Vivat Libertas

And yes, this is the generic whining-about-exams post. You know, it occurs to me that our current model of judging an entire year's worth of growth and development in a few very stressful weeks, where if you don't show up to the exam you can't arrange a time to sit it that isn't next summer, is possibly a bit wrongheaded. Now, there are lots of reasons why this is a stupid system: that much stress makes people perform worse, judging people based on a couple of hours in a very uncomfortable situation is never going to give you a very good judgement, it encourages teaching students to pass exams instead of teaching students to actually know their subject, and you can probably fill in the rest... ...A big problem is that most exams test recall skills, the ability to regurgitate information. Now, having a good memory is a great thing to have, and a very useful one too. The trouble is, while a good memory is still a useful skill in the modern world, we are now also s...

I'm a bit of a geek - well, a lot of a geek. I've been a curious, inquisitive little thing since I was very young indeed, and so far 11 years of schooling haven't managed to stamp it out. I read when I wasn't supposed to read; I lost myself in a book instead of doing pointless work or playing with the other children (and now you can see why I got in trouble and was bullied a lot as a child). I asked about funny things called atoms or why bromine crept up the side of the container. I just...I just always wanted to learn. I always wanted to question. I always wanted to find things out for myself, the school curriculum be damned. In a way, I suppose, I'm just an overgrown child - at least, I never really grew out of that bad habit of asking "why?" and "how?". Nobody managed to get it out of me...I'm incorrigible, I am. I've never grown out of my terrible habit of learning , and to this day it plagues me. I can't sit down and do menial ...

Look, I know this post is fluff, but it's very  nice  fluff, OK? Anyway, right now it seems to be singing season - as it always is at the end of term. I've just had two rehearsals and a sort-of performance, which have worn me out. Then  I've got: A rehearsal on Thursday A performance on Saturday (it's for my school's Vis Day, which is basically Speech Day but with a posh name, and I've already signed up to do tug-of-war as well in a flash of house pride...oops) A performance on Sunday at the East Barnet Festival as part of a youth performing arts group (the last time I'll ever be there, unfortunately, since I'm leaving) An exam , of all things, on the 5th of July (my grade 6 exam...anyone fancy telling me how easy/hard it is to pass?) And last (but most definitely not least) I'm going on tour with my school choir for five days of rehearsal, performance and general horsing around (we're around Amboise from the 11th-15th of July, come see u...