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VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => The VCE Journey Journal => Topic started by: parieeelol on June 16, 2020, 08:23:28 pm

Title: a struggler, but wants to do well: my vce journey.
Post by: parieeelol on June 16, 2020, 08:23:28 pm

Hiya :) I don't expect many to be reading this, but I've been following these journeys for so long, that it'd be a pity for me not to start my own!

I'm currently a Year-11 student, but that information's a bit boring on its own - so here's some things you might want to know about me:

I'm a barista, so you can't keep me away from coffee for long :) Unfortunately though, iced lattes don't go well with studying, so I find myself tapping an imaginary rhythm on the table with a pen, rather than tap away on my keyboard! (Not to mention, giving up coffee is so hard, why would you do that to yourself?! :( )

The subjects I'm doing this year are: Chemistry, Physics, BusMan, Philosophy, English, and Mathematical Methods. All are Units 1/2, as my accelerated subject (Computing) had to be dropped since we didn't have enough students for Unit 3/4. Sucks, but oh well.

I'm an aspiring astrophysicist/astronomer; but this is where the
'struggling' part comes in - as I'm not doing so well in either Physics or Methods at the moment. Hope I can prove my Careers-Counselers wrong, however, and somehow exceed my own expectations for my Methods work! It's tough, and gruelling, especially when you're doing it on basis of a pre-requisite, but I'm determined to genuinely improve.

That is, until I 'accidentally' click on the Netflix app and realise I've spent hours re-watching episodes of Fresh Prince, or The Crown; and there's suddenly not enough time to revise for SACs. Gotta add that to the list of things to improve on :P

All in all, I won't lie - I'm not a great student at the moment. But, I've got hope, and whilst VCE may kick my backside numerous times, I hope this journey-blog thing can keep me motivated enough to keep going even if I feel like giving up.

There's so many lovely, motivated people on here, and if I can reflect even a tiny bit of that - then my mission here is complete. I'm currently an average student, so my VCE journey will be both a surprise to you, the reader, and me. (This is starting to sound like a blurb trying to persuade you to read a really boring novel. Yeesh.)

So, that's me. A philosophy, and English-obsessive - but with a natural love for science. (Wish I didn't have to study hydrocarbons or calculus though!)

Title: Re: a struggler, but wants to do well: my vce journey.
Post by: sweetiepi on June 16, 2020, 08:25:41 pm

Quote from: parieeelol on June 16, 2020, 08:23:28 pm

Hiya :) I don't expect many to be reading this, but I've been following these journeys for so long, that it'd be a pity for me not to start my own!

Now's a good time to start! :D

Title: Re: a struggler, but wants to do well: my vce journey.
Post by: Bri MT on June 16, 2020, 08:27:18 pm

Hiya, welcome!

Can you give us a bit of information about yourself & where you're at in your VCE journey? :)

Title: Re: a struggler, but wants to do well: my vce journey.
Post by: parieeelol on June 16, 2020, 09:24:51 pm

Here's how I feel about my current subjects - let me know if I'm being either too vague or too detailed, haven't really gotten the hang of this yet :-X :

Chemistry

Gave it an extra special heading to make it a bit more exciting! I, unfortunately, joined the class late. This didn't go too well with my Chemistry teacher, who expected a lot of work in such little time, and despite my hard work; I was barely able to score enough marks to pass the outcome. The passing rate was about 45%. I got 42%. I wish I could say I've been looking back at it as inspiration to improve, but my teacher hasn't been able to explain many things due to his absences, and it's basically become a study period where we're expected to do 'Chemistry.' Is any of us summarising textbook chapters, and answering questions? Who knows. I definitely spent the first few months doing nothing useful. This is a subject that I would have loved in any other circumstances, but unfortunately have now grown to despise. Perhaps it's the lack of proper explanation behind key aspects, but most terms are fuzzy, and I couldn't tell you the difference between an isomer and an allotrope without the help of my fellow friend, Google.

Physics

There's something so beautifully grounding about Physics that I can't explain. Unfortunately, I can't explain any of my answers that I give to my teacher either, on worksheets. Was really confident about this subject when I first chose it, but it's become something I'm falling behind in. Remote learning didn't help at all, either. Still managing a 68% average, however, and that's without any revision before SACs. Any of you think I could nail this subject somehow if I spent considerable time on the subject, rather than neglect it? I hate to say this, but if I don't like the teacher and the way they teach, the subject will become difficult for me due to the lack of concentration. On a more positive note, I loved the idea of very brief Big Bang chapter-work we did. I love anything to do with phenomena in galaxies, and the unexplored is something so exciting to me. Imagine how fast my smile dropped when I realized we were only doing dark matter, and all that exciting stuff, for only one lesson  :-\. Alas, it's an engaging subject. (Even if I never want to hear about a parallel circuit ever again.)

English

If you're reading this and thinking - 'Well, what is she great at?' - well here's the source of hope, friends. English. A blessing to a word-loving brain like mine; and a subject where everything just clicks. I was always one of those kids that used to adore reading, so it's no surprise that I could rock up to any old English test and be entirely comfortable during it. Everyone has their element, and this is the closest you could get to mine. Thankfully, I've been getting Highs' in my SACs so far, but it makes me falter temporarily because I wonder what I'm missing, to not be receiving a Very High. : the creme de le creme. Show me a single student who isn't pleased when they see the words 'Very High' in relation to one of their SACs.

Methods

No disrespect, but even writing the name of this subject has made me lose my appetite entirely. Ugh. The amount of hate I have for Mathematical Methods is beyond anything, and I eye that large, red Cambridge textbook with distaste. I admire people who love mathematics, because whilst I aced Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 Maths; I never quite liked it. Worksheets would be thrown around carelessly, and dug out from the bottom of my bag when they were due. Trigonometry and Calculus are two enemies of mine. Seriously, those two guys freak me out. This, is something I hope to improve on. I appreciate the idea of mathematics, and there is nothing I would love more than to be able to sit down and understand the content I'm being taught completely - but it hasn't happened in the first six months, so I have my doubts. No further comment.

Philosophy

So fun to learn, and yet so hard to get the hang of. I'm doing it via Virtual School Victoria, so I've been thriving with the coursework, as I excel with independent study; but philosophical essays are something that I hope to grow to love. I've recently submitted a GAT, so we'll see how I scored on my latest, and hopefully improved philosophical essay. We're currently doing Epistemology, the philosophy of knowledge, and it was alright. Can't wait for Aesthetics, however. The amount of Oscar Wilde quotes I have up my sleeve is concerning :)

Business Management

Ah, the one subject I don't spend hours stressing over. Business Management is such a smooth sailing, and my favourite revision technique is to write down a term on a sticky note, then write down the definition on the other side. I memorise that term to the best of my ability, then limit the definition to key words only, allowing me to remember the rest. It's been a great technique, and it's the only subject I've been passing with flying colours. My school missed out on Market Day due to Covid-19 restrictions, and we haven't been able to do that outcome yet, meaning our reports are currently incomplete. Not a big fan of the scaling down, but I refuse to talk about scaling in general, as it's different for everyone.

--

So there we have it. My six subjects, all summarised into a few paragraphs. I've still got half a year to step my game up, and reach the goals I want to reach - but there's nothing more I'd love than a solid 50, like every other student in VCE; and I remain hopeful.

Title: Re: a struggler, but wants to do well: my vce journey.
Post by: Bri MT on June 16, 2020, 10:38:11 pm

There's no too detailed or anything - it's about the depth you want to go into :)

Let me know if I'm wrong but it looks like you're in year 11?

With chem, physics, and methods please don't be afraid to look online for videos. It's not a prefect solution, but sometimes seeing a different explanation than your teachers' makes it click & I 100% agree that fully understanding makes a big difference.

Best of luck with building that understanding and kudos on surviving the switch to chem given everything that's happened this year!

Title: Re: a struggler, but wants to do well: my vce journey.
Post by: parieeelol on June 17, 2020, 09:03:09 am

Quote from: Bri MT on June 16, 2020, 10:38:11 pm

There's no too detailed or anything - it's about the depth you want to go into :)

Let me know if I'm wrong but it looks like you're in year 11?

With chem, physics, and methods please don't be afraid to look online for videos. It's not a prefect solution, but sometimes seeing a different explanation than your teachers' makes it click & I 100% agree that fully understanding makes a big difference.

Best of luck with building that understanding and kudos on surviving the switch to chem given everything that's happened this year!

I appreciate it. Definitely in Year 11, and I'll give it a try watching videos about the topic :) I normally resort to them, as I've become more of a visual learner than a textbook learner over the last year. We'll see how it goes!

Title: Re: a struggler, but wants to do well: my vce journey.
Post by: parieeelol on June 17, 2020, 09:13:12 am

Decided to drop a quick update - moreso for myself.

I've got three upcoming SACs tomorrow, and they're all ranging on different levels of difficulty. I'll need to get on top of them somehow to improve, however.

Physics: It's a practical, in teams - but that doesn't make the theory part any easier. We've got to make voltage-current graphs on Excel, which sounds simple enough but then all then technicalities come into play. We've got about 10 pages of theoretical questions to complete the outcome, and then an exam on Edrolo next week - about circuits and currents - so it's going crazy. Can't seem to catch a break from Physics, and hate always being two chapters behind. Hoping for a High, but a Medium would be a miracle.

Chemistry: Eugh. I've got to go home today and magically pull out the motivation to study six chapters that I've been procrastinating for a long time. I find Chemistry easy once I get the hang of it, but the questions are so dull, and repetitive; and our textbook manages to make all the exciting things sound absolutely dreadful. Not to mention, the SAC for those six chapters is tomorrow. Uh... wish me luck? Most likely will end up with a Medium if I attempt studying it today.

English: A SAC about analysing arguments. Sounds simple enough, but my teacher still hasn't given me feedback on my last SAC so I'm unsure on what he wants me to prove. That's alright. High if I'm lucky. Our English teacher is notorious for rarely handing out Very High's, despite being really sweet and understanding.

Since I've sludged through most of my SACs this year with a careless manner, it's currently killing me because I don't want to do that anymore. I'm still looking for the passion for my subjects. Always knew I wasn't going to love VCE, but this is becoming worse than expected. All it takes is the right attitude, though, I guess. Reach for the stars, and if you can't reach them on your own - build a freaking rocket to get to them.

Title: Re: a struggler, but wants to do well: my vce journey.
Post by: parieeelol on June 18, 2020, 10:25:28 pm

About school:

Feeling real discouraged lately. Disappointed in how I wrote my English SAC, since I didn't have enough time to incorporate the key words, and phrases I really wanted to. I was hoping for a Very High, but I'll most likely get a Medium. My SAC for Chemistry is tomorrow, and understanding the concepts have been simple enough - only got 2 more chapters to revise (yay!) but that's about the only thing motivating me, since I've been in this grim mood for most of the week. Not to mention, I can't manage to find time to squeeze in Physics revision, and I've got to finish an I-V graph for Electricity, something that I just am unable to do properly.

VCE sucks.

Other than that, contemplating dropping Philosophy (via VSV) next year, and picking up VCE VET Business or something similar instead. If anyone has any information about it, I'd greatly appreciate it; like, for example, would it be possible to do a VET course in Year 12 without doing it in Year 11? Also, was certain I'd drop Chemistry next year, but this past week, and my teacher's enthusiasm for my progress and improvement lately has made me reconsider it - which is exciting.

Title: Re: a struggler, but wants to do well: my vce journey.
Post by: parieeelol on June 30, 2020, 06:26:30 pm

School holidays, finally!

I don't feel as suffocated with work anymore. No more cramming in content a day before SACs! How could I ever explain the beauty of fourteen whole days off?

Until I remember my bucketload of holiday homework to get through. What's the point of holidays if we're so focused on homework? Why does VCE treat us this way? How dare the VCE Gods steal away my last bits of freedom?

Here's an update - you might be glad to see a few positives.

Physics

I passed! But also, I just passed  :-\ A Medium was well-deserved, but the way I spent five hours cutting out and gluing in paper questions into my lab report book, makes me disagree. Like, who even uses scissors and glue in school anymore? And, why not for something fun - like how we used to make collages in primary school? Ahh. But, what probably brought my grade down was the Edrolo exam. I didn't do too bad, and I knew more than I expected - but there were a few questions that really made me go:  ??? &  :-X
So, Physics is a pass for now. Wondering if I can pick up my game, and devote myself to it. Too much thinking, not enough doing.

Chemistry

I got a High?! Walking away from the classroom with the gut-feeling that I'd fail - really led me into thinking that Chemistry was a goner. It was surprising how well I did, since I did 7 weeks of work in two days, and somehow displayed my extensive knowledge on the SAC. Also, grr, we had no questions about esthers, or any questions that I was so prepared for. Man. It was the isomer question that really prevented me from getting my first Very High in the subject.

Business

Probably passed - SAC was on the last day, and I gave up with studying. Wrote down what I knew, and ehh. We'll see how that turns out.