From Monday, our year 12 students, in fact more than 2000 students across the north-west and over 76,000 across the state, will sit down to start their Higher School Certificate (HSC).
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It is a time of intense pressure and stress for students and their parents and a time when it can feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.
It seems we continually load more and more on students, with kids expected to meet educational milestones almost as soon as they can talk.
For 13 years of schooling, students are part of a system that teachers will tell you is becoming more and more convoluted.
It is not enough to learn maths and English, teachers are now expected to be the guardian of many, many aspects of students’ lives, keeping an eye on their mental state, their religious wellbeing, their health and their lunchboxes.
Any teacher will tell you their time and responsibilities extend well beyond the school day.
Similarly, kids face pressure to be perfect. They need to not bully or be bullied, to choose a carrot stick over a packet of chips, to achieve at higher and higher levels.
Kids face exams from year three when NAPLAN first rears its head.
Parents have reported kids of seven and eight feeling stressed about the NAPLAN process.
What is the end result? Are Australians getting smarter as a result of all this intensive education – this focus on competitive achievement?
It doesn’t look that way.
Students now need to attend university to work in a huge number of fields. It is no wonder that when 13 years of schooling culminates in one set of exams, the pressure is enormous.
Mums and dads are all keen to have their child succeed - but both parents and kids need to remember that success means many different things.
You might become a medical professional or a solicitor, but make sure it is really what you want to pursue.
Think hard about what you want to do, and don’t stress.
If you do want to be a veterinarian or a forensic scientist and your very best just wasn’t enough, you can still work towards that aim.
And there are so many other jobs out there that need doing.
As you get older, you realise it is the work that makes you happy that you do well.
Good luck to all our year 12 students. Go well, but remember, your best is all you have to give - and in one way or another, that is always enough.