Stuff That Occurs To Me While In The Elementary School

The more you read, the more you know. The more you know, the smarter you grow. The smarter you grow, the stronger your voice when speaking your mind or making your choice." - A poster I'm looking at here in the library.

I like this quote a lot. It's basically what I tell people when they ask me how I know stuff. "I read a lot," as the Doctor put it.

I've decided not to make another blog. At least not yet. Sure, I'm trying to get a headstart on my writing career. And that's all well and good. I try not to blog about stupid things (try), and if I do, I try to do them in a civilized way.
But the important thing is this: I'm in high school. I don't need to worry about being professional until I depend on it. Right now, I depend on my parents' professionalism. So at the moment, it's not too big of a deal, except for my own self-image, I guess.

Last night we watched the Percy Jackson movie (very minor spoilers to follow). I would give it 3.5 stars (out of five, of course). It was a solid 3 up until the Percy/Luke battle, which bumped it up due to awesomeness.
And I loved the flying shoes (that wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that I have a pair just like them except minus the wings, would it?). Luke pulled the box off the shelf and my first thought was "Hey, that looks like a Converse box." and then it was a Converse box. I guess it does mention high-tops in the book, but I never made the connection.
They changed the plot, obviously, and I thought the storytelling was kind of rushed at the beginning, but I enjoyed it. Medusa's head with sunglasses made me laugh.

While I was going through class lists to find out how much stuff to put in each teacher's bin, I happened to look at the data (because I like stats and stuff). Next to each student's name was either "Hispanic" or "Not Hispanic." No mention of the student's race if "Not Hispanic." Why does this matter???

In one of the classrooms I was working in yesterday, there is a chart explaining the grading system they use here:

• 1 = I don't get it. I need help. (Failing grade)
• 2 = I almost get it. I need help. (Failing grade)
• 3 = I get it.
• 3* = I get it and can use it well.
• 4 = I get it and can use it to figure out other things.

While I find it stupid to have more than one failing grade, this falls in line with an idea I had yesterday, that I'm sure has already been said by loads of other people:
Intelligence is the ability to recognize and apply patterns.
Case point: I arrived at that conclusion by recognizing and applying patterns. A fact which I find funny.

Also, that grading system is a bit vague. With percentages and corresponding letter grades, you're graded via a definitive measurement. With this system, the teacher just gives you a number. So the standards to achieve a 3 vs. 3*, or a 3* vs. a 4 probably vary from class to class, and from teacher to teacher. The only time these numbers are based on percentages that I am aware of is on the EOGs. The rest of the time, a student might be getting a 4 in one subject in their class but they would be getting a 3* in someone else's class. It's subjective and unfair, I think, even though I'm sure the teacher's try their best to be in-sync with each other and to grade on a rough scale.