I initially sent this to the SMH but wasn't published. However, I would still like to share my thoughts on the HSC with you guys:
At this very moment, palms are perspiring, hearts are pounding and brains are going into overdrive all over the state. Thirteen years of schooling and it has all come down to this: the HSC.
As you casually browse this article, sipping on your cappuccino or perhaps sitting in traffic, around 70,000 Year 12 students are sitting in exam rooms across NSW, trying to regurgitate all they know about ‘belonging’ within 2 hours. Perhaps, you are comforted by the thought that these students have had ample mental preparation and imagine that they’ve been reassured, time and time again, about how the ‘the HSC is just another test’. The thought of their sweating faces and cramping heads no longer kindle waves of guilt and you guzzle down the remains of your coffee, without another thought for these suffering teens.
Yet! Before you turn the page to peruse some more fascinating news, please, think back to the past few weeks. Have you, late at night on the verge of sleep, heard a wild howl, half-human, half-animal, floating towards the night sky? Or perhaps, on a trip to the library, suddenly found yourself face to face with a pale-faced, dark-eyed member of the living dead? These increasing incidences of supernatural occurrences have been caused by the phenomenon euphemistically termed the ‘little quiz before schoolies’.
Despite the belief that the emotional and mental wellbeing of year 12 students has become increasingly important to their respective schools, little can be done to truly prepare one for the roller coaster experience. Parents would have had front-line experience, watching meltdowns, passing tissues through the gap under the door and facing midnight study food cravings head on. Despite the study guides churned out by the thousands and ‘relaxation sessions’ organised by counsellors, any positive benefits from these programs are nullified by the cultural of competition and the stress epidemic fostered by the Board of Studies. The increasing importance of rankings in school assessments has become a key point of stress and sometimes, the direct cause of breakdowns. Students feel that their ability is no longer determined by how well they perform, but rather, how they perform in relation to others. For a student, an improvement in their abilities suddenly appears insignificant, even down right useless, if their ranking remains a dismal number. The feeling of ineptitude is haunting and hard-work is fruitless if a student cannot ‘beat’ their classmates.
Throughout the year, the idea of collaborative study and assisting one’s peers is fearsome, after all, isn’t helping classmates fraternising with the enemy? Then, suddenly, in the few weeks between the end of school assessments and the start of the actual HSC, we are all encouraged to become bosom friends again. In a blink, sharing notes and helping friends becomes, not only the actions of a Good Samaritan, but will improve the performance of the entire cohort resulting in that glorified occurrence known as ‘being scaled up’. The sudden shift in the politics of peer relationships the few weeks leading up to the final exam is disconcerting, but definitely a much welcomed relief from the terse, pseudo-‘Hunger Game’ atmosphere when internal rankings was at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
Although displeasure was the primary sentiment among HSC students as they confront their final exams, rebellion has been kept down by a mixture of extreme exhaustion and good sense. Achieving a workable and effective examination system is difficult, although it is difficult to admit this when one is caught up within the bureaucracy itself. Furthermore, the very nature of testing is competition and for all out complaints about ‘being defined by a number’, how else are we going to summon the motivation to work towards our dream course? Thus, think of our complaints about the HSC as a final cry of rebellion from a group of teens about to be cast into the realm of adulthood. We wish you a fine day and once this pop quiz is done, we’ll be joining you in the real world.
At this very moment, palms are perspiring, hearts are pounding and brains are going into overdrive all over the state. Thirteen years of schooling and it has all come down to this: the HSC.
As you casually browse this article, sipping on your cappuccino or perhaps sitting in traffic, around 70,000 Year 12 students are sitting in exam rooms across NSW, trying to regurgitate all they know about ‘belonging’ within 2 hours. Perhaps, you are comforted by the thought that these students have had ample mental preparation and imagine that they’ve been reassured, time and time again, about how the ‘the HSC is just another test’. The thought of their sweating faces and cramping heads no longer kindle waves of guilt and you guzzle down the remains of your coffee, without another thought for these suffering teens.
Yet! Before you turn the page to peruse some more fascinating news, please, think back to the past few weeks. Have you, late at night on the verge of sleep, heard a wild howl, half-human, half-animal, floating towards the night sky? Or perhaps, on a trip to the library, suddenly found yourself face to face with a pale-faced, dark-eyed member of the living dead? These increasing incidences of supernatural occurrences have been caused by the phenomenon euphemistically termed the ‘little quiz before schoolies’.
Despite the belief that the emotional and mental wellbeing of year 12 students has become increasingly important to their respective schools, little can be done to truly prepare one for the roller coaster experience. Parents would have had front-line experience, watching meltdowns, passing tissues through the gap under the door and facing midnight study food cravings head on. Despite the study guides churned out by the thousands and ‘relaxation sessions’ organised by counsellors, any positive benefits from these programs are nullified by the cultural of competition and the stress epidemic fostered by the Board of Studies. The increasing importance of rankings in school assessments has become a key point of stress and sometimes, the direct cause of breakdowns. Students feel that their ability is no longer determined by how well they perform, but rather, how they perform in relation to others. For a student, an improvement in their abilities suddenly appears insignificant, even down right useless, if their ranking remains a dismal number. The feeling of ineptitude is haunting and hard-work is fruitless if a student cannot ‘beat’ their classmates.
Throughout the year, the idea of collaborative study and assisting one’s peers is fearsome, after all, isn’t helping classmates fraternising with the enemy? Then, suddenly, in the few weeks between the end of school assessments and the start of the actual HSC, we are all encouraged to become bosom friends again. In a blink, sharing notes and helping friends becomes, not only the actions of a Good Samaritan, but will improve the performance of the entire cohort resulting in that glorified occurrence known as ‘being scaled up’. The sudden shift in the politics of peer relationships the few weeks leading up to the final exam is disconcerting, but definitely a much welcomed relief from the terse, pseudo-‘Hunger Game’ atmosphere when internal rankings was at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
Although displeasure was the primary sentiment among HSC students as they confront their final exams, rebellion has been kept down by a mixture of extreme exhaustion and good sense. Achieving a workable and effective examination system is difficult, although it is difficult to admit this when one is caught up within the bureaucracy itself. Furthermore, the very nature of testing is competition and for all out complaints about ‘being defined by a number’, how else are we going to summon the motivation to work towards our dream course? Thus, think of our complaints about the HSC as a final cry of rebellion from a group of teens about to be cast into the realm of adulthood. We wish you a fine day and once this pop quiz is done, we’ll be joining you in the real world.
Maybe a bit too much/too far on the whole 'supernatural' thing though...The part about ranking, however, is excellent.
