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| Opinion-Editorial February 2003, Volume 6, No. 4 |
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Questions? Comments?
Tell us what you think!
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Is it really worth the trouble?
By Laura B.
Columnist
It's almost 4:00, and you and your friends have no available ride to go to the basketball game. You really want to see the game, so you decide to walk the two cold miles to Peacock. You dress warmly, but it's cold anyway. Finally you get to Peacock, feeling almost frozen, just in time to see your friends play in the basketball game, and what happens? You get sent away, told to go walk back home! Why? Because you don't have a school ID.
Teachers claim to have told you about bringing an ID beforehand on the announcements, but does anybody listen to them? The ID for everything policy is stupid.
What does having a school ID prove?. Does it prove that you're responsible, or does it just prove that you were lucky, and happened to find your ID in your pocket? Does it prove that you aren't going to cause trouble at the game?
The only thing that having an ID proves under these circumstances is that you're a Peacock student, and that you get milk, which doesn't seem to be of any help.
Supposing that you need to bring an ID for recognition that you are truly a Peacock student, wouldn't the teachers recognize you?
But of course. The only explanation for this annoying policy teachers can come up with is, "It's the rule, sorry kids." While Peacock students are being turned away, strangers to Peacock will not even be questioned, and are greeted cheerfully and shown the way in. They hold no identification.
Who knows who these "harmless" strangers are? At least teachers already know who the troublemakers are among Peacock students.
Behind all this confusion, there has got to be a reason somewhere, right?
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When is too much writing too much?
By Monica M.
"I hate writing!" This statement is said by students probably all over the world. What makes it funny is that the statement is always followed by, "I hate school!" And what makes this statement funnier is that it is always followed by "I wanna go home!"
Wouldn't you think that writing in language arts is enough writing for one day? Apparently one class is not good enough for our blue ribbon school!
I entered the eighth grade looking forward to new teachers, new classes such as common time, and most importantly, the last year at Peacock! I was looking forward to common time because I heard that it was a study hall.
Once I entered my first class of common time, I was told that it wasn't going to be a study hall like we'd heard. We were going to write essays and stories.
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Gym was the only class that we didn’t have to write in, but our blue ribbon school just couldn’t accept that! |
I said, "What? More writing? I hate writing! I hate school! I wanna go home!" What a shocker!
We even write in physical education, otherwise known as gym! The only good news about writing in gym is that we only have to write a little, but we have tests.
Of all classes to write in, it just had to be gym! I thought that gym was supposed to be a class for exercise and health. Gym was the only class that we didn't have to write in, but our blue ribbon school just couldn't accept that! God forbid us from having one class that we don't have to write in!
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Water bottle swindle?
By Megan and Sarah Z.
We asked eleven sixth graders and one sixth grade teacher the following questions: What do think of the quality of the water bottles sold by the student council? Do you think we should be able to bring our own water bottles?
The feeling against the school water bottles was nearly universal. They are too expensive at five dollars a bottle, and made of cheap materials.
The students almost all complained about the bottles leaking in their backpacks and ruining their homework.
Mrs. Kabat commented that the bottles were a good way to raise money for a good cause, student council.
But she did add that "If the purpose of the water bottles was to hydrate ourselves, then we should be able to bring our own water bottles too."
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Rude business owners anger student
By Sarah B.
Everyone knows how unfairly teenagers are sometimes treated, as if they are a lower, less intelligent life form.
So where do adults get this idea from? They were all teenagers once too and they must know that how they stereotype us is wrong. Yet they just ignore it, and it makes us feel like we truly are stupid.
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Adults warn us about stereotyping when they are the ones who do it most often. |
Almost every manager of every restaurant I called was interested up to the point when I told them I was a student, and not an adult.
A certain restaurant even went as far as to turn off their fax machine after asking me to send them a fax. When I called them back to ask them to turn it back on, they said that it was on. So I sent the information again and still their machine was not on.
Other managers agreed to buy the advertisements, but when a student went to collect the money, they changed their minds. These actions are very rude. Would business managers do this to an adult?
Out of all the excuses I heard, the hardest to believe included "We don't know where Itasca is." and "We don't speak enough English." If they don't want to buy the advertisements they could just say no, but of course they have to make up an excuse.
Adults warn us about stereotyping when they are the ones who do it most often. We all must accept that people pre-judge who we are going to be, but we can at least try to prevent it by not doing it ourselves.
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Community Service
Are you getting it done?
By Joanna M.,
Finishing Editor
Doing your homework, getting good grades on report cards and tests, and getting the teachers to like you are probably some of the things on your list of Things To Do This Year.
But what about community service? Has it made its way on to your list, or is it sitting in the back of your head waiting for the last minute?
Well, many students have already begun completing their hours, and some have even finished them. There are many ways to get them done, and since you only really need six hours, you can finish them all in one day.
What have the students of Peacock been doing to receive these hours, and what do they think of having to complete these hours each year?
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Most importantly though, give back to the community because you want to, not because you have to. |
Helping a younger/older brother/sister isn't the only way to get your hours done. Just ask Laila M.
"I helped my neighbor clean out her basement and garage." She also said "Even if I didn't have to do community service I'd still help her because she is elderly and really nice."
Of course helping neighbors and close family members aren't the only ways to get the six hours done, but they sure are the fastest.
"I finished my six hours by helping out at bible school" was what Becky Kohles said. "It was somewhat fun, and it did help the community in a way."
"I already started on my community service by helping out at church and P.A.D.S," said Jessica Lipski "and I think it's a good idea to do community service because you can give back to the community."
Megan L. said "I helped out some people and I also helped with a food drive. Some of it was fun, and I would have probably still have done it even if it wasn't for the hours."
Church, friends, family, and neighbors are all people and places you go to to help, but they aren't the only ones. The Arbor, school, library, and Nature Center are all places where you can help out.
Don't forget you're not doing this just for some measly six hours for school, but to help out your community and fellow man. So don't forget to enjoy yourself, even when you're helping an old lady cross the street. Most importantly though, give back to the community because you want to, not because you have to.
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Cheerleaders
Athletic motivators or annoying nuisances?
By Ashley D.
Since the start of tryouts, the debate over whether cheerleading deserves athletic respect or not has skyrocketed.
Several of the basketball players say the cheerleaders are distracting and prevent them from playing their best. Some of the spectators categorize them as "no-talent ditzs" or "boy-crazy snobs." However, these offensive characterizations can be disproved.
I myself wasn't the biggest fan or advocate of cheerleading until the infamous tryouts began. Being an avid athlete, I decided to give this so-called "prissy" sport a try.
When I first walked into the cafeteria, I was instantly stunned at the prodigious talent and flexibility of my competition. And they were just practicing!
I pathetically stood in awe of my cheerleading peers doing back bends, back walk overs, and back half turn bend flip-over thingies. I tried to start out simply, but I got a headache attempting to execute the ever-so-complicated summer-salt.
By that time, I had established that maybe those little tricks weren't for me. Then we began the learning process, starting off with the cheers. The first thing that ran through my head was "Yay! I'm good at waving my arms around and screaming at the top of my lungs, I'll dominate."
I soon concluded however, that performing cheers is a much more complicated task than it seemed. I was aware that one of the requirements was a good screaming voice but I wasn't aware of all the other hard parts.
Not only do you have to scream in sync with your fellow cheerleaders, but it is also necessary to scream the proper words.
Not only do you have to wave your hands in the air, but it is also necessary to have the hand and feet positions immaculately correct on each and every cheer move.
As if all that isn't enough to hold in my tiny memory bank, a mandatory requisite (which is strictly enforced) is that you absolutely MUST SMILE in order to "captivate your audience." This is so it doesn't appears as though cheerleading is fatal and you're about to die. I was truly lousy at this last part.
Yet, I was still chock-full of optimism and ready for the next cheerleading tryout duty. Little did I know (as usual) that the next qualification for making the team was learning a fast-pace, near impossible dance to the notorious a.m. p.m. song.
The moves we had to learn were clever and quite intricate, and their complexity intimitaded all but a fearless few.
Learning that dance had to be the most difficult criteria for making the team. It seemed as though the judges and coaches were asking mere junior high students to perform a miracle by learning every prerequisite in the few days we'd been given. Luckily, one of my cheerleading friends, Agnes, was there to help me with the dance and the cheers.
Eventually (surprisingly enough), I did learn the requirements and put on the best cheerleading show that I could for the judges. Although I didn't make the team, I can safely say that it was a great experience to tryout.
To become a cheerleader takes a great amount of effort, determination, dedication, physical strength, flexibility, intelligence, and a specific, unique type of athleticism.
Cheerleaders have just as much heart in what they do (if not more) as any basketball or football player. They deserve the same respect. It takes courage to put aside hurtful stereotyping and criticism to put a smile on your face and do what you love.
The cheerleaders confidence and talent should be praised, not insulted. After jumping in their shoes, I know that they aren't "no talent ditzs" and "boy crazy snobs."
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