Tuesday, January 17, 2017

My Three-Day-Weekend Became a Four-Day-Weekend

So last week was my first week back from Christmas break. It was long and grueling. But, as the week slowly passed, I kept reminding myself that I had a three day weekend. (Martin Luther King Jr. Day was on Monday.) That's right, another entire day to do what I want! (besides the pile of homework I was assigned.) Saturday and Sunday were great. My brother's birthday was on Saturday so my family and I hit up this really good sushi place. Sunday was more or less the same, just not as wild.

Then Monday came.

I woke up around nine and I felt horrible. Absolutely horrible. I was sweating from being so hot, but covered in goosebumps from being so cold. My stomach was churning. My throat was raw and sore. And on top of that, I felt lightheaded everywhere I walked. So for most of the day I was bound to my bed, unable to move in the slightest.

Then today came.

Now I didn't know that I could feel any worse. But I do. The second I woke up (around one), I was hurling left and right. It was disgusting. So I'm not going to school today. Instead I'm at home, alone with my dog. At least I have some company.

Pros: My three-day-weekend became a four-day-weekend.

Cons: Two days out of my four-day-weekend I was bogged down with a fever. The homework I didn't do yesterday because I was sick I have to finish later today, because let's face it (my parents aren't going to let me miss school more than one day in a row.)

What was your experience being sick during the school week? Let me know in the comments. And for anyone reading this while at school, don't worry, you'll get sick at some point too (and be able to extend your weekend a day or two.)

Saturday, January 14, 2017

If I Were A Teacher


If I were a teacher (I'm not), these are the casual policies I would strictly enforce in my classroom. Comment below which of these rules you would support the most!

1. High School students are allowed to sleep in my classroom.
2. High School students are allowed to sleep in my classroom.
3. High School students are allowed to sleep in my classroom. (Ask for permission of course.)

Now that we've got the three Golden Rules of my classroom established, we shall now continue to address other (less, but still) important rules I would enforce as a teacher.

4. Eating in the classroom is permitted.
5. Tests cannot be assigned on Mondays. (Like all other students, I don't want to spend my two days of the week free from school preparing for school.)
6. On that note, no homework will be assigned for the weekend. (I already get enough during the week.)
7. Yes, you may listen to music. (Although I may disagree with your taste in music, I will allow you to listen to it, as horrible as it is.)
8. Extra Credit isn't just a myth or a legend. It is a real, actual thing. That you can earn. And get. For real.
9. The final will not be a huge percentage of your grade. (We're talking 2.5% max of your overall grade here.)
10. All grades must end in whole numbers or be rounded to the nearest half point. (I know this is a weird one, but I have a teacher who gave me 18.795 on an assignment. I'm like, "Excuse me?!")
11. On multiple choice questions, if the answer at the bottom is "None of the Above" or "All of the Above," that is always correct. (Because no joke, I had a teacher that would put both, both of those answers on multiple choice questions. And neither was ever the correct answer.)
12. If you raise your hand to ask to get a drink of water or go to the bathroom, I won't make you answer a question before you leave.
13. If your stuff is at your seat you're present. You're still expected to arrive to class in the first few minutes, but you're not going to automatically be counted absent if just your stuff is there and you're not.
14. There are no seating charts. At all. Ever. Sit where you want to.
15. Because we have no seating charts, if you ever plan on finishing homework for another class, seat yourself in the back of the classroom.
16. Any homework that is assigned is graded for completion and not for correctness.
17. You do not have to participate. I expect you to stay focused and on task (unless you're sleeping), but I will never grade participation. Or arrange the desks in a weird semi-circle so we can discuss the topics in a "Socratic Seminar" - whatever that means.
18. Nothing has to be dated. That way you don't spend time raising your hand and asking what the date is, I don't spend time figuring out what the date actually is, and I also don't spend time telling you what that date is.
19. Multiple choice questions will not have Scantron answer choice options with more than one letter. So just "A," not "AA" or "AB."
20. Because the list of rules should cap at a nice whole number, this rule is just filler to even the list out.

Granted, if these rules were adopted and enforced by a teacher, there would be no, and I mean no order or control, but these are still things I would like to be rules as a high school student. Who knows? If I do become a teacher this list may find itself to the classroom walls...

Monday, January 9, 2017

Blogging Cures Sleep Deprivation

January 9 - 2:34 AM
Today is January 9, and it's 2:34 AM. That's right, 2:34 AM. For the past four and a half hours I've been under the covers, desperately trying to fall asleep. But I can't. Better yet, I'll have to start getting ready for school in a few hours. So, in an attempt to (finally) fall asleep, I'm writing this post to flush out my thoughts and relax myself.

Right now, I'm especially worried about the possibility of an AP Chemistry test on Tuesday, which is the second day back from school. Returning to that Christmas break homework assignment I addressed in my last post, because the assignment covered an entire chapter from the textbook, my friends and I are thoroughly convinced that the test on the chapter will be on Tuesday.

On top of that: I'm really hot right now. Blazing. My fan is on, but is that helping? No, of course not.

Also, I'm hungry. And thirsty. So if someone could just bring me a platter of steaming bacon and a huge glass of water that would be great.

And yes, I know all of these problems are insignificant and trivial issues, but I was hoping that this brief bout of blogging would aid me in sleeping, some kind of personal cure for sleep deprivation. Until then, I'm going to try and go back to sleep. (If I can.)

January 9 - 10:34 PM
Today is (unfortunately) still January 9, and it's 10:34 PM. Good news. I'm about to go sleep. Also good news, I think I'm going to be able to fall asleep without having to stay awake for four and half hours.

Now my day at school was rough. It was long, and seemingly never-ending. It was a struggle during all seven consecutive class periods to stay awake and not fall asleep. (Trust me, it was very tempting at times.) Fortunately, whenever I was feeling especially drowsy, I'd suck on a mint and become momentarily awake. (Though I should mention that because I ate so many mints, I'll probably skip brushing my teeth tonight. I can still taste mint.)

And that AP Chemistry test I was worrying about for four and a half hours? Turns out I'll be tested on that chapter on Thursday. Which is another two or three days away. So until then, I'll be (trying) to rest soundly. (Because we both know that come Wednesday, I'll be repeating last night all over again.)

Normally I would spend another half hour or so creating some stylized blog picture, but for now, I just need some rest. So I apologize for the lack of imagery, but certainly not for my lack of sleep.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Cycle of Unwanted Christmas Gifts

As the first semester finally began to conclude, my AP Chemistry teacher graciously offered my classmates and I a gift: the gift of an extensive Christmas break homework assignment. As he projected the long, unnecessary assignment, I wrinkled my nose in disgust, wondering why he would even think to assign homework. Then I remembered that the class I'm taking isn't an ordinary chemistry class, but an AP Chemistry class. Now, it's times like these that make me want to drop the class, but unlike the nearly dozen students that have already dropped, I can't. And I won't.

Now did I ever want homework over Christmas break? Of course not. Is it necessary for me to better my understanding of Chemistry? To perform well in the class? Of course. But still, I don't want to spend my Christmas break busting out an extensive list of Chemistry problems.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one to turn down gifts, but when a cycle continues with an unwanted Christmas gift, that's when I'll straight up refuse it. So the first of these gifts, as already mentioned, was my extensive homework assignment, which I don't want to post for the sake of your misery (as well as my own.)

The second unwanted Christmas gift I received soon after my teacher "gifted" my classmates and I with homework was the dreaded final. As I prepared for the final exam, I couldn't help but tell myself, "It never ends. It never, and I mean never ends." And it really doesn't, I mean, I got Christmas break homework. Homework. But over Christmas break. Anyway, besides writing this post, I've spent the last three hours of my day finishing that dread assignment.

Back to the final. Now, a cycle follows this "gift." It starts with the teachers, who are required to
create a final exam. (A grueling task I know I wouldn't want to do, and I'm sure the teachers aren't thrilled about either.) The laboriously created final exam is then administered to the students, who under constant scrutiny are to complete these exams. Timed. Closely. Precisely. After completion, or in my case for the AP Chemistry exam,  near completion, (who am I kidding I wasn't even close to finishing), the exams are returned, that is, "regifted" to the teachers for grading. Another unwanted, unforgiving task. And the cycle never ends, because, well, it's a cycle. A cycle that will be repeated again before summer, a cycle I'm so thrilled to participate in. Splendid.







Sunday, January 1, 2017

Hey Y'all!

As some of you may already know, this past summer I began my first blog, Scribentia, which is Latin for "the writing things." However, because the title was in Latin, a language that's not even spoken, I felt constrained in my posts and used language that was monotonous, too formal, and too sophisticated. Consequently, I was inspired to create a new blog. (Yes, I know the visual format of this blog is the same as that of Scribentia, more changes will come.) Regardless, I created this blog to not only remove myself from my previous academic, guarded language, but to utilize this blog as an outlet for my original, creative writing. (Wait a second...wasn't that the original purpose of Scribentia?) Although that was the original purpose of Scribentia, because I inconsistently posted, and I didn't have time to produce any creative writing, my posts were long and boring, (not going to lie, I even posted two, not one, but TWO of my high school English essays on my blog just to save time.)

Because I had such a difficult time thinking of posts when school was in session, I came up with the solution to write about school. Now, before someone goes and argues that's worse than the topic of my previous blog, just listen. Although I will include a few posts regarding good study habits and skills, the focus of this blog will address issues of utmost importance in school, including:
Master Procrastinators (I should know, I'm definitely one)
Seating Charts (I mean really, what's the point? I don't usually sit in my assigned seat anyway.)
Early Bird or Night Owl Studying? (I've tried both and hated both.)

So, this blog has three main purposes:
 - publish my original creative writing (similar to the purpose of Scribentia)
 - but also address amusing issues only middle school to high school students can understand/relate to (such as the examples listed above)
- highlight the most interesting parts of my days at school (if there even are any)

Because I've expanded this blog to encompass more topics, I should be able to post a lot more consistently. Now, to the interesting part, the name: Schoolloquialisms
What does that even mean? Well, it's a combination of two words, obviously the first is school, (I mean, it's clearly spelled in the name: Schoolloquialisms.)
Although you may have guessed the second word is colloquialisms, do you know why? Colloquialisms are defined as "words and phrases that are not formal or literary, used in casual or familiar conversation." Detect the irony? I would never think to use colloquialisms to complete any academic assignments at school. However, the name Schoolloquialisms, grants me the capability not to write casually at school, but to write casually about school.

That's all I've got for today. I appreciate any comments you might have and look forward to getting this blog rolling!