Yes, it's A-level results day for England and Wales (Scots do Highers at 17 years old). Cue the usual howling voices about dumbing down, and the inevitable Telegraph and Daily Mail pictures of attractive blonde schoolgirls celebrating. Apparently nobody else does well.
Are A-levels dumber than previously? They're certainly different, and they aren't as wide-ranging as the rather good International Baccalaureate, but I'm just not equipped to judge. I do, however, feel that we spend a lot of the first year encouraging independent thinking and trying to undo the psychological damage caused by the secondary system.
However, don't despair if you haven't achieved what you needed. I was rubbish in school, only doing well in the things I enjoyed, and even managed to misunderstand the instructions for one subject, resulting in a lower grade. My headmaster, a very unpleasant man, even used my university reference as an opportunity to recommend that I not be given a place at university.
So I ended up using the clearing system to find a place at Bangor University (then University College of North Wales) and it was the making of me. In between sport, writing for the union paper, boring people to tears on committees, making lifelong friends, going on demonstrations and drinking perhaps more than was healthy, I ended up with a few prizes and a first-class degree, then an MA, and now a PhD.
This isn't meant to be boastful - I'm still amazed I passed my BA - but to remind you that all exams are artificial: being bad at them doesn't mean you're thick. Using Clearing isn't a mark of shame, and you might find that the new atmosphere at university is exactly what you need to shine.
The important thing is this: find a subject you love, and you'll stick to it. It might not even feel like work, as mine didn't: I just wanted to read books, and an English degree demanded little more than literacy and an opinion.
Once you get there, remind yourself that just like you, everybody else is keeping quiet because they think they'll sound stupid. I'm horrendously shy, but forced myself to speak in seminars and to ask for clarification during lectures.
I hate the fact that you're having to pay for this, and you'll be surrounded by people talking about employability blah blah blah. Bollocks to that. You've got three years to think about, read, talk about and write about things in a way which won't happen again for the rest of your life. Grab it. Once you're there, you can change courses, clothes or personality as often as you need. After the first week, nobody cares what you got for your A-levels, or your background. You're free.
If, after a lecture, you don't feel like your head's been messed with, you haven't been listening. A good education should change you profoundly - but it's your responsibility as much as it is mine and my colleagues'.
Good luck for tomorrow.
As I won't be around for a Friday or even Thursday conundrum, here's a themed one: what are the best and or worst teachers/educational experiences you ever had? I'll add my many pages when I get back from Oslo in a few days.
10 comments:
The worst educational experience I will ever have had will be getting up at 5am tomorrow in order to be on the clearing desk for 6.30.
My worst educational experience was the last 3 years of high school. Can't really even blame the teacher or the school though, I blame hormones and voyages of discovery (boys et al). Somehow or other I managed to pass the exams but that was more through sheer bloody mindedness (my teachers said I couldn't pass)and was all about cramming - no actual thinking necessary. University was a hell of an eye opener - critical thinking, what the f*ck was that?
Great post.
My best educational experience was probably in A level sociology, whatever the teacher was trying teach us we would always take an opposite position and try to argue against whatever was being said; others in the class most probably annoyed with our constant interruptions. The purpose of it really was to just try and annoy, but really it ended up being a useful exercise, it was interesting to see how far we could question stuff until we got told to just accept what was being peddled. Out of the five or so teachers we had for the subject, only one would persist with us, naturally leading to a healthy debate (interestingly the teacher that did persist with us was straight out of university) the rest would tell us, after a short while, to just accept what was being told.
I didn't know a word of English when I first came to the States so I am grateful I was able to attend English as a Second Language classes in Jr High. I have to say I learned English quickly and did well in school thanks to the ESL programs here.
PS Let's wait and see - rumour has it that Cricket Australia has a new website: www.wwwwwwwwww.com
I agree, I don't think it's a train-smash not to get your first choice unversity. That doesn't mean I'm not doing the best I can to avoid Clearing 2011 it just means that I won't be devastated of if I don't.
Don't click on the Clearing's user name or link: it goes to private business school which charges £8500 and gets you an external degree from University of London. It's owned by the Washington Post.
I therefore don't think that Clearing is actually a student or entering clearing.
If they teach you spamming as an acceptable business tactic, they are clearly scum of the highest order. So don't go near Kaplan Business School. Scum. (That should be picked up by the search engines nicely).
The name should have given the game away with that one Voley.
How lovely that the email/comments system still works for posts almost two years old!
Yes, how wonderful. So how did you spot it? Are you subscribed to every comment on PV?
I subscribe when I've left a comment, so I can follow the conversation without hopping onto your blog every five minutes checking for any updates.
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