How many of you enjoy HSC english? (1 Viewer)

[LynH1326]

I like Extension English much more. If they make a 2 unit extension class, i'll be happy.... Having to do that on top of Advanced is annoying. Extension has twice as much work and only half the time to do it in!
Although extension does help me in Advanced heaps... gives the skills much earlier and more rigourously than advanced...

 

[celery]

Whilst I don't mind english I have some HUGE issues with the Eng Adv syllabus. It's not that I don't like it, I just have almost a total lack of respect for it.

I think at heart the idea was good... but ultimately I feel (particularly in recent years) that either the syllabus or the teachers themselves are going overboard with the terminology and hardcore concepts/theories/whathaveyou in an attempt to get students up to par with EE1/uni levels to give them an advantage/better marks = higher UAI.

What they seem to have forgotten is that EE1 only has to deal with one module, and even at Uni, you tend to look at one "thing" (usually a genre) per semester. In Eng Adv, you get one year for THREE modules, and usually they have absolutely no correlation with each other. Considering the fact that your fourth term is usually reserved for trials/HSC study, this pans out into one module per term - that's 10 weeks each.

Admittedly that's quite similar to how it's done in uni, however we have an advantage - we tend to cover things in great detail and aren't as obsessed with reciting terminology the way HSC students are taught to. Do the majority of HSC students have time to learn all that crazy terminology/concepts, and actually understand it by the time the exams come around? No. Can a lot of them get screwed over in uni because all they know is to go on a spiel about the techniques Shakespeare used in Hamlet, how personal context affected Harwood's poetry, etc etc? Oh yes.

It's so disappointing to learn, as a uni student, that you might know some texts in great "detail", however you don't actually "know" those concepts and techniques well enough to apply them to other texts. In essence, so much of it is just regurgitation... (ie where do you know all these "facts" from? Because your teacher told you to write it down in an essay, that's why) there's little scope for actual learning.


I do think some modules are written well/chose their texts carefully to promote understanding rather than pure regurgitation (such as the choice of "Birthday Letters") as they make you think, but other modules and a number of teachers are all about 'write down what I tell you to'/"you have two options - be an idiot, or look at it from only ONE perspective" other than encouraging the students to be able to express what THEY actually think about the texts.

I totally agree! sometimes i think that English is not even a 2unit subject, more like 4units of work judging from the amount of work we actually go through! It's unbelievable! It even needs 2 exams!!

I personally love english to its guts, i love writing, but studying advanced English this year had just killed it for me. I don't actually get to express myself, I get 'told' what to write, and if i don't, they'll just stamp me with a big fat D PLUS a comment -"you're lucky to have gotten that mark" I just feel so degraded.

But as my teacher says - "You just gota play the game" whether you like it or not. Goodluck everybody for trials!

 

[P_Dilemma]

But as my teacher says - "You just gota play the game" whether you like it or not. Goodluck everybody for trials!

The teachers are as smart as us; they know the english syllabus is bullshit. Just unfortunate that they're under the DET's payroll, is all.

Play the game? Screw that. If we're gonna have a future, I suggest we change the rules, or play a new game.

 

[jonno_05]

i absolutly hate it!! worst subject even created and the guy that ever suggested to create such a subject should be shot!! i hav the worst teacher...and she is meant to be the english coordinator....absolute crap at teaching...rushes thru the course...makes the dumbest assessments ever...one that we had to repeat because she failed to plan for it...i know for a fact that i am going to hav to teach myself everything we hav done this year...

 

[dandel26]

i absolutly hate it!! worst subject even created and the guy that ever suggested to create such a subject should be shot!! i hav the worst teacher...and she is meant to be the english coordinator....absolute crap at teaching...rushes thru the course...makes the dumbest assessments ever...one that we had to repeat because she failed to plan for it...i know for a fact that i am going to hav to teach myself everything we hav done this year...

Go Crazy................
But yeah i totally agree with u. English is totally Ghey because its like double the size of every other 2 unit subject and the content is so ambiguous that it makes it extremly hard to do well.

 

[Armic]

Enjoyed it whilst in year 11. However since then and since I changed teachers... its been terrible.

I like the Modules cause they mix up the subject and let you explore different concepts. However imaginary journeys seemed like it went on forever.

I'm going to base my dislike on the subject because of a unnecessary changing of teacher and because I can't help but to fall asleep in class.

For a subject that is supposed to encourage written expression it is very constricting. But I guess that's why we have Extenstion English 1&2.

 

[Tbomb2k]

Nup, worst subject... way too much content. i spend about 5 times more time on it than all my other subjects and i still get the worst marks for it. ARGH!... ok so it's compulsory, which is gay, but why does it have to contribute to our UAI no matter what?!?!

 

[hsc=suicide]

Nup, worst subject... way too much content. i spend about 5 times more time on it than all my other subjects and i still get the worst marks for it. ARGH!... ok so it's compulsory, which is gay, but why does it have to contribute to our UAI no matter what?!?!

hey heres an idea, DONT!! lol im good with ideas in english just cant express them, so english is gAy, and not in a good homosexual way. we have more english periods than any other subject :S

burn TAOHF!! BURN!!!!

 

[perf@ction]

its a good subject since my teacher photocopies my class everything we need...only problem is that she doesnt explain the assignments and wen u do it she says its great ..another teacher marks it n u go shit in it..then she tell u wat u did rong...

physical journeys is alright its peter skyzneckiz poems that r crap
and the club is just a waste of time

but buisness studies n ancient history are still the shitest subjects ever

 

[Vaya]

I always Loved English and i was always fairly good at it.
Problem with my HscEnglish course, other than the fact that it is tedious and most of the texts that we are forced to study fall under a broad definition or BORING, my teacher is shocking, i have learnt absoloutly nothing from her AT ALL. i have practically taught myself the entire course, and... well ,that ofcourse has its drawbacks.
Not to mention that most of the people in my class only took Advanced English as a course cause they thought it would look good, they arent actually capable of doing any of the work... it is a disgrace.
Sorry, im just getting a little worked up here.... im breathing.

 

[hello_world]

I quite like the texts, I enjoyed reading BNW and watching bladerunner, I think that King Lear is one of the best Shakespeare plays to analyse, because it's message is very clear. And I love frontline, it's hilarious!

But I have an awesome teacher so maybe that why??? he makes King Lear so easy to understand cuz he's been teaching it for about 20 years and he's really funny

But the AOS imaginative journeys is a load of shit, what on earth is an imaginative journey!?!? I think that the previous AOS, changing, was alot better

 

[stressing2006]

i Just think that english is pointless what happened to spelling and punctuation, i am never again goin to need to have to write a feature article or review it is a pointless skill, teach us to write something that is useful, if your going to be journalist i can see the point. I do however think the way it teaches you to question why things are being done is good.

i really dont like it, i love my teacher she is great i just dont like english. I absolutely hate journey think its ridiculous they havent really changed the syllabus since like 2001 when it was change, like what is the difference between that and journey like not much.

I like extension english, in which i am doing post moderism which is really quite hard but its interesting. All u ppl complaining bout crime fiction walk in my shoes and then come back to me

 

[Geebus]

English SHOULD be a good subject....HOWEVER, what with the awful way it is taught by so many teachers (if this is not you count yourself lucky), the insane/meaningless time pressure, post modern/anything goes syllabus, HSC english is not the best of subjects. I am 'good' at english when i put my mind to it, but when it comes to many of the topics i find myself saying "why bother". I mean SURE "Wuthering Heights" (though i know many who would disagree) is a great novel but who the f*** cares what the psychoanalytical and feminist readings there are of it. I'm sure most of you have asked yourself (or your teacher) at one point of another "why do we only get 40 minutes per essay?". This is possibly the thing that tilts my vote to the nada column. Many are the times when i find myself once again succumbing to time pressure under test conditions and again I ask myself why (yet again to no avail). When in my life am i EVER going to have to write 8-10 pages in 40 minutes unless i want to become a court shorthandist, which i dont. It dates back to the military days when people had to be able to think and act under pressure. The HSC big wigs (god bless them) haven't realised this yet or are in the military themselves, or maybe both. I wonder how many of you know that in America they only just introduced essay writing into their SATs (the equivilant of the HSC)? The section is half an hour long and they have to write 2 pages....2 PAGES!!!!! and this is in the most military conscious nation in the world!!!! *sighs* oh well thus ends my tirade. maybe i should get back to writing my essay for tomorrows trial . cheers ppl and good luck!!!!!

 

[.ben]

Don't really like, BUT decent marks and not much workload

therefore love-hate relationship