Should English be compulsory?? (5 Viewers)

[Jimmy Recard]

No, how will poetry and Shakespeare help me when I want to pursue science.
It will only lower my ATAR =[
I hate it!

critical thinking

a skill you are clearly lacking

 

[hungwell1337]

As I said, just because I don't write what the markers want to read, doesn't make me unable to pursue maths/science/finance.
English is far too subjective.

if english prevents you from doing maths/science/finance, because:

1. you failed it/very low mark/pulled atar down heaps/ insufficient units of study (you suck)
2. your marks werent good enough in your other 4 subject (you suck)

if you dont write what the markers want to read, then why dont you write something the markers would like to read? try putting in some effort

 

[Jimmy Recard]

if english prevents you from doing maths/science/finance, because:

1. you failed it/very low mark/pulled atar down heaps/ insufficient units of study (you suck)
2. your marks werent good enough in your other 4 subject (you suck)

if you dont write what the markers want to read, then why dont you write something the markers would like to read? try putting in some effort

yes

english is fundamental to EVERYTHING we do

maths may not be for some people but english is

im an engineer and 90% of my work is not maths, it is doing grant applications and reports

 

[tigertooth]

your and you're
there and their and they're
were and we're
then and than

some people still don't get it

definately

 

[Shadowdude]

yes you

And yet.

definately

Definitely.

See what we mean...

 

[Jimmy Recard]

http://www.d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y.com/

 

[Jimmy Recard]

im pretty sure tigertooth was being sarcastic and adding to the list of commonly mispelled words

 

[Drongoski]

critical thinking

a skill you are clearly lacking

Should be: a skill you are clearly lacking in

You need that preposition to make sense.

I had to correct quite a few English tutors/teachers on BOS who also have difficulty with grammar & spelling.

 

[Shadowdude]

.

 

[Jimmy Recard]

Yes that is true. I was going to say "clearly deficient in" but i changed it and left out the 'in'.

 

[Drongoski]

If my knowledge is correct, things like spelling and grammar can not be marked in the HSC.
Now that shit is ridiculous.

Easier and more correct to just say: "If I'm correct . . ."

 

[Drongoski]

Having reading the essays many people write at uni, I'm leaning to say that even year 12 English isn't sufficient enough.

Maybe better expressed this way: "Having read many uni essays, I'm inclined to think that even year 12 English is insufficient"

 

[Drongoski]

Year 10 english I reckon is sufficient enough tbh...

"sufficient" is sufficient; the "enough" is redundant.

 

[Drongoski]

english develops your argumentative and reasoning skills and generally improves intelligence all round.

Not quite.

Logical thinking and deductive reasoning ability improve your reasoning skill. Good English enables you to express your reasoning clearly.

 

[Drongoski]

Shoulda added a poll in the thread tbh, can a mod do it?

The Feralisation of "should have"

Long ago you had to write "should have" and you were allowed "should've" for the oral (i.e. the spoken) form. With democracy, people were given more power - they didn't have to follow rules stricltly. So "should've" became "shoulda" for the lazy and for the illiterate and sloppy this became "shouldof".

So today you also have "couldof"


fob

 

[Shadowdude]

It's ridiculous that the one constant subject that absolutely everyone must do is a subjective subject. At least if you're going to make something compulsory, make it Maths so that you are the sole determiner of your mark and that you get the exact return on your effort, rather than having it come to the discretion of a marker. Yes, if you try hard in English, you will have good results nonetheless, but an opinion can be the difference of a 95 to 100 whereas in Maths, it's you and the paper and if you're right, you're right, if you're wrong, you're wrong. You have complete control on the mark you get back.

That'd only work if we all talked in binary or something.

Fact is, we all use English - and we all need to be skilled users of it. Yes, the system of English now is crap - but if there needs to be a compulsory subject, it must be English - even if not in it's current form.

 

[Absolutezero]

It's ridiculous that the one constant subject that absolutely everyone must do is a subjective subject. At least if you're going to make something compulsory, make it Maths so that you are the sole determiner of your mark and that you get the exact return on your effort, rather than having it come to the discretion of a marker. Yes, if you try hard in English, you will have good results nonetheless, but an opinion can be the difference of a 95 to 100 whereas in Maths, it's you and the paper and if you're right, you're right, if you're wrong, you're wrong. You have complete control on the mark you get back.

Well, English is double marked, so it's less subjective than you think. Also, don't be fooled into thinking Math is completely objective.

 

[powlmao]

Well, English is double marked, so it's less subjective than you think. Also, don't be fooled into thinking Math is completely objective.

Maths can be more subjectibe depending on the topic


However our english for yr 11 + 12 needs to be revised

 

[Bread_2_Toast]

im pretty sure tigertooth was being sarcastic and adding to the list of commonly mispelled words

he dun't get duh sarcasms

 

[khfreakau]

I think that while English SHOULD be compulsory, it shouldn't be the only thing that's compulsory. I think a good system would be one where both English AND Maths were compulsory.

In essence, these two subjects stand at the core of many other subjects. Sciences are strongly based on a blend of these two subjects, and by only comparing sciences to one subject, you're essentially giving students who are superior with their written skills an advantage (as opposed to mathematical skill) It's arguable that maths is almost as necessary, if not moreso, in day to day life as english. This way, both creative and lateral thinking can be compared across the board.

It's unfair to suggest that mathematics or any heavy calculation based course should be scaled based on performance in english. The board should refine their algorithms and consider both maths and english when calculating atars.

One of the biggest problems with using english as a benchmark is that it's become a largely mechanical process. I wouldn't be surprised if at least half the state memorised their essays, and it's probably with good reason. Unless the english syllabus is refined, then it can reward those who do little work quite easily, imo.