In addition to Andy's rant on education

I went to the Mrs. high school this morning for their annual awards show. They gave out some awards, some scholarships and so forth. The usual fare for awards show.

Except there were hardly any parents there. There were some. But these are the same you see at every event the school has. I've seen more parents at football and baseball games. The biggest cheer from the students was for the PE award for weight training. Two seniors were awarded two full scholarships at two seperate schools. Clap, yawn, next.

So much is made of the school system and why private schools are better. The problem with the school system isn't urban school systems like Raleigh. They have plenty of funding because they deserve it, their a big school system, and so on. Well, I have found out the smaller systems need just as much help and funding as the big boys.

* The student with the top SAT score was recognized today. Congrats to him. He barely squeaked into getting accepted into NC State because he had to take it again.
* Congrats to all 3 students who were awarded with perfect attendance today. Thats right. 3. For the entire high school. Oh, by the way, the Mrs. is baby-sitting 20+ students after school today who missed more than 8 days, during only 1 semester. When asked wouldn't have been easier to come to class instead of stay after school on a Friday, one student replied emphatically, "No."
* Congrats to the 3 kids who made the Principals list. Yep, they were able to maintain an A average the entire year.

The school that she teaches at has a senior class of about 50 students, of which only 8 are going to 4-year colleges. I believe about that same number are going to local community colleges. And the rest will probably continue to be teenagers for another 5 or so years.

I can't say for certain that kids here would have a better chance if more money was spent on education. It might be a wasted effort. But as you can see from the concerned parents, they don't seem to concerned about it either, as long as the grass is green on the baseball field.

Beating the Boredom Blues

So, I fractured my ankle on Saturday. I have been reduced to being waited on hand-and-foot. There are only so many times I can watch sports center. DVDs are about 8 feet away. Maybe Law and Order is on some channel.

An average day

Add this to the things that make me laugh . . . and probably only me. Why do weather people insist that an abnormaly cold day is "about 10 degrees below average," or colder than normal?

The average temperature is just that! AVERAGE! It is the middle of hot and cold. For instance, it's 10 degrees colder than the average today, but last year it was 10 degrees . . . . warmer!

OK, I'm done. for now.