the "default" that is expected of children growing up there. The default is you either stay in the town you grew up in or attend one of several major Irish universities free of charge with a bunch of your friends. After which you get a job in one of the bigger cities, maybe emigrate for employment reasons, or indeed head on back to your home town anyway and look for work there. That's normal. You're doubtful of this kid's accomplishments but you have no context for the surrounding culture or how hard these things might have been for him individually. I grew up there. It's not easy to stick your neck out and try to achieve things or be interested in success as a teenager in a rural school in Ireland.

frabbit 7y ago
attend one of several major Irish universities free of charge Those days are long gone thanks to the neo-liberals. Impressed by this guy's accomplishments. His parents and environment are doing something right.
- frabbit 7y ago
  In case anyone is confused: although the "fees" are covered under many circumstances you nevertheless need to pay a "student contribution" "service charge" of around 3000 euro at most institutions. So, it ends up being the same as fees were a few decades ago anyway. A lack of popular support for the truly free education movement (some name like FEIS if I remember correctly) while it looked like the Celtic Tiger was going to provide every Irish(wo)man with a rental property in Bulgaria led us to this pass.

coldtea 7y ago

We didn't learn much about him from this comment, but we learnt 1-2 things about you :)