Thursday, March 09, 2006

I Coulda Been a Contender

Yes, that's a picture of me.

Oh, I can't fool you anymore.

NOT really me. But, if I were the Queen, that's probably the position paparazzi would find me in.
So you're probably wondering, how is it that I've become so delusional, that I now see myself as the Queen of England.

I found out today, that this was not only a possibility, but an all out likelihood.

Mr. Cruisin sent me an email today with a link, detailing the SAT scores and grades for a few of our Presidential contenders (as well as one winner).

The results (assuming this is real, which we will for the sake of me having something to blog about) were quite shocking.

While the SAT scores were nothing to write home about, their grades were even worse.

Bush, Gore, Kerry all getting B's, C's, and D's in various courses, including government. And, yet, they all went on to be of high political stature.

Quite interesting, don't you think? Well, not exactly a shocker when it comes to our beloved President.

But, it started me thinking. I could have been president. I could have been Queen. WHY, I COULD HAVE BEEN KING.

I quickly wrote an email back to Mr. Cruisin, saying:

"Hey, Mr. Cruisin...according to this, I could have been president, or perhaps King of the World".

And you know what that man wrote back?...

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of the entire universe".

Isn't that sweet? He sees me as King of the Universe!

But that started me thinking...how did he mean that?

Was he saying I'm so special and incredible, that I could actually be King of the Universe?

Or was it possible that he was saying:
"Yeah, yeah, old big mouth...always think you're right, never wrong, controlling everyone and everything that crosses your path."

Whoa!...I opt for the former.

Now, the reason all of this got me thinking, is because I remember my SAT scores. Actually it's something I've tried to forget my entire life. They were not something to write home about.

As a matter of fact, I didnt' even tell my husband what they were until we had been married for two years, I was in the will, pregnant, and feeling like, "okay, this guy isn't gonna dump me now...too much on the line".

But the very thing that drove me underground, to never speak of again, I now come to find out, could have gotten me to the highest office in the land.

So what's the lesson learned here? It seems that all of the pushing and stress we put on our kids, the SAT courses starting at the age of 12, prep courses, algebra 2 in the 8th grade, etc., etc. all adds up to one thing...

Undo PRESSURE...and for what? Maybe we just need to let the SAT and grade "chips" fall where they may.

Who knows, you may be tucking in the next president of the United States tonight.

13 comments:

Irina Tsukerman said...

LOL! Having worried my way through all the entrance exams, SATs, SAT IIs, and now LSATs, I now see that exams hold much less significance than I imagined. As does almost everything else, for that matter!

torontopearl said...

Thank G-d I didn't have to contend with that official state exam... I'm afraid what I'd have learned about myself, ie. which country I could have been ruling...maybe a small one like Lichtenstein...?

cruisin-mom said...

Irina: WELCOME! So glad you came over here...now you know, you don't even need to study anymore, and we'll probably be singing "Hail to the Chief" to you in a few years.

Pearl: I hear Lichtenstein is lovely this time of year.

Anonymous said...

Amen, sister.
;-)

cruisin-mom said...

E.K.: right on, brotha!

Mia: I like that sun-shiny island idea!

Ezzie said...

Ah, but remember: In schools such as Yale, which work on curves, that doesn't necessarily mean they did poorly; just not as well as others in their class.

That said, it is far better to have a leader who is smart, but not brilliant; someone who has leadership skills, and not someone who thinks he knows better. A good leader needs to recognize that he does not know everything and that he must listen to experts; the super-smart tend to rely on their own heads too much, only to have it lead to horrendous results. The smartest recent world leader I know of is... 180 IQ... Ehud Barak. And he was atrocious.

Meanwhile, you didn't write your score! How cheap! :)

cruisin-mom said...

Ezzie: you are right, I will take skills, hard work, and smart, anyday over "brilliant I.Q.".
And of course I'm not posting my scores...it took me 2 years to tell my husband...do you really think I'm going to tell all of you!!!
(maybe in 2 years, when I know you won't leave me!)

Jake said...

Ah, screw the SAT's! And this is coming from someone who did super-well on all those tests from ETS. I got the same basic score on the PSAT, SAT and GRE's and what'd that get me? I went to a lot of fancy schools with guys and girls who did the same, and believe me, they weren't decent people. I swear, the two girls in my class who got the lowest SAT scores, (why we all found out, I'm still not sure), were the most well-adjusted, nice people there. They both got married pretty young, but made out great. ETS is one of those evil monopolies with no right to the enormous power they have. OPEC and the NCAA are the other two.

... Is the Window to Our Soul said...

ok, I just have to say that each time I see this picture, I get totally gross out.

OK...now that I have that out of my system, a few years ago our great President Bush was a commencement speaker and in his speech he basically told the students "see what a C average can get you, you can become the President of the United States." Wow,now that is something to really brag about.

Gee Randi, what are you worried about?

cruisin-mom said...

S.T.: EXACTLY!!!

cruisin-mom said...

Jake: I wish we could just say Screw the test. Unfortunately, if you want to get into college, it's still a reality. But it defintitely doesn't predict much. I mean, who knew I would become a prolific blog writer?!!!

Jake said...

Here's a radical idea: why don't the colleges and universities make up THEIR OWN DAMN TEST instead of paying a big fee for some jerks in Princeton to do the work for them? The answer is it's ultimately cheaper and easier, even though the reduced quality of everyone's education from junior high upward is damaged irreparably by schools teaching to these darned standardized tests... it's just the kind of qualities I want in a institution charging $40k for tuition room and board.

cruisin-mom said...

AMEN to that brotha! I think that is actually a brilliant idea.