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A stress-free HSC

09 Sep, 2010 05:00 AM
Have fun, choose subjects you like and don't take it too seriously. That's the advice Bulli High School student Ari McNamara gives HSC students in her book, The HSC Less Travelled: A Guide to an Unconventional Year 12.

With final exams looming, Ari's book aims to help high school students in their final year of study escape the stress and pressures of the HSC.

"I found that a lot of people were feeling really pressured to study really hard and not find the fun in the year," she said. "I just thought it could be done a different way."

The book was created as part of a design and technology course requiring students to complete a major project.

Ari said she had been working on her project since January and the whole process had been inspiring.

"I loved doing it," she said. "When any challenge came up for me, when I thought there could be another way to do it, I wrote about it."

While she dedicates chapters to important HSC strategies such as time management and study techniques, it is the unconventional advice that stands out.

Ari believes the key to HSC success is not slogging away at your desk for hours but enjoying it, having fun and making the most of it.

"It's really just an attitude," Ari said. "It's saying 'I want to go to school and make the most of each day'.

Love the whole process and don't just concentrate on the ATAR [tertiary admission rank]. It's just a number."

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Date: Newest first | Oldest first
What does Ari plan to do after the HSC? For people who what a professional career not "taking it too seriously" is not an option. The HSC is such a short part of a person's life - surely students can buck up and study hard for this short period and then go back to "finding fun" once it's over? Well at least Ari and any students she influences will make it much easier for the conscientious, hard working students to get uni placements!
Posted by JRS, 9/09/2010 9:37:23 AM, on Illawarra Mercury
The HSC is virtually irrelevant and overhyped. There are many roads to almost any kind of satisfying work that matches your interests and values. And at 17-18 most people don;t have a clue what that is. Enjoy the journey folks.
Posted by m@RV, 9/09/2010 10:59:38 AM, on Illawarra Mercury
The HSC is completely relevant if a student has the intention of continuing their studies at university the next year, as the HSC is the means of assessment and entry. Beyond that it definitely loses its direct relevance. The HSC does however remain one of the few comparitive measures of students leaving school and as a result a good result can increase opportunities, especially important if students are not sure what they wish to do. A bad result risks a loss of choice of career path, at least in the short term. It ultimately comes down to maximising opportunities.
Posted by Pierre, 9/09/2010 12:23:16 PM, on Illawarra Mercury
In response to JRC -There is no reason why you can't have fun AND do well in your exams. 'Real life', after all, is all about balance. What a narrow minded and ignorant thing to say, 'Well at least Ari and any students she influences will make it much easier for the conscientious, hard working students to get uni placements!' As a recent graduate of UOW, if there's anything I've learnt upon entering the 'real world' it's that there are so many more paths to finding career success, and indeed so many more paths to entering uni, than just the HSC. I suppose it's through attitudes like yours that students are encouraged to feel like their whole future rests on one set of exams. It doesn't, as anyone witha little bit of foresight and common sense can see. Kids suicide every year as a result of HSC pressure, so good on you Ari for inspiring your peers to see the fun in your final year of school, and to realise that if you don't do amazingly well, there are a plethora of other ways to get to where you want to be. You're only 18 once - ENJOY it
Posted by Emma, 9/09/2010 2:25:26 PM, on Illawarra Mercury
Good on you Ari, well done. One day when you are famous I will be able to proudly say, "Her grandmother is my cousin."
Posted by Julie Scobie, 9/09/2010 9:16:17 PM, on Illawarra Mercury
Thank you everyone for reading and responding. I especially agree with Emma who has really understood what it is that I am trying to say. I am not saying that the HSC is not important. I am saying that I think learning at your own leisure and pace is more beneficial than succumbing to the pressure of applying stress to yourself to study hard and fast everyday. This is especially true when the stress is at the cost of a student’s wellbeing. I know that some people ‘buck down’ their whole lives. They tell themselves that they will wait until they are financially stable to start following their true dreams. I want to inspire students to enjoy their studies and choose to do whatever they are passionate about regardless of income. As a society, it seems we have become so focused on the future that our present has become merely a means to an end. Even though one year is ‘a short period of time’, it does not make it any less valuable. A year of blissful learning and personal freedom is surely saner than a year of chaos and striving. I believe that getting a good result in the HSC will come naturally as an extension of loving the process.
Posted by Ari McNamara, 10/09/2010 11:41:50 AM, on Illawarra Mercury
...It is comparable to a 'fun game' of sport. In a game of soccer with your friends, that you don’t take too seriously, have you noticed that you are able to play better? Have you noticed that there is a weight off your shoulders and a lightness that brings a whole new quality to the game? In the same way, if students enjoy learning then they will do better in their HSC as it is not a matter of life and death. And if they do not achieve what is considered a ‘high mark’, at least they have not wasted a year. JRS, next year, I am going to continue living a joyful life because I never know when it will end.
Posted by Ari McNamara, 10/09/2010 11:42:47 AM, on Illawarra Mercury
I have just found that I can order your book online and I plan on stocking up. I have heard rave reviews about your wonderful book and I cannot understand how JRS can be so small minded. However I do understand that he/she may have sacrificed an entire year of his/her life and this is his/her minute way of justifying it by claiming it is only a "short part" of life. JRS, I hope you're happy but by the sound of your attitude you didn't "find fun" once finished your HSC. Ari, I love your view on life and believe that you will achieve your dreams while having fun as they do not need to be separated in such a black and white manner.
Posted by Melanie, 25/09/2010 6:45:29 PM, on Illawarra Mercury
I think this book is fantastic and i would love to see if i am able to get a copy. One because i am a HSC student at the moment and i agree completely with Ari's point of view, and two because this relates so closely in to my major project. Which i am completing for society and culture on the stresses of the HSC and how it contributes to eating problems in students. So if it would be possible i really would be forever grateful!
Posted by Nicole Dominello, 18/06/2011 8:27:38 PM, on Illawarra Mercury

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Ari McNamara of Austinmer with the book she designed, The HSC Less Travelled: A Guide to an Unconventional Year 12. Picture: SYLVIA LIBER
Ari McNamara of Austinmer with the book she designed, The HSC Less Travelled: A Guide to an Unconventional Year 12. Picture: SYLVIA LIBER

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