Tag Archives: stress

Homework: A Gain or a Loss

Homework. A word that makes most kids cringe at the sound of it. The issue of homework being banished is just a small argument, but has become reality in certain towns, cities, and states. Homework does not improve academic achievement which is shown in a study that “kids who do 60 to 90 minutes of homework in middle school and over 2 hours in high school actually score worse [than average on standardized tests].” This shows the possibility that kids do not actually learn the information but instead rush through to try and finish homework as soon as possible. Homework also takes away a kids time to hang out with their friends or play a game and playing can build both academic and social skills. Homework is taking away many children’s childhoods.

Why parents should stop helping their kids with homework

I believe that homework is not important and that we should be able to choose when we study and how we study the material given to us in the classroom. As we grow up we learn to find certain ways of studying that are right for ourselves. Homework isn’t individualized to specific students needs and it might make the topic more confusing in the long run. Another reason homework confuses people is that when a child is sent home with homework they can not ask questions. When we don’t have a teacher or someone who knows the material that we’re learning it might become more of a challenge then necessary. As you can see homework causes more problems than it helps students.

~Kayla

Rain? Healthy? What?!

Admit it. When you hear the pitter-patter of raindrops on your window, or feel wet droplets hit your shoulders and the ground around you, the first instinct you have is to pull up the hood of your sweatshirt or pull out the umbrella from the depths of your bag.  The questions is, why is everyone so afraid of the rain?  Is it because it will mat your hair, or ruin your new faux-leather bag? Or is it because it will make your new Jordan’s muddied and imperfect? Either way, hiding under the rain can actually prevent you from health benefits. Rain water and being in rainy weather can benefit your health.

It’s all about science. Rain water contains negative ions, and for those of you who aren’t science people or don’t see how there can be positives in something with “negative” in the name, negative ions produce a net positive effect on our health. These special ions are created in moving water, and are tasteless, odorless and invisible molecules that we breathe in when we are in environments with moving water.  After entering the bloodstream, they create “biochemical reactions that help to relieve stress, alleviate depression, and even boost our energy” says Patty Peoples of Redlands Daily Facts, an International Sport Science Association fitness nutrition specialist. The greatest thing about it, is that this medication to make you feel good is free and right outside your door (on a rainy day that is), and there are virtually no side effects besides having wet shoes or frizzy, matted hair.

I have always loved rainy weather, and now I know the science behind it.  In fact, I can directly relate to the part about relieving stress just by being outside in the rain. It is also comforting that I am not the only one who says that rain makes them happy, because whenever I tell someone I love when it rains, I receive the “Are you serious?” face.  I think that people should take advantage of the positive effect of rain and negative ions more often, especially because it boosts depression and relieves stress. Next time the sky is overcast and the rain starts falling, I challenge everyone to go outside and asses your mood after 10 minutes in the rain.  Remember, the only down side is wet *changeable* clothing.

~Ali

 

Enough is Enough

Imagine yourself at ten o’clock at night. Most kids are sleeping, while others are doing homework. Many people believe it is the kids fault for being up so late. People say it is about time management. That is true. How our body is being treated at a young age is important but many people don’t fulfill the requirement of number of hours slept. What is unfair is the amount of homework they get. Each subject’s homework should be an overview of the class and not anything additional. Homework is designed to test kids learning and see if they were paying attention and understand. So I question how much homework is too much?

 Too much homework can affect kids sleep, family relationships, and can cause serious amounts of stress.  I agree that teachers do give an abnormal amount of homework. I am probably not the first to say that I don’t like homework, but there is really nothing you do about it. Homework can cause large amounts of stress because kids stress about their grades and homework is only half the question. Homework separates us from the real world. It deprives us of what is important in our life. Homework keeps kids and teens from daily exercise too. Instead getting an hour of exercise, instead they get 3-4 hours of homework, and by the time they finish it is too late out.

In my opinion I think that kids should be given no more than a total of 2 hours of homework. This may change or fluctuate between different grades. This is also important for kids and teens too. Time management is also key for success. This also depends on the kids and teens to see if they can balance their schedules  Therefor I believe the amount of homework that students receive should be reduced.

~Evan Sokolik

A Celebrities Insecurities

Being a teen in the spotlight, Demi Lovato was put under a lot of stress at a young age. She was first seen on television at age 10 on the show Barney and Friends. Later, she  got a lead role in a Disney movie called Camp Rock. After that, the world wanted to see more of this new star. So, Disney created a new comedy show with Demi as the main character. On screen she was a funny, bubbly person, but little did everyone know that on the inside, she was almost the opposite. On top off all that, she also started up her music career. Nobody knew that deep down, Demi was hurting. After almost every meal she would go to the bathroom and make herself purge. She then picked up the habit of self harm, more specifically, cutting her wrists. By the year 2010, she had cracked. She went into a depression and everything got worse. She finally realized that she had a problem and needed serious help. She left her show and was put into a rehab facility. There, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, bulimia, and anorexia. This was Demi’s wake up call.

After going through a full year of rehab, Demi wanted to get back into the music business  She eventually got two tattoos. One on her left wrist that has the word “stay” and one on her right that says “strong”. This reminds her to never cut and to stay strong for herself and her fans. Personally, I feel that this is an important issue that every girl (or even boy) might have trouble with in his or her life. I’m not saying that everyone takes to the extent that Demi did but everyone has their insecurities. A lot of people are fans of Demi Lovato because she proves that everyone has problems but in the end, they can overcome them.

~Hailey Monroe

What’s the point?!?

http://collegecandy.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/empty-classroom.gif

Waking up in the morning. Rushing to catch the bus. Staying up until 3 a.m. doing homework. Freaking out about a test. All for what? School. A recent study by the Associated Press and MTV found 85% of students from the age 13-24 experience large amounts of stress daily. This is a full 10 percentage points higher than adults polled in a earlier study. That is crazy. All the adults always say, “Oh, you’re lucky you have it easy,” or “I remember the old easy days.”
In my opinion, children should be saying that to the adults after seeing results like these. All adults do is get paid to go sit on computers, tell students what to do, and socialize with their friends. Children don’t even get paid to go to school we have to go there by law.

What is the point of school anyways? In Social Studies all we learn about is dead people and the happenings of the world 1,000 years ago. We have Wikipedia and Google for that. In Math we have to write every single equation out. Are you joking? They created calculators to do the work for us and then we write the answer down, not what we just typed into a calculator. In Language Arts…we speak English and people understand us, what else do we need? One word for Spanish…Dora. Don’t even get me started about Science. Anyone can put a key on a kite during a thunderstorm, you don’t have to be a brilliant scientist. Oh my gosh, how do they even go out into public with hair like that? I would be humiliated! In conclusion, the government is putting a lot of extra stress on children that should be out enjoying their “easy” years and worry about things when they are older.

~Vivian Bronson

Panic About Private Schools

March 10th, a worrisome day for several students here at Dodd. Many students have applied to private schools for high school and after waiting for two months for the response are becoming impatient. A lot of hard work has been put in by every applicant who may have applied to schools such as Choate, Chase, Hopkins and Westover (like me).The application itself is the toughest to work on. Many school s may require one essay or as many as four! And let’s not forget the interview or the SSAT! All three of these components can either help or hurt your acceptance.

Luckily most, if not every kid I know that has applied has a great chance of being accepted. If not it just gives you more determination for next year. So next week on top of CMT testing students will be eagerly awaiting the news from their school and hopefully it is good! Good luck to everyone and hopefully the hard work paid off!

–Lizzie Heisler

CMT DRAMA

We all know about the CMT’s, we’ve been taking them since the third grade. They are the series of test we take every year in March. The tests include math,reading, writing and in fifth and eighth grade science. Taking the test is a long quiet time stuck in a classroom. During which we can’t even get up to go to the bathroom without having to be escorted  because of the thought of students cheating.

I believe the CMT’s cause too much commotion in school. Kids get stressed out over the tests, but they don’t even affect your grade. Also the schools are very concerned about kids cheating. Like I said before you can’t even go to the bathroom or get a drink of water without having to be escorted. It’s not like it will do much,the person can’t see what your doing. Everyone stresses, but if you just take your time and read the directions you can do great on the CMT’s.

~Ashley Hunt

DO DOG’S HELP YOUR MOOD?

My dog, Guinness, is the best dog ever for many reasons, but the best reason of all is she makes me feel happy! When I come home from school my dog would be sitting on the porch just waiting for me, and when I get out of the car she runs up to me, jumps on me and greets me with many kisses. She makes me laugh so hard sometimes even when no one else is paying attention! If I had a bad day at school she would still be waiting for me, wagging her tail and make me smile even after the worst day ever. She would make me give her a big hug and even sometimes I would tell her about my day and it makes me feel better because even though she has no idea what I’m saying she stares at me and pays attention which is good enough for me!

For many people their dogs makes them feel better. I mean cats are lovable but they don’t play around with you and are as happy as dogs! With their smiling face and wagging tail you can definitely tell that they are happy which makes you feel happy too! “Being around dogs often has a calming effect on many people. Their constant positive attitudes and willingness to please are natural mood enhancers. Related research has shown similar trends with those who have cancer and other terminal illnesses.”  Dogs can also increase your exercise which will help increase your health making you feel better. They can help you go for hikes, walks, runs, and playing fetch is good for you too! With more exercise you can make your self feel better which improves your mood!!!            ~ Georgia Koski

High School

The crazy world of high school. New classes, new teachers, new people to meet and so much going on around you.  Recently, Dodd 8th graders have been getting lots of information about the years to come.  I will not argue, for some, high school can be a fun and exciting place to be and an excellent opportunity to learn and discover interests you may have. But for others, it is just a confusing and difficult four years. There is a lot of pressure  to do well and get good grades. You are told to join many clubs and other extracurricular activities. You are told to do your best and try your hardest because these years will determine the rest of your life.

Are all these things true? Well, a lot of this may really be true and it may pay off to do all these things you are told. Focusing on all your work will be extremely important. By being more focused, you will have better grades. You should never underestimate any of your assignments. Little things such as small homework assignments can add up to a lot of your grade. So always do your homework, because not only will it help you maintain a better grade but by doing homework, you can better understand what you are learning. The high schools schedule is set up very different. Although you may not have a class everyday, it’s a good idea to do your homework for that class whenever you get the chance and do not procrastinate. The four years of high school can be a struggle, but by doing your work and focusing you can have four very successful and unforgettable years.

~Mairead Peters

Homework: Why Do It?

Have you ever noticed that homework is exactly the same as what you do in school? I have. Personally, I think that it is. Instead of giving us homework, why not go over it in class a little more. Most topics, in classes like math, are only talked about for a day or so. Instead, why not spend an extra day and go over it some more. I would be ok if the teacher gives us like 5 review questions. Not like 30 problems that are all exactly the same. Another homework that I am ok with is a study guide. That makes sense because it will help me prepare for a test or quiz.

Another thing about homework is that it causes stress. Homework causes a lot of it. Think about the last time you forgot your homework. How did you feel? Were you afraid that your parents or teacher will yell at you? That is what I think when I forget mine. Also homework is stressful because it can drastically affect your grade. If you miss one assignment, your grade could severely drop. When you are absent, homework piles up, waiting for you to come back to school. You have to do that and the homework for that night too.

~Matt Schock