Enjoy Your Free Time (PB)

Most people have something that they enjoy doing in their free time. For instance, I enjoy reading and hanging out with my friends in my free time. However, the one thing that I enjoy most is having the chance to spend quality time with my family

I love spending time with my family for many reasons. First of all, it brings us closer together and helps us strengthen existing bonds. At every family get together the adults and teens all gather around and just talk while the younger kids play outside or in another room. We like to see how everybody is doing but most of the attention is on us teens in the family. I know that a lot of people hate this part of family gatherings, but I don't. Questions such as "how's school" and "have you thought of your future plans lately" always come up in the conversation. Still, the most frequently asked question would have to be "is there a special someone in your life yet". I laugh and leave that last question to my (more social) siblings to answer but the others I actually enjoy answering.

Why do I enjoy these questions? Well, I feel as though they force me to actually consider my future. I've always found leaving home an unsettling thought, but talking about it with the people I love most makes the thought bearable and almost seem more exciting than terrifying. I tell them my plans and they offer their opinions, which is my favorite part. Hearing what they have to say, whether it be a story from their own experience or them just adding their input, allows me to see things from another perspective and answer any lingering questions I may have had. The whole process helps me grow as a person, helps me make better decisions and helps me figure out my future plans.

My family also likes to get together and play board games when we have the chance. A little family competition is always fun, right? We play the classics such as Chutes and Ladders, Clue, Monopoly, and Battleship. Although, we also enjoy the newer games such as Headbands and Mad Gab.
 
        

However, this is just what I enjoy doing in my free time. Everybody is different in their own way. Instead of spending time with family, one could possibly enjoy painting, writing, or playing video games. There is no one option. Doing something that you truly enjoy in your free time, no matter what it might be, can relieve stress and make your day more enjoyable. All you have to do is find that special something to do.

This is my freebie!

Due to the fact I've been sick all day, I'm going to use my freebie.

Does School Start too Early?

In today's school systems, the amount of sleep a teen gets is not nearly enough in order for them to function properly. The average amount of time a teen needs to sleep is eight to ten hours. How can this be accomplished if teens are so busy? They have plenty of after school obligations, plenty of homework and plenty of studying to do throughout the night, so when do they sleep? Even though a teen has all of these obligations, they still have to wake up early in the morning so the process can repeat itself time and time again. There's a simple solution: start classes at a later time.

I'm sure that most people have heard a student say "it's just too early" when he or she is asked why the class is so quiet. This statement holds much value. Asking a student to pay full attention to the lesson, and comprehend it as well, at such an early hour is a lot to ask. After all, the night before was most likely spent doing homework one may not have truly understood in the first place. However, if school started at a later hour this may no longer be an issue. Instead, the student would be awake and ready to learn to their full capacity. An additional bonus to this would be that the schools would have better attendance among their students.

There have been many studies conducted to support a later start time in schools. For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement that recommended class starts times be delayed to 8:30 am or later. The academy stated that it would align the social schedule to the students biological sleep rhythm. Also, Judith Ownes, leader of the policy statement, was quoted saying that the "research is clear that adolescence who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life." This study, and countless others, support the need for later school times.

Another experiment conducted tracked 9,000 high school students in three different states to see how a later start time affected them. The results showed improved grades in math classes, English classes, science classes and social studies classes in schools that started at 8:35 am or later. Studies such as these have prompted schools around the United States to take part in delaying school times.

The natural sleep cycle of a teen puts them in conflict with the start times of school. Instead of waking up on their own, they often need the assistance of an alarm clock or even their parents. But once they wake up it doesn't get any easier. Teens are like zombies in the morning. They walk around slowly, moan and aren't fully attentive. Starting school at a later hour would give them the extra hour or so that they were deprived of and help them to have a more productive day.

In my opinion, a later start time in schools would majorly benefit the students. As a high school student myself, I have experienced the struggle of not getting enough sleep. A majority of my nights have been spent studying and doing homework until I couldn't physically stay awake any longer. Studying may have been easier if I had been able to pay full attention to my teachers lesson in class. However, being so tired from the night before has caused my mind to wander during the lesson. I feel as though a later start time would help my grades and health overall. Just having a few extra hours of sleep makes me feel revived and ready to start my day. Am I the only one? According to studies across the United States I'm not. While writing this post I wondered if Lakeview would consider starting school later. My thoughts? I don't think that they will. However, possibly with time and more studies with positive results, Lakeview would consider making this change.

Would Free Community College Really Be Effective? (PB)

Anyone paying attention to the news would know that education is a hot topic right now. First of all, Obama recently mentioned it in the State of the Union Address. He proposed that the first two years of community college should be free. But the real question is, will it provide the proper outcome expected? In my personal opinion the answer is no.


I agree that higher education is really important. However, I don't think that making it free is the solution we need. Community college would provide the education needed for better jobs but that doesn't mean that there will be jobs ready for the graduates. This is the flaw in Obama's proposal. A higher education would prepare people for better jobs but just merely having the credentials won't create jobs. The purpose of going to college is to provide the training experience to secure a higher paying job to make providing for yourself and others easier.


Yet another reason why community college should not be free is that paying for college provides an incentive for the student to take the course seriously. If you are going to spend your money on something, you might as well get your money's worth, right? You wouldn't want to purchase a car and only drive it once, you want to drive it all the time so you know your money was well spent. The same general concept applies to how you spend your money on college.


This reason can be seen by the experience of Thomas W. Miller, Jr. Miller taught a week long course at a University in Paris an explains how different the behaviors of the students were. The students in Paris would be on their phones or walk in and out of class while most students in the United States are respectful of their professors and were attentive. Miller talked to his students about the issue and he realized that since his students in Paris payed little money for college, they didn't value it as much. He posed the question " so why should I expect them to value it?".  And I agree with Miller. If you are not paying for something, there isn't as much motivation as there would be if you were.

I feel that free community college is to extensive. Instead, college prices should be lowered. This would cause people to still work towards their goals and provide an incentive for students to strive for the best they can do. Meanwhile, the government needs to work on producing more employment opportunities for our graduates.

Miller's Experience