Love Lola: Getting an A+, happy grad and going out with a bang
Dear Lola,
Why is it that teachers seem to give better marks to students that spend more money on projects rather than those that use their resources? I have watched students buy their projects and add a little detail and get an awesome mark. I prefer to use recycled goods and things around the house and continue to get horrible marks even though a LOT of effort has gone into it. Is it seriously about how the end product looks? Or is it more important how much effort a student puts into their work? If it's effort that counts, I should be getting amazing marks. What can I do about this and who can I talk to about this situation?
Blah
Dear Blah,
You raise an interesting and timeless query my little brainiac. Do you need beauty to win or is it what's inside that counts? When it comes to questions of the heart, I will always recommended that someone look deeper than the superficial sheen of their suitor before giving him or her a passing grade. With schoolwork, I would hope that our professors are applying the same rule of thumb. All that glitters is not gold; it should take more than a kitschy pink duo tang to garner an A+.
That being said, post-secondary school is a step beyond a standard education and the last stop before entering into the professional realm. Whether you're studying law, fashion design or accounting you want your presentations and assignments to be tidy and organized. If you're losing marks for the quality of your presentations, maybe your teachers have a point; you shouldn't be handing anything to a professor that you wouldn't hand to an employer.
If you're really strapped for cash, get out of the school bookstore and hit your local Dollarama for colourful notebooks, duotangs, and poster paper. You can also do a great job, for free, by creating your presentations in PowerPoint and presenting them in a slideshow for the class.
I don't mean to minimize the frustration you're feeling; thinking about your classmates handing in their projects on strawberry- scented stationary is making me cry. Be careful though, you could be making assumptions about the work that they're completing. There's always a wild chance that an A+ paper is hidden in that Louis Vuitton briefcase. Focus on your own marks, meet your own goals and maybe talk to your teacher about presentation expectations before the next big assignment is due.
Good luck.
Dear Lola,
Graduation is just a few weeks away and I am totally stoked! I got a wicked summer job and I just got my acceptance letter into grad school. Problem is, my boyfriend can't find a job and he just found out he has to return to college in the fall for one credit. I don't mean to sound cruel, but he's totally bumming me out right now, I feel like I can't celebrate my success without upsetting him. HELP!
Queen Bee
Dear Queen,
I can see where you'd be more than a tad frustrated with your boyfriend; if you're completing your program and moving onto graduate studies you've obviously worked super hard for the last few years. Congratulations to you, you should be very proud of how well you've done in school. Now let's see if you can focus some of that dedication and commitment to success on your little wounded boyfriend.
There you are, ready to jump right into your picture perfect future, while he's left behind to basically repeat a grade. Ouch! Feminism be damned, it's still really difficult for a guy to deal with a woman who is totally outdoing him. Yes, yes, one thousand times yes, you deserve all the success in the world; equal to a man...blah, blah, blah. But I'm sure this wouldn't be putting half as much of a strain on your relationship if he was the one moving on and you were lagging behind. Truth is, women are naturally empowered by a challenge and motivated by defeat! Men are, well, just defeated for the most part.
Give him sometime to deal with his own setback and he should be waiting with flowers when you step off the stage in your cap and gown next month. If he's not, dump his whiney butt and start dreaming about the older guys you'll be meeting in September!
Good luck.
Dear Lola,
I saw a letter a few weeks ago where a reader asked you about the best way to break up with a girl so that she doesn't hate you afterwards. Any advice for how to break up with a guy so he doesn't hate you?
Heartbreaker
Dear Heartbreaker,
What's with all the heartache? You can tell that summer is in the air when couples start pulling away from their hibernating hotties and start looking outside the cave for something more enticing.
Though I certainly can't give you a man's perspective on how to let a boy down so that you don't crush his ego (or his heart) I can speak from an (almost) expert opinion. I have at least three ex-boyfriends on my current text-list and more than a dozen on Facebook. Yes, I know “friends” on Facebook aren't really friends in real life, but in these situations I swear they count!
I have three golden rules when it comes to ending a relationship on amicable terms:
1. Go out with a bang (literally). Yes, it might sound pathetic, but giving your ex one last romp before you disappear into the sunset guarantees he'll always have a smile on his face when he thinks about you.
2. DO NOT under any circumstances date any of his friends. Seriously, it's the same rules for girls and guys folks. No double standards here. I don't care if it's been two weeks or two years stay away from his buddies.
3. Keep in touch! Don't be that ex-girlfriend who he awkwardly bumps into in Starbucks while he's frantically trying to avoid eye contact. Be friendly, not too much though. Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas are sufficient enough to show you're still friendly, but you're not crazy.
Truth is, most guys only want to get along with their exes for the unlikely possibility that it may at some point lead to accidental, drunken sex. For me, if it means not being “voodoo” dolled by some guy who can't get over our break-up, I accept.
Good luck.
Got a question? Email me at lolaletters@live.ca - All emails are confidential and your identity will be protected. If you're not comfortable sending me an email, just click on the Letters to Lola link on the left side menu to send me your question.
Why is it that teachers seem to give better marks to students that spend more money on projects rather than those that use their resources? I have watched students buy their projects and add a little detail and get an awesome mark. I prefer to use recycled goods and things around the house and continue to get horrible marks even though a LOT of effort has gone into it. Is it seriously about how the end product looks? Or is it more important how much effort a student puts into their work? If it's effort that counts, I should be getting amazing marks. What can I do about this and who can I talk to about this situation?
Blah
Dear Blah,
You raise an interesting and timeless query my little brainiac. Do you need beauty to win or is it what's inside that counts? When it comes to questions of the heart, I will always recommended that someone look deeper than the superficial sheen of their suitor before giving him or her a passing grade. With schoolwork, I would hope that our professors are applying the same rule of thumb. All that glitters is not gold; it should take more than a kitschy pink duo tang to garner an A+.
That being said, post-secondary school is a step beyond a standard education and the last stop before entering into the professional realm. Whether you're studying law, fashion design or accounting you want your presentations and assignments to be tidy and organized. If you're losing marks for the quality of your presentations, maybe your teachers have a point; you shouldn't be handing anything to a professor that you wouldn't hand to an employer.
If you're really strapped for cash, get out of the school bookstore and hit your local Dollarama for colourful notebooks, duotangs, and poster paper. You can also do a great job, for free, by creating your presentations in PowerPoint and presenting them in a slideshow for the class.
I don't mean to minimize the frustration you're feeling; thinking about your classmates handing in their projects on strawberry- scented stationary is making me cry. Be careful though, you could be making assumptions about the work that they're completing. There's always a wild chance that an A+ paper is hidden in that Louis Vuitton briefcase. Focus on your own marks, meet your own goals and maybe talk to your teacher about presentation expectations before the next big assignment is due.
Good luck.
Dear Lola,
Graduation is just a few weeks away and I am totally stoked! I got a wicked summer job and I just got my acceptance letter into grad school. Problem is, my boyfriend can't find a job and he just found out he has to return to college in the fall for one credit. I don't mean to sound cruel, but he's totally bumming me out right now, I feel like I can't celebrate my success without upsetting him. HELP!
Queen Bee
Dear Queen,
I can see where you'd be more than a tad frustrated with your boyfriend; if you're completing your program and moving onto graduate studies you've obviously worked super hard for the last few years. Congratulations to you, you should be very proud of how well you've done in school. Now let's see if you can focus some of that dedication and commitment to success on your little wounded boyfriend.
There you are, ready to jump right into your picture perfect future, while he's left behind to basically repeat a grade. Ouch! Feminism be damned, it's still really difficult for a guy to deal with a woman who is totally outdoing him. Yes, yes, one thousand times yes, you deserve all the success in the world; equal to a man...blah, blah, blah. But I'm sure this wouldn't be putting half as much of a strain on your relationship if he was the one moving on and you were lagging behind. Truth is, women are naturally empowered by a challenge and motivated by defeat! Men are, well, just defeated for the most part.
Give him sometime to deal with his own setback and he should be waiting with flowers when you step off the stage in your cap and gown next month. If he's not, dump his whiney butt and start dreaming about the older guys you'll be meeting in September!
Good luck.
Dear Lola,
I saw a letter a few weeks ago where a reader asked you about the best way to break up with a girl so that she doesn't hate you afterwards. Any advice for how to break up with a guy so he doesn't hate you?
Heartbreaker
Dear Heartbreaker,
What's with all the heartache? You can tell that summer is in the air when couples start pulling away from their hibernating hotties and start looking outside the cave for something more enticing.
Though I certainly can't give you a man's perspective on how to let a boy down so that you don't crush his ego (or his heart) I can speak from an (almost) expert opinion. I have at least three ex-boyfriends on my current text-list and more than a dozen on Facebook. Yes, I know “friends” on Facebook aren't really friends in real life, but in these situations I swear they count!
I have three golden rules when it comes to ending a relationship on amicable terms:
1. Go out with a bang (literally). Yes, it might sound pathetic, but giving your ex one last romp before you disappear into the sunset guarantees he'll always have a smile on his face when he thinks about you.
2. DO NOT under any circumstances date any of his friends. Seriously, it's the same rules for girls and guys folks. No double standards here. I don't care if it's been two weeks or two years stay away from his buddies.
3. Keep in touch! Don't be that ex-girlfriend who he awkwardly bumps into in Starbucks while he's frantically trying to avoid eye contact. Be friendly, not too much though. Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas are sufficient enough to show you're still friendly, but you're not crazy.
Truth is, most guys only want to get along with their exes for the unlikely possibility that it may at some point lead to accidental, drunken sex. For me, if it means not being “voodoo” dolled by some guy who can't get over our break-up, I accept.
Good luck.
Got a question? Email me at lolaletters@live.ca - All emails are confidential and your identity will be protected. If you're not comfortable sending me an email, just click on the Letters to Lola link on the left side menu to send me your question.
