Random Rants

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Failed my first driving test. Kinda pissed. Goddamn emergency stop, did everything difficult right and messed up on something simple.
 
The more tests you fail, the better driver you will be when you pass.
 
So, there was a very damaging rumor about me that was spread around like jam.

It's that I liked a girl who is known as ******** and weird to many.

For reference only, this girl will be called Jane and I will be John. (Not our real names, though.)

All of a sudden on a December morning, two former friends said that I liked this girl. I voiced that it wasn't true, but they just spread it. Soon, one of the kids that heard told the gangsta tables. Surprisingly, only one reacted like the others.

After that, a usual "Hi" was replaced with "Don't sit with us today. Go sit with the girl you like."

Finally, in February, it was over. But in March, that sweet satisfaction ended.

All of a sudden, on a metal-detecting trip, my friend and neighbor said, "John's going out with Jane!"

At this, I did something that I would likely never do. I went for the nose.

Then, two of the other kids restrained him and me. Looking back on it, it probably would have made things worse if it landed, but he REALLY deserved it.

And if they hadn't restrained us, I would've beaten the living daylights out of him.

So, the rumor was back. Next day, he shouts it to the entire bus. Then, the cafeteria. Before, I kept the rumor away from the bully and the girl I actually liked.

So, it was circulating for a short time, I disproved it.

Here was the most damaging thing that happened to me because of this.

Then, for the third week in May, I found a considerable change in the girl I actually liked's behavior towards me. She started sitting next to me in silent reading and math class. She talked to me more. Then, when I was on the toilet Sunday, it finally dawned on me:

She liked me! This not only would land me the girl that I actually liked, but also, there would be a MASSIVE popularity surge. She is best friends with one of the most popular girls in the school. Immediately, I would become one of the most popular kids in the school through the degrees of friendship system. (John is friends with Jane, who is friends with Mark, etc.)

So, I was absent Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was the big day. I would ask her out and she would say yes. That day would be the happiest day of my life.

So, the period of time between 2nd and 3rd would be the time to ask her out. First period and second period inched by. I could not wait. Then, finally. The end of second period. I ran down the as fast as I can and saw her.

I approached her and finally asked the question I'd been waiting to ask: "So, wanna see a movie with me Saturday?"

Finally, the one word that was the word that I didn't think was going to come out came out. "No. You don't like me. You like Jane."

"I don't like Jane. I like you!" Basically, I sounded like Peter in the alternate universe trying to get back Lois from Quagmire in the fifth season finale of Family Guy.

It didn't work. After, I decided to hunt down everyone who knew about it.

I got no answers until June when one of the guards of the girl that I act liked confessed to telling her. Also, I found that he hacked into my screenname and put a shrine to Jane.

After, one of my friends who was strong enough to wrestle a bear came. He beat the living daylights out of that kid. Soon, I sent all involved to peer mediation. We identified the victims-bystanders-perpetrators chart. Everyone saw the error of their ways and apologized.

All was right.
 
On the State of Standardized Testing in the United States/B]

[N.B.--Scores on the SAT do not indicate aptitude or scholastic achievement. It measures one thing: your ability to take standardized tests.]

The USA is in an education crisis. No, I'm not talking about higher-level science and math, where American students consistently score lower than their European, Indian, and Chinese counterparts. I'm talking about something even more fundamental than that: American high school students are pathetically deficient in even basic mathematical skill.

For this, I will use the SAT Mathematics section, which tests arithmetic, algebra, and geometry, as a proxy for mathematical achievement. The benefits are: standardized questions, massive sample size, and consistent results from year to year.

Since students take the SAT in eleventh grade, the test should be trivial: by that time, students should have at the least completed Geometry and moved into Algebra II. However, the scores on the test roll in every year, and the mean score continues to hover around 500.

This is a national disgrace.

There is no reason why an average student with access to a calculator should not score 650 or better with minimal effort.

To be fair, the SAT was initially designed to have a mean of 500 with standard deviation 100 points, so as to make the percentile process easier. However, the test is not recentered every year. If it was, then this would be meaningless; a score of 500 would be average by definition.

The mere fact that 50% of college-bound students cannot score above 500 on the test is indicative of a serious mathematical deficiency in the United States education system.

I propose a major reform of the secondary school mathematics curriculum. All college-bound students should have at least seen calculus before they go off to college. This revised system is primarily for them.

7th grade: Pre-algebra and pre-geometry
8th grade: Algebra I
9th grade: Geometry
10th grade: Algebra II
11th grade: Trigonometry and Precalculus
12th grade: Calculus, either AB or BC

Alternate: Do pre-algebra in 6th grade and bump everything back one grade. This allows a "free" senior year with which to take Calculus III and other college-level mathematics.

The fundamental mathematics of arithmetic, algebra, and geometry would be covered extensively from 7th grade through 10th grade. These students would go into the SAT knowing their math cold. The easiest way to raise your score is not to try "tricking" the test; it's to know the math.

Additionally, advanced science and mathematics training must be available for those who can handle them. All college-bound student should have one year of basic biology, chemistry, and physics, along with AP-level training in one of those three sciences. College-bound students should also be able to walk into college with Calculus I in hand.

In order to remain cometitive, American students must be trained to the level of their European, Indian, and Chinese counterparts. AP testing provides an excellent examination on par with the Indian JPEE exams and the European advanced testing.

Reform must start at the bottom. I propose one of two solutions: either significantly raise the difficulty of the SAT, and thus give the test some kind of academic meaning, or recenter the test so that 500 equates to 70% correct answers, with 600, 700, and 800 representing 80%, 90%, and 100% correct answers, respectively.

Does the SAT represent the end-all, be-all test? No. Does the SAT measure your ability to succeed in college and in life? Not in its present condition. However, since it is available, it should be used to force higher standards out of schools.

[ I take no reponsiblity for the accuracy of the information presented here. If any of this is incoherent, inaccurate, or just plain wrong, remember that it's a random rant, and is written as such. A rational plan would belong in a seperate thread :) ]

Integral
 
Integral, as someone who sucks at math and didn't get above a 650 on my Math on the SAT, I am still going to have to disagree that it is a national disgrace. What matters to me is that I succeed in my areas of interest, more specifically, molecular biology and biochemistry. If I can perform well then I do not see the necessity of doing so good on the SAT. What the SAT measures is bs, and if you do good, then awesome, pick the college of your choice, and be on with your life. Do employers give two-hoots about some pathetic standardized test you took to get into college? No.

If you want to argue about math in general needing to be better in the US, then I agree. I wish my math professors had been a heck of a lot better than they were. But the SAT and math scores aren't the end all-be all of success.

If SAT scores alone were a measure of student's ability to later land high-paying technical jobs, then you might have a point. However, there are loads of kids at my college that didn't exactly get 650 on their math SAT score and yet are thriving in college and grad school, even in their careers.

Rather than hone in specifically on math, I'd rather our educators beef up what is being taught in the sciences.
 
Rant on the SAT, part 1

Reliance on the SAT in college admissions puts way too much emphasis on a single 3-hour 45-minute examination. GPA is nearly always a better measure of aptitude than SAT scores. However, the SAT is necessary to compare performance across schools. A 4.0 GPA from one school could be drastically harder to achieve than at another school. The SAT theoretically corrects for that imbalance.

However, the SAT is used not only to correct for cross-school fluctuations but also as an indicator of aptitude in its own right. IMO, that puts far too much pressure on high school students. I remember my pre-SAT prep from my parents: 'This test determines what kind of college you'll be looking at. Your college determines your placement grad school. Your grad school determines your placement in the job market.' Thus, the pressure was immense to succeed on a test that does not measure aptitude; it measures how well you can tear apart the SAT.

I don't know the solution. Using the SAT to measure cross-school performance can be useful; using that test score to screen out students for college admssions is not useful. Many students with low SAT scores do extremely well in class; likewise, some students who have high SAT scores are good test-takers but function less well in the normal classroom environment.

Revamping the test has made the situation worse. It supposedly runs for 3 hours and 45 minutes; when taking into account breaks and everything else, the test clocks in between 4 and 5 hours. Test fatigue is common. It certainly hurt my score.

There is probably a better way than the SAT. As long as we have it, though, we should use it in a productive way. Then again, is there any way to measure reading, writing, and mathematical skills in a standardized test format? Is there a better way to compare cross-school performance, and thus rid us of the SAT entirely?

Meh.

Integral
 
Is there a better way to compare cross-school performance, and thus rid us of the SAT entirely?
Well there's the ACT. I added up the time and it take from 2hr 55min to 3hr 30min, not including breaks. Still long. IMHO how anyone can sit through a 4hr test? Taking 1 Subject(1hr) tired me out.
 
I... HATE... BEING... POOR!!!!

Why is the world so unfair? Why? What did the son of the Sultan of Brunei do better than me before we were born?
 
I... HATE... BEING... POOR!!!!

Why is the world so unfair? Why?
To quote Spinoza's famous axiom:"The knowledge of an effect depends on the knowledge of the cause, and involves it.";)

All you have to do is apply your will to get your self out of the economic predetermination.

What did the son of the Sultan of Brunei do better than me before we were born?
Nothing.I suppose that what he did inherited from is something better than most of us in general.
 
To quote Spinoza's famous axiom:"The knowledge of an effect depends on the knowledge of the cause, and involves it.";)

All you have to do is apply your will to get your self out of the economic predetermination.

Nothing.I suppose that what he did inherited from is something better than most of us in general.

That's so true! And I'm almost sure I will be out of it at some point, considering I can already make more money of my own than most of the people of my age in this country. However, the lack of money of my father makes me give almost all of what I get to live, and that makes us both POOR, in the sense of the word that few people in Europe or America can understand. I have great plans for the future, and I'm already ahead of the "mental timeline" I made. But it is horrible to be in this position until then!
 
What the heck is up with people making Mastercard memes! That stuff was stupid in the first place and even Mastercard barely pulled it off! School year book; $20, Porno mag; $5, Seeing one of your classmates in said porno mag; Priceless.

AHURHURHURHURHURHURHUR THAT SO FUNNY DUR HURRRRRRRRR

GUH I wanna punch people in the teeth for that!
 
Grr...I'm only getting audio half the time plus a messed up picture, sometimes intervals with neither, from the Fox station. And the Yankees-Giants game is in the 13th! :mad:
 
One thing that grinds my gears all the time is people who say one thing, and end up doing the opposite or at the very least not doing much at all and it is as if they just talk out of their ass. Their word has no credibility anymore.

I don't necessarely mean things like "I'm going to get in shape" "or I'm going to mow the lawn today" and things of that nature, we all have done that when we are lazy.

I have a perfect example of what I mean. This person has done it so many times I don't know why I even believe her at all anymore. I know her online (through a game) and I'll just give you some example of what I can remember. Note, I know this really does not affect me at all and it shoudl not matter. But for some reason it infuriates me and I just need to get a load off my chest :)

She was in a clan, one day she must of complained all day about her clan saying how horsehockey it was and she's sick of the leader and everything and there's a good chance she may leave soon.
The next day, it's as if nothing was ever said. She's kissing the leader's ass (or maybe the other way around), still in the clan and seems to have no intention of leaving. I ask her what happened and she doesn't say anything.

Another time she was in another clan, more or less same story so I'll save time and not repeat it.

Just yesterday she said she was taking a break from the game and msn, she couldn't stand it anymore. What do I see when I sign on msn but her name online and "busy" meaning she's playing :mad:

Sadly this is all I can remember about her off the top of my head, but there is a LOT more. It isn't just with her though. It is annoying when everyone does it. It is as if the only reason they talk is they crave attention. But she does it so much it makes me want to snap.



Finally kind of get this load off my chest. Maybe somoeone will finally be able to tell me just how crazy I am, or if anyone has a similar pet peeve :p
 
I hate people who spit. It's disgusting. Don't spit in the street or the bus or the subway or in the litter bins in the shopping mall. Keep your spit to yourselves you dirty b*****s. Oops, sorry, got a little carried away.
 
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