Valedictorians, Vegemite and Voting

It's not often that there would be 3 "V's" that I would like to discuss. But here we are. 

Valedictorians
Apparently, it's in the news that a high school in Indiana is doing away with the Valedictorian title as it puts undue stress on the students. Plus, there's a controversy about students taking "easy" classes to maintain a 4.0. But then other students carry a heavier load--AP and honors classes because those "A's" carry more weight. The idea that they would take those classes to get more credit is just stupid. If they are taking those harder classes, they deserve the extra credit. They obviously have to work harder to get it. That's just obvious. 

The news report went on to say that many, many schools across the country are doing away with the Valedictorian title. There are other schools that are bestowing the Valedictorian title to anyone who has a 4.0 average or higher. Whatever happened to striving to be the best? If that's what some students want to do, then I think they should be rewarded for their efforts. Sounds like a healthy competition to me. We need to get away from this entitlement mentality that everyone deserves a title, or trophy for just showing up. Sure, you can have that, but there's nothing wrong with having another award for those that are truly exceptional. 

The report went on to say that there was a high school that awarded 114 Valedictorian awards. Now, that's just too many speeches---if you ask me! 

Vegemite
This has come up before as I read books based in Australia. When I see that word, it always reminds me of Lucille Ball and her Vitameatavegamine commercial. I finally decided to look up what vegemite actually is. The actual definition is: a dark brown Australian food paste made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives developed by Cyril P. Callister in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1922. It's used as a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits as well as a filling for pastries.

I've never had it. It doesn't even sound that good to me. It looks like it would be sweet, but it's salty. I notice "Kraft" on the label. I wonder if you can find it in our grocery stores. It's really nothing at all like the vitameatavegamine---I guess it's just the "V" thing. Has anyone ever had it? Side note: this falls under the "Learning" section on my Research and Development Plan. Hey, come on, it's something!

Voting
So I really try not to be political on my blog. But I have to admit, I am heartsick. I HATE---and I'm not using that word lightly---both of our choices. I don't know what I'm going to do. My first inclination is to NOT vote at all. But then, the word is that's like voting for whoever you dislike the most. I sure don't want that either. In good conscience, I cannot vote for either candidate. I guess I'll "waste" my vote on whoever else is listed. Maybe we could have a miracle and that person might "get it." They certainly couldn't be any worse than the two main choices we have now. It's a sad state of affairs. I'm just sayin'!

I could probably come up with a few other "V" words to discuss, but not today!