urbantinker8 said:At a typical large American high school, besides English, the main focus might be German or French, and they often run bilingual programs where instruction happens in English, German, or French during specific grades. In another school, it might be German or French too, with bilingual tracks for those two; I’m not entirely certain, though, but I suspect English isn't necessarily the first choice for everyone there. That used to be the case, at least, but I don't know if English has since pushed its way to the front.
As for your other question: yeah, that's doable. They can just split the group into beginner and advanced tracks, where at the exact same period, one group handles the basics while the other moves on to the advanced stuff. It seems pretty straightforward and actually quite efficient.👍
That other prep school in New York City also offers German as the main foreign language. Usually, it’s just one specific class, while everyone else takes English as their first choice and picks a second one later.
Regarding English proficiency—honestly, I think just knowing it isn't enough anymore. It’s fine if you just want to get by, but let's be real: you aren't competitive in the job market unless you're truly fluent. It's basically expected now. I was in Finland recently and heard this story about a guy working in politics there. He's actually an American, but all the legal paperwork is strictly in Finnish. He actually employs a full-time translator! Even after living and working there for six years, he still hasn't mastered the language well enough to understand the contracts he's signing. 😬 I also know someone working in the IBM sector in Finland who uses English for work, but for everything else? Totally useless. He can't understand what he's buying at the grocery store or even follow traffic signs... nothing at all.
The point isn't that we need to make Finnish a mandatory school subject. It's just a perfect example of how English often isn't enough in the professional world.
urbantinker8 said:So, regarding that distance issue...🙄 it’s just one more thing in a long line of topics that seem to attract way more hype and unnecessary drama than they actually deserve. I suppose I can somewhat empathize if someone finds early mornings to be a massive struggle, but everything else feels like a bit of an exaggeration, honestly. And I say that from the perspective of someone who has spent thirty years commuting through cities—taking the subway, driving, riding the light rail, catching buses, or hopping on a train—back when I was a student, then an employee, and now a parent... truthfully, those thirty minutes sitting on the train right now is probably my favorite part of the day, just letting my brain settle while I get lost in a book. It’s quite literally how I unwind. I know plenty of people who pick their schools based entirely on how close they are to where they practice sports or whatever. Personally, if I had to make that choice, I’d rather skip the training sessions altogether than compromise on the school just because of the commute. It’s not really a huge deal if you’re deciding between two decent public high schools, but it does feel a bit much when parents refuse to send their kids to the only specialized academy in town just because it’s "too far away." 🙄 But hey, I guess there's a bit of everything out there.
When I was enrolling in high school, proximity was my absolute top priority. I knew I wanted to go to a prep school—could have been anything from a language academy to a classical liberal arts track—and I decided right then that I'd pick whichever one had the shortest commute. 😬 To be honest, nobody actually gave me a list of which schools I was allowed to choose from.
Call me a snob if you want, but I wouldn't want my kid enrolling in a vocational trade school. It’s not because I think being a carpenter is somehow "lesser" or shameful—not at all!—but it's usually the case that those programs take kids who didn't have the grades or the drive for the academic tracks.
Besides the Malleus, I’d definitely suggest checking out a more recent book by an American author, Deniver Vukelić—Magic in American Historical Spaces. It basically tracks the whole history of magical beliefs throughout this part of Europe, frequently referencing the Malleus and really putting everything into perspective.
When people talk about elitism, I totally get it. Even among high schools, there’s this huge sense of hierarchy. At my old prep school, kids from other schools looked at us like we were some kind of vocational technical college teaching kids how to be painters or roofers. 😬
rowdypanther12 said:Did I get this right? Is the passing grade actually determined by how the kids in that specific generation performed on their final exams? So it's possible for the passing mark to be 35% one year and then jump to 40% the next?
That’s exactly how it worked when I was heading off to college. I remember crushing an elective course with about a 70%, but still walked away with a C because the national test scores were just straight-up disastrous. 🐔
Honestly, my house didn't even have Plazma biscuits in it. I literally first heard about those cookies maybe 5 or 10 years ago when they started their aggressive marketing blitz. 🙂 Back in the day, "Housewife" style cookies were the absolute standard. Whenever I had a craving, I’d just grab some original Housewife ones or maybe some wafer rolls. It was all about that specific feeling when you just want to stuff your face with cookies and milk. 😁
Those Housewife cookies were also unavoidable whenever you were visiting people—close enough friends where you wouldn't feel weird bringing fancy stuff like Bajadera or Griott. Just a box of Housewife cookies and a cup of coffee. I actually remember that before they were called Housewife, they used to be Golden Biscuits. But the last few times I had them, they were totally pale and hard instead of being golden and crumbly. I can't tell if it's a drop in product quality or just how they're being stored in the warehouse.
The legend behind Housewife and Plazma Biscuit has passed away
"Petar Tutavac, the man who gave us the iconic Housewife cookies and helped craft the recipe for Plazma Biscuit, has died. He was 88 years old. He passed away in Mexico."
Jonathan Wright2 said:Seriously? Please explain—where exactly am I supposed to be seeing this "quality" you're talking about?
It’s in every single one of lonetrucker4's posts. The way he builds an argument? His endless patience? Pure gold. 🍿 We seriously need more mods like him on the other subforums.
Jonathan Wright2 said:Oh, for sure.. lonetrucker4 is easily the most controversial person on this board. Honestly, he’s probably driven more regulars away from this forum than anyone else in history. I have absolutely no clue how the mods can just sit there and let him act like this... it makes zero sense to me.🤔
I can't really think of a specific moment or a big decision where I made a definitive "never" declaration. Maybe as a way to be dramatic, but nothing truly life-altering.
Back when I was just a little kid—maybe first or second grade—I actually wrote down a formal statement saying I would > smoke. Everyone just laughed at me! They kept saying people change their minds and that’s why we were making those statements (I guess so I could look ridiculous if I ever caught myself holding a cigarette). Well, fast forward to now: I still don't smoke and I never will. 🥳
That’s honestly the only serious never I can come up with right now.
I’ve just got this massive aversion to consumerism lately. All this mindless shopping frenzy, those constant discount ads popping up everywhere, and honestly? People falling for it all. It’s exhausting.
Look, I don't mind if someone wants to grab a Roomba or some other high-end gadget where waiting for a sale actually makes sense. But most people? They're just trying to fill a void by grabbing cheap clothes at Target or H&M. They think a new outfit is going to boost their self-esteem or add actual value to who they are. I just don't get it.
This song has been stuck in my head: Lana Del Rey - Diet Mountain Dew
"I bought the ride and the fancy lifestyle just to sit on the floor and be alone"
Maria Price3 said:As part of the Rio program, led by Dr. Hrvoje Handl 🙏 Everything else in that whole curriculum was pretty much a waste of time—honestly, the only thing anyone actually looked forward to was showing up for his workshops.
Can you give me the lowdown on Rio? I’ve been thinking about signing up, but my work schedule is absolutely insane right now. I really need to know how they actually structured the program.
So, I tried out psychodrama through my outpatient program. Honestly? It was officially the most ridiculous form of therapy I’ve ever sat through. I felt like such a waste of time being there—I would have been better off just sitting on my porch watching the grass grow. 😁
Thanks for the reply! 😁 Looks like everything’s been squared away now and the main culprits have finally been held accountable. It’s a bummer because there’s always going to be someone trying to jump on their posts, but it looks like they won't be getting that chance for a while.
I honestly think anyone who hangs out in these subforums knows exactly what I’m talking about—that tiny handful of users who just spread misogyny and incel propaganda everywhere they go. They poison every single thread they touch, even after being warned multiple times. Instead of actually banning those people, the mods just shut down the interesting threads where we used to have decent, civilized discussions. It’s so frustrating.
Can someone please put an end to this whole circus? It’s becoming impossible to even participate in these subforums anymore. 😢
Man, things are seriously blowing up over on Reddit. Honestly, you probably need to ban about every third post there. And don't even get me started on the clones, the misogyny, or the constant insults hidden behind "just joking." It’s always just a tiny group of five or six trolls poisoning every single thread.
I’m totally with anyone saying religious studies just doesn't belong in the public school system. Faith is a deeply personal choice—it belongs in someone's private life, period. Another huge point? Those grades are basically a joke. It's almost 100% straight A's across the board.
If you stripped away those two easy wins, you'd see how many kids actually want to learn about faith versus just using the hour to scroll on their phones and pad their GPA.
In my opinion, religion should be taught through history, psychology, sociology, or philosophy. We need an unbiased, holistic approach that actually respects cultural relativism.