The Helderbarker » Opinion

Is the School Paranoid?

adviser — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:31:15 +0000

Most people believe that paranoia is a crippling state of mind, but I see it more as a double-edged decision maker. There’s plenty of irrational fear and unwarranted stress, sure, and that’s not exactly peachy, but paranoia also serves as a great check to arrogance- reminding us that people don’t always love you unconditionally- and can actually save your skin when it forewarns you of sketchy dilemmas. That latter point is particularly noteworthy because that seems to be the modus operandi for our school’s authorities this year. Over the past couple of years, security measures have increased fairly noticeably, and I’m not sure if the school has a keen eye or if they’re just rattled. I’m not saying the school is going crazy, but between the infamous new backpack rule and the recent repealing of the freshman classes’ rights, things around here are getting a slightly out of tune.
So far, the only perceivable effects of the backpack rule have been increased tardiness to classes, disorganization of supplies, and complaining. Oh, and my fly messenger bag has to stay cooped up in a locker all day. That’s actually a terrible track record.
Now, I concede that danger is out there. Evolution has not made us invincible, nor has it made us peaceful. But the danger that is relevant to our schools is notable for two characteristics- its relative rarity, and its inability to be stopped by petty school rules. The backpack rule is simply ineffective for the types of things it plans to prevent. Drugs and alcohol, for example, are small enough to be smuggled in pockets or bulky coats, and people who already deal in these things on or off campus already have enough guts to smuggle their magical leaves wherever it makes them profit; the backpack rule is just a minor speed bump in their business. Similarly, though a bit scarier, if a student was going to bring a weapon to school, the backpack rule would simply limit his options to whatever fits in a coat pocket (which is a lot of them). Add to the fact that backpacks are allowed on campus anyway, and the point of the rule practically nullifies itself. It’s trying to enforce a rule without crossing a line and taking away backpacks completely, and the result is that it’s handling too much with too little.
Of course, there’s also the possibility that school officials are overreacting to a nonexistent problem. Yes, drugs and guns are illegal. Yes, they are dangerous. But compared to other public schools, Voorheesville is generally more protected from these dangers because of its small size, not to mention relative isolation from the city. And this isn’t just some lamentation from a disgruntled student living a small town- studies show that smaller schools lead to a better education because students and faculty all know each other far better than urban schools, which leads to more attention towards each student’s individual needs. Actually, scratch that- everybody knows everybody because there’s so few people to keep track of? That’s just logic. Plain and simple, the fact that everybody in this school is connected to each other through our own networks makes it much safer here- after all, we all recognize each other enough to tell when our friends are feeling down, and our guidance counselors have evidently done an excellent job making sure that our peers are mentally stable (well, mostly…).
Plus, as I’ve previously said, the only thing that the backpack rule has done is inconvenience us. Unless you have a perfectly tuned schedule that drifts you seamlessly from class to class, chances are you’re only just starting to adjust and apply a routine that doesn’t involve carrying all of your stuff at once. Simply put, a backpack is a convenience. It’s not necessary for surviving school, but students have enjoyed the privilege of our portable lockers since forever; you’d better have a darned excellent reason to take it away.
On a lighter note, I heard vague something-or-others about some food fight in the cafeteria earlier this week. Apparently, Voorheesville actually has legitimate food fights on occasion (I can’t believe I missed it!). Now, I don’t advocate fighting (oh, who am I kidding, I play video games), but a little mock combat isn’t a bad thing to loosen up after a long day. And food fights are the quintessential high school rebellious activity, right? I would assume that the officials let it slide-
Oh, wait, they didn’t. In fact, the reaction was the polar opposite of chill- school officials completely shut down all lunchtime privileges for the freshmen class indefinitely. No talking, no cell phones, no sitting next to other students, and no buying lunch. Come to think of it, that’s literally everything you do during lunchtime. Officials are making it clear that the freshies won’t get their rights back until they prove they can act like high schoolers, although with such harsh restrictions in place it’ll be hard to prove that they’re even sentient.
I usually dislike grade-wide punishments, for obvious reasons. Though I’ve never been on the receiving end of one, I shudder at the thought of losing rights just for being in the same grade as a bunch of idiots (I love you guys, really). By extension, I empathize with those who’re suffering for other’s foolishness. Most of the grade was in on the fight, but the few level-headed ones shouldn’t be grouped in the same category as the rest. I keep hearing mentions about “the freshmen” and their fight, but I have to remind myself that it’s not the whole class they’re actually referring to.
More than anything, however, this punishment is a bit too mean for simple good natured immaturity. Food fights may not exactly be the most civilized fair, and clean up obviously isn’t fun, but at the same time, it’s just mob mentality manifesting itself in a human’s innate desire to hit things. We’re genetically coded toward aggression, it’s how our ancestors survived. Why not let our genes do the talking in the most non-lethal way possible? It’s fun. Of course, I may be shining a positive light on all this, but I’m not trying to make the food fight into a good thing. It does property damage, it causes mob chaos, and it ruins shirts. I’m just saying that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. As long as no bones or hearts were broken, the ruckus is innocent, and there’s no reason an entire grade should be considered less because of it.
In the end, though, it’s the school’s rules, and we’re helpless to stop them. They’ll enforce rules grounded in their own reasoning and logic, and we’ll get annoyed, but ultimately follow it out of sheer respect for authority. To their credit, the school officials haven’t gone full Orwellian on us (yet), so I can forgive them for not meeting my lofty standards. And with such competent and respectable people governing us, I can hardly stand to satirize them for a full article. Actually, I’ve probably gone too far already, so I’ll just end this quietly to avoid them getting too angry at me. Maybe I’m as paranoid as they are

Student Drivers

keira — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:34:29 +0000

As a new driver I begin to realize how fun driving can be. It is also so much more convenient to be able to drive yourself places than having to try to find a ride everywhere you want to go, but when you’re behind the wheel you have the potential to hurt yourself and others if you do something stupid. Driving is a very serious thing, it can’t be taken lightly. Like my mother says, “Driving is a privilege not a right.” So in order for me to drive I made an agreement with my mother that I would pass all of my classes. Sure it takes some effort, but it’s not like trying to pass is a hard thing to do.

A lot of kids would probably think that this in unfair. They would say that they should be able to drive no matter what just because they have their drivers license. Well I think parents should make their child agree to pass all of their classes or they can’t drive. If more parents enforced a rule similar to my mother’s in their own households there would probably be a lot more juniors and seniors with passing grades. This would teach the students responsibility and the importance of doing well in school. I believe that this kind of behavior is very important to develop into a responsible adult that can function in today’s society.

Do The Ends Really Justify The Means?

keira — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:45:25 +0000

As high school students we have to do a lot of things that we don’t want to do. Whether it’s taking challenging courses or even coming to school at all we are encouraged to stick it out for the greater good: our college education. As a junior I’ve noticed that this is the year that everyone starts pushing the importance of getting into a good college. Of course this is important, I’m not trying to say that it isn’t, but it seems that most students do whatever they have to in order to fit into the cookie cutter of a perfect college applicant. I’m guilty of this myself, I’m doing my best to make sure I’ll get into a good school next year, but sometimes I can’t believe the amount of stress we put on ourselves about things that will be insignificant as soon as we are accepted into a college.

Let’s take standardized tests for example. Ever since elementary school we have taken Terranova’s ELA’s and other exams mandated by the state. As little kids we took those tests to show the state how well our teachers taught us. Now we have to take exams like the SAT and the ACT to help colleges all over the country compare us to other students. Most people would tell you that your overall transcript will be more important than your test scores but it is still a necessary part of a college application. For this reason some people go out of their minds trying to make sure they do well on the exam. I agree that the exam is important, but it is really only important for the short period of time between when we start preparing for the test and when we send out all of our applications. When we graduate from college and go on job interviews no future employer is going to ask how you did on your PSAT’s.

Another example would be taking advanced courses. Students who sign up for these classes know that they will have to work hard for the same grade that they could have earned much more easily in another class, but they do it anyway. They study for months preparing for their final exams and the only thing they are guaranteed at the end of the year is a grade proving whether they successfully completed the course or not. Obviously colleges are impressed with good grades in challenging courses so taking challenging courses is worthwhile but again, after college grades mean nothing. The point of getting a college education is to have a successful career in whatever field we chose to study. It isn’t so we can go out into the “real world” and get yet another grade from our employers.

Getting a college education, especially in a time where so many people can’t find a job, is important. Therefore getting into a good college is also important. However sometimes I feel like students get hung up on the process rather than the ultimate goal. Employers usually aren’t looking for employees who got a great score on their SAT or someone who took fifteen AP courses. They are looking for people who will do their job well and workhard. We shouldn’t be going to high school so we can be accepted into a college; we should work hard in high school so that we can be successful throughout our college experience and in our future careers.

Is Junior Year About More Than College Pressure?

adviser — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:19:42 +0000

Walking in the hallway, I notice how everyone is changing, that everyone is growing taller, boys have beards, and that people are talking about college, not what they are doing on Friday night. Everyone seems so excited, that is except for me.

I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen in my life. I have no idea what I will be doing in ten years. When my guidance counselor asks me the cliché question, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” What do I say? I have no idea. It was so much easier answering that question when I was five and the only thing I ever wanted to be was Mariah Carey.

Then I realized I am not alone. The junior class is filled with students that have no idea what will happen after high school. All my friends are feeling the pressure that I face from parents and teachers. We have this “duty” to ace our SAT, to take AP courses and somewhere in that do good in all our other classes. Do we have time to live?

With all this pressure, we have no time to focus on the important question in life: who are we? We have heard the statement in television shows and in movies, “I have to find myself before I go to college.” Usually after stating that line, the character treks off to a European country or falls in love at the beach. Why can’t we find ourselves in high school? We have no opportunity to do it. When was the last time we had a school art show or had a battle of the bands? When did Voorheesville ever have a day where students can really talk about the things in life? The things that matter to us right now are only talked about in hushed voices.

I am sure that I cannot change the entire high school with one article. However, I can tell you my opinion. With every day that goes by, I get closer to leaving Voorheesville. I start getting closer to that date where school will mean some place other than Clayton A. Bouton. I doubt that any of the juniors want to remember Voorheesville as a place that only gave us pressure and did not allow us to fully grow. High school is about coming of age and I feel like every day I slowly start to hide my full personality due to the anger I get from not being allowed to leave the Commons during lunch. I want to remember my junior year as being one that helped me find myself before college, rather than make me dread ever going.

Do We Need a School Garden?

adviser — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:28:36 +0000

The topic for today is school gardens. What if we had a vegetable school garden? What would a vegetable school garden do to help the school? We could grow our own food and use it in the school lunches and sell some of the vegetables to the farmers market to make a profit to put it back in the school. We could start it in the spring and summer. We could have kids who need community service help with the garden.

The garden would be placed next to the Voorheesville High School Tennis court. And we would grow all sorts of vegetables and maybe even fruit. This would benefit the school so they wouldn’t have to go and buy all of the food for the hundreds of students that come to Voorheesville High School.

This would benefit the school and the student. The school would get food for the lunches and the student would be able to put a few more hours of community service on their record. Not only would it benefit the school in those two ways but science classes would benefit the garden as well. The science classes would be able to take the students out during the spring to watch and write about their observations about the plants. So a school garden would benefit the school, the students, and the school salary.

Hobbes vs. Rousseau

adviser — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:21:14 +0000

In our quest to heighten the philosophical debate, we present this evaluation by our own Jeffrey Burnham (the editors).

Thomas Hobbes and Jean Jacques Rousseau were both great philosophers of their time.

Hobbes believed that an individual needed a society to be able to be a good person because he thought that humans were selfish and only thought about themselves. He thought this because he thought that the primary desire was self-preservation. Hobbes thought that if an individual was around a group of people that he/she would be able to become a better person because the individual was in contact with other people so we wouldn’t be at a “State of War” which Hobbes believed to be ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short’.

Rousseau believed that an individual need just him/herself to be a good person. He thought this because he thought that the human nature was naturally good. Rousseau thought that if the individual had been in a society or around other people that that certain individual might become corrupt. He also thought that we needed just our self-love and pity because we are solitary and we wouldn’t need power to rule because there would be no-one to rule over.

I believe that both great men are both right and wrong. I think that a person alone can become a great person. But, that individual would need help from others in a society to become an even better person. So, the idea of an individual becoming a greater person by themselves is a good idea. And so is the idea that an individual needing a society to become a greater person is also a good idea. But Hobbes and Rousseau went on with trying to prove each other wrong. But, the problem was that neither one of them was wrong. They were both right. They just needed to join their theories together to make the ultimate theory. Can their theories together be the ultimate theory? Can there be a Hobbes-Rousseau theory?

I think that if they were joined that the theory would be much better. Because a person needs themselves and others to become a greater person. If you don’t have other people around you then you wouldn’t know how to function with society. If you had just yourself you then you wouldn’t know how to function when you met someone else. So you would need both to be able to be a functional person both as an individual and in a society.

Respect is the Key, and it’s What We’re Missing

adviser — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 17:10:46 +0000

Respect. Respect is a big part of life. Especially when we’re growing up. Our parents teach us to respect our elders. But as we grow older we learn that respect is a bigger deal than we think when we are little. I’ve come to realize that you need respect to get some where in life. Without respect you won’t get too far in life. Without it, you won’t go any-where. And to get respect you have to earn it. And to earn it you have to give it. And you need respect everywhere: at home, at school, at work, in public, everywhere. If you don’t have respect for yourself, you won’t have respect for anyone. And if you don’t have respect for yourself then neither will anyone else.

In places like China and Japan, they bow to people as a way to show respect. The older the person is the lower you bow. This shows the respect from one person to the other. Plus the younger people ask the older people for advice. In US culture, we don’t treat the elderly people with respect like they do in China and Japan. People are really starting to forget about the respect gene now days. US culture is really starting to fall apart. People are not teaching their kids to respect other people as well as other people.

Some kids in school that cause trouble don’t give the teachers respect because they lack attention. They don’t get the attention at home so they act terribly in school to get the attention they want. In this process they disrespect the teacher. And if this continues, the US culture will continue to fall apart. Parents need to teach their children to respect people no matter who it is. I was brought up in a military type of home. My step-dad taught me to say “Yes sir” or “No sir” when we spoke. And if I was talking to my mother it was “Yes ma’am” or “No ma’am.” He also taught to say “Mr.” or “Mrs.” when I went over to a friend’s house. So I think that American parents need to teach their children more about respect so the US culture doesn’t fall apart. And without respect, things will not get done.

Voorheesville’s Lacrosse Situation

adviser — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 19:04:18 +0000

As you may or may not have heard a group of locals have been making an effort to make a self funded boy’s lacrosse team here at Voorheesville. I for one am a supporter of the effort to have a lacrosse team formed here at the high school. Last year a total of about thirty youths signed up, and played in the local youth lacrosse program. Since last year the we have been working on getting the Board of Education to approve a lacrosse program.This year we have taken up the cause again in the hope that we will be able to have a team by the time the season starts in early spring.
Like I stated before, I am a supporter of Voorheesville High School having a lacrosse program. I believe that Lacrosse would be great in Voorheesville for a myriad of reasons. One reason is that it gives kids a sport to play in the spring if they do not want to play baseball or run track. Another is that lacrosse is a team sport, and teaches kids how to work together, and work together in order to win. Finally I have made many friends through playing lacrosse, and I believe that many kids who play the sport of lacrosse will make friends just like I did.

Lacrosse would be good for Voorheesville, becuase is, because it would not cost the taxpayers any money, and would offer an alternative spring sport for students at Voorheesville. If you want Voorheesville to have a lacrosse team please attend one of the next Board of Education meetings, and show your support.

Debating the 22 Credit Rule

adviser — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:23:06 +0000

I am currently a senior at Clayton A. Bouton high school, which is nestled in the quiet town of Voorheesville. This is the time of year when most seniors would like to have the least and also easiest classes of all time. This was possible but the Board of Education at Clayton A. Bouton has changed the rule dramatically.

Students are not allowed to have fewer than 6.5 credits during senior year, even if they have the minimal amount to graduate, which is 22 credits throughout your whole high school career. I believe this rule is very unnecessary. If you have completed the 22 credits and are eligible to graduate you should not have to take classes you don’t need to.

Speaking with a few students who have had to take many classes that they did not want to take showed that they have a similar viewpoint. Dylan Parry, also a senior at Clayton A. Bouton, had to take a class he didn’t want to because he did not have the minimal credit amount for his senior year. Dylan says, “ I think the credit rule is a little overboard.” Also, Senior Steven Ianno has a similar viewpoint as Dylan. He said ” I don’t like that very much.” He says it takes up time where you could be out of school working to earn money to pay for college. Darren Staples, another senior at Clayton A. Bouton, says if you “did your share, you shouldn’t have to come to school. It’s wasting useful time where we could start college early.”

I believe that the Board of Education should review this rule because many students could be doing other important things like working, extra study halls or going to college early. In 11th grade students are able to graduate early and that is pretty much the same thing.

When students get mad at their guidance counselors they shouldn’t. The Board of Education tells the guidance counselors to tell the students this rule. If students are ready to argue with the amount of credits they have to take they need to plead their case to the Board of Education and then the Board will determine if that student is eligible to take less than the minimal credits.

College Decisions: Playing the Waiting Game

adviser — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:20:00 +0000

This past year has been filled with preparing for college; deciding, applying, waiting, and, finally, rejoicing or coping with whether or not the school you wanted so badly to get into will accept you.

I applied to five SUNY schools and two others: St. John’s University and the University of Vermont, which I only applied to because they sent me free applications. So far, I have heard from one school out of the seven. The two free application schools wanted more information and I, lacking the motivation, decided to pass on completing them. I was accepted at Buffalo State, my third choice school, and now I’m left waiting for Purchase and Stony Brook.

When I was first picking schools, I looked at the schools that offered the major I wanted, which is journalism, and then I looked at their locations and decided based on how far away they were, weather patterns, etc. The one thing I regret when I picked my first choice, which was Stony Brook, was that I didn’t look for student opinions from the school. Instead, I looked the day after I got my first acceptance letter. I looked on a few websites with forums and reviews and, to my surprise, my second choice, Purchase, was more well liked then Stony Brook. Not to put down the school, but most of the positive reviews that the school had were all from the math department.

After realizing that I was lucky enough to get my third choice, I looked online for things I like to do around the Buffalo area. Will I be able to watch roller derby? Yes. Will I be able to go to concerts? Yes. Then, I looked for dorm room supplies online to ensure I’d have the most comfortable room ever. But am I just a victim of the leaving home fever? All of this, the decision to look up reviews, the double and triple checking Common App to make sure I got everything in, thinking about the roller derby and furniture, is all because I’ve been so paranoid because I’ve been waiting for what seems like ages to find out whether or not they want me.

Sometimes the college acceptance-or rejection-process is like being accepted into a group of friends and, unfortunately, they are the ones to pick you and it’s exclusive. I can’t really choose which one and just go there. I need to somehow convince them I’m worthy, which makes me feel kind of inadequate. Opening a letter saying I’m not good enough just sounds stressful and it is only made worse by the fact that it could happen.

Some of my friends have been rejected and all of them have reacted similarly. One cried and ripped the letter up. The other looked at other schools. And one completely changed her plans because maybe the major she wanted is the reason why she didn’t get into her schools. And now I’m the one waiting. I just want an answer. Not knowing is almost as bad as getting rejected. Now it’s one of the only things on my mind. I start biting my nails and my hands get sweaty when I just open the mailbox and the worst part is seeing that I don’t have any letters.

While I’m waiting I guess I can look on more reviews and think of buying some dorm room furniture, but I can only handle this waiting game for so long. Soon, I’m going to call the schools, infuriated, asking about the status of my application and if they don’t say it has been mailed, I guess I’ll continue waiting some more because I don’t want them to think I’m a nut or potential security risk.