Daily Archives: November 12, 2020

Advice/How To

Mental health vs. Mental illness

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By: Grace Blumer-Lamotte

Image taken from: https://unionhealthcenter.org/mental-health-vs-mental-illness-infographic/

I asked a freshman, a sophomore, and a junior what is the difference between mental health and mental illness.

The freshman said mental health is taking care of all 3 areas of your health, physical, mental, and emotional health. They said they weren’t quite sure what mental illness was.

The sophomore said that mental health is your emotional state, and how you feel at that specific time. They said mental illness is different from mental health because it is a problem that may need therapy or medication.

The junior said mental health is you being able to control everything that is going on in your head. It is focusing on yourself internally. They said that mental illness is ADHD, ADD, and more that they’re not aware of. 

What is the actual difference between mental health and mental illness? According to ‘Heretohelp,’ mental health is “Our emotions, our thoughts and feelings, our ability to solve problems and overcome difficulties, our social connections, and our understanding of the world around us.”  Mental health is allegedly just how you are feeling in the given moment. Ways to maintain a healthy mental health are to: exercise regularly, stay positive, get 8-12 hours of sleep, stay connected with others, and eat a balanced diet.

Also according to ‘Heretohelp,’ a mental illness is an “Illness that affects that way people think, feel, behave, or interact with others.” There are many types of mental illnesses such as depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, plus many more. Mental illnesses usually need a lot more attention, and they need a diagnosis from a medical professional. The people who struggle with a mental illness may go and see a therapist and get prescribed medication. Ways to cope with a mental illness are to: educate yourself about it, stay connected with friends and family, and seek support from a health provider.

As you can see, the students didn’t quite know what the difference between mental health and mental illnesses were. When I was done interviewing them, I asked them to educate themselves and others about the difference. They did so.

Now, after reading this, do you think you know the difference between your mental health and a mental illness?

Editorials/Student Voice, School Life

Horrible Homework

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By Nora Doyle and Olivia Miller

Image taken from: Study.com

Ugh homework!

It’s something every kid has to do if they want to succeed in school.

But why do we do it?

Most students think it’s pointless and adds to the daily stress of school. We have work in class everyday, about 6 hours a day, so why give us more at home? That’s supposed to be the space where we get to relax, eat, sleep, and do things we actually enjoy.

If you were to ask any student, they will most likely say homework hurts them more than it helps them. Maybe they are right, I mean, do we really need homework? What good does it do? Who even created the idea in the first place?

The question of who is to blame for the invention of homework is sort of a controversial question. According to ‘Market Business News’, many people argue that homework was invented by Italian educator Roberto Nevilis, in either 1095 or 1905. But, if both of these are looked into, neither are possible according to this site. This is because in the year 1095, there was no formal system of education in, and around, Europe. Even in the 1500s, education was given by private tutors.

It couldn’t have been invented in 1905 either, because 4 years before that, in 1901, the state of California passed an act to ban homework for any child studying below the 8th grade. The law was passed because during that period, homework was frowned upon by parents. They felt that homework interfered with a child’s time for house chores. Sweet times, right? Anyway, Mr. Nevilis couldn’t have been spreading the idea of homework when he couldn’t even do it himself.

So when did it truly start?

According to ‘Market Business News’, homework has historically existed in one form or another for simply just practicing at home. It could have been singing, poetry, playing an instrument, or reading the Bible. So, in a certain way, homework has always been a thing when it comes to education.

Homework is a very controversial topic when it comes to deciding whether or not it is beneficial to students. There have been many arguments and laws throughout the years surrounding homework. According to Study.com, in 1930, homework became frowned upon because it was declared as a form of child labor, which had recently become illegal.

Opinions vary among students, teachers, and parents. Coming from a non biased point of view, here are some pros and cons of homework that have been proven, or come from a variety of studies.

Pros: According to Goodschools.com, homework is beneficial to a student’s learning when it comes to developing study skills. “From time management and organisation to self-motivation and independent learning, homework teaches students a range of positive skills that they will carry with them throughout their academic and working lives. Home learning motivates students to take responsibility for their workload, while also encouraging the development of positive research practices.”

Another pro to giving students homework, according to Vittana.org, is that it, “Provides an indication of academic comprehension. Assigning learning tasks at home is a useful way for teachers to identify whether students are understanding the curriculum. Teachers can analyse gaps in comprehension or information through homework, making it easier for them to tailor their approach to each student’s needs. they can recognise students who need extra support in certain learning areas, while also identifying children who may benefit from more complex learning tasks.”

Cons: According to the American Psychological Association, a Duke University social psychologist, Harris Cooper says, “Too much homework can do more harm than good. Researchers have cited drawbacks, including boredom and burnout toward academic material, less time for family and extracurricular activities, lack of sleep and increased stress.” He believes in the 10 minute rule, which implies “That students should do no more than 10 minutes a night per grade level — from about 10 minutes in first grade up to a maximum of about two hours in high school. Both the National Education Association and National Parent Teacher Association support that limit.”

So, next time you complain about doing homework, consider the good that it does, but also keep in mind that too much homework can make you burnt out, so limit yourself, but get it done!

Editorials/Student Voice

Trump’s documented racism 

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By: Quentin Miller

Image taken from: Fox News

I don’t think it’s controversial to say that Trump has made some very sketchy statements about race/ethnicity in the past, but just how bad is his racism? Here’s a list of things he has said publicly about many different races and ethnicities, organized by said races and ethnicities (all following facts have been checked by ‘USA Today’ and PBS.)

Black people: 

  • Implied that laziness was a trait found in lots of black people, insinuating that black people are to blame for systemic issues.
  • Referred to black protesters as thugs.
  • Claimed that a group of black men should have been executed before proven guilty (The Central Park 5 case).
  • Used, and continues to use, the term “the blacks”.
  • Asked what black people have to lose, saying they don’t have jobs or money.
  • Supported “stop and frisk” policies, which allowed police officers to pull over anyone for seemingly no reason, which increased police violence against minorities by a disproportionate amount.
  • Said that areas of high amounts of black populations are “like hell”, saying that getting shot is very common in these areas.
  • Asked a black reporter if the CBC are her friends. 
  • Asked why the Civil War was necessary, implying that slavery is somehow not a big enough motivator.

Hispanic people:

  • Referred to Mexican immigrants as rapists, drug dealers, and overall criminals, then corrected himself by saying “some” are good people.
  • Tweeted a picture of him eating a taco salad and captioned it “I love Hispanics”
  • Claimed that immigrants (while he did not say Hispanic immigrants it can be inferred by the previous talking points in his speech) were stealing black jobs, trying to turn black people against immigrants.
  • Claimed he would force Mexico to pay for a wall to stop illegal immigration, further demonizing Hispanic immigration 
  • Referred to immigrants as animals.

Asian people:

  • Called the coronavirus the Chinese virus. 
  • Called the coronavirus the Kung Flu

Muslim/Middle Eastern people: 

  • Temporarily banned immigration from the Middle East.
  • Says that we should have more white immigrants from places like Norway and less Middle Eastern immigrants escaping from actual wars 

Jewish people:

  • Refused to acknowledge Jewish people during a speech about the Holocaust.
  • Apologized for not acknowledging Jewish people, also claimed he was the least anti- Semitic person ever.