english becomes mechanical (1 Viewer)

[tobiascockerill]

does anyone else find the lack of creativity required in english disturbing?

 

[Tuna]

Other than the creative section in paper 1, where you can prepare, nope. Creativity wouldn't give you marks. Study guides and notes from teachers do, strange.

 

[lilkiwifruit]

lol ext 2 is really creative..but I agree, english advanced is all about Excel study guides and prepared notes.

 

[bennybahnsen]

yeah i agree we are only writing what they want you to write and learn. what the hell is the go with shakespear!!! when are we ever going to use that outside of school??? we are learning and outdated way of life that is unbelieveably boreing. we have no way of relating to it.

 

[passion89]

what the hell is the go with shakespear!!! when are we ever going to use that outside of school??? we are learning and outdated way of life that is unbelieveably boreing. we have no way of relating to it.

I disagree.
The english advanced course has been heavily criticised for not being 'classical' enough or for not having enough 'true' literature taught to students. I actually like Shakespeare and even though they are old literary pieces, they are in no way outdated.

With Shakespeare, I find that a lot of teachers have trouble teaching it or making the kids understand what exactly Shakespeare was on about. I guess, a lot of people hate the analytical side of Shakespeare and it's really not that bad, I promise

 

[shinji]

I disagree.
The english advanced course has been heavily criticised for not being 'classical' enough or for not having enough 'true' literature taught to students. I actually like Shakespeare and even though they are old literary pieces, they are in no way outdated.

With Shakespeare, I find that a lot of teachers have trouble teaching it or making the kids understand what exactly Shakespeare was on about. I guess, a lot of people hate the analytical side of Shakespeare and it's really not that bad, I promise

<3
i love shakespeare ... my friends give me strange looks when i say that. haha .. i just find it interesting! =)

it's always fun to look back centuries ago to see how civilization operated. . thats what modern history is about is it not? but too bad they didn't have ancient history for asian countries.. so unfair =/

anywho, shakespeare = fun. 'nuff said

 

[passion89]

<3
i love shakespeare ... my friends give me strange looks when i say that. haha .. i just find it interesting! =)

it's always fun to look back centuries ago to see how civilization operated. . thats what modern history is about is it not? but too bad they didn't have ancient history for asian countries.. so unfair =/

anywho, shakespeare = fun. 'nuff said

Here here!!

 

[^CoSMic DoRiS^^]

yeah, shakespeare's cool. he's my buddy i fight with him because he says things i dont understand but in the end i love him anyway *nice warm hug for shakespeare* although i did hate othello. but hamlet is fkn brilliant so it all balances out.

but to answer the thread, adv english isnt really about creativity. if you want that you should probably look at the extension courses.

 

[biggie walls]

We dont study Shakespeare to learn about an "outdated way of life",

rather we study Shakespeare in an attempt interpret the enormous breadth of timeless themes which are covered in what many regard to be the most amazing use of the english language in all time..

That being said, for the most part.. HSC english is simply the management of information.

 

[Bobness]

shakespeare was a bit of an alright

bisexual though.

plays are quite good. and english is mechanical only if you study using study guides, prepared notes etc.

to really get a feel for the advanced (or standard but then i have no clue about that sorry =/) course there should be a higher level of engagement with the text rather than memorising practice essays.

the thesis needs to be constantly altered in order to suit the nature of questions and thus challenging your preconceptions of the issue and subject at hand. the topic sentences and the linking themes (i.e. of truth in module c) also allow creative expression in your understanding of how this theme is intrinsic in contemporary media and so forth.

furthermore prepared essays can work (i.e. score you in the band 6s - if you're good) but they would hardly ever score the really top responses. and i would hazard a guess that the ambitious streak within us all would TELL us that we are ENTITLED to that top mark. ha! why put your effort in if its only going to be half-arsed?

english is not only about creativity as well. that's as limited as saying science is all about formulas. learning how to structure an essay and engage with a text is how i would view creative expression anyway (using your imaginative mind to come up with personal ideas for e.g. journeys). so to threadstarter: no

 

[Emph]

does anyone else find the lack of creativity required in english disturbing?

That's why you do extn 2!

 

[luscious-llama]

That's why you do extn 2!

Hear Hear!


But my work stinks ist shitty atm

 

[Emph]

I'm sure it doesn't !!!

 

[Bobness]

i'm sure it does

pfft aos and english extension also have a creative component. and for e.g. i wouldn't exactly call a critical response in ext 2 creative in the most limited sense of the word.

yeah and until i see more posts from the threadstarter i'm calling troll. wth is with the terminology 'mechanical' .. what are you my engineer?

 

[eleanor88]

I definitely find the "mechanisation of English" very disturbing and so frustrating!!!

For our last assessment, my Extension 1 teacher told me that my in-class essay was by far the best written of our class, worthy of 23 or 24/25, but I ended up with 19/25 because it didn't fit the specific criteria. Which, I guess, on one hand is fair, but is really creatively restraining and soooo frustrating!

Oh well.

Elle.

 

[Sarah168]

There is enough creativity allowed even in essays. Just because they're not giving you 100% free reign for you to go hog wild, doesn't mean it's "mechanical". Be creative and fulfill the criteria and you win. Simple.

Some of the best essay responses are ones that have creative flair with highly original thesis' BUT they're also disciplined and controlled with language.

It's academic English people. Not creative writing class

 

[live.fast]

I'm not too sure about that m8, if a different idea doesn't appeal to a teacher, they'll just say 'yeaah, but what you really want to say is...' yadda yadda yadda, point being different stuff sometimes ends up being buggered just because its different.

 

[NellyBelly89]

I understand everyones point of view in this forum. I started our Yr 12 wanting to destroy the people who designed the English courses. I have a serious stress problem so my school actually didnt allow me to do Ext 2 though i know it was the out i needed (but thats a whole different story.haha) I am an independant creative learner who LOVES to express my point of view through MY findings and find the Advanced course tends to suggest you can be free but marks you down if your opinions are not the same as theirs. That said, I love Shakespeare but feel we are destroying his work most of the time. The reason we study his work is to discuss context and values and it is supposed to make us appreciate our lives and understand the world around us. Ext English is more frustrating i find as it is for those people who want to express themselves but in my time doing the course i have found it suppresses my desire to be a) original and b) creative.
Unfortunately as the trials approach i have realised acceptance is about the only thing we can do. And hey, if at the end of the day being boring and unoriginal and being hand fead by our teachers ( absolutely brainwashing us so we all think alike) is what they want and gets us marks we should be happy they arent asking us to think for ourselves and take it as a gift.
Cheerio, Best wishes to all.

 

[vanush]

The problem with most original thought is the lack of textual evidence for it. If you try whack interpretations and get low marks, its simply due to the fact that its hard to successfully construe textual evidence to your idea.

 

[ScottyG]

The problem with most original thought is the lack of textual evidence for it. If you try whack interpretations and get low marks, its simply due to the fact that its hard to successfully construe textual evidence to your idea.

That's not necessarily an unfair system. If you attempt experimental or original interpretations, which you may consider "creative", you need to be prepared to justify them with clear and concise evidence, perhaps to an even greater extent than everyday readings. An essay is marked as a measure of your knowledge and your ability to apply that knowledge to structure. If you present knowledge that deviates from the norm you need to prove its acceptability. You need to do that with all knowledge you showcase in an essay of course, but moreso with creative ideals. What I would like to see though is a greater appreciation on the part of markers for such experimental ideas so that their exploration is encouraged at a classroom level.

Nothing is more annoying than watching some kid get a full-mark essay back, after he's raped the thesaurus for every word longer than 10 characters he could find, and every study guide under the Sun.

BTW,go study vanush you bastard you've got bio