COVID-19 and Education

[brothanathan]

That's interesting, some teachers suspect that our final results will be indicative of our internal rankings.

[Jimmmy]

No clue how likely this is, or how the majority would feel, but what are the chances VCAA dumps the internal rankings system and makes the final exam 100%?

[brothanathan]

No clue how likely this is, or how the majority would feel, but what are the chances VCAA dumps the internal rankings system and makes the final exam 100%?

Sorta like how the HSC was run in Victoria years ago.

[Jimmmy]

Sorta like how the HSC was run in Victoria years ago.

Yep, used to be like that in all states 30-40 years ago.

[PhoenixxFire]

No clue how likely this is, or how the majority would feel, but what are the chances VCAA dumps the internal rankings system and makes the final exam 100%?

I reckon that would face more public resistance & heaps more stress on year 12s than doing some sort of internal assessment, in whatever form that may be, so I don't think it'd be a good move.

[Jimmmy]

I reckon that would face more public resistance & heaps more stress on year 12s than doing some sort of internal assessment, in whatever form that may be, so I don't think it'd be a good move.

Definitely don't think it's a good move, but it's been done before and we all know what VCAA is like...

[J_Rho]

What are everyone's perspectives on remote learning and when it get s to that how are you planning to keep motivated and if you've thought about it how are you going to tackle your subjects? Will you be doing anything differently?

I personally am planning, for each subject, to email my teachers that the end of each week with any non-urget questions about the subject rather than emailing/messaging them every time i have a question. I also feel like my learning methods will change as a result of not physically sitting in the classroom and I can imagine it may be easier to stay on topic as I won't have friends right next to me to chat with (although my friends and I have set up discord chats for each of our classes but thats a lot easier to turn of than really like haha) however I do beleive it may be harder to keep motivated but we will see!

[PhoenixxFire]

I would hope that if VCE exams were to be cancelled, you'd know this by the start of term 2 (or cancellation of term 2). If they're cancelled (and I hope for your sakes that they're not), I wouldn't be too surprised to see a big increase in the alternative entry options offered by uni.

Logistically it'd be a nightmare to cancel year 12 - how do schools (many of which are already bursting at the seams) cope with an extra year of students? How do unis cope with losing almost an entire year of students (imagine graduation ceremonies in four years time haha).


I do agree with you about how rural schools will be far more disadvantaged by this. However, I think that with measures like accounting for whether people have wifi at home, and existing measures like location disadvantage & education level of parents, I don't think it'll necessarily be worse at accounting for disadvantage than the system currently is - That's not to say that seas is going to be able to compensate for the disproportionate effects of covid-19, just that it already does a shit job of accounting for all disadvantage.

It is true that there are some young and otherwise healthy people who get seriously ill from covd-19, however I think it's been played up a bit to try and scare young people who otherwise wouldn't care into actually practicing good hygiene, we're still a tiny fraction of serious cases.

Also, with schools potentially going to online mode, it will again affect students. A portion of students would probably prefer face-to-face learning and maybe they'll find online learning too difficult to them or hard to adjust to as they are not used to it. Again, this is another factor that will ultimately affect their learning.

Same could be said in reverse so I don't think this is a big deal - definitely something that ses will effect as high ses people will be able to afford tutors and more likely to have better educated parents who can help them but that is how it is with regular school too.

Covid-19 is definitely going to exacerbate a lot of disadvantage - It's pretty much certain that there'll be increased rates of domestic violence, a lot of people with existing mental health illnesses are going to struggle with isolation, and those without are going to be at increased risk, people who don't have a home environment that's a good learning space or don't have the resources they need to study are going to really struggle with the closures of schools along with libraries and other public resources. It's a whole lot shitty all around.

[K888]

Dream chaser I would recommend having a read of the resources on the Department of Health and Human Services website - there's lots of resources there that are trustworthy and understandable
It's quite normal and understandable to be worried & confused in these times - we'll all get through this together.

[PhoenixxFire]

^If year 12 exams were cancelled, I would entirely expect for the majority to redo year 12. All I meant by my comment about unis offering alternative entry options was that it would also be possible to get into uni if redoing sounds like a nightmare, albeit it may take longer.

[J_Rho]

Does anyone want to write an article for VicSRC?
It can be on one of or a blend of multiple topics

1. articles covering your personal perspectives on schools shutting down
2. diverse perspectives on concerns like student health and issues with online learning (maybe talk to a bunch of different people, how do other students at your school feel about these things?)
3. how your community (school, neighbourhood, family) is doing right now and how they're pulling together to support each other (are you talking to family members on the phone more? are you checking in on your neighbours? is your school offering extra mental health support?)
4. ideas and examples of how to continue to advocate online at all levels, eg classroom, school council, local council, government
5. some lighter articles like 'our fave movies/books for staying inside' and 'hobbies you can take up while social distancing'

Let me know ASAP if your interested

[Stormbreaker-X]

The uncertainty is crazy frustrating. Our school told us last week that today was going to be a day off for teachers to do some "online learning" training, so I guess that means that I'm done for the term... I highly doubt we'll be back on the school premise doing classes in three weeks, even though that's what our teachers are saying...
I know what you mean! Time management and accountability can be difficult, but you might find that you enjoy a self-directed (ish) style of learning. Will you have some form of contact with your teachers?

I think I do have some form of contact with my teachers, but idk how teaching is suppose to work online. I think some of my teachers are very disorganised same goes for students. I am in year 11 now, I feel bad for year 12's cuz some of them have not completed unit 3 sacs yet. Also I heard my teacher said they will be doing test online, I just pray that no one cheats. I will try to force myself into doing some work I guess. For some reason it seems like my school seems happen about holidays starting early.

[brothanathan]

Opinions?

http://change.org/p/federal-and-state-ministers-for-education-australia-noatar2020-australia?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_21008131_en-AU%3Av3&recruiter=925445925&recruited_by_id=c1a5ebf0-08ff-11e9-9e4c-33a37c70198c&utm_source=share_pet

[Sine]

Opinions?

http://change.org/p/federal-and-state-ministers-for-education-australia-noatar2020-australia?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_21008131_en-AU%3Av3&recruiter=925445925&recruited_by_id=c1a5ebf0-08ff-11e9-9e4c-33a37c70198c&utm_source=share_pet

I guess the sentiment is understandable at this point in time but I don't agree with a lot of which is brough brought up. The other systems they propose are much more prone to corruption. They cite they wan't to reduce the inequity in the system (obviously, everyone agrees even without the pandemic it is not a perfect system) but the changes they propose would only increase inequities.  Especially the type admissions they are seeking such as teacher's acknowledging satisfactory requiements and these "portfolios" of "learning and life" will make university admissions much more subjective and potentially also exacerbate SES differences.

Also they heavily rely on the idea that Australia is the only country to rank students, maybe later I will see if any other country does this. However, whatever the case is all these systems are ranking students even if it is not explicitly shown.

[whys]

Opinions?

http://change.org/p/federal-and-state-ministers-for-education-australia-noatar2020-australia?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_21008131_en-AU%3Av3&recruiter=925445925&recruited_by_id=c1a5ebf0-08ff-11e9-9e4c-33a37c70198c&utm_source=share_pet

I disagree with the proposal. Since the ATAR is a rank, and everyone is experiencing the effects of the coronavirus, the ATAR will still be 'accurate' as with previous years. The only barrier is SES, which exists without the virus, as Sine as already said. I think the maximum effect it will have on schools is up till term 2, anything further is unlikely at this point in time (although possible) so I still think students will be able to complete their exams. I think VCAA/other states might have to change a few things up regarding SACs, however, if schools are on lockdown for a prolonged period of time.