YEAR 12 Trial Exam Paper 2016 ENGLISH Written examination12englishrevisionpcssc.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/3/5/... · 2019. 12. 9. · YEAR 12 Trial Exam Paper 2016 ENGLISH Written examination
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Happy New Year and welcome to Term 1! I’m thrilled to be starting my second year as Principal of Main Street and I know that 2016 will be another year of enriching and interesting educational experiences for our students.
During the last week of the school holidays, Main Street teachers and I were back at work preparing for the year ahead. This included two days of professional development workshops with the theme ‘Lead and Achieve’. These days provided a fascinating learning journey for us all, as we interrogated every aspect of our school’s approach to acknowledging students’ achievements with Dr Amy-Louise Lyttlewood from the Faculty of Education at City University.
As educators, parents and guardians, we all have one common aim: to equip young people with the tools to thrive in the wider world. Our work with Dr Lyttlewood inspired some significant changes to school policies that I believe will do just that for our students.
As you all know, it has been a longstanding Main Street tradition to present academic and activity awards at our end-of-year Presentation Night, just as it is at many other schools. This year, however, we are taking the bold and innovative step of abolishing all school awards. Let’s not ignore the efforts of the vast majority of our students by persisting
with a divisive and outdated ‘winner takes all’ attitude to rewarding student success.
There are a number of reasons we have made this decision, all backed firmly by Dr Lyttlewood’s research. Primarily, the old system ignored everyone except the one student who came out ‘on top of the pile’ in each awards category. Other strong students who deserved to be acknowledged were not, even when they missed out by as little as half a percentage point. Students with natural talent in sport or music, but who lacked drive and dedication, won awards over students who worked incredibly hard with less natural ability. Some hardworking, talented students were not recognised because extenuating circumstances, perhaps issues at home or illness, interrupted or adversely affected their year. Some students received an award
simply because they were the highest achiever in a very weak or very small cohort. These occurrences undermined the integrity and fairness of the whole awards process.
The awards also promoted an unhealthy, competitive culture that undermined the principles of academic collaboration and peer support that are central to our school’s philosophy. With 200 students in each year level vying for around 20 awards, over 90% of our students never did and never could receive a school award. All of our students have their own unique talents, and yet we were rewarding so few – something that seems contrary to our school’s motto: Our Diversity, Our Strength. We should celebrate the efforts of all Main Street students who work hard and do their best, not just ‘the smartest, fastest and strongest’. The old system clearly failed us all in that respect.
I acknowledge that a few parents and students may be disappointed or even upset by this change, and that they may see it as a Scrooge-like decision. Some may even believe that not receiving an award will be damaging to our high achievers’ self-esteem or even their résumé. I understand these reactions, but they underestimate both the resilience of our students and the impact of more meaningful rewards. Every day, every Main Street teacher provides constructive feedback and generous, positive reinforcement to build the self-esteem and resilience of all of our students. Ultimately that is a far more significant reward than a photocopied certificate and a polite round of applause.
Mr AJ Smith, BA(Hons), MEd Principal, Main Street Secondary College
Please note: Parents must be logged in to submit comments. All contributions are moderated by Main Street Secondary College. Comments that are considered aggressive, defamatory or bullying in nature, use offensive language or advocate discriminatory ideas will not be published, and will be forwarded to the relevant authorities.
COMMENTS
8.04am 30 January 2016 RWTillen wrote:
As the father of two Main Street kids, I respect a lot of the big changes you made last year, especially with teacher feedback and transition weeks. But how is entirely abolishing awards an improvement? It teaches kids that top marks don’t deserve recognition and there’s enough tall-poppy syndrome in this country as it is. It shouldn’t matter whether 20 or 200 kids studied a subject or if it’s a weak or strong class. If you come out ‘on top of the pile’ you deserve special acknowledgement.
In the six years I’ve been involved with the school, I’ve never seen evidence of ‘unhealthy’ competition. In fact, I think Main Street kids and their parents are quite realistic about awards. Of course it’s normal to have fleeting moments of envy and disappointment but the vast majority of us appreciate each other’s achievements and put our losses into perspective pretty quickly. Cancelling the awards just validates the unhealthy ‘what about me’ responses of one or two kids (or their parents) and neglects the perfect opportunity to teach a bit of ‘real-world’ resilience. Sometimes we win, sometimes we don’t. Pretending otherwise isn’t ‘bold and innovative’ or ‘equipping young people with tools to thrive in the wider world’; it’s just a bit naive. Absolutely change the system if it’s not rewarding the kids who deserve it, but please don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
‘The best schools acknowledge the
strengths of every student, every
day; they don’t just applaud the
smartest, fastest and strongest.’ Dr Amy-Louise Lyttlewood