TUSD students who don't qualify to graduate---want to walk anyway

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For a good job, you need at least a high school diploma--and preferably much better than that.
       
Some TUSD students will be ending their high school careers without that critical piece of paper but they still want the privilege of walking at graduation with their classmates.

The students we talked to are from Tucson High.  They say they passed their classes, they just couldn't pass the math part of that standardized AIMS test.  They say they're confident they'll meet that requirement later, so they should be able to walk.

(Sigh...) And for those who didn't read the article I linked to, some of these students have "had five chances to take AIMS and pass AIMS". Five chances, people. Look, as I said in my earlier blog, I'm not that great at math, so I'm not yelling at them about that, but even I managed to pass it without having to take it 5 times. Heck, I don't even remember it being that hard--not the easiest (and maybe I'm just saying that because I'm smarter than the average 21-year-old Arizonan), but not the hardest thing in the world. And even if "the tutoring didn't reflect what they saw on the test", there's a chance that it was their fault for using bad tutors--I'd think that, after the second or third time of not passing that portion, they'd go to someone else. While, in my opinion, a graduation ceremony is mostly tradition and catharsis (most of the meaning is one's diploma), it's also a symbol that a student went through high school, got good enough grades to get there, and passed the state test. If you did, you did; if you didn't, you didn't--simple as that. In the real world, rarely is anyone rewarded for work they didn't do--not being able to pass this test, even after five tries, should not let someone get a free pass at graduation.

Summer Classes

From May 29th to July 2nd, I'll be taking College Algebra (MAT 151) and from July 9th until August 12 I'll be taking Macroeconomic Principles (ECN 202). All of these are at Pima Community College--Downtown Campus.

If I've never said this before, let me say this: I am not good at math. For as long as I can remember, at best I've been mediocre. So, with that being said, I'm not very optimistic towards my possible College Algebra grades (if I manage to get a C in it, I'll have to remind myself to thank God as hard as I can). As for Economics, I'm feeling slightly more confident about it--the thing about that is that I'm taking it instead of ECON 200 at the U of A (I've already taken ECN 201 back in summer of 2010, and I got a pretty decent final grade on it), as ECN 201 and 202 satisfies the ECON 200.

I'll see about writing another post sometime this month. To be honest, there really hasn't been a whole lot going on this month--Steve, a friend of mine, graduated from Pima College (he got his Certificate in HVAC--Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) and, of course, spring semester is over. Rosethorn, the story I've been working on... I'll be honest and say that I'm looking for some motivation to do it/an audience to read it. I have all these random ideas about it that are either written down or floating in my mind, I know I've only posted one chapter (and then there's the link for the ideas that I've written down in Rosethorn Ideas and Notes), and I really want this to be more than an idea I had that went nowhere. I might take a break from it, focus on working on a script or two, and write about the things I originally planned for this blog to be about. Besides, I have no deadlines when it comes to this.

An article by Gustavo Arellano

There is nothing remotely Mexican about Potato Olés—not even the quasi-Spanish name, which has a distinctly Castilian accent. The burrito was more insulting to me and my heritage than casting Charlton Heston as the swarthy Mexican hero in Touch of Evil. But it was intriguing enough to take back to my hotel room for a taste. There, as I experienced all of the concoction’s gooey, filling glory while chilly rain fell outside, it struck me: Mexican food has become a better culinary metaphor for America than the melting pot.

Taco USA: How Mexican food become more American than apple pie

Trayvon Martin Gun Range Target

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"My main motivation was to make money off the controversy," said the seller of a gun range target designed to resemble murdered Florida teen Trayvon Martin in an email to Local 6 reporter Mike DeForest.

Seriously, Humanity, have we no shame? First George Zimmerman, the coward that he is, attacks an unarmed teen for no good reason, nearly gets away with murder, stirs up a beehive of racial controversy... And now this? This seller (who remains anonymous, likely for his own protection) didn't even try to mask it:



He could've just left it without the Skittles and can of iced tea, and anyone who objected would've been claimed to be blowing things out of proportion. I mean, just doing that surely wouldn't have been controversial to most people. He could've just made a target that didn't add unneeded fuel to the fire. But no: instead of making a positive contribution to all this, he goes ahead and makes something just to "make money off the controversy". According to the second link, "Before DeForest identified himself as a reporter, the seller claimed that targets were still available for purchase. After being informed Local 6 was investigating his online business, the seller claimed the targets would no longer be sold." Not that I'm the bravest person on the internet--I'll admit to being afraid to discuss certain subjects, and sometimes withdrawing from my statements when the going gets tough--but I'd have to agree with the idea that what he, the person selling these targets, did was cowardly.

Cover of Civilization IV Theme