Month: March 2017

We had the Mind Madness tournament this week, but this week has been filled with mind madness. Two of my students won the trivia tournament–one former student, one former/now current–and the campus gets pretty crazy during this time. People argue, go on Twitter and vent (or just vent), celebrate, laugh, get serious, all in the name of a contest that offers a winner.
48 teams, 47 losers. And, once again, the winning team did not house any of our super-genius kids. Oh, they might be super geniuses, but their class rankings don’t reflect that brilliance. Of the four students, only one is in the top 50 of the class. And, you may say that grades don’t matter, but I think that’s what I’m trying to point out–perhaps grades aren’t the best reflection of our best students. The students who won are all good students, but . . . in the final, they beat a team with NO student in the top 125 in their own class of under 450.
It’s the trouble with grades. We have four grade levels represented in Mind Madness. Where are all the top-ranked kids? I know, I know–it’s just a trivia competition. But, there’s something to be said for a last-team-standing competition. Really? We have kids who applied to, and think they have a chance of getting into Ivy League schools. We have students who think UCLA is their “safe” school. Maybe this contest was beneath them, and they didn’t even enter, for they didn’t win. And, I’ve had most of the top-ranked kids as my students and they did great in my class academically, plus are wonderful kids, too. Is this just a year-by-year, different-case-scenario situation where anyone can win and their numbers during FOUR years at school just mean nothing?
It’s been a long week so let me just flip over all the cards and give you the answer–we need plus/minus grades. There you go. I know that’s a weird way to get there, but a person who gets 89 percent should not get the same grade as someone who gets 80 percent.
Also, put a little more stock into AP scores. If you get an A in the class and a 1 on the AP test, something is wrong. If you get a B in the class and a 4 or 5 on the test, perhaps the student learned something and should get an A. Right? Am I being stupid (again)?
Also, put a little more stock into SAT/ACT scores. A student raises red flags (at least with me) if GPA and test scores don’t match up. If you’re a college–because we want students to go to college as our end product–do you take a kid with a 4.5 GPA and average test scores who also rarely passes an AP test? or, do you take the kid with under a 4.0 GPA with amazing test scores who passes every AP with 4’s or 5’s?
I know all this test talk has made you tired. Perhaps we can argue and discuss later over a Socratic Seminar. I’ll set my sundial.

I hope to take the boy to see North’s Got Talent tonight. It’s this weird thing that used to be called a talent show. Teachers and students alike, on the stage, in front of a live audience.
That’s a huge step in the right direction for North. Before I got there–class of 2000, woot!–they used to have something called the Faculty Follies. I guess one teacher would write most of it and the faculty would perform skits and other numbers. Word has it that students, their parents, and faculty used to come see that, too.
Tonight’s show might be good, or it might be awful, but I hope students go because no publicity is bad publicity for something like this. Well, maybe I should wait and see before I make that claim.
Also, on a side note, while I was walking up to the office after school today, a student was running toward me without looking where she was going. I stopped walking; she smacked right into me. She laughed, as did her friends.
Did I mention the talent show tonight?https://youtu.be/33jXWpeACAc?t=1m13s

Tomorrow is Thursday. Right there I’ve got issues. I also get to give up after-school time to discuss this year’s plan for next year’s APN, the ever-popular, much-beloved class I teach with Gillian Hart. Talk about looking forward to the future . . .
Today we had a short meeting during our conference period to talk about next year’s scheduling process, which is old hat to me, but newbies should learn the deal, and there’s always something (minor, major) to be learned anyway for all of us. And, our school’s push–actually, I’m sure it’s a district desire, too–is the same as before, with students keeping their A-G eligibility. A through G, simply, is getting a C-grade or better in your classes. There are some exceptions, but staying eligible means the school looks better and the student can attend a 4-yr university straight out of high school. The latter is a big deal to our district in the form of looking better in the community and giving all kids the opportunity to attend college.
The push started years ago when we were told (or given–I can’t remember) data that out of 100 junior college kids who, as freshmen, had an expressed interest in transferring to a 4-yr university . . . only four (4) out of that 100 actually did transfer. 100 kids, all seeking transfer to a 4-yr school, only 4 end up going. I had a hard time believing that data then, and a really hard time now.
I just saw Brooke Matson this weekend at the Comedy and Magic Club. After three years at El Camino College, she got accepted to all the good California schools, chose Cal Poly SLO, and is a graduate.
I used to hear from all these former students who went to “just” El Camino, who put in their time and transferred and graduated from a 4-yr. I did the same. Gillian Hart did the same. One of my loyal readers spent about 10 years at Long Beach City College, ended up graduating quickly from UCLA, and now is studying law in Portland.
Alan Corales spent three years at El Camino, but he’s at UCLA. Michael Oliver went to East LA JC, might have played football, but then graduated from ASU. Rod Vega, Ramon Hurtado, and Mazen Alloush did a little time at El Camino before going to USC. I could go on and on.
Four out of 100? Really, Mimi Vu??? You’re not going to transfer somewhere amazing after your two years at El Camino? Pam, my former student who lives with us, has been to Oklahoma, Cerritos, and now is on track to graduate from Long Beach City and attend a 4-yr next year, right on track with Mimi Vu. She is already in at Long Beach State and is just waiting on more acceptances.
Shoot, this was supposed to be “a nice post,” so let me turn it around quickly. I get a little worked up on this subject because not every freshman student needs to bankrupt his or her parents. And maybe things didn’t work out in high school like they should have, but the student is still willing. Or maybe there’s no money to start with. Gosh, golly, gee–who on earth cares what the deal is if students are getting to, and graduating from, their choices for 4-yr schools?
Debt is not nice. Junior colleges are great at keeping one free of loads of debt. There, this post just got nicer. I know I don’t have many readers here, for this is merely my little project, but I would love to hear anyone’s successful transfer story.