Wanna earn 100,000 or More a Year???

The other day I saw some ads for websites that cater to people who want jobs that pay $100,000 or more. I mean, I'm one of those people, so of course, I pricked up my ears. The ads also say that they want only "100K quality people" - and here I saw yet another reminder why being a strong writer is important: most of those jobs require someone to use his or her mind, not the backbone, for the work. If you haven't already noticed, jobs that require a backbone don't pay all that well.

So - to get a high-paying job, you need to be able to write! Now, a fantastic SAT essay for the Writing Section isn't gonna automatically land you a high-paying job. But the whole point of a test essay is to show that you have the ability and capacity to think and write quickly, coherently, AND under pressure. And those are the attractive skills that any person needs in order to earn a high salary. Any questions???

Inauguration Day!

You know, I've never seen the major news networks spend an entire day, 15-20 hours or so, to an inauguration. Ever. I know it's momentous, but I was wondering how they would fill all that time! And somehow, they all did.

I went through a range of emotions today:

worried - for the safety of all those people standing around as well as the Obama family

sad - that it has taken so long for an ethnic minority to be elected to such a post as President of the United States

overjoyed - that millions of people could assemble peacefully with no significant incidents or problems (stunning)

fortunate - to be able to watch the inauguration live on the first day of school with my new class of students

What are your impressions of inauguration day? What do you think is the future of the United States? Who smells a great standardized test essay? If you feel inspired, write! Jot down some of your ideas, opinions - you'll be able to recall them better in your mind on Test Day.

Martin Luther King's Birthday

So, today is Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday, and I'm interested to know how high schools take a moment to reflect the impact that his work in civil rights has affected students. I know little kids will color pictures of him and learn a little about him. But I feel like older students have a better ability to know what nonviolent protests are about and what civil rights are for. And since it's been a little while since I was in high school, what activities do high school students do?

Holidays are funny things, especially when birthdays are officially commemorated. It never is about the actual day of the birthday but then it becomes a political event. I bring you "Lee-Jackson-King Day" which was celebrated in Virginia until 2000.

Back to Reality

I'm still writing "2008" on everything, so I think I'll give myself another week to get it right. In case you haven't heard, the economy is really tanking, and that is usually a motivator for people to return to school. This means that people who left school to work might return to college to finish a degree and potentially use that degree to earn more money. It also means that more graduating high school students who could enter the workforce will instead opt for college. Now, what does all of this mean to you???

1) Getting into college will be much more competitive.
2) College won't be any less expensive since the demand is higher.

Because of these two factors, you as the applicant will need to be as competitive as possible in order to set yourself apart, and that means having strong writing skills. Being a strong writer makes you attractive to colleges. Writing skills could also win you scholarships to make paying for college a little easier.

हैप्पी न्यू इयर

For some reason, the "transliteration" feature was turned on, but I like it, so I'll leave it the title, which only says three little words:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!