...found some great deals at EMS with my friends. I'm sad that they are closing all the EMS stores in Michigan, but I've only ever bought a few things from them, so it's not devastating. If REI closed, that would be devastating.
...slept for 12 hours on Saturday night, two of them in front of the glorious fireplace at Jon's place in Lake City.
...actually feel like winter camping with the Venture Crew this weekend is not going to be awful. Aside from the fact that I feel this whole thing is too focused on "the Boy Scout way," I think I can enjoy teaching the girls in the group some cool outdoors stuff. (And yes, I realize this is a Scouting organization, but I'd be an idiot if I actually believe I could be warmer is a tarp and some straw - without the benefit of insulating snow - than in a well-ventilated tent. And I'm not paying $200 and taking time off work for some special training session. I'm pretty sure my leadership abilities are developed enough for this.)
And now for a random mini-rant: I have come to HATE the line, "My kid just isn't a good test-taker." I'm going out on a limb here and saying this is not an excuse for poor performance on a test. I hate standardized tests as much as the next person, but if you do crappy on a test, you have to figure out why, not just brush it off as something over which you have no control. You screw up multiple choice questions? Read more carefully. You're slow? Practice makes perfect, my friend. It's like parents expect us to take that into consideration when we admit a student, but what happens when Cunningham's first econ exam rolls around, and there are enough multiple choice questions with enough choice combinations to scare even the most proficient test-taker? I'm done.
4 comments:
Big "no kidding" on the Cunningham thing. And why do none of the complainers ever notice that his test questions exactly follow the questions he puts on his study guides? Man up, people. Crack the books.
--Ryan
Ditto about Cunningham's tests. He's a great teacher, but man were those tough! (Except for that extra credit question about the creator of Futurama...)
~CH
my favorite comments at conferences:
1. my child isn't a good test taker
2. my child has ADHD
3. my child has special needs
guess what--because you are diagnosed with ADHD does not mean that your credit card bill can be late without a fee. Because you have ADHD does not mean that you can drive whatever speed you want...it just means that they have to work harder! Hard work never hurt anyone! Employers do not have a check box on applications for ADHD--employers care whether or not the required task can be completed in an appropriate and efficient way. So for real, MAN UP--because the real world doesn't bend to accomodate everyone.
Oh Cunningham's test... oh man. I remember those days. They always worked out well enough though. Guess that means "I am a good test taker"... either that or I just studied my rear off based on his study guides. Standardized tests do stink... I hate them, but still. There must be SOME function for them if they are still using them. I just hate having people know that a significant portion of the population is smarter than I am, and I suspect that most people feel the same way! They aren't perfect, but you are so right--if you can't change it, just deal with it!
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