forcing us to sign a contract to get into advanced english (1 Viewer)

[wrong_turn]

can a teacher force you to sign a contract? not any contract, but one that forces you to abide stuff such as not accepting responsibility if you do poorly, force you arrange a study timetable and show the teacher every lesson, commit to extra-curricular activites.

these are all of the stuff that some of the people in Adanced are facing. funny thing is that all the boys except one got this letter of notification.

the teacher is forcing us to sign this contract, and to complete a task about inner journey in one week. fully analysing a range of texts including one biographical reflection, documentary and one short story.

is this legal for the teachewr to force us to complete a task and sign the contract before being able to do advanced in year 12.

the teacher also said that it was comparision to the whole year. all the people who got 60% got a letter. the average was below 60. so are they allowed to just trim the classes down like that.

currently i don't think there is even 25 people who do advanced. if this continues, there may only be 10 or 15 left. of the remaining, she will try to get rid of the students that the teacher thinks will decline her reputation as a good teacher.

we also had to refer it to the poem's 'the road not taken' and ' journey to the interior'.

the first poem we ahve received and studied in class once, and that was just last friday. the latter poem has not yet been given to us yet. this task to decide whether we do std or adv is due in 2 days, on this friday. i thnk it is not fair.

your opinions?

i realise that i have made an almost identical thread, however, i thought that maybe more people could reply and help find me a resoltuion that won't affect me as well.

geez that felt better. i just got rid of all my pissed off energy!

 

[Lazarus]

Can you post a copy of the contract?

 

[mattsta]

They cant force you to sign a contract. A contract becomes invalid if signed in such circumstances.

My advice is not to sign anything, and see what the reaction of the teacher/head teacher is when you dont. Stand your ground. If they say you cant get into the Year 12 course, tell them that you will put a complaint into the NSW Department of Education and Training (if you're in a public school) about them (the teacher in question) specifically.

 

[Newbie]

haha a contract to cover a teacher's ass for their students doing badly
hahahaha
brilliant idea

 

[wrong_turn]

They cant force you to sign a contract. A contract becomes invalid if signed in such circumstances.

My advice is not to sign anything, and see what the reaction of the teacher/head teacher is when you dont. Stand your ground. If they say you cant get into the Year 12 course, tell them that you will put a complaint into the NSW Department of Education and Training (if you're in a public school) about them (the teacher in question) specifically.

only trouble is that last time someone complained their marks ended up being stufffed. i'm not willing to suffer the same stuff. and yes i go to a public school. many of us have discussed it and most of us have decided not to sign a thing as well. though some were already scared and dropped down straight away.

and lazuras i'll get it scanned right now asap.

 

[wrong_turn]

Can you post a copy of the contract?

i don't have the real contract with me. but i will post the smaple contract and the task that we have to do to get in.

 

[mattsta]

only trouble is that last time someone complained their marks ended up being stufffed. i'm not willing to suffer the same stuff. and yes i go to a public school. many of us have discussed it and most of us have decided not to sign a thing as well. though some were already scared and dropped down straight away.

and lazuras i'll get it scanned right now asap.

Well remember to keep all your assessment items when they are marked. And then get a second opinion on the mark if you feel there is some corruption happening.

 

[wrong_turn]

Well remember to keep all your assessment items when they are marked. And then get a second opinion on the mark if you feel there is some corruption happening.

yeah i heard about that; well i was accidentally eavesdropping. it happended to sydney tech a few years back. they won.

 

[Frigid]

They cant force you to sign a contract. A contract becomes invalid if signed in such circumstances.

on grounds of say, unconscionability, duress and imbalance of bargaining power?

indeed this is interesting... haha go to the teacher and proudly exclaim, "alright then. you shall be hearing from my lawyer!"

btw, you are from a public school, right?

 

[wrong_turn]

there are 2 sides to this. she did not explain what to do. the contract is just a smaple. we get the real one when we sign it.

 

[wrong_turn]

on grounds of say, unconscionability, duress and imbalance of bargaining power?

indeed this is interesting... haha go to the teacher and proudly exclaim, "alright then. you shall be hearing from my lawyer!"

btw, you are from a public school, right?

er yeah i am.

 

[Frigid]

it's really hard to say :\...
it doesn't look like a contract, does it? no legal intent, consideration, capacity (i vaguely remember Minors (Property and Contracts) Act... something abt only valid if beneficial...), consent (free from duress) etc? :\

*knows nothing abt contract law*

laz? what do you think?

my school (selective) made everyone do advanced anyway. there was no standard offered.

 

[wrong_turn]

like i said,if you could read it, cause it was on jpeg., no other way to get it on bos.
it was a sample of the real.

 

[jhakka]

"I am prepared to sign that I am taking this course against the advice of my teachers."

Does your school think you're all too dumb to do Advanced? That's ridiculous. Our school had five or six advanced classes.

 

[Frigid]

Does your school think you're all too dumb to do Advanced? That's ridiculous. Our school had five or six advanced classes.

he's saying students who got below 60 received the letter. i'm assuming that they're restricting classes coz they haven't the resources to teach multiple advanced classes.

 

[wrong_turn]

but restricting it to about 20 people is rediculous. we were way above state average in the sc last year. we were'nt even attempting them properly. its just the teacher, with her pigheadedness. our nglish teachers are also on probation.

particularly, to the latter, she has something to prove if you know what i mean.

 

[mattsta]

From what I just read on that contract, it is fair enough.

1. If you are unwilling to submit assessment tasks;
2. Unwilling to go on excursions;
3. Unwilling to participate in class discussions

You shouldn't be in Advanced English, or even Standard English for that matter.

 

[Lazarus]

It's OK.

It's not a real contract - as Frigid pointed out, it's missing a few essential ingredients.

But perhaps more pertinently, note the concluding term:

I am aware that if I do not comply with these requirements, that I will receive letters regarding my progress as a part of the Blakehurst High School policy of monitoring student progress, and that, if my progress remains unsatisfactory, I could receive a "N Award" in English for my HSC.

This is exactly what would happen if your performance was unsatisfactory, irrespective of whether you had signed any contract or not. The agreement attempts to redefine "unsatisfactory" to include a failure to complete a study timetable and so on, but this isn't consistent with the Board's definition of "unsatisfactory", which is what principals need to adhere to when deciding whether or not a student's performance is satisfactory.

For comparison:

12. Principal's certification of completion of course requirements

You will be considered to have satisfactorily completed a course if, in your
principal's view, there is sufficient evidence that you have met the following
course completion criteria:

(a) followed the course developed or endorsed by the Board; and
(b) applied yourself with diligence and sustained effort to the set tasks and
experiences provided in the course by the school; and
(c) achieved some or all of the course outcomes.

(plus additional requirements outlined in the document)

<div align="right">Page 8 - Rules and Procedures for 2004 Higher School Certificate Candidates</div>

But all of that aside...

It's being done for a good reason. If you've been advised against taking the course, your teachers clearly don't think you are capable of doing it at this point in time. If you then take the course against their advice, you risk performing poorly and unfairly pulling down the marks of the other students in the class.

You should have an equally good reason for going against the advice of your teachers, and you should acknowledge that they may be in a better position to assess your academic abilities than you are.

If this is the case, I would recommend signing the agreement and adhering to it on a 'good faith' policy. It really won't be to your detriment - ultimately, it's for the best.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

You'd need to see the real contract for starters, but based on the sample, it seems questionable as to them forcing you to sign, less they prevent you from taking up the course. Voluntariness and intent notwithstanding it may even be a form of duress.

My advice is, talk to the teachers about it, do not stir them up or anything, but do not sign it immediately. I'd like to see the real contract myself; I think Laz would too

I think as Laz said, it is for your benefit (which means it does apply to minors under statute), and whether it is worth putting up a fuss about it... I doubt it

 

[iamsickofyear12]

If you think thats bad, my school made someone sign a contract that said if they kill themselves that the school wasn't responsible. Apparently they noticed she had cut marks on her wrists and they made her sign it.