I’ve been playing catch-up with the news, but I want to know your opinion on the following things:

1. Survivor Tribes to be Divided by Race

This season, the different tribes for the CBS reality show Survivor will be divided by racial/ethnic groups. There will be a White Tribe, an African-American Tribe, a Hispanic Tribe, and an Asian Tribe. This could be interesting. And people are in an uproar about it. I’ve never really watched Survivor, but my classmates are thinking of having a weekly viewing session…so that might put me in the mix.

2. Louisiana Bus Driver forces Blacks to sit in the back

So, there are claims that a Louisiana school bus driver assigned all of the black students to the two back seats of the bus. Apparently the white students on the bus had lots of space, some having seats to themself; while the 9 black students had to sit in the 2 seats with the older children holding the younger children in their laps. I wonder what will become of this. This also makes me think of when I used to ride the bus home from school and my bus drivers (all of whom were black) used to ask us why we would always sit in the back, reminding us that there was a time when we had to sit in the back.

3. George Mason University does away with SAT Scores for high achievers

I was really excited when I read that George Mason University has decided to drop the SAT and other standardized test from their admissions requirements for students who are high achievers. The above article states that students who earn a 3.5 gpa and are in the top 20% of their high school class won’t have to submit those test scores with their applications, because the school feels that these tests are a poor indicator of academic achievement. George Mason might be starting a trend- similar to how UNC did when they decided to make the early decision admission non binding. We’ll see what happens. However, I think it’s interesting that schools are realizing something that a lot of people knew all along- those tests don’t REALLY test what you know.

So, it’s been a crazy week in my world. If we generally talked on IM, then you know that I haven’t been hanging out on instant messenger over the last few days…because…THE MONITOR ON MY LAPTOP DIED. And that might seriously make it official that CCI Laptops are the worst things offered by the University of North Carolina. I’m currently in the market for a new laptop and if anyone can recommend a place where I can acquire one for fairly cheap, you just might be my best friend.

And, now that classes are back in session, I’m trying to get back in the swing of being a full-time student…and maintaining a job that seems to have forgotten that I’m a full-time student.

Classes are going well, and my predictions about classes are pretty accurate thus far. Check this entry from August 17 for clarity. The 8am class, is MOST DEFINITELY the jumpoff. I mean really- I’m excited about going to this class and I don’t even consider going to Starbucks beforehand for my classic java chip frappuchino. You gotta love that.

And now, let me proceed to speak about my other two classes:

EFND 8150: Education and Cultural Knowledge

So, I took this class because I was interested in the material. Seriously. But it didn’t hurt that the professor goes to my church AND I took a class with her this summer and got an A. And…to be quite honest, I’m strongly considering getting a Ph.D from this department, and it would be great to have her on my side for application and assistantship purposes.

But all that aside, the class is going to be good. We read a lot of work that deals with theory of education and cultural knowledge (she’s really trying to make us be academics), and she seriously keeps it real. The assignments that we have support what we’re learning, and she doesn’t try to overload us with insane amounts of work. And- you gotta love a professor that will check someone who tries to disrespect them- ON THE VERY FIRST DAY OF CLASS. Holla at me if you want that story. It was a classic.

Additionally, we only have a few books for the class and they aren’t expensive. Once again, I love professors who don’t want to make graduate students go (even further) into debt. I’m not sure how I’ll feel about the books, but they can’t be THAT bad. And if they are, she doesn’t mind if we tell her that they suck.

ESOC 6990: Research in Early Childhood, Middle School, and Social Studies Education

This is the only class I’m taking from my department this semester and it’s the class that I’m (honestly) the LEAST excited about. These types of classes remind me of the ridiculous stats class that I had to take in undergrad for my Soci major.

Anyhow, despite having a horrible time trying to get the book that I ordered for the class to arrive, I think the class MAY be okay. The professor is all about business. She’s a cool lady, a northener with a heavy accent, but she’s got the whole “southern belle” appeal. I was sold on her the first day. What I DID NOT like was that WE ACTUALLY DID WORK ON THE FIRST DAY. Yes. The first day. We covered a chapter of material. I thought I was hallucinating or something. Who REALLY does work on the first day?

We’ll learn more about types of research and assessment as opposed to actually doing research, and we’ll learn about how to really interpret and design research. I suppose this class will be useful when I proceed to the next level. But I guess I’ll just have to see for myself.

Alright…that was a mouthful. Or a handful. Whatever. If you’re reading this and I usually talk to you, send me a text or something. Be encouraged! Peace and Blessings!