Is this normal for standard? (1 Viewer)

[ElendilPeredhil]

I’m doing advanced English but I have a friend doing Standard and we have been having a discussion about expectations…she told me her teacher told the class that she would be very happy if they all got band 4’s…does anything about that seem wrong to you? I know standard is generally for students who don’t enjoy English, but surely even standard students are aiming for bands 5&6? What's the point in having those higher bands if standard English teachers expect one person in the school standard class to get band 5 and everyone else to get band 4’s and lower.

Also, it seems like this teacher doesn’t mark very harshly. My friend and I have and arrangement where I, another friend (doing advanced) and her English teacher all read her practice essays and check grammar etc…but her teacher hardly marks it at all! She’ll fix spelling mistakes, but pretty much nothing else. She doesn’t tell her if she has a badly defined thesis, or if she doesn’t link to texts…
It could be I’m just used to a better teacher, because my English teacher rips all of my essays to shreds…
but it seems like the teacher just goes "standard students, why should I bother.."
when really, it is possible for anyone to get a high level essay, it just takes dedication and hard work...both of which my friend has...but without a teacher willing to help her out

 

[A l]

Unfortunately, this is the case for most schools....Many teachers overlook the lower level courses and contribute most of their time to higher level courses. Many tend to make assumptions and stereotypes about those in lower level courses which are not always true.

 

[Sarah168]

I guess it's one of the situations where, ideally, it shouldn't happen but unfortunately it does. The only viable solutions would be for the dedicated student to pester for help either through the same teacher or another. And also, to forget about the lack of expectation and just try to do well according to their standard.

 

[priesty]

Thats unfair, not only to those students who do have the ability to get Band 5s and 6s, but to the students who are subjected to suffer incredibly in their HSC Marks because their teacher really couldnt be arsed to teach them. Things like this are what ultimately lead to Standard English being considered a subject that doesnt scale well or has negative effects on the calculation of your UAI. Teacher prejudice can have devastating effects.

 

[pritnep]

Agreed with everything said above, all courses should be treated the same and teachers should put as much effort in as the students and help those you actively seek help after all through constant essay practice and drafting is usually the only way to achieve high marks in assessments.

I can understand your friends frustration especially when she puts in the effort and is aiming for the high bands while the teacher doesn't push\help her out. Good luck to your friend maybe she is going to have to knuckle down and learn the texts inside out and read up on exactly what examiners want.