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Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10 (1 Viewer)

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hawkrider

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Preface

Students in Year 8 are now at an important stage in their educational journey as they have the opportunity to select two subjects for more detailed study over the next two years.

This will form a solid foundation to enable them to make decisions for their future after Year 10. Most will continue their studies to the Higher School Certificate. All students, whether leaving at the end of Year 10 or continuing on to the HSC, will have prepared themselves for an increasingly complex society and work place.

Choosing an Elective Subject

When making elective choices it is important to take into consideration:

1. the students ability and interest in the given subject.

2. the desirability for the student to keep options open with regard to possible courses of study in the senior school and future career choices

3. the advice of subject teachers and your careers adviser (if you have one) to give guidance in relation to choices.

How do I choose my subjects

Why subject choices are important for you

The subjects you do at school can often determine the type of career path you select.

  • Doing subjects that you like and that you are interested in make school more enjoyable.
  • Everyone is good at something. Doing subjects you are good at makes school more rewarding and satisfying.

What choices do you have?

The choices available at each school are different. But all students study COMPULSORY SUBJECTS (subjects you must study):

Year 9 and 10

Maths
English
Science
PD/H/PE
Geography
History

and ELECTIVE SUBJECTS (subjects you can choose to study) such as:

Commerce
Design & Technology
Drama
Food Technology
German
Information Software & Technology
Music
Physical Activity & Sport Studies
Industrial Technology
Visual Arts

There's more description of these subjects and there's more options you have depending on your school in this link:

Course Descriptions, accurate 2014

Who can help you decide?

Make sure you get help from the RIGHT people.

  • Subject teacher - can tell you if you are good at certain subjects.
  • Your careers adviser - can tell you what subjects (if any) are required for particular career paths.
  • Home Class teacher - can help with ideas.
  • Parents - Discuss choices with your parents. Encourage them to speak with the above people if you have different ideas or if they need more information.

Three good reason for choosing subjects

1. Ability - choose subjects you are good at.

2. Interest - choose subjects you are interested in.

3. Motivation - choose subjects you really want to learn/

Five bad reasons for choosing subjects

1. Friends - Your friends often have different abilities, interests and motivation from you.

2. Teachers - Don't choose or discard a subject based on whether you do or do not like the teacher. Teachers may be given other classes or change schools.

3. Excursions - Many subjects have excursions. Why endure two years of work you may not particularly like, for one excursion?

4. Rumours - Your peers sometimes make comments about a subject that are not true. Always check out rumours with teachers. They are the experts, not your peers.

5. Easy options - There are no easy option subjects. If someone tells you this, chances are they will probably do poorly.

A note to parents

By the end of Year 8, today's students have already tested themselves against many subjects and interest areas. The ones they enjoy are usually the ones they do well at because those subjects suit their abilities. By helping your child identify these areas of interest and strength you will also be helping them take the first steps to make sensible career decisions.

Students need to learn about the various occupations that may suit them. You can be their window to the world of work.

You can help by:

  • building on your teenager's achievements so far - not just school work.
  • talking to your teenager about your current work and what the job involves, both the good and the bad aspects.
  • establishing links with an adult (an industry mentor) or arranging work place visits in a career field that interests your child.
  • encouraging your teenager to talk to your friends and relatives regarding the work they do.
  • pointing out job advertisements in the newspapers.
  • pointing out the changing labour market, the role of ongoing training and the creation of new jobs.
  • encouraging your teenager to consider gaining a part-time job in an area of interest to them.
  • encouraging your teenager to be involved in extra-curricular activities, e.g. sport, music, volunteer work, community service. This helps build on their relational skills, as well as highlighting strengths and abilities.

The choice of career path is one of the most important decisions young people have to make. The part you play in the process of career planning is vital. Your children will look to you for advice and support.
 
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iJimmy

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

good to see a thread that helps out the yr 9 and 10's.
 

Drongoski

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

Hawki

That's an amazingly good and useful post.
 

laura-jayne14

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

Good advice - Choose subjects you enjoy because other subjects can get quite boring.
 

IcyRain

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

Good guide hawkrider.

It is important for the students to pick the subjects they have great interest in and can succeed in :)
 

Erinaceous

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

I like the bit about the parents. My parents were extremely supportive towards mine and my twin's choice in our subjects for Year 9 and 10. That in turn made us more comfortable to talk to them about the subject contents and any difficulties we had in them when we were actually in Year 9 and 10. (although neither helped out much, just listened lol)
 

GolfGirl97

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

i did elective history and food tech for year 9 and 10. To be honest the only subject i wanted to do was elective history because I love history. I only chose food tech as a budge subject, not because I wanted to do it. I ended up loving elective history and did extremely well in it and came 2nd i think..but i hated food tech..somehow I still did pretty good in it though.
my advice:
choose subjects you think you really will enjoy because most likely you will do well in them and enjoy going to the classes. Trust me, I hated food tech so much. It was hell for me every lesson. Most of the recipes were crap, we never cooked anything cool and the theory work was boring as. I thought the subject would be ok..but it really wasn't. other people enjoyed it though.
Anyway, no need to stress because its only year 9 and 10. see what you like doing so you don't make the same mistakes for year 11 and 12.
 

bongoli

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

I chose commerce purely for the end of year luna park excursion
 

Futuremedstudent

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

for year 9 and currently year 10 i chose french cos I already know stuff beyond hsc level and i chose commerce because the exam was open book in year 9 and it's a bludge so far.
 

nerdasdasd

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

for year 9 and currently year 10 i chose french cos I already know stuff beyond hsc level and i chose commerce because the exam was open book in year 9 and it's a bludge so far.
Commerce is watered down business ... In fact, some content in commerce even overlaps with business;
 

tumtoom

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

I chose photography, French and IST (In my school you get three electives)
If you knew me you'd realise what weirdo very different choices my electives were. I chose what sounded interesting as its yr 9 and 10!
But that's the thing, I chose the boring stuff I'm good at. So my advice to picking electives for year 9 and 10: be adventurous and go on a limb. For HSC maybe consider talent and duh your future, but year 9 and 10 is trying what you never would have otherwise and see if its as amazing as you imagined.

Me personally:
French: BLEURK! and yet was amazing in yr 8
IST: I chose it coz I sucked at computer stuff and wanted to get better, and by the end it was one of my fav subjects
Photography: Meh half half. Worked my buttocks off and didn't get the recognition for it. Plus realised I suck at the practical ;)
 

spatula232

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

I chose photography, French and IST (In my school you get three electives)
If you knew me you'd realise what weirdo very different choices my electives were. I chose what sounded interesting as its yr 9 and 10!
But that's the thing, I chose the boring stuff I'm good at. So my advice to picking electives for year 9 and 10: be adventurous and go on a limb. For HSC maybe consider talent and duh your future, but year 9 and 10 is trying what you never would have otherwise and see if its as amazing as you imagined.

Me personally:
French: BLEURK! and yet was amazing in yr 8
IST: I chose it coz I sucked at computer stuff and wanted to get better, and by the end it was one of my fav subjects
Photography: Meh half half. Worked my buttocks off and didn't get the recognition for it. Plus realised I suck at the practical ;)
Definitely this. I did Commerce and Elective History. Now since I'm in Yr 11 I wish I did something a little chill and more hands on to change it up. But then again they were alright. And I did learn that I absolutely hate history!! :)
 

LoveHateSchool

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

Lol so long ago for me, but some schools do get to pick three and mine was one where you did it for the two years and didn't get a swap in yr 10 like some schools.

I would really urge you to do whatever you want, you have all the core covered in your mandatory subs and this is your chance to try new ground :D (Pretty much whenever you can choose new ground, you should go for it). Please seriously do not fret on yr 9/10 subject selections!

I did French, Commerce and Elective History back in the day.

Commerce was possibly the easiest subject I ever did because it's common sense (98-100% whole two years), doing a language good in case you want to study it in snr school and elective history was great and really enriching and showed me I really liked it so yay. Especially because core history was notoriously terrible because of the whole Australian syllabi thing (nice job screwing Core Geography as well). I hope you are not subjected to that anymore now there is no SC. It's so nice this sem in uni to be doing a major assignment on the Cold War and getting back to my history roots.

Psh I personally think Elective Geography would be really cool, but that's a geography major talking and it didn't run the year I was picking :p
 

GolfGirl97

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

Psh I personally think Elective Geography would be really cool, but that's a geography major talking and it didn't run the year I was picking :p
LOL elective geography never runs at my school. Senior geo barely ever runs either :')

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GolfGirl97

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

Oh yeah i forgot to add i also did IST. I forgot it was an elective because at my school it's compulsory that we do it. The projects for IST were fun.

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spatula232

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

Psh I personally think Elective Geography would be really cool, but that's a geography major talking and it didn't run the year I was picking :p
haha Geography doesn't even run at my school since no one did it lol
 

enoilgam

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re: Guide to choosing subjects for Year 9 & 10

Unless you need a subject in order to pursue a senior level subject (i.e. languages), just choose stuff which you will enjoy.
 
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