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Gcse - Blog Posts
Me when I’m studying but literally not retaining anything (at least I look cute doing it)
Call me Galen the way I do my exam about medieval medicine
(I have 300 + mistakes)
Pros of not:
- I don’t have to
Cons of not:
- It will ruin my life
won’t be doing the biology exam tomorrow; you’ll find me kissing the makers of the RE exam
im js so tired, these mocks are killing me, I can't do this anymore. I'm a fucking teenager why are they making my life depend on some tests I do in highschool? I fucking hate this.
just heard someone say "revision is just doubting you knowledge" and i cant stop thinking abt it
Reminder: look closely at the type of clay your buying before your part with your hard earned cash
why we should reevaluate how we learn about classical literature
not my image (i believe the credit is @endlessbookclub on instagram). message me for removal.
Classic Literature is important. It helps us understand the perspective and viewpoint of the past, which impacts the future as it helps us learn from the faults and mistakes of our predecessors.
Classic Literature is a fluid term; it can be used to describe any period of literature that has been enjoyed for generations. But perspectives change over generation, especially over the past 50-60 years. We have seen massive changes in the way we view each other and development in tolerance and acceptance of race, sex, and orientation. And hence, some classical literature can perpetrate offensive and harmful stereotypes, as many authors of the time had similar views because they were cisgender, heterosexual white men. For example, of the top 30 classical authors, only 8 were women, and only 1 was a confirmed homosexual. None of them were people of colour. Due to the oppression of the time, there was a complete lack of diverse voices in society at the time. But considering that we have come a long way since then, we should read a book by wider range of narrators and acknowledge that a lot of classical literature is problematic.
To start, let’s talk about race. There are some obvious issues about race in some classics. For example, in ‘Huckleberry Finn’ by Mark Twain, he uses the same racial slur around 200 times in the text. This is problematic because Mark Twain was a white man, and the slurs he used were derogatory to black people. Another example of this is Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’. It perpetrates harmful racial stereotypes when it depicts the African natives, even though it was trying to antagonise European colonialism. But, as it is written from the perspective of a white man, it doesn’t do justice to the experience of the African natives. The savage and cannibalistic behaviours in relation to the natives depicts the idea of black people being violent. These stereotypes can be harmful as it can influence current perspectives of black people, as it can cause them to be misjudged and therefore discriminated against.
There are also oppressive undertones to books such as ‘Gone with the Wind’ and ‘The Secret Garden’. ‘The Secret Garden’ is set in India at the beginning, and the use of disease to remove Mary from India perpetrates the idea that India is a disgusting, disease-ridden wasteland, which is untrue. Mary’s treatment of the servants at the beginning and then later when she comes back to England, is extremely racist. Mary seems to believe people of colour are supposed to subservient, for example the fact that she expects the servant to be coloured. It also presents Indians as willingly in servitude, which is historically inaccurate. The same is true for ‘Gone with the Wind’ as it depicts slaves as docile and loyal, thus ignoring their struggle. This racist viewpoint invalidates people of colour, who have faced hundreds of years of oppression. This type of narrative silences the stories of those who have faced incredible hardship, and though these books are not necessarily intentionally silencing people, they still have that effect.
Then in terms of women in classic literature, they are generally portrayed as subservient and one-dimensional. In Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’, many of the characters are shown to only want to be marriageable, which creates the idea that women are dependent on men. However when a woman is powerful or emotional, she is generally crazy, evil or both. This is because women were supposed to be innocent and submissive to men, so when they are not submissive, they must be evil. A prime example of this, is Lady Macbeth in the play ‘Macbeth’ by Shakespeare. She is a powerful woman, as she is seen to have power over her husband in some scenes in the play. However, her power leads to her eventual demise - as she is driven insane and commits suicide, which was a terrible sin.
In Classic Literature, homosexuality is rarely discussed, even implicitly, as in a largely christian society, homosexuality was an extremely taboo subject. However, in Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, the ambiguity of the character of Hyde could lend itself to the interpretation that Hyde is the manifestation of a homosexual. The fact that he was an indescribable malformation could be that he is a homosexual as homosexuality is not something that is visible, but was considered a malformation at the time. In conjunction with this, the fact that through the use of metonymy, Hyde is linked to Soho. Soho was a place of disrepute, and housed many ‘sinful’ things such as prostitution, gin palaces, and music halls. It wouldn’t be wrong to assume that the few homosexuals of Victorian London lived in Soho, or a place akin to it. However, the fact that Hyde is a manifestation of evil and thus perpetrates the idea that homosexuality is evil.
At the Holt School, we learn a variety of books. However, out of all the books we read, only 2 were written by women, and one by a person of colour. Chinese Cinderella was written by Adaline Yen Mah, a woman of colour. It discusses Chinese culture in a very interesting way, and it inspires discussions about the complexity of foreign traditions. Learning in school is one of the best ways to combat discrimination, and so the following books are ones about different experiences that I believe are important to discuss in school: in terms of race, the book ‘Things Fall Apart’, written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, discusses pre-colonial life in Nigeria and the arrival of Europeans in the late 19th century. and the book ‘Train to Pakistan’ by Khushwant Singh which discusses the Partition of 1947 from the perspective of an Indian villager who lived on the border. In terms of sexuality, the book ‘Freakboy’ discusses the idea that being transgender isn’t related to your appearance and how much you enjoy stereotypically masculine things, just what you believe to be your gender identity. In terms of race, there is the book ‘Daughter of Fortune’ which has an immigrant female protagonist, and discusses the gold rush in America, and the mass immigration that happened there. Finally, the book ‘Boys don’t cry’ by Malorie Blackman discusses single parenthood and men taking on a stereotypically feminine role in a household.
All of this is to say that while Classic Literature can be interesting and is important to know about, we should also read books that discuss more current struggles and were written by a wider range of authors, in order to gain exposure to a larger range of narratives and become better global citizens.
(this was my gcse spoken language from 2021. i was really proud of it, so i thought i’d share)
love, n. xx
"self-care," i whisper to myself for the fifth that day as i create a new pinterest board to save my silly little pictures to instead of acknowledging the ever-growing pile of revision looming on my consciousness
I thought ‘Violence for Violence is the rule of beasts’ was a religious quote and I wrote it in my RE GCSE. I am just now realising, it is a quote from an Obama Dream.
gcses are such a stressful time for what, it's not like they totally depend on the next two years of what i choose to study or what college i get into or anything...
GCSE exam time...to ask how I feel, have this image
september start, struggles and sixth form
the alliteration came so naturally to me i didn't even realise. soooo september has been something. starting sixth form has been striking to say the least. i thought i'd instantly take to my subjects but surprisingly i haven't. they've been engaging and i've definitely enjoyed media the most, i'm so stoked for when we actually get to make our own projects and such later on in the school year. i have somehow already managed to lose my fine art folder but it's just experimental work so it's whatever. why is september like january? speaking of september its officially autumn yayayayayayay. i can't wait to buy some jumpers and such to go with the brown and beige flares i bought!! i'm doing my best to channel my dark academia phase and romanticise school so i'll do better! oh and my math gcse was sent off for a remark - i was only two marks off of a 7 (A) so i'll tell you how that turns out when i hear back! i gtg catch up with sociology work, i'm sorry if this post was a bit bland but there's not a lot to talk about from this month. until next time! ~Amimi posting this a bit late because i forgot to queue this but oh well.
a (very rare) math/science post.
hey! so i'm a british student but you'll see me putting things in brackets to help clarify things for my non british readers. so i did my GCSEs (i think the american equivalent is SATs?) back in may and june and one thing about me during my last year of school is i was in some deep shit. so i didn't really do that well. I got a bunch of 6s (B+s) and7 (A) in eng lit. i found i was couple marks off of a grade 7 (A ) in almost all my subjects including math and science. now i can deal with a B in art and a B in sociology because I'm doing them for A levels ( google tells me the americn equivalent is AP examinations) so doing well in them means that my gcse grade will be dismissed since i did better at A level today i asked my math teacher if there was any way i could resit and he cut me the following deal: if i resat my exams in either november or june of next year and got a better grade then he'd cover the fees and same goes for science. now, i just started sixth form/college so i'd have to learn in my own time somehow. i don't have anyone to teach me and i can't afford tutoring but i was offered to sit in the back of lessons during my free period every tuesday and that afterschool i can ask whatever available teacher for help for anything i really really can't teach myself should i go for it? please interact and tell me what you think.
coming back from ncs (week one) [pt 2]
in case you haven't read pt 1 i hate that i cant post it at once. but carrying on! thursday was definitely the most interesting, watersports was the main event, canoeing and rafting, i almost drowned (i'll get back to that) . so first off we went rafting and just waded around the quarry while also panicking and failing to row away from our other demonic friends, got soaked after having water flicked at us and then row back to shore. everyone was screaming and it was terrifying but amazing. we were getting ambushed and had more water flicked at us as we got onto the canoes, there was a conga line with all 200 people in the marquee and big talent show where i sat next to who im calling bracelet boy (i realised how much i actually liked him after he snapped my glowstick bracelet and my cheeks burst into flame) , i made my first moves towards bracelet boy and accidentally accumulated a squad of wingmen including my ATL.
i probably could've written a whole post about thursday night by itself. i snuck out with two of my best wingmen and we went stargazing and listened to music in the night, i had nettle stings all over my legs and our cameras couldn't pick up the stars but i wouldn't change a thing. we were tucked away in the corner of the campsite in the dark and whenever we saw a flashlight we turned everything off and lied down in the grass while trying not to laugh. at one point we thought we saw boys sneak out of the tents and went to go check which was such an adrenaline rush, upon approaching we heard the voice of a stern staff member and started running, a flashlight quickly approaching and i tripped and grazed my knee but kept running which we laughed about as soon as we got into one of the tents. it was the most exhilarating thing i have ever done.
friday i talked to bracelet boy more and packed away, socialised, play games and made more friends, we took group pictures and i got bracelets insta (i'm screaming internally i've never liked someone so much). he's adorable (is that the right word to describe someone twice your height?) and said our final goodbyes as we got ready to go.
i would do anything to go back. it felt like something out of a dream.
there's so many things that i probably missed but i'll likely come back and edit this post later that's all for now! ~ Amimi
[ Mon, 1st August - 20:27] [ i think i lost the glowstick bracelet :( but i plan on making him a bracelet for when i confess ]
coming back from ncs (week one)
Sat, 30th July - 12:39 i'm back woahhh. this is going to be longgg. the first day of ncs was definitely the worst, but it was still interesting. i got to meet my group and surprisingly most were from my town, i was expecting it to be a lot more mixed with people from different places. the majority of my group (16 people including a Group Leader (GL) and Assistant Group Leader (ATL). in all honesty, my GL was overly enthusiastic and too strict but i really liked my ATL she was super duper cool (i'll talk about her more later) . the part that dragged it down was mainly expectations icl. i thought the place would be a lot nicer than what it actually was (we were expecting cabins but actually stayed in tents, the bathrooms being public were not amazing and the layout was kind of awkward) the food (a poorly made pie) was awful but it slowly got better through the week. the second day was mainly games - we did have a mini olympics but i didn't take part in much so i can't really talk about that - debates, getting to know eachother and a presentation on a sensitive topic - creating a social media campaign which was really cool, one group did a whole rap and it was vibes but they somehow didn't win :(. i made sooo many friends during free time who were mainly from my hometown which i was super happy about. there was some typical teenage drama and oml, tiktok was really not lying when they called it a teenagers love island because it literally was. the third day there was an almost 7-8 hour hike which included lots of activities, it was super sunny out and everyone wanted to go home after the torture but then it was just more free time, small games and activities and chilling so it all calmed down. it did not feel like as short as a time as it was. the days go SLOWWWW. so many instances where i thought it was like 3pm and it was only 11:45am. head on over to pt 2 bc i ended up being so long tumblr would not let me post it lol!
exam season is in less than 100 days , mocks are soon (and i’m fucking screwed)
21:05 - Wednesday 16th February
SOOO IM GONE. - french mock tommorow, i’ll likely do foundation french (which i’m not too bothered about - makes sense since i can barely speak my own language let alone learn another one) je ne suis pas parle francais
- mock exams on the first week of March - that includes every subject, HOPEFULLY, i can do further maths and maths and do them well.
- ENGLISH IS A MESS. i haven’t even STARTED macbeth and i need to cover it in a week and a half in time for the literature mock - holy shit don’t even get me started on english language - story writing can suck a dick, i’d be the sickest damn fantasy author ever to the point i’d boil my spaghetti in JK Rollings tears BUT EDUQAS REQUIREMENTS ARE THE MOST IMAGINATION LIMITING THING - it’s literally like non-magical harry potter went to a public school. - math, math, MATH - so i got dropped from set one recently, but i was given the chance of a two week trial and if i did good i’d move back up, ends in two days so wish me luck! haven’t posted lately due to being real busy but i thought i’d give you all a lil study update until next time Amimi
1.10.2020
Day 1 - Introduce yourself and tell us what you study!
Hi! I’m Maddie and I’m currently studying Psychology, English Language and Chemistry in Sixth Form (year 12) ☺️✨🦋
17.9.2020 🍓
Chemistry is so hard!! I’m really having to put in extra time in order to understand everything... still! English language is super fun and I love studying the use of language in persuasive text ☺️✨
10.9.20
Psychology is so interesting 😍 I’m so glad I chose it, I’ve been leaarning so much! I got to go on a lovely walk the other day so enjoy a photo I took ☺️✨
🎧 I need to be alone - Girl in red
30.8.2020 🍉
Working on my EPQ ☺️ I’m ordering some new stationary today and I’m really looking forward to it, does anyone have suggestions? ✨🍋
I got GCSE results today!
I was so happy with them, especially after all the stress with the predicted grades ☺️✨💕
Hey guys! So I’m really sorry but I’ll be ending the 100 days of productivity challenge! I’ve been struggling to keep up with it and it adds unnecessary stress that isn’t productive at all. 😅
I will however remain posting other study motivation photos! Don’t think my blog will die because I’m ending the challenge ☺️
Hope you enjoy the next photos I post and feel free to send any asks!! ☺️✨🌿☕️
Day 72/100 days of productivity ☕️🌿
Today wasn’t great but I still got a lot done! I finally did some writing that I’ve been putting off but the deadline is in a few days and I’m not sure if I’m going to finish in time... it’s really annoying because I really didn’t mean to procrastinate this long :/
21st July - What is the best vacation you have ever been on? (note: does not have to have been during summer)
Ah, October a couple of years ago we went to America and it was amazing, we went to Disneyland and saw my aunts and uncles that live there. There were so many amazing coffee shops and I tried a cake shake which was literally a milkshake blended with a cupcake 🧁 I really enjoyed myself then 💫✨
Day 72/100 days of productivity 🌿🦋✨
Today was okay :) I was feeling super run down so I didn’t get as much done as I’d have liked to but I still accomplished lots from my to do list! I’m going to go to bed early and get up at seven tomorrow in order to get some extra stuff done ☺️
18th July - What do you usually do during the summer?
Well, normally I sleep until noon and do absolutely nothing except eat so I’m hoping to make this summer the exception! I’d really like to be productive and active this summer instead of wasting it away sitting on the sofa. I think I’m doing alright so far! ☺️🌿
Day 71/100 days of productivity ☕️🌙
Today went well! I met up with my friend at the park and I had a really great time. I also tidied my room, worked out and overall had a really productive day. So far I’ve stuck with my new bullet journal and I’m super proud of it, even if it is quite a simple design. ☺️💫
17th July - What is the most important task that you need to complete this summer?
I think it’ll be preparing for sixth form! Normally we’d have had an introductory week at the end of term but due to corona we’ve been left to ourselves aha, so this summer I’ll be getting everything ready and double checking I have everything I need! ☺️💫
Good Morning! I hope everyone’s day is lovely today ☺️☕️✨
Day 70/100 days of productivity ☕️🌙
Finally committed to a paper bullet journal! It looks pretty good so far and I’m super proud! It’s really therapeutic to fill out. I also got most of my jobs done today! There were a few I missed but I’ll get them finished tomorrow ☺️✨☕️
14th July - Have your plans changed at all because of the pandemic?
Yep! I was supposed to do GCSEs this year but those have been forgotten :/ it’s nice to not do exams but it feels kind of anticlimactic and a bit like the work I did for the last two years DIDNT end up being used properly. However! It did mean I got to relax on my birthday instead of revising, every cloud ⛅️ ☺️✨☕️