Hell or High Water (2016)

IMDB

Hell or High Water (2016): Western. Crime story. Buddy movie (x2). And Jeff Bridges as a curmudgeonly Texas Ranger. What's not to like? B+

POTD: Rue Saint-Pierre

From 2016 09 09 Quebec City

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Rue Saint-Pierre in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. A walkable street in a walkable city.

Moonlight (2016)

IMDB

Moonlight (2016): Growing up gay in broken home in Miami. World apart for me. Strong story. Great acting. Left me mad. What can be done? A-

Grading Our Schools

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) released "What If" A-F grades for schools across Texas. The ratings are based on student achievement/progress, closing performance gaps, post-secondary readiness, and community and student engagement. The RISD received a "B" in each of the four domains.

The ratings are new, not yet finalized, and only "what if" at this time, but they've caused quite a stir around the state. Richardson ISD Superintendent Dr. Jeannie Stone released the following statement:

Assigning a letter grade, based substantially on the outcome of a standardized test taken on one day of the year, simply can't capture the year-long efforts of students, teachers, principals and everyone who supports teaching and learning. Entire school and communities will be painted with the brush of a single letter grade, even though individual students perform across a wide range of achievement levels on a number of different indicators. The A-F concept has been attempted - and has failed - elsewhere. We owe our students, teachers and communities better than this system.

Source: RISD.

I have two problems with this statement.

La La Land (2016)

IMDB

La La Land (2016): Hollywood can still make feel-good musicals, an art form worth saving. Not Astaire/Rogers, but good. Emma Stone++. A-