Today everyone should be assembling or tidying up your stories. Use the class time productively. Remember that they must...must ...must...be posted by midnight Sunday on the blog, in order for you to receive anything more than 50 points. Anything coming in after midnight is an automatic 50.
If you wish to recheck the parameters for the writing and the rubric upon which you will be graded for the last writing assignment of this quarter (you are halfway through your senior year!), refer back to last Friday's blog.
I will read and grade your stories on Monday. Tuesday's class work is based upon your published stories.
If you cannot post for some technical reason only, I must receive your story by midnight as an e-mail attachment, so that I may post it for you.
Again: proof read! Your stories are public and open to public scrutiny in terms of grammar and punctuation.
Check list:
Headline formatted correctly!
Secondary headline
byline
lead following the rules for writing a lead
quotations (direct and / or reported) with attribution
overall inverted pyramid format
Headline: Bulling may still be a trend, but losing a loved one isn't, the family of a Texas teen share their story
ReplyDeleteNovember 30th Texas City teen Brandy Vela kills herself after being bullied on social media because of her weight.
Reports form Bullying Statistics says rates of bullying has been varied across studies form (9% to 98%). From the ages 112 to 18 those students have reported a rate of 35% for traditional bullying and 15% for cyber bullying. The bullying statistics also states that reasons for being bullied most often by students were looks which were (85%0 and body weight (37%).
CNN claims that Brandy's sister, Jackie says she had always been bullied for her weight, but the cyber bullying has ramped up in April. "People would make up fake Facebook accounts and they would message her and she wouldn't respond and they would still come at her". Jackie Vela also states the comments mentioned were mea like, 'Why are you still here?'
With the percentages of bullying and cyber bullying rising it seems as those students have been bullied at one point in their life and it has doubled from 918% to 34%) from 2007-2016. Without any help from the police Brandy Vela felt helpless and she didn't know what to do.
It's suggested that the association between bullying and suicide related behaviors is a big relationship to the statistics. It's often mediated by factors such as depression, violent behaviors, and substance abuse. Vela sends a text to her family stating "I love you so much, please remember that, and I'm sorry for everything". Her family rushes home just to walk in on her pointing the gun at herself, and before they could convince her to not pull the trigger she had already did.
Life of a Classical Percussionist in Today’s World:
ReplyDeleteThe day to day struggles between auditions, rejection, and PRACTICE
Being a member of a symphony orchestra is like having a dream job. You have a tenured position with benefits, and you get to play music with world-class musicians everyday.
However, in today’s world, the odds of landing one of these dream jobs are extremely low. The odds of getting drafted into the NBA are higher than the chance of winning an orchestral audition, especially for percussionists.
“In a good year, we may have 4 openings. One position in one of the big 5 orchestras, two in medium sized full-time orchestras, and usually one in a smaller part-time ensemble”, said Ruth Cahn, retired percussionist and assistant timpanist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
Every year, 4,000 students across our country graduate with degrees in percussion performance, hoping to squeeze their way into a job with a professional orchestra.
However, in a standard orchestra there are only 4 positions in the percussion and timpani sections, with one timpanist and three percussionists.
To make the situation even more competitive, an opening in a professional ensemble only becomes available when a member dies, or becomes ill.
“The odds are insane”, said Paul Yancich, Principal timpanist of the Cleveland Orchestra. “This is like the olympics. Practicing for an orchestra job is like training for an olympic event. This is not easy”.
That means that there could be a year or two when there are no openings, at all.
Then when there is an opening, percussionists from all over the world fly out to audition for that one spot.
A typical orchestral audition has three rounds: Preliminaries, semi-finals, and the finals. Sometimes, there's a resume and pre screening round before the live rounds, where applicants send their resumes and recordings of their playing.
And even after the audition is over and it’s time for panel to hire someone, sometimes they can’t decide on a player, and they hold the whole audition over again.
It’s no surprise that a lot of incredible players never end up playing in orchestras, just because of this audition process.
Nevertheless, their love of the music is so great that percussionists are willing to go through the process of auditions, rejection, and lots of practice to have a shot at their dream job.
Taijanah Jackson
ReplyDeleteHow diverse is the business world?
With there being billions of people in the world and millions in the united states. So how diverse is the business world? Not only when it comes to skin color but when it comes to sexual orientation and gender? Back the thing were a lot different and white males dominated the corporate world. Luckily several studies prove the the business world is much more diverse than it was 30 years ago.
“The United States Department of Labor estimates that 85 percent of new entrants into the 2013 labor market will be women, minorities and immigrants.” Said Laura A. Foster a writer from multibriefs.
When looking at the statistics visually it paints a completely different picture. After comparing several graphs it's apparent that white males still dominate the business world, but what about the minority's how have either numbers changed over the last few years? A graph from the ASTD Training Data Book shows that from 1982 to 2005 that the number of minorities in the workforce is expanding particularly in Asians and Hispanics. This graph also, shows that it's slowly contracting among white males.
In a perfect world there would be no majority and no monitory in the workforce, but the question is, is that even in the realm of possibility for there to be no minority and no majority in the work force? Sources say it is possible.
“Census data tell us that by 2050 there will be no racial or ethnic majority in our country. Further, between 2000 and 2050 new immigrants and their children will account for 83 percent of the growth in the working-age population.” Shown in an article by americanprogress.org.
So the question still rests. How diverse is the business world? Slowly but surely day by day the workforce is becoming more diverse and in thirty years or so it will no longer be a question to ask.
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ReplyDeleteIntegration of Humans, Technology
ReplyDeleteTechnology Impacted Lives Since Wheel
By Keoni Smith
Inventions advanced the way tasks can be completed, with ease and speed that humans desire more of.
Humans and technology have evolved simultaneously for some time; the wheel lead to wagons, trains, and cars to make transportation a breeze, and early computing resulted in wireless phones, smartphones, and the push for a fully digital world.
Technology surrounds society entirely today, constantly leaving an impact on everyday lives.
Some of these impacts are positive, as leaving the house to scavenge for information isn’t always ideal. “The internet can be accessed quickly to look up information such as a doctor's number,” Christine Smith said.
Technology has its drawbacks that bring a great deal of controversy as well. Whether it would be the questioning of the President-elect’s Twitter posts, or the advanced computer hacking that has leaked confidential information, technology causes some harm.
Although technology is the center of hot button topics as a result, technological breakthroughs in recent years suggest further integration and coexistence of technology and humans.
Transhumanism allows for natural human limitations to be surpassed through technology. The development of smart devices such as Google’s self-driving car, Waymo, also sets a foundation for humans and robots to share tasks.
The growing role of technology potentially rivals humans. “Things like physical interaction, reading, and listening to music can be done on media devices. Although this is convenient, it takes away the value of these things that can be done on our own. This is problematic as it can actually cause establishments like libraries, theaters, and much more to close,” Caroline Smith said.
Despite its cons, companies continue to develop smart technologies to enhance the lives and efficiency of human lives, some of which will be trends, and others leaving a monumental impact such as the wheel that started it all.
Jose Alicea
ReplyDeleteStatistics Shows Pro and Cons Of Attending School and Having A Job
By Jose Alicea
More and more college and high school students are maintaining a job while attending school. Research has shown while it could be a very helpful for many students it also could show a negative effect in grades. Studies show that students who work past the intended amount which usually is 15 to 20 hours, show a dip in their grades the cause usually having to do with time management skills. On the other hand, you have situations where students not only have a way to make money but they also learn life skills in these jobs that could help one in the future.
.I spoke to students who attend school while having a job and frequent answers were about time management skills and the stress that comes along. “ A lot of stress, and if you do not manage your time well, you will get behind ” said Jancel.
More and more students are realizing college is not cheap, and having a job early can help save some of the headache of having to pay off students loans and such. It all comes down to the individual student and their situation. A college student in dire need of money might not have a choice and having a part time job is their way while a high school student who already participates in many extracurricular activities might be better off holding off on having a job at the moment.
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ReplyDeleteThe Truth Behind It All
ReplyDeleteReasons why college might be right or wrong for you
By: Rashi'd Pendleton
College presents pros and cons to those who decide to spend their years after high school drowned in school work.
In recent years college has become more popular than ever leading more students to think of the possibilities that can come with obtaining some form of degree. The income of a graduate student always finds its way to the top of the list of reasons for going to college. On average, a college graduate student makes 30,000 more a year and over 500,000 in a lifetime than a high school graduate. In the 2012 edition of the Forbes list, more than 50% of the Americans listed were college graduates.
The recessions in 2008 and 2010 increased the requirement of jobs in America. Jobs only requiring some college education or an associate’s degree fell by 5.6 million. According to Georgetown University in 2018, approximately 63% of jobs will require a college education.
Student loan debt seems to be one thing a lot of college students cannot avoid with the average debt being $20,326 in 2012. 10% of the graduate population is $40,000 in debt and 1% is $100,000 in debt. The amount of money a student owes can lead to the delay of having financial stability and going to college doesn’t always guarantee that you’ll find a job. According to the Bureau of Labor projected 30 fastest growing jobs between 2010 and 2022, five do not require a high school diploma, and nine require a high school diploma.
College life isn’t always filled with unforgettable parties and friendships. “The competition for grades, the need to perform, relationships, fear of AIDS, career choice and many other aspects of the college environment cause stress” said The University of Florida’s Counseling & Wellness center.
Despite the cons of going to college, the numbers of students enrolling increases each year. Some of the students go off to be well known Americans in society and other falls just beneath their expectations; either way, college is always going to be around.
Steven Colson
ReplyDeleteMen and women fashion, are you in or out?
Fashion has changed over the last couple of decades especially male and female clothing. Nowadays clothes has no gender. You're starting to a a similarity between the clothes. Whether it's the color or the style, guess you can't turn it down. The brand UGGS were simply female shoes at first then started making men boots as well and what do you know there most popular in 2016-2017. Same with Jordan's or as the younger crowd says Jay’s. Those shoes are usually worn by men who play basketball but now women are wearing them creating such a bold fashion statement.
The 90’s are coming back into fashion. For women it's the scrunchies, high waisted pants and shorts and a lot of cool colors. For men there's the color block windbreaker 90’s related cartoons or teenage shows such as All that , saved by the bell. Not just shows but bands and singers like David Bowie , gunz and roses and Metallica. For the both are lighter colors in pinks and blues also acid wash jeans and baggy jeans.
To find out more about what's in and the similarities I interviewed a high school student to get her opinion about the matter. She said “what's in is more of the distressed look”. Which is more of the ripped up stuff such as ripped shirt and bleach stained shirts. I asked “do you see any similarities between the gender fashion?” She replied with “yes such as the styles like the distressed and fabrics and what's on the clothes. Also the colors more men are wearing the coral , salmon and light pink kind of colors.” I thanked her and concluded the interview
Check your closet see if you have the latest fashion trend just waiting around for you to wear
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTonyeisha Brown
ReplyDeleteThe Truth of Senior Year:
What No One Tells You About Your Senior Year
Senior year of high school can be much more stress and much more in general than a person leads you to believe. In reality, your senior year can be economically and mentally frustrating. Getting ready to pay for all of senior year’s invaluable treasures can be quite expensive such as a yearbook, prom, etc. Also, if you are going to college, you stress about how you are going to pay for it and where you are going to go. Senior year can be frustrating and fearful when getting ready for the next step. The college process frustrates you, filling out scholarships, the reality of school work. Another frustrating factor is the workload of senior year when you have to keep up with schoolwork, college deadlines, and a job. Additionally, “High expectations when things are going wrong can be frustrating,” said Keoni Smith, a senior at School of the Arts.
Although in reality, senior year is a lot to keep up with; however, senior year does have its benefits. You get to make more friends, become connected even more with peers you wouldn’t have thought you would be friends with. I asked a student how is the reality of his social life of senior year. The response I got was a little unexpected. “Making friends who I would have never thought that I would be friends with. I can see and identify the change in the peers that I hang around,” said Rashid Pendleton, a School of the Arts’ High School senior. Overall, the truth of senior year is that “your grades still matters… senioritis will hit--[so] fight it...you will be busy, so stay organized...it'll be exciting--and emotional,” said Kat Cohen, a college admissions counselor. Your senior year will go quick, pay attention to your deadlines. Yes, it is much more to expect than what you are normally told, but you will get through it.
Singer Breaks Silence
ReplyDeleteMariah Carey’s Team Shuts Down New Year’s Eve Rumors
Katherine Fuss
Mariah Carey and her management team explain what truly happened that prevented her New Year’s Eve performance from going as planned.
The first misconception is that Carey skipped her sound check, and the checking the sound equipment properly. Her manager, Stella Bulochnikov, explained that is incorrect, and that Carey was present the whole time. She did have a dance stand in, but she was off to the side to do the sound check. The sound came through choppy, but she was assured by the technical crew that it would work fine for her performance.
She later had an interview with Ryan Seacrest, and it was clear she was still having sound trouble. It was coming through choppy, but again, she was reassured that it would be working before her performance.
Carey was still having problems minutes before her performance, despite receiving a new mic pack. She was again told that once she got on stage it would be fine, but even when they went live she could not hear anything.
Out of frustration, she took the ear piece out, in attempt to hear the track and sing along. Unfortunately, it was drowned out by the New York City crowd and she was left unable to hear anything.
It was also rumored that she was lip synching, but Bulochnikov shut that rumor down by explaining that singing to a track, what Carey and many other performers do, is completely different from lip synching.
Bulochnikov was also ‘disgusted’ by the fact that Carey and her team had not received a formal apology from Dick Clark Productions, and hinted to the idea of sabotage by saying, “We live in this viral world where anybody will do anything for a viral moment.”
Carey showed her readiness to move past the whole thing as she tweeted “Sh*t happens. Have a happy and healthy new year everybody! Here's to making more headlines in 2017.”
ReplyDeleteHeadline: Homelessness the government’s fault of humans
Homelessness is a situation in which an individual or family lacks permanent housing that has been a problem throughout human history. Widespread in ancient societies, it has become less common in modern times as the overall standard of living has risen. Nevertheless, various physical, economic, social, and political problems continue to disrupt people’s lives and leave many without regular shelter Homelessness in America is horrific. Its percent is about 46.2. Every night there is about 633,782 people living on the street every night? Many people believe that the government causes homelessness; other people believe it is manmade.
The history of homelessness was worse than it is today but we seem to be getting more and more close to that every day. The government has given people an opportunity to get food stamps provide them with welfare and affordable housing. Welfare is many things more than just helping people find a home. Say that you’re a young woman by the age of 18 with one child. You have no job or money no food or a home for you and child the welfare can provide you with a shelter or a hotel for the night and the next morning you would need to go to that building and then they would look through small affordable homes or apartments and when you find one that fits you they would pay for your rent until you get a stable job. The welfare also gives you furniture voucher to help you go and buy cheap nice furniture for your home. This is currently going on now in 2016. Another approach the government took was the National Collation for Homeless Veterans.
There is plenty of common misconceptions about homeless people. One would be they brought the situation to themselves. The other would be that they are all criminal, mentally ill, or lazy and unwilling to work. The reality is that while some homeless people have made bad choices that led to homelessness, it is only one of many causes for their situation. Often it is simply that circumstances thrust them into this state through no fault of their own. While there are some people in life who are unwilling or unable to work, it can be incredibly difficult for a homeless person to get any kind of job. There is no way to contact them, they often lack appropriate clothing or facilities where they can to groom themselves properly, and once someone finds out the applicant is homeless their prejudices kick in and they will not hire them simply because they are homeless. Due to homeless, the average life span of an American is 79 years old. Most men and women suffer from PTSD.
Nevertheless, various physical, economic, social, and political problems continue to disrupt people’s lives and leave many without regular shelter Homelessness in America is horrific. Many people believe that the government causes homelessness; other people believe it’s manmade. Governments try to help this situation everyday but there’s more that should be done to it.
Sibling Rivalry
ReplyDeleteYou Can Pick Your Seat, But Not Your Family
By Jahde Brown
One of the greatest influences in a person's life is the one that a sibling makes. It is the role in the family that develops many of the skills we need in adulthood. Through these early competitions and comparisons we begin to label our self with specific characteristics, such as stubborn, brave, weak, strong, smart, et cetera. It is indeed lucky to have a nurturing brother or sister because they can structure our future relationships with the opposite sex forever, breaking or nurturing marriages for a lifetime. For example, when two first-borns marry, there are high probabilities of conflict possible because they were both raised to take charge and not share responsibilities.
I asked Ameena Brown, a thirteen year-old middle child,what her opinion of older siblings was. “They are very annoying,” she started immediately. “It gets hard to be your own person sometimes, too, because they are always in the way.” It seems that the presence of an older sibling can usually cause one to feel overshadowed and cast into the background. When I asked Brown what she felt was the best way to cope with an older and overbearing sibling, she found herself giving an answer of different tone. “Just remember to be okay with their decisions and show respect to each other… and understand where they’re coming from [when they take over]. A lot times they’re trying to help because they love you.” Brown then said with a smile, “Remember you don’t have to be just like them-- don’t be afraid to do your own thing.”
Making the choice to understand your siblings’ perspectives is one of the highest forms of respect you can ever offer them. While there may come a time when you have to respect them from a distance, your brothers and sisters are some of the greatest teachers you will ever have. The lessons you learn from them now will ensure you and your family can have a lifetime filled with happy memories and peaceful holidays for years to come.
Shyair Scott
ReplyDeleteMrs.Parker
Journalism
15 January 2017
Victim of Child Abuse
Some call it discipline and others call it child abuse.
What is child abuse? It's a physical, sexual, or psychological mistreatment or neglect of a child or children by a parent or caregiver. Child abuse can take place anywhere. It effects the child in many ways. Such as becoming emotionally unstable. They can develop disorders such as reactive attachment disorder. When it comes to physical abuse it often causes brain damage, poor physical health and more. People who deal with psychological abuse risk developing psychiatric.
An example of this is the Asian culture. There parenting is different from Americans. People would consider their tradition as physical and emotional abuse. To them they are establishing authority and child parenting through harsh discipline that we may consider child abuse but to them it is normal.
A case in America is a mother from Louisiana was arrested for disciplining her 3 children. She caught her children stealing from a neighborhood. As punishment she whooped them which she thought to be a norm because that what her parents would do to her as punishment. According to police reports "Spears was arrested because she also used an RAC cord to whip the children and then whooped them with a belt until they bleed." In the end is this child abuse or discipline? What do you think?
Samantha Burgos
ReplyDeleteMrs. Parker
Journalism
January 2017
The Reality of Senior Year
Is it really what you everyone makes it out to be?
Senior year is such an exaggerated and fun filled year of your life. "It's definitely a year to remember, and a year to create life lasting memories" says Steven Colson; a current senior at School of the Arts in Rochester, New York.
Many seniors agree that senior year is fun and everyone does the best they can to have an awesome and peaceful year. Have you ever talked to an adult or even your parent about what their senior year was like? If you have, you may notice that they will only tell you about all the good things about their senior year; such as memories, their senior trip, their senior trip... Basically , they forget to mention the most important and stressful things about senior year such as applying for college, making sure you have enough credits and the list can just go on and on.
Deciding what you want to do after high school is an important step but one that is necessary. It's a very hard decision because sometimes people aren't really sure of what they want to do in the future and what they want to become if by chance they do want to pursue some type of career.
Before you can even decide about what your plans for high school are, you have to make sure that you have enough credits to do so. If you don't, senior year can be way more stressful than it really should be.
I asked Jasmina Rizvanovic about the reality of senior year and she replied by saying "It's financially, mentally and physically a time period in my life that I will never forget". She further explained to me that senior year can be very expensive but she recommends to go all out and to just enjoy every second of it because as she said herself "its a time in your life that happens only once, and it will never happen again, and once it is done, it's done".
Realities of Senior Year
ReplyDeleteEverything that you thought you wanted
By Malcolm Ahmad
As a kid, all you wanted was to grow up like your parents or older siblings. Now that it’s your time, you’re not sure what to do or if you even want this responsibility of your own life still.
In American Pop-Culture, senior year of a high-school student is supposed to be spectacular. It’s thought to be the best year of your high-school career; where everything suddenly comes together, where you figure life out and suddenly know what you want to do and who you want to be.
When you talk to family members who have graduated high-school, along with other adults, they may say things like “Those were good times” or “Those were the glory days”. They don’t talk about how: grades from previous years caught up with them, friends turned enemies, the struggle of maintaining your grades with a job, expenses of senior trips and prom, applying for colleges, and being killed slowly by the question “so have you decided where you're going or what you want to do next year?”.
“Senior year is a time I want to enjoy, everything we’ve worked for the past six years unravels into the beginning of our future,” says Jahde Brown; a current senior at School of The Arts.
Many other seniors have an optimistic approach to senior year like Ms. Brown. “High-school overall is what you make of it,” said Zion Ponder. He believes the people and experiences you are involved with, affect how you'll feel about high-school after graduation as he elaborated by saying “the way you spend your last year of high-school is how you'll remember it”.
Nevertheless, senior year is a time of focus and preparation; high-school is approaching its finale and your life is moving on to the next chapter, regardless if you’re ready or not.
ReplyDelete“Old styles are leaving, while new ones are becoming trends”
By: Jaida Hartzog
Fashion changes all the time. However, over the past years fashion has evolved into something so creative and unique. People are becoming more creative, and coming out of their comfort zones. Old trends are going out of style and new trends are coming in, and as the styles change people are changing with them.
Over the past few days i've been researching different trends that are popular today. Many trends came to my attention, i noticed a lot of similarities as well. Oversized clothing has definitely become a trend. oversized t-shirts, sweaters, cardigans, hoodies are all in style. I noticed that denim was a huge trend this year and may continue on, and especially denim on denim. On the internet i noticed color changes within clothing. I seen a shift in colors as the seasons passed. In photos from summertime i noticed more bright colors. Different colors such as orange, yellow, blues, and purples people wore in the spring and summer. However in fall and winter i noticed more dark colors like navy blue, black, burgundy, olive greens, etc.
The fashion world has taken away “boy’s wear this” and “girls wear that”. Fashion now has no gender, and for that people are coming out of their comfort zones and wearing whatever they want. Girls are buying men's shirts and styling them in creative ways, and boys are finding more feminine statement pieces styling them in their creative way.
Not everyone has the same fashion and not everyone has the same taste in fashion, which is fine, that is the good thing about fashion. People are wearing what they want and expressing their style in different ways that makes them feel “stylish”. Fashion has become a way for people to express themselves and their creativeness. Old styles are now leaving and new trends are becoming trendy.
This Is Inappropriate! On the other Hand... Is it?
ReplyDeleteOver the years, cultural appropriation has been an important topic that people have gotten to be more associated with.
Cultural appropriation typically involves people of a dominant group exploiting the culture of less privileged groups. They often do this with very little understanding of the history, experience and traditions of the group.
Many people are not aware of the term cultural appropriation, but I assure you, it is a thing. Our cultural values are often taken for granted because we don't think about certain things we have and where they are derived from. “An example I would point to is music and dance. Most music forms we hear today are derived from African Culture. The drumming, the rhythm, the dance and the way to express ourselves musically have been appropriated. Umm.. for example, Chuck Berry, he is the father of rock n roll. We don't really think about that though, some people think about Elvis Presley or somebody else that's white” expresses Dr. Candice Lucas. I agree because I usually associate Rock n’ Roll with Elvis Presley and so does many others. People don't ever mention Chuck Berry anymore.
A while ago, there was a post on facebook with a white teenage girl who wore box braids. There was a huge argument about how she was being racist and trying to exploit the way black people wear our hair. Cornrows and braids is a standard thing for African American culture. However it wasn't until the movie “Ten” when Bo Derek came out with braids that it became a thing that white people were wearing braids. In all honestly, It's a black thing. Every little black girl on sunday morning, or sunday night was sitting in between their mother's legs getting their hair braided and black boys as well.
Some people of different ethnicities are known to use the makings of other cultures and not only imitate it, but claim it as their own. A very wise man by the name of Atiba Gaskin said “I don't know if it should be stopped because as human beings we have our right to gravitate to whatever understanding or expression that we feel. But, to do so and claim it as your own is something different. We live in a world where certain cultures claim to be the master of everything, but in fact they are the creator of nothing.” Many people don't think about stuff like this. Sometimes people do things because they like it, but not knowing the true background behind it.
Cultural Appropriation has been an issue for some people in society. From what I have encountered, it is usually associated between black and white people. As mentioned a long time ago, “Imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery” -Oscar Wilde
By Jayde Ashanti Lucas
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ReplyDeleteTHE EFFECTS OF ABSENTEEISM DURING SENIOR YEAR
ReplyDeleteBy Réyenne Stevens
Senior year of high school is the most important time of year for high school students. It can be one the most exciting times in a teenager’s life as well as the most stressful time in our lives. When you take into account being absent from school for more than a day or two, senior year becomes more than a Senioritis type of situation. You miss tons of valuable instructional time and social time with your classmates. It becomes mentally frustrating to the point you want to give up on school all together. When you miss a day or two of classes during senior year it’s easy to bounce back and make up missing assignments. It starts become trying when a student starts to miss 3-5 days of classes consecutively in a marking period due to illness. Where most teachers will give you until the end of the marking period to make-up missing work or exempt you from the missing work if it was due to illness, there are others that want it done regardless of the reason you were out ill. It becomes hard to try and catch up with the work that you missed and do the current work at the same time from multiple classes. Things start to pile up and you start to almost want to give up. The workload of senior year along will make anyone want to pull their hair out with trying to fulfill other obligations such as projects, volunteering and filling out college and scholarship applications. Furthermore, “Being expected to maintain good grades and do all of the other things expected of seniors like community service irritate me. It’s too much. I honestly have no social life.”, said Hodan Ibrahim, a senior at Erindale Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario.
Senior year can be exciting. You have to be there to experience the excitement though. I asked someone how realistic is it of me to think that I myself, a student who is absent a lot due to illness can be a successful student and have a social life. Her reply didn’t shock me at all. “Making good grades while being out sick a lot and maintaining friendships is hard. Your true friends will never leave even if you’re out sick from school or in school. You may not get the grades you want because you’re out sick but you do find out who your friends are.” said Mya Coleman, a School of the Arts High School senior. I’ve looked up the school policy at School of the Arts regarding absences and making up missed assignments. Their policy is that you have 10 days from the date that you return to school to make up the missed work. That’s easier said than done, but who are we to argue what seems to be a district wide policy. Then there are the individual classroom rules…some teachers have the rule that a student has until the end of the marking period to make up any missed work regardless if it was due to illness or not. Basically, the reality of senior year and absenteeism is that your attendance does impact your grades and grades matter for everything. You have to be in school, in a seat ready to learn to make the grades you want. If you’re absent due to illness…well that’s something you really can’t control now can you?