Library, Thursday

[genesishero]

Evan wasn't anything even remotely resembling productive today during his library shift, no. He'd shown up, and had given a glance to the books that were in need of re-shelving, and had sighed and made a reach for a few. He could take the whole cart with him, but he was caught somewhere between listless and antsy in the worst way, and making a few laps around the library today really couldn't hurt until he managed to figure out which he was going to settle on.

By the time he got back to the desk from shelving those ones, the cart was a little more empty than he remembered leaving it. Another wander into the stacks revealed the reason why- a few of the more uplifting titles had gone ahead and shelved themselves, so that he wouldn't have to.

At least that got a bit of a smile out of him. There was a reason he liked books so much, see?

[Open!]

Ethics [Thursday, March 7, 2013]

[sith_happened]

"Good morning," Anakin said, "and welcome back from the holiday. We're going to ease in with a discussion of a test near to the heart of anyone from this dimension who's trying to get into college: the SAT, which claims to test the aptitude of high school students across the United States for the purpose of college. The SAT is considered an important part of a student’s application as it allows admissions officers to compare applicants on a standardized measure (that grades and other factors may not allow). The test is broken into three sections: math, critical reading and writing and takes about four hours to complete. It also costs $49, with potential scores ranging between 600 and 2400."

"Although studies have shown strong correlation between how well a student does on the SATs and how well they do in their first year of college, critics question the fairness of this testing across all levels of income, races, and cultures. I'm not certain how well most of you, for instance, would do on the exam, and I don't question your ability to think, reason, or interact effectively in the world. Many students take the exam multiple times--your score goes up 30 points on average with every retaking--and enroll in expensive preparatory classes in order to increase their grade on the SAT, something out of reach for kids without that kind of disposable income. Some say that the gap between rich and poor on this exam is even more widespread because wealthier kids have been exposed to the kinds of experiences and ideas that count as 'aptitude' on the exam."

Anakin clasped his hands in front of him. "My questions are these: should state colleges even require SAT scores as part of their admission? If so, should you be allowed to submit your best score, or just one? And do your cultures have similar tests for aptitude, or do you use something different? In my case, Jedi can tell if someone else is Force-sensitive, and that's pretty much it in terms of what your choice in careers is going to be: you're trained as a Jedi."