Black Friday is the infamous day throughout the United States. Lines wrap around buildings as customers line up outside their favorite stores. They are most likely hoping to be one of the first ones so they can get the free iPod or Gaming System along with the best toys for their kids or the flat screen TV, but it's also a great day to buy a car.

Once the doors open it's a battlefield. There are people fighting over toys and items that make the perfect gift for Christmas. One example of this is illustrated in the horrible movie "Jingle All the Way" in which Arnold Schwarzenegger played the main role before he became the "Governator."

Sidetrack, anyways if you successfully got the items you were looking for and made it through the check out line with the items and your sanity most people would probably consider it a victory. But then you are hit by the realization that you still have to hit four other stores on your list. They may be out of those great items but you still have to try. Oh and by the way it's only 2:30 a.m. at this point in time.

But 3:00 a.m. means the next store. Just be careful of the crowds because you could possibly be injured in a fight over a product. Or like the Walmart victim from last year: trampled. Although most likely this year there will likely be more safety procedures and crowd control implemented this year. So the lines might be longer and possibly fewer people allowed in the store at a time.

There are historic deals at these stores on Black Friday if you can put up with the crowds, the traffic, and everything else. Generally, people think of electronics, clothing, and toys when Black Friday is mentioned but it is also a great day to buy a new car, truck or SUV.

Analysts looked at daily car pricing for the last several years and found that discounts on Black Friday are on average, the best of the entire year. Discounts from dealerships, manufacturers, incentives, all add up to make the highest discounts of the year.

The reason most people don't go car shopping on Black Friday or even know about it is because most people keep their cars for years. They aren't constantly looking around for the best deals. Another aspect is that customers know the price beforehand with other Black Friday items unlike a car. Because of the make, model, and the features a vehicle offers the prices are individually negotiated so it's difficult to know ahead of time if you will be getting a good deal.

The deals are great on this day. The average discount on November 27 for a new car is 7.5% while the day before and after is just over 6%. Whereas, on any other day throughout the year, car shoppers usually get 4.7% less than the sticker price quotes.

If you're looking to buy a car, Black Friday is the best time. Not only will you get those discounts but because the economy is crippled and automobile companies are struggling they will offer better discounts to try and move more cars off the lot. Dealerships are hoping this year that their marketing will work and people will come car shopping. The discounts offered will be some of the best in years and hard to top.

It's time again for one of the most stressful days in South Korea. Nearly 700,000 high school students took the national college entrance exam. This is a big ordeal. The annual test determines a student's future. There is so much importance placed on the exam that planes can't fly near the test sites and the workday begins one hour later so students can get to the center without being late and facing traffic.

Police officers even escort girls toward their school. There are 1,100 exam locations throughout the country. Parents usher their children to the test and encourage them while others wait outside and watch their students take the test. Students even come prepared with seat cushions and water bottles.

Students prepare for this test their entire life. One student reported studying six hours a day outside of school in order to prepare. The tension is high because the scores not only affect universities but everything else. One student said "It's all going to be changed by this."

The stress gets so high for some students that they end up committing suicide.  One boy jumped off a bridge earlier this morning and there are other cases. For other students that have opted to take the test and spent a large percent of their time studying head for the testing centers while parents and grandparents gather and pray at Buddhist temples in Seoul and throughout the country. Parents pray for their child's college placement exams. Some parents have been praying for the past 100 days.

Students future careers and ultimately their lives boil down to one test on one single day. The pressure on students is so high to succeed that many high school students don't want to have a child in their country because of all the pressure. The country places a lot of emphasis on education and because of that 83 percent of high school graduates go to universities, but first they must do well on the test. The exam is roughly nine hours long and determines college admission.

The stress and pressure being placed on these kids is astronomical. A child's future shouldn't depend on one day and one test. Plus there is the fact that many students have a disadvantage because they don't test very well. It goes back to the fact that people learn and test differently. Some do great on tests while others do better on interviews or projects. The government should give students more of a chance to show that they can be successful in life without this one test.

Even though graduation rates and college attendance are high, students still need to be able to have a life. They need to spend time with friends socializing, playing sports, and spending time with family. Not everything can be learned in the classroom. They need to experience high school and college because for many us that was the best time of our life.

There is way to much pressure placed on these South Korean students and that is shown with students that are committing suicide or not wanting to have children. While the SAT and ACT in America are the big test they really don't mean that much. They give a background to show what you have learned. However students can go on to college and live a successful life with the value of hard work, instead of one test.

Education is extremely important and Koreans and Americans both understand that. Many Americans don't do well in secondary school but go on to college and open their own businesses. They lead successful lives even if they didn't do well on the test. The American system isn't the greatest and there is a lot of room for improvement, but the South Koreans need to relax a little bit. One test cannot and should not determine the intelligence or worth of a student.

Bribery has reached a new level at a North Carolina middle school. Since the chocolate fundraiser failed to produce last year the parent advisory council came up with a new idea. The new fundraiser  offers parents and students the chance to buy their way to better grades.

The school will be selling 20 test points to students for $20 dollars. Students can add 10 extra points to each of two tests of their choice. The points will help students move their scores from a "B" to an "A" or from a failing to a passing grade. The principal went along with the plan and remarked that "it's not enough of an impact to change a student's overall grades."

Education officials were not happy about the cash-for-grades exchange. They believe that this teaches students the wrong lesson and that anything can be bought. This devalues education and is undermining the hard work and dedication that these students need to learn in order to succeed in college. Students can be dismissed entirely from school for this type of behavior so why are they condoning it?

Even though this school thinks this is a great way to raise money, the fact of the matter is that it's wrong and dishonest. Public schools are already failing and some students are graduating without even knowing how to read or write. So being able to improve your grades with money just sends students the wrong message: that learning isn't important and money can fix anything.

This idea puts students on the wrong path. They don't learn the value of hard work and determination. Instead they learn that there's an easy road out. This not only affects those students that didn't do well on their tests, but also those that studied and worked hard.

For students that studied and did well on their tests they might lose that motivation because other students that didn't study are now able to get a similar grade to theirs. It affects all of the students and I'm surprised that there aren't more parents and school board members squabbling about the morality of the fundraiser.