Parents Choosing Subjects (1 Viewer)

[illmtl]

Hey, how do I cope with subjects that my parents have chosen?

Has anyone else had that?

My parents picked 3u Maths for me, and though I'm quite good at Maths it bores me to death. I know I can get the decision reversed and out in my favour but that seems to be a lot more effort than actually doing the subject.

I guess what I'm really asking is how can I do well in a subject that I'm not at all committed to? (This goes for English Adv. too)

 

[Cape]

You can't do well in a subject your not committed to. Personally, I hate it when parents choose subjects, its not like they are going to your classes and doing your exams.

Have you talked to your parents about what you would like to do? Maybe you should explain to them how you feel about the subjects that you picked. Cause theres no way your going to do well in subjects that your forced to do.

 

[illmtl]

Can't talk them out of it cos they have a much better arguement.... but it'll give you good marks for your HSC....

 

[Trev]

i read in the school cert. forum that you got 99 for sc maths; it seems pretty stupid you not doing ext maths! whether you like it or not =P its about maximising your uai lol

 

[Cape]

Your more likely to get better marks doing subjects that you enjoy. If your doing subjects they want you to do, you will have no motivation, and you won't be bothered to study and you won't take the information in properly. The excuse that they are using is lame. You can get good marks in any subject that you do.

 

[Scanorama]

Can't talk them out of it cos they have a much better arguement.... but it'll give you good marks for your HSC....

No it won't, doing 3U maths does automatically give a good mark. If you don't enjoy doing it, you are very likely to do crap in the subject thus bad mark in the HSC. When I decided to drop down to General, my parents were a bit shocked, but I told them it was more likely to get a good mark in the HSC because I would hopefully enjoy it more than 2U maths.

Low scaling subject does not mean low HSC mark and high scaling subject does not mean high HSC mark. It comes down to how much effort you put into that subject, if you enjoy the subject, you will have more motivation and more effort will therefore put into that subject thus higher HSC mark.

Your parents can't tell you what to do, it's your life.

 

[Slidey]

Hey, how do I cope with subjects that my parents have chosen?

You wouldn't. Rather, you would cope with what would obviously be a complete lack of control of your very own life. Change that.

Has anyone else had that?

I'm sure they have, and I'm sure they've done something about it - Like, I dunno putting their parents in their place. I'm all for respect for people, but it's a reciprocal thing - they aren't showing you any respect at all by telling you what subjects you must do.

My parents picked 3u Maths for me, and though I'm quite good at Maths it bores me to death. I know I can get the decision reversed and out in my favour but that seems to be a lot more effort than actually doing the subject.

OK, in this one case, I suggest that you stick with 3u maths, mate. It gets less boring in 4u year 12, trust me, and it does wonders for your UAI if you do OK at it. It's year 11, so I suggest you keep it until year 12 comes around and decide then. Remember nothing you do in year 11 counts, so use it to experiment.

I guess what I'm really asking is how can I do well in a subject that I'm not at all committed to? (This goes for English Adv. too)

By sticking it out. I came 45th out of 60 people in Advanced English in year 11. I was so seriously going to drop to Standard... and guess where I am coming now? A nice fat first. A similar situation for 4 unit maths.

I don't pretend it is easy to do well in something that bores you, nor do I pretend you will do well at it. But if you don't try to make it work, you'll never know if it would have worked. In my case, it did.

And finally, remember that the HSC is a game. Unfortunately it is not about true learning, but rote learning and manipulation of assessments to maximise your marks. If you're after knowledge, that's what university is for - you can be challenged there. But you can't get to university unless you do the intermediate step - doing well in the HSC.

 

[^CoSMic DoRiS^^]

if ur really good at maths then u would probably do well in it, but is it really worth doing something u hate for 2 yrs just because you're good at it? if ur future career needs it, then yes, stick with it. but if the only reason you're doing it is because ur parents make u, then theres no point. youd be happier in the long run if u picked subjects u enjoy - because often the subs u like are an indication of the kind of career u might want. eg - someone who loves art and music would be more inclined to work in those areas than become a doctor, and so on. if u really dont want to do it, drop it. your parents wil get over it. and if they dont, well its your future not theirs.

 

[JamiL]

No it won't, doing 3U maths does automatically give a good mark. If you don't enjoy doing it, you are very likely to do crap in the subject thus bad mark in the HSC. When I decided to drop down to General, my parents were a bit shocked, but I told them it was more likely to get a good mark in the HSC because I would hopefully enjoy it more than 2U maths.

Low scaling subject does not mean low HSC mark and high scaling subject does not mean high HSC mark. It comes down to how much effort you put into that subject, if you enjoy the subject, you will have more motivation and more effort will therefore put into that subject thus higher HSC mark.

Your parents can't tell you what to do, it's your life.

exactly, and if u enjoy good scaling subjects then that is a bonus (like me ) but if u dont its not the end of thr world, jus try as hard and ull do as well.
PS... if that was me id tell my parents to F**K off... they should no not 2 tell u wot 2 do, u are now in school because uve desided 2... u dont have 2 be at skool and they should repect ur wishes

 

[Jacks]

I agree with most things said here. It seems to me that your parents don't really understand how scaling works, or how you get good marks in the HSC. Like has been said above just because something scales well generally, that doesn't mean you yourself will scale well. Scaling only really works if you do well in a subject, and even then a lot of people over-estimate its impact on your UAI. Doing well in an average scaling subject will see you fair a lot better than if you were to do poorly in something which scales well. Though personally I think the decisions you make about the subjects you choose have to be made considering other factors. I would never recommend someone do a subject solely because they think it scales well. Obviously if you enjoy something that scales well and do really well in it, that's beneficial, but it doesn't always work that way. You have to choose things you love and know you'll apply yourself to, otherwise in my opinion you're behind before you even start. I realise your parents have expectations, though I'm sure if they realised you'd do better overall by doing what you love they'd come around. They want you to do well, so convince them that you can only really achieve by doing what you enjoy and are passionate about.

You are in yr. 11 so I do suggest you stick with 3u until the end of this year...but standard and advanced english scale the same (see the uai scaling forum - there is a thread there explaining that) so if you think you'd do better at standard you can drop down at the end of yr. 11. I think when your parents are better informed as to how things like that work, they will understand that it is far more advantageous for you to do what you want, rather than that which is forced on you. Good luck convincing them! When they have all the facts they should come around.

 

[Estel]

pfft marks argument...
anyone who could get 100 would be able to do it with several different subject combinations...

 

[tendays]

i read in the school cert. forum that you got 99 for sc maths; it seems pretty stupid you not doing ext maths! whether you like it or not =P its about maximising your uai lol

because it's about winning at the uai and not doing what makes you happy, you know, just like in life how it's about making the most money and not doing what you want to do.

 

[Jacks]

yes that is true in a way, but the point most of us are trying to make is that you won't win if you do badly because you don't like what you're doing...if you can do it great...but if you're doing it because you think you'll get a good UAI, the point is that that attitude may work against you. I'm all for playing the system and trying to get marks, but you need to do what you're suited to in order to get those marks. You need to have the motivation to achieve, and a big player in that motivation is being able to do what you enjoy.

 

[Kao]

because it's about winning at the uai and not doing what makes you happy, you know, just like in life how it's about making the most money and not doing what you want to do.

Were you being sarcastic? I cant tell

 

[Kao]

i read in the school cert. forum that you got 99 for sc maths; it seems pretty stupid you not doing ext maths! whether you like it or not =P its about maximising your uai lol

Big difference between the standard of SC maths and Ext1 maths

I agree with the people who say you shouldn't be doing 3u if you don't like it. I'm only doing advanced 2u but even that requires a decent amount of consistent work to do well. A ton of really smart people moved into my class from the extension class throughout last year because they couldn't deal with the excesses of work that they got in 3u.

 

[[trent]]

6 periods of maths a week seems insane..especially if you're not enjoying it...

I'm doing 2U maths purely because of my parents, but we made a compromise that if i still wasn't enjoying/doing well at maths by end of yr11, I could drop it.

 

[7minute]

Hey, how do I cope with subjects that my parents have chosen?

Has anyone else had that?

My parents picked 3u Maths for me, and though I'm quite good at Maths it bores me to death. I know I can get the decision reversed and out in my favour but that seems to be a lot more effort than actually doing the subject.

I guess what I'm really asking is how can I do well in a subject that I'm not at all committed to? (This goes for English Adv. too)

It's your life and your HSC. Eventually your parents will have to come to see that. Year 11 doesn't count towards your HSC, so could you "try" 3u Maths for a term or two and then drop it? Sometimes a subject can grow on you. And for that, you need time.

My parents pushed me into doing 4u Maths, something that initially I really didn't want to do. After a term it had grown on me and I liked it. But I was only just passing in my assessments, and for the sake of my UAI and chance to get into medicine, I dropped it. When I told my parents they explained that they just wanted me to give the subject a go, something I wouldn't have done if they hadn't pushed me. Could this be the case with your parents?

How can you do well in a subject that you're not committed to? That's a tough one, because a lot of the time you do well in subjects because you're motivated by interest etc; to put in the work and the study. Without the initial motivation, it is much harder to put in the work, and as a result, do well. Give 3u Maths a fair go. If it really doesn't suit, talk to your parents again. But ultimately, it should be a decision made by you for you and they will have to understand that.

 

[Sweets]

Ughh when are parents going to understand the best way to do well in anything is to enjoy it and feel like its your decison and choices which are shaping your future. This also applies to the hsc.

I would advise u to change all the subjects that you dont like before you regret it.

I'm glad i don't have pushy parents. Couldn't be bothered it better because at least they don't meddle

 

[sladehk]

You're always better at subjects that you enjoy because you have an interest in it

 

[Slidey]

6 periods of maths a week seems insane..especially if you're not enjoying it...

So if 6 is insane, what is 9? Welcome to my life.