Work for home, work for school, work for home, work for school...

Ugh. Homework. I know, I know, everyone has too much homework. But this week has been especially busy. And, consequently, this blog has been in temporary abeyance. So much work, in fact, that it has precluded my ability to blog! Oh me oh my. Anyhoo. This brings me to the topic today: Homework or no homework? [That is the question]...

So as I ignore my qualmish feeling (I'm not sure how my English teacher will react to this blog post), I shall continue. As a High School Student, I spend seven hours in school, working my donkey off--let's keep this PG, folks--and then return home (after a minimum of two hours extra curricular events) to do what now? MORE WORK. And, as most of you have already figured out, junior year is especially bad.

Between the standardized tests and the homework, I'm surprised some of us (cough cough Caylin) haven't dropped out of school! I'm not sure if the teachers assume everyone has a complacent demeanor but I think we should rebel!

[on second thought, this post is getting graded by my English teacher, soooo...just kidding!]

Well, I'm getting sidetracked. Anyhoo, I believe that seven hours of school is sufficient enough. And I also think homework should be optional. Yes, optional. Honestly, I'm quite chary of this three to four hour homework ordeal. Every night, day after day, night after night. And unless the teachers have somehow commandeered every student of theirs, making them part of a giant minion, teachers don't have control over us! And I could be very wrong, but I DO NOT think giving more homework makes certain teachers far more gregarious than others, correct?

IF--and I mean a capital IF--we didn't have to do homework, not only would our overall mood improve, we would be more focused as well. We would get more sleep and be more focused in class. Not only that, but our character would improve. I, for one, haven't had time to play guitar on a weeknight for about two months now. And that dates back to...the day school started!

If we're supposed to go through the labyrinth of life without a hobby, what life are we living? Shouldn't we all be PV's eminent students by being focused and well-rounded? Are we being complete antipodes of well-rounded students by only doing homework after school? Isn't that they're teaching us kids nowadays? If not, I will assume the educational system hasn't evolved since the narrow-minded approach of learning trades and joining guilds...

And here's the final question: Homework or no homework?

PSAT: palpably stupid [and] abnormally tasteless

The PSATs. Possibly the least halcyon test of our teenage youth (next to the SATs, of course). Although I don't mean to exhort an inordinate amount of complaints from the students of PV, I don't understand why we must take this test. It only exacerbates the stress thrown upon the students in this school. And, although I don't mean to impede on the grand educational strategy of this government, the PSATs only serve to emulate the SATs. Therefore, why take both? Students can practice on their own time with their own tutors. This raises another concern; if this test really holds some sort of implicit message (hinting at the fact that to do well on the test, students must be tutored), is the SAT really a test?

^This is probably what you look like right now.

...well, not exactly, but...

Bear with me for a moment. The definition of a test, one would say, is "a procedure intended to establish the quality, performance, or reliability of something, esp. before it is taken into widespread use" (as stated by the standard dictionary on the Apple MacBook laptops). This being true, isn't this test supposed to analyze how well a student will perform in the real world? I suddenly feel imbued with a revelation...

This being said, I believe wholeheartedly that this SAT, the mother of all tests, [and the PSAT] should do just that: analyze how well a student will perform in the real world. Maybe it should test street smarts as well as school skills--the point being that the SATs should not test how well one takes a test. This is a common criticism of the SATs).
Forgive me if I appear to be lacking any chauvinism for the educational standards but I believe, along with many others, that these tests should not test how one takes a test. And although I may not have known what enigmatic word halcyon meant when I took the PSATs, I sure do now, but not because of living in the "real" world. Rather, I know what halcyon means because of a test. Because, apparently, according to the SAT makers and the folks at collegeboard, halcyon is a common word used in everyday speech...are you a halycon person?