Fun English with YouTube: “I Will Not Let an Exam Result Decide My Fate”

This is a “spoken word” video about the old fashioned, outdated education system and how students who don’t achieve good grades shouldn’t feel bad. [Spoken word is speaking in rhymes over a (music) beat/rhythm.]

It’s about how schools test students who are all smart, but in different ways, on the same thing.

What schools are good at is figuring out who’s good at taking tests. But how many times have you taken a multiple choice test in real life?

However, tests to give structure and integrity to people’s learning, and can be used to check your progress. They also can help you get scholarships and jobs.

But doing well on tests does not necessarily mean you will be successful in life, and it doesn’t mean you can communicate well.

When it comes to English, what’s more important? That you speak without making grammar mistakes, or your ability to make someone else feel good when they talk to you?

Who would you rather be around?

Who do you think will be more successful?

Learn New Vocabulary and How to Understand the English Accent

This video is by Suli Breaks, a musical artist from England. It can be difficult to understand what he says with his colloquial British accent, even for an American, like me.

Anyways, here’s how I recommend learning English from this video:

1. Listen to the video first, and try to understand it as best as you can.
2. Next, read through the transcript. All of the bolded words are defined at bottom of the article.
3. After you feel you have a good understanding of the lyrics, listen to the video again and do your best to understand what he’s saying.
4. If you still have trouble understanding, then watch the video while reading the transcript.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you can understand everything that Suli Breaks says.

Alright, let’s get started.

Transcript

Revolution on Represent 107.3 FM. My name is Tarek.

Now listeners you may remember not too long ago we had a spoken word artist by the name of Suli Breaks.

Came down dropped a live session and a lot of you were excited about that. I was excited this morning when I opened up a package, had no idea what it was.

Opened it up, put it in the player, pressed play, and it totally blew me away, it’s his brand new piece from his brand new “The Dormroom EP”.

I’ma have to let spoken word do what it does best, and let it speak for itself. Brand new Suli Breaks!!

Right now, there is a kid finishing parents’ evening in a heated discussion with his mother. Saying, “Why does he have to study subjects he will never ever use in his life?”

And she will look at him blank eyed, stifle a sigh think for a second and then lie. She’ll say something along the lines of, “You know to get a good job you need a good degree and these subjects help you get a good degree, we never had this opportunity when I was younger.”

And he will reply, but, “You were young a long time ago, weren’t you mum?” and she won’t respond although what he implies makes perfect sense that societies needs would have changed since she was 16.

But she will ignore him grip his hand more sternly then drag him to the car. What she doesn’t know, is that, she didn’t ignore him just to shut him up. She didn’t lie because they are just returning him from parents evening and an argument in the hallway would look bad on her résumé. She won’t lie because she had just spent the last one hour convincing a stern face teacher that she will ensure that her child studies more at home.

NO! She will lie simply because she does not know any better herself. Although all her adult life she has never used or applied, Pythagoras Therom, Pathetic Fallacy, and still does not know, the value of “X”, she will rely on society to tell her child who has one of the sharpest minds in the school, is hyperactive, unfocused, easily distracted and wayward.

Students! How many equations, subjects, and dates did you memorise just before an exam never to use again?

How many “A” grades did you get, which were never asked for when applying for a job?

How many times have you remembered something 5 minutes just after the teacher has said “Stop writing.” Only to receive your results one month later to realise that you were only mark short of the top grade?

Does that mean remembering 5 minutes earlier would have made you more qualified for a particular job? Well, on an application form it would’ve.

We all different abilities, thought processes, experiences and genes. So why is a class full of individuals tested by the same means? So does that means Cherrelle thinks she’s dumb, because she couldn’t do a couple of sums? And if this issue is not addressed properly, it then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy!

Then every school has the audacity to have a policy on equality! “Huh” the irony!!

Exams are society’s methods of telling you what you’re worth. But, you can’t let society can’t tell you what you are. Because this is the same society, that tells you, that abortion is wrong, but then looks down on teenage parents.

The same society, thats sells products to promote natural hair, looks and smooth complexion with the model on the box, half photoshopped, and has fake lashes and hair extensions. With pastors that preach charity, but own private jets. Imams that preach against greed, but are all fat.

Parents that say they want “educated kids” bit constantly marvel at how rich Richard Branson is. Governments, that preach peace, but endorse wars. That say they believe so much in the importance of higher education and further learning and then why increase tuition fees every single year?!?

I believed Miss Jefferson when she took me into the office said that my exams would be imperative to my success. Because we was taught to always follow when Miss Jefferson led. Then I took Jefferson out of the equation, and learnt to think for myself. I realized, we were always taught to follow when misled.

“Huh” the irony. Test us with tests, But the finals are never final, because they never prepare us for the biggest test which is survival!

And what I suggest is fairly outlandish so I don’t except everyone to understand this. Except for the kid that knows what it feels like to be worth no more than that D or that A that you receive on results’ day.

The ones whose best stories where never good enough for your English teacher. Because apparently you missed out on key literal techniques, did not follow the class plan, and the language was too “informal” for him to understand. But then he’d reference Hamlet and Macbeth, and you’d fight the urge to express your contempt by partially clenching your fist with only your medius finger left protruding in the middle of your hand, and then ask if he was aware that Shakespeare was known as the innovator of slang.

Or the kid at the back of the class who thinks, why I’m a studying something that doesn’t fuel my drive? But then when confronted with a maths problem his eyes come alive!

So this one is for my generation. The ones that found what they were looking for on Google, the ones who followed their dreams on Twitter, pictured their future on Instagram, accepted destiny on Facebook. This one’s for my “failures” and my “dropouts,” for my unemployed graduates, my shop assistants, cleaners and cashiers with bigger dreams, my self-employed entrepreneurs, my world changers and dream chasers

Because the purpose of “Why I hate school, but love education” was not to initiate a world wide debate, but to let them know that whether 72 or 88, 44 or 68, we will not let an exam results decide our fate. Peace.

Vocabulary

• Dropped – to release a song
• Blew me away – I was really impressed
• Piece – song
• I’ma – I’m gonna [going to]
• Parents’ evening – a night where the teachers talk to the students’ parents
• Heated discussion – a discussion with lots of emotion
• Blank eyed – unsure, not knowing how to respond
• Stifle – to try and stop yourself from reacting
• Sigh – a long, loud breath the expresses an emotion like sadness
• Implies – strongly suggests
• Grip – grab tightly
• Sternly – serious and strict, generally to show authority
• Drag – pull someone forcefully
• Shut him up – stop him from talking
• Ensure – make certain that something will happen
• Sharpest minds – smartest minds
• Hyperactive – being constantly active and interrupting, unable to focus
• Wayward – difficult to control or predict
• “A” grades – the best grade you can get
• Tested by the same means – tested the same way
• Sums – math problems
• Self-fulfilling prophecy – if you believe something, it will come true
• Audacity – rude or disrespectful
• Complexion – the natural appearance of a person’s skin, especially the face
• Lashes – eyelashes (the hair growing on the edges of the eyes)
• Pastors – a minister in charge of a Christian church
• Imams – the person who leads prayers in a mosque
• Marvel – to be filled with wonder or astonishment
• Endorse – to publicly support
• Tuition fees – the cost of attending university
• Imperative – extremely importance
• Misled – to give someone the wrong idea about something
• Outlandish – sounding bizarre or unfamiliar
• Key literal techniques – important techniques for writing
• Contempt – the feeling that someone is worthless
• Clenching your fist – squeezing your fingers like you’re going to punch someone
• Medius finger – middle finger (medius is a scientific word)
• Protruding – extending beyond, sticking out
• Innovator – someone who introduces new ideas
• Fuel my drive – inspire me
• Debate – a discussion about a topic in public.

Like What You Read?

Real Life English is all about the REAL aspects of English. We’re about transcending the old, traditional ways of teaching—instead of focusing on passing tests, we focus on connecting and communicating with real people.

English for Life like this is what the Real Life English methodology is all about—finding fun, interesting ways to practice your English.

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What Is Your Opinion?

What do you think about what Suli Breaks is saying about school in this video?

Do you agree with him?

What do you think his purpose was in making this video?

Post what you think in the comments section below.

For more Fun English with Youtube videos, check out the article Dick in a Box.