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March 28, 2024, 10:54:27 pm

Author Topic: Post VCE- Low Expectations, High Aspirations.  (Read 1124 times)

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ConFinCMC

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Post VCE- Low Expectations, High Aspirations.
« on: November 02, 2021, 10:57:47 pm »
+8
(Mods, delete if not allowed, as it is a post-VCE journal)

Last year, in 2020, I graduated from high school in Bendigo, with an ATAR of 53.35. A conditional scholarship offer at LaTrobe University was cancelled, and I had no where else to go. My plans of becoming a secondary school teacher, to work alongside the men and women who have shaped the lives of thousands of alumni, future students and students, including myself, have been scrapped, in the haze and unpredictability of a teenage life.

I don't blame anyone but myself for this unfortunate blunder, which was 13 years in the making. I started out as a decent student, with an interest for learning. Highschool came along, and I still enjoyed learning about everything that was taught... yet my marks weren't sitting on the average or above average range. They just withered and trailed behind. At the start of every year, of every semester, of every term, of every week, of every day and of every SAC, I told myself that I've studied hard and done well to get where I am...
Yet I can't seem to break through the mold. I loved writing, and still do to this day. I help out with a local youth magazine, working as a chief editor, and helping others with their own articles, poems and stories...

I scored an 18 in English Language, placing in the Bottom 2% of the entire state.
I always really enjoyed learning about history, of ancient civilizations, how many people lived their own lives, what cultures and people helped shaped the world we live in today...

My exam score was a D, and none of my SAC scores were above 60%.

So why is it that someone like me can't seem to get the grasp of learning? Why do I waste so many hours of studying when I'm not gonna get anything through my head and put it down on paper effectively? Questions I'm not even sure about, yet I'm still asking, almost 12 months after finishing my studies all together...
2020- 53.35

English Lang. <20
History: Revolutions. <20
French: 27
Biology: 28
Drama: 24

"Well, it doesn't define who I am, but it does a bloody good job at crushing my spirit and self-esteem"

2021- Gap Year, working in Bright at the snowfields (guys, this is so much fun)

2022- Fed University, Fast Access Program Diploma

If anyone wants advice on what NOT to do, feel free to send me a message.

vehura

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Re: Post VCE- Low Expectations, High Aspirations.
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2021, 11:40:08 pm »
+6
I'll try and write this as un-wanky and un-pretentious-ly as possible, as I don't want this to end up sounding like some motivational dux speech that's given at the start of the year by someone with a 99 ATAR yelling at a bored cohort, "just do your best and drink some water!"

Quite honestly, the ATAR reflects, more realistically, someone's home environment, their socioeconomic status, the opportunities they have been given in life and by their families, and their school environment. This results in an often classist, ableist, and sometimes sexist system wherein your ranking amongst the entire state of often privileged kids defines who you are, for at least a year. I'm not implying that these things apply to you specifically, they very well may not - but your attendance at a rural school has already been a hindrance to your education amongst many others. So in reality, you are not to blame really - your clear love for learning I can see has been reflected in what you have written. And honestly, that is what matters in the long run: not your ATAR or your standardised test scores, but the love and passion you get from writing, or learning about the world, or teaching others the things you love learning for yourself. Truly, with that, you will become a great teacher (and you will become a teacher; unfortunately it has just been slowed down due to the hellfire that is VCE).

There are hundreds of studies that detail ways in which people learn best, and a lot of people just do not learn well under standardised testing conditions and theoretical tests. You should not (although it is easy for me to say!) base your future or current self-worth on a single year, especially one in which you had to live through a pandemic. There are so many stories of kids who got ATARs well below yours who are now doing what they love and have found a way to do it, because their passion for learning outshined the classism and "meritocracy" of the VCE system. And it certainly sounds like that is applicable to you.

I'm sorry if my advice didn't exactly address your questions - in all honesty, the only person who knows how they learn best is you, and reciting generic study tips sounds almost robotic. But I had to address the concerns in your post, that getting the "grasp of learning" is not dependent on VCE exams, which (can you tell I hate them yet?) are entirely structured to disadvantage the most unprivileged kids, but instead on your passion and love for learning and writing and creating - perceiving the world rather than how well you recite rote-learned useless facts about cell division and mitosis in your biology exam that you will likely never need to know again (unless you become a... biologist?). Sorry bio kids.

I'm sure many of the lovely and smart people on these forums has some more tangible study advice, but I would hate for you to completely give up on your dream. Also, I'm sorry I've just typed a novel the night before my methods exam.
« Last Edit: November 02, 2021, 11:42:46 pm by vehura »
class of 2021
2020: psych (50)
2021: eng (50) lit (47)

Stormbreaker-X

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Re: Post VCE- Low Expectations, High Aspirations.
« Reply #2 on: November 03, 2021, 12:44:40 am »
+1
(Mods, delete if not allowed, as it is a post-VCE journal)

Last year, in 2020, I graduated from high school in Bendigo, with an ATAR of 53.35. A conditional scholarship offer at LaTrobe University was cancelled, and I had no where else to go. My plans of becoming a secondary school teacher, to work alongside the men and women who have shaped the lives of thousands of alumni, future students and students, including myself, have been scrapped, in the haze and unpredictability of a teenage life.

I don't blame anyone but myself for this unfortunate blunder, which was 13 years in the making. I started out as a decent student, with an interest for learning. Highschool came along, and I still enjoyed learning about everything that was taught... yet my marks weren't sitting on the average or above average range. They just withered and trailed behind. At the start of every year, of every semester, of every term, of every week, of every day and of every SAC, I told myself that I've studied hard and done well to get where I am...
Yet I can't seem to break through the mold. I loved writing, and still do to this day. I help out with a local youth magazine, working as a chief editor, and helping others with their own articles, poems and stories...

I scored an 18 in English Language, placing in the Bottom 2% of the entire state.
I always really enjoyed learning about history, of ancient civilizations, how many people lived their own lives, what cultures and people helped shaped the world we live in today...

My exam score was a D, and none of my SAC scores were above 60%.

So why is it that someone like me can't seem to get the grasp of learning? Why do I waste so many hours of studying when I'm not gonna get anything through my head and put it down on paper effectively? Questions I'm not even sure about, yet I'm still asking, almost 12 months after finishing my studies all together...
So sorry things didn't work out for you, but you can still work hard to change your future. Do you have ways of studying or techniques that works best for you?

ConFinCMC

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Re: Post VCE- Low Expectations, High Aspirations.
« Reply #3 on: November 03, 2021, 12:59:42 am »
+6
I have been fortunate enough to have a good wellbeing and support team at my highschool. When results were released last year, on December 30th, about three weeks after school finished for the other year levels, I drove in to school, feeling pretty bummed out about receiving my scores. My careers teacher went through with my scores on any courses or programs I could do with an English Study Score Requirement below 20, and I found a semester-long program at Federation University in Ballarat.
This course will teach me how to study effectively, write for academic purposes, research, and apply these skills into my study.
After this course, I hope to begin a Bachelor of Secondary Education at either LaTrobe Bendigo or Federation Ballarat.

All I needed was an English Study Score above 18 (as if there was anyone who did worse than me) and a Year 10 equivalent for Maths (I'm sure 40% counts as a pass nowadays).

If anyone has any doubts with English, Science, Maths or any subjects that are pre-requisites to your university degree, please, for the love of God, talk to your careers teacher.

Without her, I would never have found the course, and I'd probably be at TAFE doing something I wouldn't be enjoying or have any use for.
2020- 53.35

English Lang. <20
History: Revolutions. <20
French: 27
Biology: 28
Drama: 24

"Well, it doesn't define who I am, but it does a bloody good job at crushing my spirit and self-esteem"

2021- Gap Year, working in Bright at the snowfields (guys, this is so much fun)

2022- Fed University, Fast Access Program Diploma

If anyone wants advice on what NOT to do, feel free to send me a message.

Stormbreaker-X

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Re: Post VCE- Low Expectations, High Aspirations.
« Reply #4 on: November 03, 2021, 10:26:01 am »
0
I have been fortunate enough to have a good wellbeing and support team at my highschool. When results were released last year, on December 30th, about three weeks after school finished for the other year levels, I drove in to school, feeling pretty bummed out about receiving my scores. My careers teacher went through with my scores on any courses or programs I could do with an English Study Score Requirement below 20, and I found a semester-long program at Federation University in Ballarat.
This course will teach me how to study effectively, write for academic purposes, research, and apply these skills into my study.
After this course, I hope to begin a Bachelor of Secondary Education at either LaTrobe Bendigo or Federation Ballarat.

All I needed was an English Study Score above 18 (as if there was anyone who did worse than me) and a Year 10 equivalent for Maths (I'm sure 40% counts as a pass nowadays).

If anyone has any doubts with English, Science, Maths or any subjects that are pre-requisites to your university degree, please, for the love of God, talk to your careers teacher.

Without her, I would never have found the course, and I'd probably be at TAFE doing something I wouldn't be enjoying or have any use for.
Lucky you, have you finally decided what subject you want to teach?
« Last Edit: November 03, 2021, 10:31:32 am by Stormbreaker-X »

ConFinCMC

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Re: Post VCE- Low Expectations, High Aspirations.
« Reply #5 on: November 03, 2021, 05:57:06 pm »
0
Lucky you, have you finally decided what subject you want to teach?

I have decided to teach Science and Humanities subjects to Year 7-10s. I feel like I'd be suited to it, because they focus on a wide variety of subjects, rather than just one. Why bother cramming my head full of biology, chemistry or physics when I can teach all of them at a lower level?
Same goes for humanities; history, politics, geography. I don't know enough to teach just one, but I know enough to teach them all.
Who knows, I might pick up another interest along the way. I enjoyed doing Drama and French in school, so I might do that throughout Uni.
2020- 53.35

English Lang. <20
History: Revolutions. <20
French: 27
Biology: 28
Drama: 24

"Well, it doesn't define who I am, but it does a bloody good job at crushing my spirit and self-esteem"

2021- Gap Year, working in Bright at the snowfields (guys, this is so much fun)

2022- Fed University, Fast Access Program Diploma

If anyone wants advice on what NOT to do, feel free to send me a message.