The Media: Ruiners of Exam Results

Wednesday 5th August was a day of celebration or despair for Scotland's youth. I am one of the lucky ones who were celebrating it because I received good exam results. Some of my friends however, were not so lucky. I have spoken to a few who did not receive the results they wanted and as a consequence have had to stay at school longer than initially planned or have had their university decision made for them. Having read that, try to now realise how much work is needed to get the exams right. Consider how many factors are involved such as the quality of teaching and quality of revision technique for example. Consider how much pressure the youth of today is under to do well. We are constantly encouraged to do well and to receive a good education and to do our very best or better in our exams. Also consider that this pressure has rendered some of my friends panic-stricken to the point of having panic attacks while doing an exam. Now that you are thinking about this in the right mindset, ie my mindset, let's move on to what has got me in the ranting mood and why I am writing this.

On "results day" I was at work until about 1930 and upon returning home I watched the news mostly out of laziness to change the channel but partly because I heard there would be a report on the exam results. So when they eventually did mention them, imagine how insulted I was and my friends (some of whom failed all of their exams) were when they said that the exam results were getting too easy. I felt like screaming F*&$ YOU to the TV but my mum was in the room at the time and I didn't want to startle her. The media always portray today's youth as a menace to society whose intelligence is slipping and whose behaviour is completely out of line. Every last one of us. Not just the few idiots who are actually the ones doing drugs, getting pregnant (at disgustingly young ages), and being socially unacceptable, but all of us. The exams give us a chance to prove that not all of us are idiots and the moment that we succeed in record numbers (again) you have the nerve to say that the exams are getting easier simply because we are doing better. Did you ever stop to think about other factors such as teaching, syllabus changes or revision techniques? How about the pressure put on us by our families, peers and teachers? And what about the relentless portrayal of every single teenager as society's number one hate-figure? People are scared of me in the street because the news says I am a violent thug who passed his exams with good results not because I worked hard at them but because the exams are easy.

The Standard Grade system (for pupils in S3/4) is ridiculously easy I will allow you to say that because it is almost impossible to fail them due to the fact that there are 3 levels all of which are split into 2 grades each as well as the fact that the lowest pass level could be completed by any competent individual in their sleep. However the report was aimed at the Scottish Higher system (S5/6) so I will not for one second allow you to say that they are easy. English for example is impossible, or at least it was for me but then I am a very logical and technical person so the creativity involved in English studies alludes me. Hence I failed the subject for a year and a half before deciding to focus on subjects I actually needed.

What I would like to see is the pass-rate of any person who has not been in school for 3 years or more. Test them and see how f*&%$@! easy they are to pass and how much work you need to do.

This has been a rant dedicated to everyone who felt the same way as I did when they were insulted on national television about their proudest, or most shameful, moment of their school careers.