**Project 365 Edition: Freshman Year in College. Starting 8/20/2011**

This blog was originally a blog devoted to a great high school class of mine, but I've decided to transform it into a Project 365 blog (a photo blog where you post a picture everyday for a year). I fell in love with the layout of crayons and cuteness (and wasn't savvy enough to redo it) that I'm just staying here! My teachers may very well still get notifications when I post, but whatever. If so, hi Bolos and O'Connor! :P Feel free to un-link yourself if you get bored/annoyed of me...

I'm not sure how keeping up with the daily posts will work for me (especially seeing my track record of weekly posts in that class) but I thought it would be a neat idea to at least get a feeling of the first year of college, of freshman year. Making new friends, new habits, and living a new life. Also apparently being corny as hell. Maybe this new life can include actually posting each day. Probably not. Let's cross our fingers for me?


Sunday, September 13, 2009

Grades Turned Ugly

So even though I just posted about grades, school, and competition I just stumbled upon an article that stunned me.

I sometimes like to browse around aol.com and find random interesting things going on but when I found this article I was shocked. After reading Molly's blog about a teacher asking kids to give her money for extra credit and then thinking about competition in my own school I've come to realize how serious grades really are. This article explains how a 14 yr old boy gave his teacher a death threat over raising his grade to an A++.

The annoying part of the article was that was the only information it gave. I wanted to know why. Why did this kid feel the need to raise his grades with such violent efforts? I wonder if the parents were strict, if the kid was hard on himself, or maybe if he had some mental issues. All this would have changed the story completely. Reading how a 14 yr old made death threats automatically makes me think he is some psycho jerk. But learning that his parents pressured him, or he has mental issues I would have more sympathy towards the kid and the life he is living.

Did the writer simply leave the story short to make it more shocking or was that all that was known? How competitive are schools these days? Death threats, bribery, grade crazy students, the news is everywhere, what can we do about it?
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1 comment:

  1. MadelaineSeptember 13, 2009 at 9:29 PM

    A death threat for an A++ is probably the biggest extreme I have ever heard anyone go to for a grade. It especially shocks me because the boy is only 14, I never felt that kind of pressure in eight grade. There has to be more to this story. However, I do think that schools are becoming ridiculously competitive with each passing year. A lot of parents put so much pressure on their kids to do well. Being juniors and constantly being told that this is the most important year of my life, most of us can understand the pressure.

    I think that parents shouldn't put so much pressure on their children. although it is important for a student to try their hardest and do their best, there is way to much unnecessary pressure. An A++ is way too much to expect out of a eighth grade student.

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