Near the finish line

Today is Sunday and here I am again at the computer. I had to drag myself away from reading this great book by Bruce Beresford (Director) called Josh Harnett definitely wants to do this...true stories from a life in the screen trade, and put myself back into study mode. Good news is that my partner helped me by going through the last assignment for Constructions of Adolescence unit with a fine tooth comb and I did the final rewrites today and sent it off. Phew. Now I can fully concentrate on notemaking and revision. My strategy is to write notes from the readings - and have been publishing these - but also I found some great notes about sociology from this site - I wish we had been given something like this in the first place rather than just articles because it helps to have an overview of issues such as functionalism, marxism, hidden curriculum. ethnicity, class and gender from a sociological point of view before launching into specific studies. I found that it really helped to guide my understanding of the readings. I think that the book, Sociology of Education: Possibilities and Practices is good as it does have such an overview and then several very well written articles on those issues, gender, ethnicity which were helpful. I haven't read the whole book but intent to when I don't have to! It is tough revising for this exam, apart from the absence of practice, but also because it makes me feel that I am just preparing to know something to reproduce it for a 2 hour exam and to make sure I remember names, theories, concepts and issues, but that it might all fall out of my head later. I like preparing for essays because there is that lovely time of discovery and reading when everything is new...but now i just feel under pressure to remember remember remember - and there is so much that could be targeted for the exam...bit odd that we don't have access to past papers and only one is reproduced in the study guide (my study buddy feels that this is a sure sign that these might be the questions reproduced)
Anyway, happy that my partner is driving me to the exam - might just crash the car on the way because of anxiety. Don't feel exactly stressed right now, but it is only a week away - am sure I will work up to a frenzy by then. I can completely identify with all the students who just sat their HSC in NSW...my heart goes out to them.