Have any of you seen this show? It has these high school seniors:

competing for a scholarship. Now, hey that's all good and well, but have you heard some of the questions that they ask these people in the challenges? They are things that most fifth graders should know. I don't know if this is a feel-good show or an indictment of our crappy educational system.

So have any of you seen it? What are your thoughts?

-Matt

Man I havent seen it and for all the obvious reasons: not a fan of the reality tv, and iunno, this premise kinda irks me, maybe its just cause I'm kinda bitter I've got to repay all my loans and one of those idiots gets a hand out - ESPECIALLY if they're asking the kinda questions you say they are...college is gonna eat them alive, cause you KNOW that the winner's gonna choose something like Harvard

Gotta example of what they're asking Matt?

Well, for instance, last night one of the kids (the self-professed "genius of history") was asked to name the two presidents who were assassinated in the 20th century. He chose Lincoln and Garfield. Now, maybe you wouldn't know that it was Kennedy and McKinley, but wouldn't you know that Lincoln was a little before the 1900s?

Another person missed the question in another competition of "What holds muscle to bone?" Their answer? Joint.

Another person in the same competition was asked what part of the body was the 'dermis' and 'epidermis' and didn't know. I think they said "brain."

A person won a competition with the epic question of "Which Mark Twain character talked others into doing his whitewashing for him?"

These are supposed to be the elite students, all with high GPAs and they are asked questions that anybody would know. The sad part is that some of them don't even know the answer to the questions. Hey, they at least get a full scholarship to the college or university of their choice! That's fair.

-Matt

I didn't have a great GPA in high school, hell I slept through high school and got B's and I knew those answers (Seriously that joint one cracked me up)...makes our public schools look horrible too - I said it when I was in high school, but those places are nothing more than baby sitting facilities where they make you jump through the occassional hoop and fill out and worksheet or something

Yeah public schools are a frigging JOKE. I had to find out he hard way when I got to College. I work in a school now most of te time I try to convince the kids that the extra work they do at this school will help them out. Most of them just wannt to leave and go to a regular public school, because they know they can cruise annd gt 'A' s

The season ended last night. Hopefully, the show will end along with it because-- dang, it is wrong on so many levels. They had narrowed it down to five competitors. In order to narrow it down to the final three, they asked them three questions each:

1. What is a global and personal problem that keeps you up at night? One person said that the world's laziness keeps him up at night. Even sadder than his stupid answer is that he was one of the ones to proceed to the final three.

2. What is a trait that you have have and have had to overcome? Note: none of them said stupidity, which was my first thought for ALL OF THEM.

and 3. The King Crappola of questions: If you could eat with anyone famous, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Are you kidding me!? These are the questions posed to the academic elite in order to determine who gets a full scholarship to the college or university of their choice!? Even worse, do you know what one of the girls answered for the last question? The girl in the picture at the start of this thread with the vacant expression and reddish hair said that if she could eat with anyone famous, living or dead, it would be Angelina Jolie. Come on! Even if that is who you would have picked, lie about it! Say you would eat with Abraham Lincoln, Ernest Hemingway, heck even Joseph Stalin. At least act like you are aware of the subject known as history. Coincidentally, she didn't make it to the final three. Another girl chose for that question her godmother. Her non-famous godmother. Coincidentally, she didn't make it either. What a shocker.

The winner, Melissa (in the blue sweater/unbuttoned shirt-thing) at least seemed to have her head on her shoulders and not wedged tightly up her ass like the rest of them, so I guess there is a silver lining. Either way, I have no idea why I watched this show and I most certainly will not if it comes back next season.

-Matt

I'm ok with the godmother answer or great grand mother at least if that person isn't here anymore. I can dig that so no hatred from me there but all those OTHER questions yeesh. Thewho would ou at with quetion can ONLY have a cliched answer as it is such a cliched question.

True, but there are good or at least expected cliched answers and then there's Angelina Jolie.

As for the godmother, hey if she wants to dine with her, more power to her, but the question was what famous person, not what relative. If she was related to Axel Rose then I would understand, but she wasn't.

Regardless, to base a college scholarship off of questions like that is rediculous. I could have come up with much better answers than all of them and I'm still paying off my student loans.

-Matt

Oh yeah I wasn't paying attention I missed the famous part. Not that I would pass up dinner with Ms. Jolie (crazy or not)

Imagine you answer the question and say some historic guy who would likely be busy ...you know doing something HISTORIC and the whole time you're thinking "Damn I REALLY wanted to be here with Angelina Jolie."


The BEST answer of course is Me in 12 years (By me don't mean me but me as in whoever is answering the question.)