I agree, to both of those things. We've got SOLs (standards of learning) in VA that pretty much fucked the kids over - instead of learning how to LEARN, they're learning how to memorize pointless bullshit and it doesn't do any of them any good. And they test the kids and split them up at the beginning of the year in our elementary school so that they can be with peers who are on the same learning level as them, but then you end up with Davey learning the same thing as Ronnie in different grades b/c Davey's top of his class and Ronnie's at the bottom of his. The teachers try, but they can only do so much because of SOLs. Blah!

He didn't get his artistic ability from me. I can't draw stick figures either.