However, but

This is what my Art teacher says all.the.time. However, but. At first I thought it was just a one time thing, she must realize they mean the same thing, right? But, no, she has continued to say it repeatedly at each class. And she says it all together, like it's one word. It's especially funny, because she is such a stickler about pronunciation and such. She'll correct us if we say Renaissance incorrectly (or incorrectly according to her anyway. I'm not so sure we're the ones saying it wrong). Every time she's lecturing and says "however, but" I want to laugh out loud. So, yeah, that's the highlight of my Art class. Sounds really fun, right?

Mackenzie told me yesterday that she tested on a book at school for AR and got a 60. Then a few minutes later she says she has to walk all of her recess period on Friday, as well as during the free recess they usually have. I asked her why, and she said it's because she made a 60 on the AR test. What.the.hell? I meant to write her teacher a note and ask her what the hell kind of policy this is, but I forgot. I'm going to write one today and get it to her tomorrow. I think that's insane, and I'm not having it. AR is not optional, the top 5 grades of all the books she reads in a 9 week period count for 25% of her Reading grade. However, but (haha!) I don't put it on the same par as homework, especially since I know Mackenzie reads well more than 5 books in a 9 week period. If she can have five 100s to account for the 25%, then what's the big deal if she occasionally screws up and doesn't do well on an AR test. She told me it took her from last Monday to read the whole book, during which time she also read another book. So, most likely she either took too long to finish and couldn't remember certain details, or the book was possibly just out of her comprehension level. She told me it was nearly 300 pages, but she couldn't remember the grade level.

In any case, I will be talking to the teacher, and letting her know it is unacceptable for Mackenzie to walk during recess on Friday, for that reason anyway. I'll let you know what happens!