fakingtheday said:
Wesnat: Yeah but isn't it easier to stay on top as opposed to clawing at the toes and basking in the reflected glory of those above you?
I understand your point, but, of course, I stuffed that assessment task so badly. It was a major stuff up, and what's worse, my teacher (not the marker) agreed with me, but didn't have the power to change anything.
I was only saying that to those who were discouraged because they stuffed up an assessment task. It's cool if you can stay on top in your class, but remember, in the HSC, you will be competing against the rest of the state! Not to discourage you or anything, but staying on top in your class does not guarantee top ranks in the state. What I'm trying to say is that it's best to work at your own pace.
Looking at those on top will help nothing but to make you too ambitious, which can further make you lose the whole point of achieving good marks in the HSC: to proceed to tertiary education. In this case, you'll be doing well solely to defeat your opponent(s) and to achieve top positions. As a result, when you fail to be on top, you'll be extremely disappointed and not feel good about yourself anymore (anyone watched that Malcolm in the Middle episode where Malcolm basically beat the rest of his gifted class by far, and all of them felt like idiots? That's sad!), and trust me, I know someone who experienced this before, and became very depressed.
In the HSC, in fact, you should work with each other, as the in-class competition is over, which is an effective way of maximising your mark.