On Homework

I really don't see the point of all this practice and review that could be done with just a few more hours of school. They say that every week, 8th graders should have between 3 and 4 hours of homework, but it would be just fine and dandy to add those 3 to 4 hours to the school week and then kids have like zero stress to get things done at home. Which i guess could be good or bad. I mean, sure it teaches people time management, but people could learn time management in tutorials too. Really.

On Dogs

My sister really wants a dog. For Christmas, my mom printed out a certificate that entitled my sis to one (1) puppy Sincerely, Mom and Dad. Yes, that's exactly what they put. They sealed it up all nice in an envelope and put it on the tree Christmas Eve. Now, I really don't want a puppy. My dad wants a puppy that can take on a coyote, since we have a major infestation of those things living at the bottom of the cliff behind my house. The reason I don't want a puppy is because it is a major expense. Not just money-wise, but time- and energy-wise too. The only way it could be worth it is if the puppy was Super Duper amazingly, beyond-belief cute. Like really cute. But it's not going to be if it's gonna be tough enough to not be eaten by a coyote. A lot of the neighborhood cats already have been. And when I look at all the dog-owners around the neighborhood, here's what I see: a ton of kids have begged and whined their way into getting a dog. Then, when their parents finally gave one to them, they were thrilled. They diligently played with it and fed it and groomed it and walked it for about a week. Then they got bored or too busy or too lazy to take care of it and now the only people you see walking the dog is the parents, pretty much. But I know my parents are never going to do that. So this puppy of ours will either die from lack of exercise (ok, so maybe that's an overstatement) or I'll have to walk it. And seriously? That's a huge commitment. So I say no to the dog idea.