James Lu should be happy he got 99.95 and stop dishing out on the VCE

[dcc]

I'm just going to paraphrase Winston Churchill with my personal feelings on the matter:

"It has been said that VCE is the worst form of university admission 
    except all the others that have been tried."
       Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

I also bet that James Lu can't dance anywhere near as well as I can - you can tell I had fun during my VCE.

[jayfan]

james has a point when he says "the sense of wonder and discovery... is lost" amidst the VCE system. however, this inevitably happens to every system in the world where academic achievement is the sole criteria of selecting students, whether its for tertiary entrance or access to jobs, etc.

having come from an asian country, where achievement at all levels of schooling - right from grade 1 to 12 - is seen as a significant benchmark of a child's "intelligence", i reckon the VCE system is actually quite generous in terms of leaving students with as much choice as possible. at least ppl can choose art and drama, etc if they feel they are not up to the 'traditional' subjects of maths and science.

whenever you have a competitive entry system and whenever selection criteria are set, you can bet your top money that those criteria are what ppl will gonna strive to meet... regardless of whether they are academic-based or extra-curricular achievements, etc. (just take UMAT for example)

of course its unfortunate that the outcome of LEARNING has to be chosen as the benchmark for tertiary entrance (i'm assuming james is angry at the misuse of education for this purpose rather than the fact that ppl strive for the best any way they can), but the problem is gonna happen regardless what criteria are used.

i cant help but notice that there has been quite a few hyperbole and generalisations in james's article (language analysis in year 12 english again!)

[Collin Li]

If the argument against VCE is that it is not a good learning experience, remember that it is optional and there are many other ways to learn that don't require the DoE's magnificently crafted magic...

[lynt.br]

Considering how much interest and debate James' letter has generated on this forum, it would probably also make a very good Language Analysis article.

Although I doubt he would appreciate his letter being used within the very system he chastises.

[Collin Li]

Although I doubt he would appreciate his letter being used within the very system he chastises.

I think it'd stroke his ego some more.

[peteriscool]

reading what he mentioned to The Age he is 100% spot on

many people are ignorant of the numerous issues the education system have and disregard that it's flawed simply because they got high scores and want to feel like they're at the top of the world

i quote Stanley Kubrick

“I think the big mistake in schools is trying to teach children anything, and by using fear as the basic motivation. Fear of getting failing grades, fear of not staying with your class, etc. Interest can produce learning on a scale compared to fear as a nuclear explosion to a firecracker.”

[Ahmad]

"Never let your schooling interfere with your education." - Mark Twain

[NE2000]

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education" - Albert Einstein

[xXNovaxX]

=S

The above 2 posts contradict

I don't know what to choose =S

[NE2000]

Pick Einstein, he dominates.

[QuantumJG]

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education" - Albert Einstein

lol Einstein is cool as.

[SoarBeyond]

I agree. Choose Einstein.

[xXNovaxX]

I pick Einstein, never heard of the other guy =P

[/0]

=S

The above 2 posts contradict

I don't know what to choose =S

I think they mean the same thing. By "education", Twain means "learning", and by "education", Einstein means "schooling"

[xXNovaxX]

Ah!  /0
U are right, I re-read it lie 4 times, they do not contradict,

They actually support one another ><

I think? Correct me if I am wrong. I like quotes!