New SMH Article: Changes to English/SOR leaving students vulnerable (2 Viewers)

[zazzy1234]

LEARN FROM THIS THE NEW HSC'ERS. IT JUS GOES TO SHOW THAT MEMORISING THE TXT BOOK DOESNT WORK IN DA END.

 

[InaudibleMelody]

LEARN FROM THIS THE NEW HSC'ERS. IT JUS GOES TO SHOW THAT MEMORISING THE TXT BOOK DOESNT WORK IN DA END.

What about maths?

 

[zazzy1234]

What about maths?

if u memorise the formulaz (jus like da txt book), n dont understand in then ur stuffed. coz obviously this kidz rope learned essays n stuff for SOR and english n obvisouly didnt undertsand it, n as a result they cud nt adjust it to the question asked. i have friends n family members that did SOR n english this yr n found the exam alright, n they werelaughing at the pepps of this site for being so narrow minded

 

[cutemouse]

Actually, my school actually does the ex HSC Course, if you understand what I mean. We do Journeys, Belonging, Shakespeare all relevant to the HSC Course, but the texts are changed around. We cover the main HSC modules, we did Conflicing Perspectives just last term. We did Change and Journeys last year. Our school only does this, because it acts as a well rounded 'head start'.

I don't know if that's allowed by the BOS...

 

[acemusic415]

I don't know if that's allowed by the BOS...

Don't worry, the faculty made it clear that it was compliant with the syllabus. They twisted everything to suit the Year 10 Syllabus. I honestly found it funny though, but we manage to cover the Year 10 Syllabus comprehensively.

 

[Lothy]

When we start communicating in Maths and Science, give me a call, but right now you should ignore it.

Sorry quick off-topic and not really relevant but - we already do. In fact, in maths and some sciences, the communication involved is more universal then English ever could be.

 

[trim77]

see the thing is i had nothing prepared however i accidently did the extra text due to the misinterpretation.. my bad

 

[Scinery]

this thread is filled with stuck up bitches, idiots and elitists...

stop complaining everyone

If you understand the subject matter you'll get a high ATAR.

I don't care whether you agree with the board of studies or whether u disagree.

the system isn't flawed, u are. the HSC is a valid test.

If you disagree, stop complaining and become a teacher and join the board of studies and join a panel and change the system yourself.

if you can't do that, move on with life?

 

[annabackwards]

Don't worry, the faculty made it clear that it was compliant with the syllabus. They twisted everything to suit the Year 10 Syllabus. I honestly found it funny though, but we manage to cover the Year 10 Syllabus comprehensively.

Yeha we do it too, but we never did the "belonging topic". Changes and journeys yes, but not belonging

 

[mesbaz]

if u memorise the formulaz (jus like da txt book), n dont understand in then ur stuffed. coz obviously this kidz rope learned essays n stuff for SOR and english n obvisouly didnt undertsand it, n as a result they cud nt adjust it to the question asked. i have friends n family members that did SOR n english this yr n found the exam alright, n they werelaughing at the pepps of this site for being so narrow minded

you don't rope ' learn. its called ' rote learning. ' you memorized the word without understanding what it meant i see. hypocrite much ?

for someone who hasnt even done the exam i wouldnt be talking so big. and you cant ' memorize' essays for SOR, because you dont know which essays can come up. your family friends most likely had buddhism/hinduism because those questions were clear. if they did judaism/christianity/islam the questions werent as clear. unless youve personally experienced the exam, don't try to justify for others because you dont have the knowledge or the experience and we dont need YOU to speak for us.

just because they ' found it alright ' doesn't mean they actually performed alright. you have to see your marks to know how you went. especially in such a subjective question as what was given...

 

[missgrace91]

Normally I would agree on this, but did you SEE the SOR1 paper?! I don't even do the subject, but the question seemed ridiculously worded. I have a few friends doing it, really intelligent, and even they were baffled. I mean, they did eventually answer the question, but only in some obscure, ambiguous way that seemed irrelevant to their core knowledge..!

What you have said is very true, the wording was horrible

I do/did SOR1, of which, the religions I studied were Christianity and Judaism.
The stimulus quote used in Q3 for Judaism was one that was studied (in brief) in year 11, which was probably what threw most students. The Christianity Stimulus Quote was one i had never seen before...

The problem that kids would have is this:
Past questions have been structured in a similar style to these:

"Analyse the significance of Sat/Sun worship to Christian adherents"

"Assess the extent to which a significant person or school of thought, other than Abraham or Moses, has challenged and/or upheld Jewish tradition." (2008)

"Assess the extent to which a significant person or school of thought, other than Abraham or Moses, has challenged and/or upheld Jewish tradition." (2007)

I ask you, why bother making the past exams avaliable to students online if the exam they are going to sit is going to be so left-field? Doing past papers is a very popular study technique for students.

The advantage I had, I guess, is that whilst studying, I got frustrated with the number of "awaiting copyrights" that I didn't look at RE past papers, instead I just summarised and learnt each topic, and I was also able to twist the christianity question into a Sat/Sun Service response. (Which i hope is what they wanted!)

I Didnt mind the AOS question with the one related text... My first thought upon reading the question was "bugger, there's half an essay gone", and it meant i couldn't have any "dip in" texts to show a broader undserstanding of the subject content, and I had a harder time linking my ideas to my prescibed text because I had an idea of the flow I wanted.
But hey, on the plus, I only had to remember half as many quotes

xoxo
Grace

Subjects:
2U MATHS
Eng Adv & ext1
SOR1
PHYS
DRAMA

 

[JesseMatheson]

I think the problem with the SOR was that the format of the question and what the question was asking was something that was small and not memorable when compared to past papers that focused on the major parts of the syllabus.
Imagine if the English belonging essay asked you to focus on a specific chapter or specific poem that you had studied? alot of us would of been screwed, infact I would of had my ass handed to me on a plate because I only knew certain poems.

Its not about being a memory test but its about how much a student can be expected to remember. English had 3 essays in one exam, thats 4 texts including your related materials...which ends up being around 6 texts...and withing that you need to know quotes, techniques, scenes, characters etc etc.
Now I know that paper 2 has nothing to do with paper 1 BUT remember some students had exams the day before, some had exams the same day as paper 1 and some had exams the day after paper 1, so ontop of all the stuff they have to remember for paper 1, they also have to remember a whole lot of crap for their other exams.

There is a limit on how much a student can remember but more importantly there should be a limit on how much the BOS expects students to remember. They should not treat each exam as seperate but more the whole HSC as a group otherwise it creates problems.

I dont care...I did well so bleh.

If anyone did more than 1 related material you are retarded anyway..

 

[askrach]

What was unexpected about the english paper? other than the 1 related text. Honestly I'm all for these changes, means people cant get away with brain dumping and doing better than those who actually try and learn something

 

[mazarati]

What was unexpected about the english paper? other than the 1 related text. Honestly I'm all for these changes, means people cant get away with brain dumping and doing better than those who actually try and learn something

I totally agree

 

[Venom.]

What was unexpected about the english paper? other than the 1 related text. Honestly I'm all for these changes, means people cant get away with brain dumping and doing better than those who actually try and learn something

I did one related text but they could've given us some form of warning. We've been fucked over this year, 2U, 3U maths, Religion, English (modules questions were NOTHING like previous years).

 

[mazarati]

I did one related text but they could've given us some form of warning. We've been fucked over this year, 2U, 3U maths, Religion, English (modules questions were NOTHING like previous years).

what sort of warning would you have wanted? Wouldn't that be like, giving the questions away?

I agree the questions really threw people off (me included) but I put it down to how well you actually know the content. If you know the stuff, I don't think there's a problem.

 

[Venom.]

what sort of warning would you have wanted? Wouldn't that be like, giving the questions away?

I agree the questions really threw people off (me included) but I put it down to how well you actually know the content. If you know the stuff, I don't think there's a problem.

Some type of syllabus change perhaps? The sudden shift in questions caught people off guard because we'd been taught differently throughout the year. I.e.; for Frankenstein and Blade Runner, we'd been taught that the MAIN ideal regarding the texts was that of humanity and nature. Lo and behold, the question was something completely different, that would've thrown ALOT of people off.