Child's weird choice of A-level subject switch

[JudithS]

Hi, seeking advice on how not to be one of those interfering parents! My child recently started sixth form college, choosing digital media production, history and Classical Civilisations, but always said she wasn't sure if she would like Classical Civilisations and might switch, which they can do in the first few weeks. I was quite happy with that.

At the weekend, she said she definitely wanted to drop Classical Civilisations and she and I discussed whether she might do music, which was her official back-up subject, or drama & theatre studies. She went to talk to her personal tutor today and now she is doing.... English literature!

I just don't get it: two days ago she was saying she didn't like studying literature or writing too many essays and that she doesn't read much and rarely finishes a book. I don't know if she was flattered/coerced into it because Eng.Lit. was her top GCSE grade? She had a discussion yesterday with her personal tutor, the English tutor and the careers advisor and I fear she might have been given the same kind of misinformation that I was when I was that age (long story, ancient history and I shouldn’t project).

It seems she has been told that English Literature is a good subject for getting a place at a top university, which is not something she has ever mentioned before. I told her my brother had gone to Cambridge without English Literature and she said 'But it's a traditional subject for getting into a good university', whatever that means.

This is completely out of the blue two days after she said she wanted to do something creative. English Literature just seems such a boring, bland, nothing subject – though perhaps someone here has done it for A-level and can convince me otherwise? She got decent GCSE results all round, nothing stunning but there were only two subjects on the sixth form college prospectus she was excluded from so why on earth pick this.

Obviously I am trying to tread carefully and not nag or be annoying and counterproductive but I don't think it is going to challenge or stimulate her (and she especially dislikes poetry). Any advice or should I just back the F off?

Thanks

It’s a solid academic subjec, and if it’s one she can get a high mark in, will help her in the next stage in terms of UCAs points. What does she want to do next?

Eng Lit is an amazing A-level, super broad and super interesting, so don't discount it because you think it's shit!

Whether it's right for your DD is up to her to decide.

I think you just have to leave her to it. I dropped history about 2 months in and took up biology because my friends were doing it and there was a school trip coming up. I hadn’t had much interest in it before but it turned out the be my favourite A level and the only one I got an A in. I think my mum thought I’d gone a bit mad and I do remember her not being very pleased when I came home one November and said ‘oh by the way I’m doing history anymore, I’m doing biology and we’re going on a trip next month and it’s £70’ 🙈

I think your own personal prejudice is showing in your dismissal of English Lit as a "boring, bland, nothing subject". If it's something you are interested in, it's no more boring and bland than any other subject.

It's also got quite a lot in common with drama and theatre studies, so seems odd that you would think that that would really suit your DD, but English Lit wouldn't?
Drama or music in conjunction with media would also be two coursework heavy subjects - which might be a reason against.

Media, History and English Lit is a good combination. If your DD has been talked out of drama on the basis that English Lit is better for some nebulous reasons, I think you're right to be worried. But it's not clear that she has.

(Full disclaimer -DD at university studying English Lit)

English Literature just seems such a boring, bland, nothing subject

Bugger me, what an awful attitude! A selection from the greatest books and plays written in our language and you think that’s bland? It was far and away my favourite A-level subject.

It’s also a well respected A-level subject, which is not true of some of the other choices.

Any advice
Get copies of the set texts. Does she want to spend two years studying them?

If she's doing digital media production she needs to understand the basics of storytelling. English Literature teaches that. It also sits really well with history.

She's not entirely sure, which is fair enough at 16, but 'something creative'. The theatre studies thing sounded so much more relevant and practical: yes, some text analysis but also studying directing, production and a bit of actual acting.

But it isn't something she's interested in, as she was telling me as recently as Saturday, and isn't as specific as drama & theatre studies. I don't see why two coursework-heavy subjects would be bad, but not two essay-heavy subjects (history and Eng. Lit) as she recently said she doesn't like writing essays too much.

How does your daughter like the university course?

I have a Drama and Theatre A Level and unless something has massively changed in a decade, English Lit is much more respected by universities.

It seems that History and English Lit are her core subjects that universities or employers will respect and Digital Media Production is a complementary yet niche A Level, that's more of a specialism.

They fit well together.

Unless she has a passion for theatre and knows that's what she wants to do, I would choose English Lit.

As an aside, I know two people who went into the theatre world and both went to good universities to study English Lit and did drama as a recreational activity, eventually leading/directing the student productions. So you don't need to study drama and theatre to get into it

While I disagree with your dismissal of English Lit, it really does seem a bit random for her to have chosen it as a good subject for uni appliations given her other interests, BUT there is a solid logic to taking a subject that she has already done very well at. If that was her top GCSE, then clearly she has more of a knack for it than other subjects - did she do a music or drama GCSE? What did she get in them by comparison?

To be honest, I'd be more doubtful about the digital media production a-level, and would sooner have her do Art or Drama & Theatre over that, as a more versatile subject for university than something that for many people in the industry is largely self taught or an element of a college/uni course.

English, Drama & Theatre and History is a great combination, for instance.

I’d ask her to tell you what her thought process is given her statements on not liking literature and essays and not finishing books! That’s relevant and helpful stuff to ask her to think about.

How does your daughter like the university course?

She's only just started so a bit early to tell :)

At 16, she took English Lit A Level mainly because she was good at it (and hated other options), rather than because of a huge passion. At that point she thought she might go to university to study Linguistics, or creative writing or history.

By half way through Year 12, she was in love with it. I think GCSE sucks a lot of the life out the subject as you read the texts to death. She engaged much more with the A Level texts and enjoyed the broader discussion and wider investigation. So it may be that your daughter has been convinced with a similar argument.

I do agree that not liking essay writing might be a problem, but it's also required for some of her other possibilities. And history is probably worse (or certainly as bad as) than English Lit IMO.
What put her off Classical Civ; does that give a clue as to what to avoid?

Sounds like a good choice to me as well. Eng Lit keeps some breadth and more choices open to her later on. Good to have a traditional course alongside the niche digital media which I’d be least happy about, it compliments Drama.

Presumably at this stage the tutor could tell exactly what’s on the syllabus which might have helped.

To be honest she sounds quite a typical 16 year old who doesn't really know herself or what she really likes or wants to pursue. That's fine, she's figuring it out, you just have to let her get on with it and if she doesn't enjoy it, there are still options.

She did Music BTEC as the school didn't offer music GCSE and got a distinction. The school didn't offer drama but she is in an amateur musical theatre company and got a secondary role in its show at the town's 'proper' theatre recently which involved some duetting as well as acting.

It's just all weird. She has never shown any interest in university.

Could she do English lit and drama & theatre classes until half term and decide then which one she wants to drop?

I think English literature is a good solid choice and if she did well in it at GCSE then she can't be that bad at finishing books and writing essays. It probably is a more respected subject by universities too, unless she ends up wanting to do drama.

But if you think she's been swayed by the school and she won't enjoy English lot then doing both for a few weeks is a good compromise so she can get a feel for them.

40% of drama A Level (this might vary by board) is studying and writing about texts. More essay writing :) It's not all about performing.

English and history are good subjects. I would switch digital media personally.

It's just all weird. She has never shown any interest in university.

Well, education is all about broadening horizons, I suppose, and with good grades at GCSE and post-16, university is just something else she an consider. But unless she decides that she wants to study English specifically at university, it's unlikely that anywhere will value a good grade in English Literature above the same grade in Classical Civilisation. Or Psychology. Or politics. It's an A level, and if a university requires / prefers / does not accept it within those on which it will base its consideration of her application, it will say so.

Which makes me also wonder what lies behind not the dropping of Classical Civilisation, but the specific replacement of it with a subject that she had previously actively not wanted to take.

At the end of the day, though, it's her decision.

I genuinely don’t understand why you haven’t just asked her all this? I think you could have a reasonable non-interfering conversation with her about it, raising all the questions you have. Just refer back to your conversation at the weekend, and what she said then, and ask what changed her mind and how she thinks the subject choices will work moving forward.
I don't think you’ll come across as interfering, you’ll just sound interested as long as your tone is neutral. Just start by saying you’re surprised at the swap given what she’d said at the weekend and take it from there?

It's not peculiar: I did modern languages at university and hated the literature element. It hasn't helped me in any area of life.

The whole thing about studying a purely academic subject is that it doesn't provide you with any practical/vocational/occupational/applicable skills, which really limits your choices after university, as I discovered. I mean, I was literally told by prospective employers (in the days every applicant got a feedback letter even if they hadn't been for an interview) that this was why I wasn't suitable, even telling me things like 'Your peers are ahead of you in experience because you spent 4 years at university' (paraphrasing from memory).

I have an Level in English and a degree in English Lit and Theatre Studies. It's really offensive and ignorant to call it boring and bland. I am creative but utterly useless st Maths and failed my gcse more than once. However, I wouldn't call Maths boring and bland. I struggle to wrap my head around people liking it but i appreciate and understand that they do and because I don't, doesn't mean that I can discount it. You can't live your life for your daughter. At college many eons ago, I started in Secretarial Studies (was great at Gcse Office Studues), hated it, changed to A levels - English, Psychology and Business Studies before dropping BS and adding in Sociology. My parents were fully supportive of my choices.

I think you should let her do it. My son did this with his GCSE options - determined to choose computer science, then at the last minute went for music. I was over the moon! He's now doing maths, physics and chemistry A-levels with a mind to doing something scientific at uni, but I would have been happy if he'd chosen English (which he disliked but was really good at), music and photography. In fact, probably happier if he'd done those... 😖