Sarah's Guide to Fabulous Modesty

I wasn't planning for my first real blog post after 13 months to be on fashion. I was actually planning to explore my defense mechanism of apathy and find the correlation/lack of correlation between that and my goals. But, alas, that requires a lot more thought than this. And, while walking across my campus, I was suddenly really disgusted.

I realize that if you are on a college campus, you are probably an adult. I realize that it's a lot of fun to leave your parents' house and be who you want to be. I've indulged in "the real me" quite a few times. I, however, do not understand why you would want to wear an outfit worthy of a hip-hop music video to class.
Let me get this straight: I am not a prude. I adore fashion. Lately, I have spent way too much money in Express, which is not exactly a prudish store. But I do respect myself, and I fully believe that "modest is hottest." I think that I am living proof that you can be modest and stylish all at once. Not tooting my own horn, just stating a fact.

So, I decided to comprise a list of basic fashion rules, organized by category:

Dresses:
When buying a dress, you should know about a few tricks to try in the dressing room.
1.) While wearing the dress, touch your toes. Do you have to hold your dress up to keep your boobs from falling out? Can you touch your toes without showing your butt to the world? Dresses should never show your most feminine body parts.
2.) As you pull the dress over your head, keep your eyes open. Can you see through the fabric? If yes, consider a slip, a tank top, or just put the dress back on the rack.
3.) Look for an air conditioning vent in the dressing room. Yes, seriously. Stand in front of it. Would a gust of wind blow your dress up and show your panties to the world? If you can't find an air conditioning vent, then twirl around. If you're still keeping Victoria's Secret a secret, then you probably should buy the dress!

Shirts:
Many of the same rules apply to shirts.
1.) Touch your toes. Do you have to hold the shirt up to keep your boobs from falling out?
2.) As you pull the shirt over your head, keep your eyes open. Can you see through the fabric?
3.) Raise your arms as high as you can. How high does your shirt ride up? Can you see your belly button? Even worse, can you see your muffin top? If so, that is probably not a classy shirt.
4.) When your arms are resting at your side, can you still see your midriff? Yes? Put it back on the rack, Britney.
5.) Graphic tees: If your father was going to buy you a shirt with a saying on the front, would he pick this one? If not, then don't buy it. No daddy wants to see his little girl in a shirt that says "I recycle boys" or "Bootylicious." (Seriously, who even says Bootylicious anymore? Alas, I saw that t-shirt today.)
Wearing the shirt...
6.) Can you see your bra through your shirt? If yes, find a tank top.
7.) Are you wearing a brightly-colored bra underneath a light-colored shirt that would otherwise be okay? If yes, find another bra.
8.) Are your bra straps showing? (I'm conflicted on this one. Sometimes, with off-the-shoulder shirts, bra straps look like tank top straps. But if you are very obviously showing your bra, you should consider a strapless bra. Don't get the bras with clear straps--everyone notices them.)

Jeans/Slacks:
1.) My number one rule: don't wear skinny jeans if you don't have skinny genes. Skinny jeans on women who have a little extra curve in their hips, thighs, and calves only reveal what you don't want to be revealed, and that is the opposite of modesty. Skin-tight jeans show every dimple in your skin. And those colored skinnies that are so inexplicably popular? They only make you look like a giant dumpling that was dipped in food coloring. I'm not trying to be rude. This is the talk I give myself every time I go shopping. Learn your body. Learn what kinds of jeans fit you and make you look/feel great. I loved skinny jeans all throughout high school, but after gaining nearly ten pounds my first semester of college, I learned to embrace straight-leg jeans and boot-cut jeans (but only with boots and heels). I'm starting to love my booty again. This isn't just about being stylish and aware of how to dress for your body type. This is also about modesty. Some girls can look modest in tight jeans, but some (myself included) just can't.
2.) Can you see your buttcrack when you stand up straight? Remember that crack kills.
3.) Can you see your buttcrack when you bend over? Crack kills!
4.) Are there holes in your pants that show your underwear or your pockets? Please understand that I love ripped/distressed jeans...but if you can see your pockets, you're probably showing too much thigh. And Victoria's Secret should be secretive!
5.) Does your thong/panties show over your waistband? Do I even have to explain why this is trashy?

Skirts/Shorts
1.) Touch your toes. You should understand why by now. If you're wearing shorts, can you see the bottoms of your butt cheeks? Yeah? Trust me when I say that no respectable boy wants to see their lady wear that out in the streets.
2.) Are they so short that you can see your pockets? Yeah? Put them back.
3.) For skirts, use the air conditioning trick again.

Miscellaneous
1.) Leggings are not pants. The '80s called; they want their fashion disaster back.
2.) If your tights/leggings/panty hose have rips, runs, and shreds...don't wear them. Basically, if one of Ke$ha's most popular hits sings about something you're wearing, you should probably just rethink your entire wardrobe.
3.) A short skirt and thigh-high boots are for bad pornos, not for you.
4.) Do your fishnets say "Elle Woods", or "Vivian the Pretty Woman Prostitute"? You'll know the difference.
5.) An inch-thick layer of foundation and a pound of eye makeup may not be "immodest," but it is still "trashy." If your face is a different color than your neck or shoulders, you're wearing way too much!
6.) Corset tops? No. Just no.
7.) Bras--listen, girls, I hate bras more than anyone. As soon as I enter my dorm, the bra comes off and is flung across the room. But in public, they should be required. If you're wearing a sweatshirt over a t-shirt and don't plan on taking the sweatshirt off, okay, go for comfort. But if you're wearing a dress, cute top, sweater, or t-shirt, you need something to reign the girls in. Girls who are smaller on top might can wear a tank top. But if you wear a tank top and you're still jiggling while you walk, just wear the bra. If bras did not serve an honorable purpose, they would not have been invented.

Honestly, though, my biggest fashion tip can't exactly be given to everyone. But if you know a guy who respects you, he will always be honest with you. My dad and my little brother both tell me when they think an outfit isn't working. Dad just tells me "Go put on a sweater" and Sam just tells me "Wow, you look like a whore." Harsh, but effective.

If you're not convinced, here are some lovely pictures of modern style icons whose featured outfits are following my rules:

Emma Watson
(by the way, I've never met a straight male who didn't adore her)

Awesome street wear for chillier weather. And an awesome quote. It's okay to let guys wonder what's underneath. Just don't show them right off the bat.

Such a cute and fun dress that shows some leg but hides your goodies. And another awesome quote.

Sexy cleavage, but a modest dress. Yes, ladies, it's possible.

Taylor Swift

(hate her music, love her style)

A lady in the streets...

...and at the best parties in the country.

Jennifer Hudson
(for those of us with boobs and hips)

 Here's a woman who knows how to show off her boobs and her hips without actually showing her boobs and her hips.

Hello, cutie pie! It's nice to see (some of) you!

But, of course, modesty is not only about clothes and makeup. It's about how you carry yourself and how you behave.  If you're a lady (and you probably are, if you've made it this far into this post), you'll probably understand these immortal words. Take them to heart.

Carrie in the closet...

Charlotte in the streets...

Miranda in the classroom...

And Samantha in the sheets.

Style like Carrie. Have Charlotte's class. Use your brain like Miranda. And be sexy like Samantha...behind closed doors.

Thanks for reading, sweetie pies! Keep it classy!

Resurgam

Whoa, am I back? Whoa, do I still have readers? After thirteen long months of simply being too busy to blog, I finally wrote something that I felt couldn't be posted anywhere but here. I don't know if anyone will read this, or if anyone will even find this relevant, but I may just start posting here again. We'll see.

Here's what you need to know since I last posted:
I'm now in college, majoring in English, with a minor in Creative Writing.

I'm 550 pages deep into writing my first novel.

I literally don't have time to sleep anymore, but I still want to write on this thing.

So...who's with me?

(New post to follow shortly.)

My Art, My Future

Put pen to paper

And then decide—

Loopy, pretty, bold—

But always legible—

But legible for whom?

Ideas flow through veins

From heart to wrist

To fingertips—

And then,

With a bang,

Comes a baby crying—

A sign of new life

And new health.

Fold it, package it, send it,

Kiss and caress it as you wait.

And then,

With a bang,

Comes a sign of a newer life.

A book

Bound with a spine

That only rivals the brave author’s.

Truth, Love, Peace, and...Targets?

Amidst the tragedy of the Tucson, Arizona shooting, of course someone has to leak out controversy about some ultra-famous politician.  And unsurprisingly, this perfect example of gun violence seems to have splashed blood on the hands of gun-enthusiast Sarah Palin.

I'm keeping this short, because I'm pretty miffed about the whole thing, and I just don't need to start pounding on my keyboard. But basically, in case you haven't heard, last year, Governor Palin's political action committee (SarahPAC) released a propaganda-style graphic outlining the twenty House Democrats who voted for the "ObamaCare" bill.  It, as shown below, placed gun targets over the states and included the names of the representatives.

 

And yes...that is Gabrielle Giffords' name on the left column.

The idea was that we need to "target" these representatives and try to remove them from the House.  I'm crediting this whole thing to an eerie coincidence...especially when you see this below:

Let's take a step back and look at this. The theme of the graphic was "targeting" liberal representatives and apparently, the 6/12/10 event advertised above was a gun-promoting fundraiser for a conservative cause.

I'm going to take a wild guess (read: common sense) and say that Sarah Palin did not have Giffords shot. That's ridiculous; we all know that the Palins are not like the Kennedys. I don't believe she has enough power to get away with that, plus she really does not seem like the kind of person to just pay to pick people off.  It's a ridiculous concept to say that this is more than a coincidence.

However, is Governor Palin a totally innocent party in this?

My answer is: no. The map graphic was totally offending and promotes anything but the "peace and justice" that Palin advertised on her Facebook statement about the shooting of Representative Giffords.  It is never okay to make a statement by putting a target (even figuratively, as SarahPAC did) on someone's name or on a map of America.  This is as much a slap in the face of liberals as her TLC show "Sarah Palin's Alaska" was.  Now, there is nothing wrong at taking a jab at the opposite party, but to promote violence in such a way as this is unacceptable.

I really hate playing the "If _____ did this" game, but here I go...

If President Obama released a graphic with targets on the map of the United States of America, he would have been immediately called a terrorist and a "radical Muslim."  Fox News wouldn't rest until they had statements from Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier, Glenn Beck, Shepard Smith, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Juan Williams, Geraldo Rivera, Rush Limbaugh, and Palin herself that all called Obama a radical.  Governor Palin should not be able to put targets anywhere on America or on people's names because it is, in my opinion, quite radical.

I'm not the most conservative thinker, and I'm not the most liberal thinker, but it is pretty obvious to me that Palin's graphics are not helping the Republican party.  Insensitive propaganda like this paired with the Tea Party's ignorant signs (see below) only further the Republicans' flawed reputation as war-mongers.

Of course, as soon as this controversy was whispered toward Fox News, Glenn Beck had to tackle it.  Governor Palin sent him a rather timely email (proving she can do it, ha) that read:


"I hate violence. I hate war. Our children will not have peace if politicos just capitalize on this to succeed in portraying anyone as inciting terror and violence. Thanks for all you do to send the message of truth and love. And God has the answer."

Governor Palin, with all due respect, maybe you could take time off from chopping down trees and hunting moose (we all know you do it because we all saw the "Sarah Palin's Alaska" commercials) to actually promote peace. You can make your PAC cut out the violent propaganda. You can start sending your own messages of peace, truth, love, and God.  You don't have to change your stance on the War on Terror or guns.  Just change your maps, graphics, and advertising of your name and opinions.  Oh, and while you're working on this, maybe you could talk to your buddy Glenn, who you claim "sends the message of truth and love."  May I remind you of the time he said he took his WWJD bracelet off because he thought of killing Michael Moore?

And while we're talking, can you send me a letter?  Glenn Beck gets an email, and I don't? I see how it is...

Only kidding, of course.  But I'm still waiting.  Maybe you can make it up to me by sending me a letter and telling your good buddy Glenn to send me one as well.  Now that would make for an interesting blog.

Finally...

Luckily, we still have some peace-minded people in America, as shown below.  Even if Giffords is an "ObamaCare Democrat", she should be admired for her dedication to national security and border security.  She is a true patriot and my prayers are with her as she recovers from this tragedy.  No matter how we feel about Palin, Beck, or the Tea Party, we should all remember the six deaths in Tucson, the other victims still recovering, and the representative who was unfairly targeted--both literally and figuratively.

How Southerners Play in the Snow

Not only was today my mother's birthday, but it was the second time of my life where I've been let out of school because of snow! So I went with my best buddy/little brother Sam to enjoy the magical fluffy whiteness that got me out of a Chemistry exam.

However, we were a little confused. We live in a place where there are a few good hills and slopes, but how were we supposed to sled? Growing up in Mississippi and South Carolina, we've never owned a sled because we've never had a reason to own a sled.  So we had to get creative...

I woke up and my sweet cat (read: terrorist) alerted me to this amazing view.

My mom (who turned 39 today, don't ya know) made us warm ham and biscuits (a classic Southern breakfast, in case you're not from around these parts) before we all went outside. Yes, even the tiny Chihuahua (read: vacuum cleaner).

 Due to the absence of a good and proper sled, we had to think of a replacement. Cardboard boxes would get wet and fall apart, we didn't have an available garbage can, and why ruin a $30 sleeping bag?  So we went to the kitchen and found a pizza pan.  Here, my partner in crime models the new sled.

I let him test-drive the pizza pan, just in case it turned out to be a disaster...

  And it was. In fact, Sam admitted that he will be lucky if he has children. You see his rather manly scowl and the buried pizza pan.

 But a good Southern boy never gives up. He just improvises...and uses his own back as a sled. It worked great for Sam, but not so much for me. His success could be blamed on the fact that he weighs at least thirty pounds more than me.

 No real use for the pizza pan any more, so he tried to crack the ice on the streets. And pretty much failed.

 We ended up finding a hill that I enjoyed greatly, which is why there are no pictures of it. We took turns rolling and sliding down the hill, and then used our boots to ice-skate in the street. Yeah, we've never owned ice skates, either. However, after burning all of those delicious ham-and-biscuit calories, we had to find a more relaxing way to enjoy the snow. This is Sam's "light bulb just went off above his head" face.

And this is the great idea.

 However, it did not stick, no matter how hard he tried. We were quite disappointed and my boots were thoroughly soaked through, so we decided to go inside, don our fuzzy pajamas, and drink hot chocolate while watching "Ghosts of Mississippi" on HBO. Entirely coincidental movie, but it was good enough that my next post should be my lamentations on the "ghosts."


I think you can tell by my face that it was a wonderful day! Cold, but very serendipitous.

And in case you haven't met her...this is my baby, Prudence. She enjoyed the snow just as much as we did, and Sam even made a snow fort by hiding in the snow-covered Prudence. Hey, cut us some slack: we Southerners don't know anything about making snow forts!

 And the day was made even better by this happy little email...

 So yes, in case you were wondering, this Southern belle LOVES snow days! The only thing that could make today better would be if I received a letter from Sarah Palin!

2010--What I've Learned

I know it has been a month since I last posted, and I'm sorry. My only excuses are: winter break from school, a trip to Mississippi, some sort of virus that kept me in bed for a few days, and the return to school and midterms. Not a good enough explanation, I know--I kept receiving text messages, phone calls, and Facebook posts asking why I haven't updated! So I'm sorry.

I honestly don't know what to post, though. I had some cute humor pieces planned out about kayaking across the Pacific Ocean, teenage Facebook romances, what NOT to do on Facebook, and why I love the state of Mississippi so much. However, those don't seem to be good meaningful starts to 2011, which is so far the biggest year of my life (graduation, anyone?).  So forgive me if you get lost in this stream of consciousness. I don't know what this post will end up saying.

2010 was hard for me. I've been struggling with a lot things for a while now, but it's like this year has been the breaking point for so many things in my life. Until 2009, I was actively involved in a church and Christianity. I actively sought out a relationship with Christ and I dreamed of going on the mission field in Cambodia, Uganda, or Thailand. I have two international mission trips (Peru and Romania) and I've worked in a special needs camp, a mission camp, various soup kitchens, etc. I used to live to serve, all in the name of Christ. But now I'm having doubts, and I don't know what to do with these doubts. It's hard for me to believe everything that is written in the Bible. I hate the general hypocrisy of any religious person--not just Christians, even Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists are extremely hypocritical. And I just don't agree with everything in the religion I've been brought up with. I've tried praying about it, but it feels like my prayers are just hitting the ceiling. I haven't felt the presence of God in over a year. It makes me feel hopelessly lost because I have relied on God and the church all my life.

And I've learned about other relationships, too. I've known for a long time that family will let you down, but the past year just kept shouting that at me. Friends come and go like the wind. I got over the typical high school drama by the time I was fifteen, so it's not like I'm having fights and rumors or anything. People are just like the leaves in a tree. They're beautiful and provide a cool, comforting place for a while, but eventually they wither and just fall away from you.  I'm not jaded; I'm not unwilling to ever love again. In fact, I'm dying to weed out the people in my life and see who will be my friends for the rest of my life. I want to meet new people to love. But in this crazy world where everyone moves around and everyone comes and goes, relationships break. There is nothing that can be done about it. It's human nature.

And success. How do you measure success? I made a 5 on my AP English exam. I made perfect scores on my state tests. I have a pretty good GPA. Overall, it has been a fairly good year for academics, but why do I feel like my plans for the future are so empty?  I can't decide where I really want to go to college. Either way, I lose someone. If I go to my number one college (out-of-state, what I consider to be my home), I'm far away from my little brother and big sister, who honestly keep me alive. If I go to one of my other choices (in-state), I'm far away from the place I call home.  And what in the world am I going to do with my life?  But back to success.  Sometimes it's really hard for me to study because I want to work on my novel, blog, or paint a picture. Is success about what you need to do, or what you need to love? It's true that I need to love academics, but they do not keep me alive. Writing and art keep me alive. I need to love them so I can survive. So am I successful for chasing those dreams or for putting the laptop away to study? And will writing or school make me successful? I know that if I study and work hard and try my best then I will manage to get a job in a few years. But what if it's a job I hate? What if I don't find time to write this novel? Then I'm not successful, in my eyes.  So to sum all of that up: What is success?

On the more positive side of things...

I've learned about the world. In the past year, my political views have definitely broadened--I'm no longer tied down to one side of the spectrum. I have made it a point to observe the social circles and cultures around me. I'm trying to love every person I know, but of course that is so hard.  I've considered stereotypes and gender roles and how they affect my country. I'm constantly trying to enlighten myself.

And I do actually know what I'm going to do with my life.  I just don't know how I'm going to get there. No matter what college, major, degree, job I choose, I know I'll be married and I'll have children. The ideas of marriage and pregnancy used to make me break out into hives--especially the word housewife! But now, at seventeen years old, I'm already yearning to have that job in my life.  I'm not saying I'm going to skip college and just start having kids. That is not a Sarah plan at all. I want a degree, I want a successful career, I want to be a power woman. But I also want the power in a household that I can keep in order. I'm already dreaming of four kids. For those of you who actually know me, you can see what a turn-around this is in my life.  This year, I've decided that I think there is something beautiful about a woman who takes care of her husband and her children. But don't get your hopes up--I'm not going to be this. That still makes me break out into hives. So I guess I'm not going to be June Cleaver, but I'm not going to be Edna Pontellier, either.

But after all of that complaining and random musing, I must confess to the most important lesson I've learned this year: I've learned to let go. I no longer take responsibility for familial problems, disappointments, and things that are out of my control. I've been told I've grown apathetic to a fault, but it has been the best thing for me. Yes, I just blah blah blah'ed all about that, and all of that is pressing on my heart, but it's not sucking the life out of me. My family no longer drains me. The stress of school does not conquer me. I've even let go of the biggest tragedy of my life--the loss of my older brother. I have a million things bouncing in my mind, but finally at last, I'm free. I control my life. I control my emotions. I rely on no one but myself.

Well, I rely on myself...and this...and this...and this. As they say in that horrible Beatles musical Across the Universe, "Music is the only thing that makes sense anymore, man."

Am I finished rambling yet? I think so. I have no idea what I just typed, to be honest, but I think I'll post any way. I'm trying to tone down my spontaneity this year, so maybe I should just delete it, but I'm also trying to go down a dress size. Both resolutions will probably be ignored.

Oh, and to receive a reply from Sarah Palin. So far she's been mute.

The Case Against College Prep Courses

When I moved from Mississippi to South Carolina my junior year, I had to adjust to a lot of new changes. Suddenly, I was the one with a country accent, rather than my county-school friends.  Restaurants seemed to prefer Luzianne sweet tea over Lipton sweet tea--and yes, there is a big difference.  And I began attending a huge school with a campus five times bigger than my old school and a student body that is three times as large.

However, "y'all" is still the preferred pronoun and any tea can be made better with a little sugar.  You even learn to master two flights of stairs and a few very long hallways in five minutes between classes.  So the biggest difference would have to be the "College Preparatory" program that my high school relies on.

If you're one of my Mississippians, you have probably never heard of such a thing, but apparently this trend is spreading through states.  I have no idea if it even originated in South Carolina, but colleges are starting to look for it.  My introduction to the CP program went something like this while I was making my schedule at my new school:

Guidance Counselor: Are you a CP student?

Me: What?

Guidance Counselor: Are you a college preparatory student?

Me: I'm preparing for college, yes.

Guidance Counselor: That's not what I mean.  Do you take CP classes?

Me: What is a CP class?

Basically, the school operates on these four types of classes: Advanced Placement, Honors, College Preparatory, and Regular.  AP, of course, is internationally considered to be college-level classes.  Honors is a step down from AP.  Regular, to be blunt, is for the immigrants who can barely speak English and for the illiterate students that teachers only pass to get rid of.  Call this an exaggeration or even defamation, but everyone knows it is true.  If you are a regular student, you aren't going to graduate and you sure aren't going to college.

That leaves CP.

In Mississippi, you were either an AP student or a regular student.  There were "Pre-APs" for underclassmen, but that was only English, Biology, and World History.  They were supposed to be harder, though they often weren't.  There was nothing wrong with being a regular student.  

So, from what I've gathered, this is how the courses compare (and please remember that this only compares one school in each state, not the whole state):

Not that much of a difference, right?

Wrong.

I was an AP English, Pre-AP English student in Mississippi.  My junior year in South Carolina, the huge school that promised tons of resources was terrifying, so when I transferred I decided to stick to only AP English and take all of my other classes as CP.  I thought that they would certainly be difficult, and I didn't want to ruin my junior year.

Well, I was right.  The CP courses were difficult.  CP Physical Science (PS is a required course in SC) was harder than AP English.  Yet I was one of the few students that wasn't a minority, and in that class I was the only student taking an AP class.  I was watching all of these slackers manage to make A's in CP Physical Science, while I made C's and D's.

What was going on?

 To be honest, I thought it was a fluke.  Science has never been my thing.  But next semester, I took CP Algebra II, in which I had a wonderful teacher.  Even though I don't understand some basic arithmetic, I did extremely well in that class.  I thought that it was just CP Physical Science.

Until my senior year came.  I bit the bullet and decided to take a full schedule, with AP Microeconomics, AP Government, and AP English.  Oh, and CP Computer Animation and CP Chemistry.  How am I doing?  I'm making high marks in all of my AP classes.  Yes, I have to study, but I have yet to pull an all-nighter this year, I have a life, and I still manage to be a regular writer and blogger.  I also tutor special-ed students.  But what about CP Computer Animation and CP Chemistry?

Uh...not so great.  Let's just say that by the end of this semester, I'll be lucky if I have B's in those classes.

Like I said earlier, what is going on?

 Most CP courses I've taken (the only exception is Algebra II with its fabulous teacher) have a lot in common:

• The classes are out of control.  Even the seniors and juniors are loud, disrespectful of the teachers, and destructive of classroom materials.  (Example: broken flasks and beakers in Chemistry.)
• The teachers are soft-spoken and cannot handle pressure.  When the class is loud and boisterous, they go and sit behind their desks.
• The class totally relies on SmartBoards, Elmos, videos, and online activities and tests.
• Classroom lectures consist of a couple of notes on the SmartBoard and maybe a demonstration of some chemicals or a video.
• Teachers automatically assume that the students know background information.
• Tests and quizzes are randomly handed out on material we have not covered in class because of the uncontrollable behavior of the students.
• Teachers automatically assume that a worksheet or book assignment for homework can explain the whole unit.
• The one "smart kid" in the class lets one other student copy his/her work, and then the whole class ends up with the same answers. The teacher does nothing about this.
• Teachers are so disorganized they lose grades, tests, and lesson plans.

Compare to the "regular" classes in Mississippi:

•   Students are usually well-behaved.  Sometimes energetic, but class is usually not disrupted.  If they misbehave, the teachers can handle them and quiet the classroom.
• Teachers give students tons of notes, classroom projects, verbal lectures, examples, and lots of practice.  If a student does not understand, the teacher will work until all of the students do understand.
• Lectures last throughout the whole class.
• Teachers know that students should be able to understand background information, yet they teach it anyway.
• Reviews before tests and quizzes are the norm.
• Homework is always checked and the class always goes over the homework.
• Cheating is basically a federal crime in the school.  Even copying homework assignments is not tolerated.
• Teachers are greatly organized and actually get to know their students.

See the difference?  The MS "regular" classes do not spoon-feed you, but rather they teach and check your comprehension.  The SC "CP" classes don't spoon-feed you, either.  Instead, they kind of just fling random information at you when the class volume is at a soft roar.  The CP kids who have dealt with this program for years have learned how to work it: copy the answers, turn in incomplete homework that will never be checked, and you get an A.  I, however, have been in a school that taught me how to absorb information from notes and examples from a talented teacher.  These watered-down five minute lectures do not let me absorb.  Especially in the maths and sciences, I always finish a lecture with one question on my mind: Wait, what?

Maybe spending my ninth and tenth grade years--the most impressionable years of high school--in such a good school spoiled me.  Maybe it programmed me so I can only understand thorough lectures.  Maybe it's not preparing me for a brash college professor at all.

But how in the world am I supposed to learn in a CP environment?

I'm not only blaming the teachers.  I'm blaming the students as well.  Most CP kids are so immature that it's probably impossible for a teacher to get a handle on the situation.  But why are most CP kids of all races, genders, backgrounds, religions, and personalities so ill-behaved?

Frankly, I think most of the blame lies with the school district as a whole.  They do not have high expectations for CP students.  CP students, even though they're anywhere from thirteen to nineteen years old, are not allowed to use a lot of lab equipment.  The school purchased extremely expensive, advanced thermometers and it apparently took one of my teachers a long time to convince administration that CP students could indeed use them without destroying them.  CP students are not told they must behave like Honors students.  To most of the CP students (since most of them are not a mix of CP and AP like I am), the Honors and AP kids are a completely different breed.  They're the "brains"--the kids who are going to "be somebody."  (I really hate that phrase, but that's another conversation entirely.)  CP kids may be "preparing for college" but college isn't even on most of their minds.  They don't even think past what they'll do when the final bell of the day rings.

Shortly after we moved here, I tried to explain my CP Physical Science class to my mom: bare minimum lectures, a teacher who disliked all students and refused to be acquainted with them, and surprise tests on materials we never went over.  Her automatic response was, "Hey, that sounds like college."  So is that what College Preparatory classes are about?  They're preparing us for the cold world called higher education?

Maybe so, but how effective is it in high school?  The answer is: it's not.  It's only teaching students to be lazy and to cheat.  It's only telling us that adults don't care and don't expect us to succeed.  It's not preparing us for the real world at all.

My dad saw that I was struggling in some of my CP classes and immediately asked why.  After I tried to explain all of this to him, I finally only left him with this statement:  "CP's are so easy, they're dumbing me down.  They're so easy they're hard."  It sounds like a huge oxymoron, but I think it properly underlines the CP effect. (Of course, I have had one exception with CP Algebra II, but that class was full of well-behaved children and a teacher who personally tutored the students if they needed help.)

So, to sum it all up, I think I'll leave you, dear reader, with a conversation I had with a fellow CP student.  He is one of the biggest disruptions in the class, yet he manages to keep a B average in the class thanks to copying and cutting corners.

Unnamed Student: Hey Sarah, what do you have in this class?

Me: Uh, I'm not doing so hot.

Unnamed Student: Do you have to pass this class?

Since when does any kid get to choose which class he or she has to pass?  What, are we allowed to have two or three bonus classes that don't really matter if we pass or not? That, dear reader, is the case against College Preparatory courses.  They lower the students' expectations of themselves.

If you think I'm disgruntled now, you should have seen my face when I started to fill out the out-of-state application for the University of Mississippi.  There, in the prerequisites, it listed a number of required courses filed under the name "College Preparatory Courses."  Unfortunately, these low expectations and performances are spreading.