just some grouses

am i really quiet in class?

i can easily list at least 20 of my classmates now who do not speak AT ALL during lessons. im sure i speak up more frequently than many other people as i make it a point to speak or ask a question at least once for every subject everyday. if i am quiet, why do i have a comment in my Elective report that i "actively participated in class discussions and contributed opinions actively", "displayed much enthusiasm in learning and contributed much to the learning of the class" and "ready to ask questions whenever she had any queries". my Imagineering report also states that i was "active during group discussions and consultations".

ironically, the next paragraph in my helsman report states that i took initiative to involve the quieter members of my group. if i am quiet, i would have joined the rest in my group and kept my mouth shut.

so i dont see the reason why i have the awful comment in my report.

i feel that the reports should be standardised and written with a certain criteria. it is too short to include everything the student has done but by selecting what to include and what not to in a report is very unfair.
for example, why is it that marjorie has "most involved in her learning, not only at the class level, but also in being selected to go for the Silicon Valley trip with the JC students" in her report and i dont have it? if the report were fair, all 5 of the IP students should have this in their report too.

i feel that the choice of words in a report is extremely important and it isnt fair that the reports are written by different teachers even when all the teachers hold meetings to discuss the students. i feel that some teachers are beginning to make generalisations about students. like how a certain student is "bright", others "loved by everybody" and for me- "quiet". this is unfair as the outcome of the report would be dependent on who the form teacher of the class is. if the teacher has a positive fixed image on the student, then it would be good for him/her, but what if its negative? using a stronger word, the student would be wronged.


furthermore, different teachers have different styles of writting resulting in reports which are not standardised and unfair to some classes. my report is just 5 independent paragraphs. each paragraph states what quality i possess at the start and proves it with an example of what i did. this is repeated 5 times, making up my report. i have read other student's report and i find that the use of quotes make the report convincing. language teachers would also have a better command of language compared to a maths teacher for example and the report would be extremely different.

lastly, the reports across the classes are of different lengths. V11's report all seem to be a consistent 5 paragraphs. in this case, the choice of what to write in each paragraph is very important. im not sure if the teachers have a list of what the student has done for the year, and other teachers' comments on a list as a reference on what to write. it seems to me that what the teacher writes is based on memory and stereotyping. if it is positive, then very well. but as mentioned, if otherwise, it would be unfair for the student if the event stated is not a key one and maybe just a small event when there are major activities, that the student participated in, to mention.

Perhaps i should start being noisy in class by making unnecessary comments about the teacher or the subject, like how many more slides there are to go or how the teacher has changed a certain acessory for example so that i have something more to say during lessons. otherwise i could be extremely crappy and gossipy so that i do not appear to be quiet. in any case, the above suggestions might not contribute to the learning of the class but then, one would appear to be active and not the hated word- quiet.