Leftist from SMH complains that more people are doing Extension 2 Mathematics instead of Extension English (4 Viewers)

[coolcat6778]

Complaining about the advancement of intelligence in society is retarded.

The number of HSC students taking extension English courses has plummeted in the past two decades, with more pupils now studying the hardest maths course than English at any extension level.
Teachers say the decline is being driven by multiple factors, including a decades-long push towards STEM subjects, concerns about subjectivity in marking essays, and teenagers reading less.

The high-scaling HSC subjects students are abandoning – and the ones they are flocking to

Extension 2 mathematics will have its largest-ever cohort when the HSC begins on Thursday. But the picture isn’t so rosy for English.

www.smh.com.au

read the article at https://www.removepaywall.com/

 

[coolcat6778]

This is the very sentiment that lead to the dumbing down of the HSC physics syllabus back in the year 2000 (made to include more essay esque writing and less problem solving), let's not make it even dumber .

This is good news, now stupid ass UAC might be more inclined to remove mandatory English

 

[C2H6O]

This is good news, now stupid ass UAC might be more inclined to remove mandatory English

I feel like lots of English teachers will be out of a job if that happens

 

[coolcat6778]

I feel like lots of English teachers will be out of a job if that happens

shouldn't have chosen Bachelors of Arts then . I know this is the only reason NESA wants to keep English mandatory so these people can keep their jobs

 

[melanie_o]

shouldn't have chosen Bachelors of Arts then . I know this is the only reason NESA wants to keep English mandatory so these people can keep their jobs

Whether you like it or not, English is essential. No matter how esoteric you may feel the subject may be, it has immense value to furthering your critical thinking skills.

 

[coolcat6778]

Whether you like it or not, English is essential. No matter how esoteric you may feel the subject may be, it has immense value to furthering your critical thinking skills.

Nah the US's SAT English section has more value than HSC English

 

[coolcat6778]

All this sounds like to me is that leftists want to make subjects like Physics even more writing to combat the decline in English. They can't touch maths cause that would give NESA too much backlash. HSC Physics is already way too writing heavy in its current form, when compared to other exams like VCE, IB, AP and A Level. People didn't choose physics to write essays.

 

[Shavi Masee]

Whether you like it or not, English is essential. No matter how esoteric you may feel the subject may be, it has immense value to furthering your critical thinking skills.

i do agree that English is essential, however I believe that the way it's assessed doesn't account for plainly "critical thinking skills."
if they change the way it's assessed I think more people would be willing to take it as a preference not as a necessity.

 

[coolcat6778]

i do agree that English is essential, however I believe that the way it's assessed doesn't account for plainly "critical thinking skills."
if they change the way it's assessed I think more people would be willing to take it as a preference not as a necessity.

should just be a multiple choice test like the SAT

 

[Shavi Masee]

should just be a multiple choice test like the SAT

Omg i use to get these math SAT yt shorts, and they pissed me off soo bad, because they go through numerous lengths for simple multiple choice questions that you can do in ur head.

 

[SylviaB]

wordcels be mad

 

[Study to success]

i do agree that English is essential, however I believe that the way it's assessed doesn't account for plainly "critical thinking skills."
if they change the way it's assessed I think more people would be willing to take it as a preference not as a necessity.

yeah they jsut need to make it more enjoyable and not just essays under timed conditions

 

[ManicPixie]

should just be a multiple choice test like the SAT

making the subject multiple choice completely removes the aspect of critical thinking and being able to actually generate your OWN thoughts.

while i agree that the current testing system is ineffective, that is not the fault of nesa, but the fault of students. the mass memorisation of essays to just dump them out onto a paper limits one’s ability to be able to think on the spot and actually analyse prescribed texts. while some students will only memorise what’s necessary (quotes, minor analysis) and actually use the critical thinking skills that the course targets, the vast majority memorise essays to AVOID this very important skill, due to laziness, apathy, or both.

the assessment system itself is set up to encourage media literacy, personal reflection, and critical reasoning, all which are very important in a world where the rise in media skepticism and anti-intellectualism have revealed an alarming decrease in literary intelligence. however, quite literally proving these negative effects, most students will continue to avoid making genuine efforts in english.

it’s really disappointing! but unfortunately i believe it’s only going to get worse

 

[Study to success]

making the subject multiple choice completely removes the aspect of critical thinking and being able to actually generate your OWN thoughts.

while i agree that the current testing system is ineffective, that is not the fault of nesa, but the fault of students. the mass memorisation of essays to just dump them out onto a paper limits one’s ability to be able to think on the spot and actually analyse prescribed texts. while some students will only memorise what’s necessary (quotes, minor analysis) and actually use the critical thinking skills that the course targets, the vast majority memorise essays to AVOID this very important skill, due to laziness, apathy, or both.

the assessment system itself is set up to encourage media literacy, personal reflection, and critical reasoning, all which are very important in a world where the rise in media skepticism and anti-intellectualism have revealed an alarming decrease in literary intelligence. however, quite literally proving these negative effects, most students will continue to avoid making genuine efforts in english.

it’s really disappointing! but unfortunately i believe it’s only going to get worse

lowkey only saq actually tests student's ability to critically think and analyse. So they should just make most of the hsc like that. And then some craft stuff like based on stimulus's and specific ideas but instead make it an analytical essay where u have to put your own opinions or smth like ext idk

 

[ManicPixie]

lowkey only saq actually tests student's ability to critically think and analyse. So they should just make most of the hsc like that. And then some craft stuff like based on stimulus's and specific ideas but instead make it an analytical essay where u have to put your own opinions or smth like ext idk

i think this would be really good! but at the same time, the majority of texts that we study are incredibly important and represent valuable insights (and often warnings), so i think analysing these texts and writing essays with insightful arguments are so crucial in terms of developing critical thinking skills.

 

[Study to success]

i think this would be really good! but at the same time, the majority of texts that we study are incredibly important and represent valuable insights (and often warnings), so i think analysing these texts and writing essays with insightful arguments are so crucial in terms of developing critical thinking skills.

Yeah but they need to make it so that it’s not just memorisation and then regurgitating everything out in the exam. Maybe doing presentations, viva voces idk

 

[coolcat6778]

the problem people had with english is its subjective nature. hence the way to fix this is with objective response questions, i.e. multiple choice questions.

 

[Study to success]

the problem people had with english is its subjective nature. hence the way to fix this is with objective response questions, i.e. multiple choice questions.

But Isn’t the whole point of Eng is that it’s subjective. Making it objective would lowkey make it more boring and u can’t really make it objective when everyone sees things differently. That’s just the nature of the subject and making it objective won’t really solve things. It’s just the way the content is assessed is what should be changed. It’s good how we can express our own opinions in Eng but at the same time I feel like they need better marking guidelines so that there isn’t too many disparities in marking

 

[ManicPixie]

the problem people had with english is its subjective nature. hence the way to fix this is with objective response questions, i.e. multiple choice questions.

and that’s where essay writing skills come into place! the subjectivity of english is what allows it to engage critical thinking, because people have the ability to develop whatever arguments they want. you could write your essay about how big brother is actually amazing and winston and julia deserved their fate. does anyone agree with this? no! but if you can argue it, you will get the marks!

english has so much grey area of subjectivity to encourage this creativity in responses, because ultimately by developing your skills in writing conceptual arguments, you can explore subjective ideas without feeling like your opinions won’t be appreciated. if you have the skills to effectively present your argument, you will be rewarded.

this is exactly why english is the only compulsory subject, and why it is so important!

 

[Aeonium]

the problem people had with english is its subjective nature. hence the way to fix this is with objective response questions, i.e. multiple choice questions.

if you were learning english this might be true but who the fuck cares about syntax/grammar bad take

english has so much grey area of subjectivity to encourage this creativity in responses, because ultimately by developing your skills in writing conceptual arguments, you can explore subjective ideas without feeling like your opinions won’t be appreciated.

creativity in responses is quite limited when you give tens of thousands of students the same texts and expect them to make niche arguments...

the "opinion being appreciated" part is quite irrelevant i feel, i think people inherently should be able to hold strong opinions on subjective ideas without a care for if they are appreciated

lowkey only saq actually tests student's ability to critically think and analyse. So they should just make most of the hsc like that. And then some craft stuff like based on stimulus's and specific ideas but instead make it an analytical essay where u have to put your own opinions or smth like ext idk

saq can be cheesed if you do the practice and remember the techniques

while i agree that the current testing system is ineffective, that is not the fault of nesa, but the fault of students.

yes blame the tired students for choosing the least effort, highest return method of approaching a subject that they are forced to do to get into their university course... how can you fault the students if it is the markers rewarding this year by year (at least to a point where students can get into their uni degrees)

a world where the rise in media skepticism and anti-intellectualism have revealed an alarming decrease in literary intelligence

what's the issue with media skepticism here? is that not critical thinking? there have been plenty of times when news agencies across the world use language as a shield or weapon to defend or attack certain groups