Literacy

Don’t get triggered, Life’s Lit!

VCE English

I perform on stage every now and then because I enjoy it and I love the challenge. I love taking on characteristics for a particular character and engaging the audience in a story that connects with them. However, with all the positives that come from performing in a play there is one thing that happens in pre-production and during production. I have a constant dream that comes to me at night.

It’s an awful dream where I am on stage and I have no idea what my lines are. It usually begins where I am off-stage about to step in as my character and I have no idea what I am supposed to say or what the scene is about. I eventually step out and completely make a mess of everything. I wake up relieved that it was just a dream, but I ensure that that day I will read that script one more time. Just in case.

Let’s see that line again:

I will read that script one more time. Just in case.

The amount of times I read the script before rehearsals start and before we step out onto the stage with an audience can be easily 40-50 times. But that wouldn’t really surprise you because I should read the script. I am acting in the play and I should know it back to front. This would be a basic expectation. To have read the play several times.

It is the same expectation VCE English Teachers have for their students when they are studying a novel. We are not expecting 40-50 times. Of course, reading the text is a given, but reading the text several times would be the BASIC expectation. Unfortunately, we find ourselves in a situation where this is not the mentality for all our students.  

This is where the following scene occurs:

Parent:

(enters stage right and announces) My dear child, to pass VCE English, or not to pass VCE English: that is the question. If you have not read the novels, the result will be the latter. Surely my child is not as foolish as this? Surely!

Over the next few weeks parents and students will find themselves stressing and panicking over the VCE workload. There is a finish line but to get there a lot of work and practice needs to happen. Where to begin? Doing the basic thing of reading the books and looking over your notes will be the best starting point. And, as always, our English teachers are happy to talk to you and work on any areas of concern.

Claire Hanley - Literacy Learning Specialist