"Better looking" students receive better grades in school

TIME posted an article address the study that better looking students have higher GPAs and succeed more in high school and go to college. 

Now as a high school student, after reading this I actually understand and see where this is true. Of course not always is it like this but it is definitely true that more attractive male and females receive more attention from teachers than "non-attractive" students. This could easily cause a difference in self-esteem and happiness which has some sort of affect on your grades. Students with a better relationship with the teacher are more likely to ask questions or absorb more information, and take extra credit classes, which results in better GPAs. It's sad to say I believe this true in our society, not just school. I've seen it in some of my classes in my 4 years of high school.

http://healthland.time.com/2013/12/10/teachers-give-better-grades-to-more-attractive-students-study/?iid=hl-main-lead

Healthcare

So I went to the doctor yesterday to get some bloodwork done and I didn't think anything of it, like how this affects my family just going there. I'm there and I pay my $20 co-pay and I get tested for 12 different things. When I got home I had my dad explain how our insurance works and if they cover this and he told me that they don't cover any of these payments and that we would get the actual bill later from the insurance. Apparently when Obama took office insurance changed for us and the only way we get covered is if we pay up to a certain amount in out-of-pocket expenses. He says it's never been this way for us and at this point I got really mad. Why do we pay for healthcare if they don't cover a dime of the costs? For us we have to pay $2,000 in fees before our insurance starts covering things, but when the does the average person actually hit that limit? It's ridiculous. This seemingly useless doctors visit just cost my family $250, money that we don't have, which is why we pay for healthcare. Obama's healthcare plan may help the very poor but it's certainly not helping single income middle class families. 

Government shutdown ends

I went to bed last night at 10 pm after waiting for the bill to be passed about ending the government shutdown and raising the debt ceiling. I didn't want to post this before it actually happened, in case anything crazy happened.

So the cycle continues of not getting anything done inside the government but what else is new? Due to our divided government, nothing has been accomplished. The only thing that has is further tension between parties. Obamacare has already been approved and gone through judicial review and is set to be activated but the Republicans refuse to let it happen even though they are at a complete disadvantage. They maybe saving us from trouble in the moment but having the raise the debt limit as much as they have, in the long term, it only does harm. 

Hopefully by the beginning of 2014, the government will cooperate with each other and figure out a solution, but I won't be surprised if this is pushed back even further.

Is Music the Key to Success?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/opinion/sunday/is-music-the-key-to-success.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

Many of the country's most successful people such as Paul Allen, Woody Allen, Chuck Todd, Larry Page, and even Condoleezza Rice connected their musical studies to their success in their careers. They say that music opened up the pathways to creative thinking. Their experiences suggest that music training sharpens qualities like collaboration, such as listening, weaving ideas together, and focusing on the present and the future simultaneously.

Mr. Todd says there is a connection between years of practice and competition and what he call's the "drive for perfection." The big thing about music is that it makes you try harder because you keep practicing. And that practice makes you more likely to double and triple check your work, because of that strive for perfection.

"Consider the qualities these high achievers say music has sharpened: collaboration, creativity, discipline and the capacity to reconcile conflicting ideas. All are qualities notably absent from public life. Music may not make you a genius, or rich, or even a better person. But it helps train you to think differently, to process different points of view - and most important, to take pleasure in listening."

Being an aspiring music educator, this article makes me happy. :)

NYC has a murder-less week

http://nypost.com/2013/10/14/no-murders-this-week-in-nyc/

I found this article today and I thought it was interesting. NYC has a had a week without any murders! It's a weird accomplishment but it is definitely good to see. But on a larger scale, this is a part of a general lower murder rate, in NYC, over the last year.

Over the last year the murder rate has dropped 26% in NYC. Its exciting to see these numbers especially in the most known city in the world.

It will be interesting to see how this dip in the murder rate may affect other rates such as crime rates, not only in NYC but surrounding areas.

$15/hour Minimum Wage

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/09/seattle-mayor-would-support-minimum-wage-above-15/2955019/

Seattle's Mayor Mike McGinn says that the minimum wage should be increased to $15 per hour. Now as a teenager about to have to pay for college this sounds INCREDIBLE. And apparently so does a lot of Seattle citizens, who are very hyped about the idea of this increase. In fact, Seattle already has the highest minimum wage at $9.19 per hour, about $2 more than the federal minimum wage.

Many businesses in Seattle haven't shown much concern about it besides the fact that it may affect small businesses. The president and CEO of Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce said her organization shares a broader concern about the income gap and wants to make sure that people aren't left behind.

McGinn understands that this is a long a process and in the end would benefit the people the most. Nick Licata, a member of the city council, said he doesn't expect the issue to move quickly. They have other issues to address.

I think this is fantastic. There are going to positives and negatives if it were to happen, but where I am today, this is great.

China's new secondary school rules

China recently has encouraged certain rules in their secondary school to discourage "young love" among the students. "They must maintain a minimum distance of half a meter from each other at all times. In addition, boys and girls are not allowed to go around school premises in pairs." Are you serious? Honestly, I don't think the rule change is going to do anything but was it really necessary? But at the same time, I understand that parents and teachers want their students to work hard at school to better prepare them for the future, but what has changed that made them have the urge to enforce this rule? It beats me. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-24347175