Author: Selena
Has it been a long time since I wrote in this blog? I suposse it has since the blog seems longer and more drawn out than I remember it. Are you getting tired of us yet? I think I might be getting tired of myself. However, that's not the point I was trying to talk about was it. The title after all starts with "Overachievers" so, I'll get back to that...
At Anoka-Ramsey Community College there is a girl who is in my Reading class, is also PSEO, and if you were viewing her from the angle of academic would be labled "Overachiever". She fascinates me, and you will wonder why. She's obviously very intelligent, makes wonderful connections to the books that we're reading (Jack and Rochelle by Jack and Rochelle Sutin, Edited by Lawrence Sutin), she's outspoken and loud, and knows how to manage time.
In this class sometimes the teacher leads us to a computer center and sets us on a little diversion called "Ultimate Speed Reader" I love this teacher but do not care for this odd program which makes no sense to me (why would I want to read at 750 words a minute like I'm trying to give myself an adreniline rush when reading a book when I could pace through it and enjoy it?) The thing is, you get extra credit for doing these labs and giving yourself adreniline rushes. The girl I have told you about wants to know (quite adamently) how many points she gets for doing the labs. Even the teacher seemed puzzled as to why someone would want to do fill out all these labs and why someone would want to know precisely how many points you get for all of it.
When we did a presentation on the book Jack and Rochelle she wanted to know how many points you got if you volunteered to go on the first day (which I did do but merely for the porpose that I was ready and didn't want to terrify myself by thinking about it for two more days).
When we went into a "smart" room to do our presentations she said that she had a three hour English class on Wednesdays in the same room because that's the only time she could fit it in (three hours? Is is she sucididal?).
Now here's my point, the letter of her grade seems very important. Maybe two years ago this may have made sense to me but now? How can your intelligence which is so wide and vast be determined by one measly letter or number or a few short words the professor writes on your essay? Did Jack or Rochelle get a letter grade for surviving the Nazis and fighting as partisans or living like animals in a Polish forest?
