Boston.com has an article on how parents feel that long term papers are too much work for high school students.

…But Laurie Mokriski, also a PTSO member, said she worries because the papers contribute significantly to students’ already-heavy academic loads. Newton parents met earlier this month to discuss homework and agreed their children have too much, Mokriski said. They also need time for sports, theater, music, and academic teams, she said. ”They’re trying to enjoy their high school years,” she said.

Denise Clark Pope, author of ”Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out Materialistic and Miseducated Students,” argues that today’s high school students are overworked. [boston.com]

Is it me or does this just seem like too much whining. I remember having term papers that were at least 10 pages long in High School. I thought everyone had to do that kind of thing. I like how because the kids have so many extra-curricular activities, we have to give them less academic work.

A few years after I graduated from high school, my school started doing mock elections. Since 1988 their mock election has accurately chosen the eventual winner. VOTES 2004 was today, and the winner was… John Kerry! Let’s hope their record of success continues.

It’s a pretty interesting setup. From the web page:

Two schools from each state participate in the highlight of the month-long project—a mock election at which a winner is declared just days before the general election. The VOTES election is unique in that it simulates the electoral college process of selecting a candidate: the winner must earn at least 270 out of 538 electoral votes.

And here is the breakdown of the results:

Candidate
John Kerry
George Bush
Ralph Nader
David Cobb
Michael Badnarik
Michael Peroutka
Others

Electoral Votes
326
212
0
0
0
0
0

Popular Votes
26,920
22,771
2,253
758
572
230
56

Percentage
50.20%
42.50%
4.40%
1.40%
1.00%
0.40%
0.10%

Voter Turnout 70%

Pretty cool I must say. I can’t wait to see how accurate it is this year.