tomorrows_angel said:
if students buy their way through the hsc into uni, then how are they going to cope at uni?
When I was discussing it with a lecturer this morning, he said that "we know, believe me, we know".
sy33 said:
i thought that the HSC was to test a students ability to control language a talk about what we had been learning......... not a time to buy your way through, what the hell what happens to the people who can't afford to pay for this, they get punished cause they try and do the hsc themselves ,, come on!
Sy, that's the theory, but in practice, I think that the HSC is very much more about turning a few tricks - that is, jumping through their hoops, telling them what they want to hear (esp. in English - "If I were to stage King Lear set in modern times, I would make Lear a baby boomer" wasn't my best tactical stroke, I warrant, but it was my own opinion, and I backed it up.) and playing the game, except not always fairly, as can be seen from these most recent allegations. I feel sorry for the 05ers, who will probably be put under a fairness *microscope*. Even if they're doing everything by the letter of the book, it's an added pressure.
I personally think that tutoring and the BOS forums saved my French mark - I never asked my tutor to write anything for me - she just proofread my stuff, and went over basics that I'd missed (when everyone else was making a ruckus - it was really ridiculous, by 2nd term 2004, more than half the class had tutors, but did anyone think about maybe shutting up and listening??? no.). Nor did I ever ask any BOS people to write anything for me.
I don't think that proofreading ( To (get someone else to) read copy or proof for purposes of error detection and correction) is cheating, because you can't see the errors that you make in your own English language-ism-thingies, for example, saying that William Shakespeare is a feminist. (anachronistic) rather than saying King Lear can be read in a feminist way. I think it would be hard to find a HSC student that hasn't had someone proofread their work before it was submitted.
Part of learning, I think, is learning what makes the good stuff good, rather than trying to make crappy stuff first off.
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Do you think that the BoS will try and come and get BOS?