Little late to the party but definitely agree with you all
I did nothing but creative arts and humanities during my HSC and I have heard the "___ is not a real subject" joke a ridiculous amount of times. I want to particularly complain about it being assigned to SAC because SAC was amongst my more high performing subjects and my results were treated as if they weren't as special as ranking first in say a science
I heard that joke the most with SAC and while I took it as that many times, I eventually just got sick of it. A PIP is no joke; I wrote more in my PIP altogether than I did for my Extension 2 poems. The content in SAC was also interesting and relevant to our world today. I didn't like hearing people joke about it that way, and I especially didn't like it when people actually thought about the subject that way.
I was also slightly disturbed when people thought it was a breeze to do VA or Music. It was definitely not a breeze
The BOW is worth 50% of the external mark and Music 2 had essentially three mini major works involved (Music 1 has four). Both these CAPA subjects were really demanding on me physically and mentally. I burnt myself a few times during my artmaking and would be desperately trying to catch my breath after hours of rehearsing on the weekends. Combine the practical demands (those of which are really hard to meet and excel in due to the competitive standard and differing levels of natural ability/talent/hard work) with endless possibilities for what could be examined for content and you have two difficult subjects. The perceptions that they weren't "real subjects" and that they were "bludges" were really demotivating.
Part of the problem is the way NESA treats these subjects scaling-wise. While it's understandable that other subjects are academically more challenging, people who choose different subjects that cater to their academic abilities get the short end of the straw with really shifty scaling. Since this is largely attributed to arts, humanities and TAS subjects, the idea of them not being "real subjects" perpetuates from a system that doesn't recognise these disciplines as challenging enough, and thus worthy, to be rewarded with generous scaling. Until NESA revises this overarching system, nothing can be done.
I agree with you all! I do drama, which essentially involves 2 major works AND having to work with others. I put sooo much effort into drama, having to juggle both my IP and my GP, which was tricky since I was stuck with people who didn't care about their marks at all, so I had to pull the performance forward and do the work for 4 people! I was relying on them for my marks and it was the most stressful and tiresome experience ever. I would cry about it basically every week. Then you have the essays and they're like english essays but tricker, because they involve analysis mixed with creative writing.
Sorry for my rant, but essentially the stigma: "drama isn't a real subject", "what a bulge", "it's so easy", really pisses me off because it's really not. I actually regret picking the subject, and always have.
I hope this thread helps you realise that you're not alone! A lot of us have encountered this "real subjects" dilemma as recipients and are the first step to encouraging a more positive outlook on these subjects. I'm really glad I could express this because it has been bothering me for a while so just wanted to thank you for bringing this up in a supportive space