By: Kayla Madison

Depression affects school differently for everyone. Usually, lower grades are one the first noticeable signs. Sometimes though, unfortunately, it’s easier for parents/teachers/family members to miss this sign of mental illness. It’s a common thing to think that “It’s just a teenager thing/ it’s just a phase”, but a drop of grades can be a clear sign that there’s more that meets the eye.

The some possible symptoms of how depression can affect school are: difficulty concentrating – resulting in poor work on assignments and exams, trouble with organizing and time management, hypersensitivity – that could lead to emotions out of whack and not good interactions socially, forgetfulness, and decreased self esteem. These are just quick little signs that show how difficult school can be when depressed, because of these things they could significantly affect your school life.

Depression at school can affect your perception of yourself at school, failing an assignment could worsen the thought that you’re dumb, or can’t do anything right, and it becomes a self perpetuating cycle. Memory is also impaired, which becomes especially hard when taking tests or exams, affecting grades.

As someone who struggles with depression, my position is a lot like this: I become unmotivated to do anything and I end up having bad grades or attendance. I don’t want to do anything involving school, and I usually just wait it out because there are no methods out of that kind of thinking. That almost always sucks for me because then I have to end up making up credits, which is extremely hard when you’re depressed, and I’m almost a senior and it’s really messing a lot of things up for me. When you feel like this you should mainly talk to your teachers, or counselors, and see if there’s anything you can do to prevent things like credit recovery or summer school.

By: Marcus Lund

I love summer break, and I’m sure you do too. However, is it really as useful as it used to be?

Breaks from schooling are mandatory to both educators and students. It’s the school year’s current format, with one long break in the middle of the year, that is under scrutiny. Summer break was originally started to allow kids to return home during the hottest months to help on the farm. However, with rapid urbanization, and a much lower population farming by hand, this has become increasingly unnecessary.

An increasingly popular alternative to summer break, is a system with more frequent, shorter breaks spread out throughout the year, as opposed to one long one.

So, what are the current pros and cons for this sweet, sweet yearly hiatus?

One pro is how easy it is to cut out meaningful family time during summer break. With more spread out, shorter breaks, a detriment to family structure would occur. Things like finding childcare would become more difficult with parents having to look for babysitters year round.

Spread out breaks would also cause less break overlap between different schools and workplaces, so that families spread out over many occupations and schools would be further separated.

Summer breaks also provide outside-of-school learning opportunities, such as travel and summer camps, that help with character building.

Finally, traditional summer breaks offer a light at the end of the tunnel. Burnt out teachers can have negative effects on students, and vice-versa.

However, the new system has its positives, too. Eliminating a long term break would bring about improved academic achievement. 3 months away from school frequently causes huge gaps in memory and learning, a problem that could be soundly remedied by giving students less lengthy breaks from schooling. This loss of learning affects all children, but it varies by learning level and age.

Summer break can also lead to a lack of engagement, with students frequently getting bored. One expert, Carol Lloyd, says, “If American summer isn’t structured, it’s almost too long.”

I know I want to keep my summer break, but the question is, should I?

By: Isaac Lund

The textbook industry has long been the backbone of elementary to collegiate learning. Today, with tablets and especially iPads increasing their foothold in American households, a new argument has emerged: Which one is better suited for today’s education needs?

In 2019, book publishers generated 8.38 billion dollars in revenue selling textbooks, an 8.2% decrease from 2018, according to Statista. On the other hand, the iPad made Apple 21.2 billion dollars in revenue, a 12.3% increase from 2018.

Both proponents and opponents of implementing tablets in schools have evidence to support their views.

Supporters of iPad learning most often bring up weight. iPads can hold hundreds of textbooks, worksheets, and tests, without increasing the need for physical storage and backpack weight. According to Mayo Clinic, leaning forward to compensate for the extra weight of heavy backpacks can affect the natural curve of the lower back. E-textbooks also cost less than printed textbooks, and these textbooks can instantly be updated to the newest edition. Furthermore, iPads allow for highlighting and taking notes directly on text, without destroying paper media. Finally, they drastically reduce the need for excess paper, helping save our ever-crumbling environment.

There are many opponents of tablets as well, and they have their fair share of cons to back them up. One such shortcoming evident is that blue light in tablets can cause eye-strain and other forms of agitation, according to the American optometric association. Also, many students, especially in public schools, do not have sufficient internet bandwidth at home to even use tablets for homework. Furthermore, even without paper, one iPad’s manufacturing requires the extraction of minerals and fossil fuels. Adverse health effects from this far exceed those of a textbook, according to the New York Times. Finally, tablets allow for easier cheating.

In my opinion, as long as iPads are properly introduced to schools with measures to combat distractions and cheating, they are far better tools to aid education than backbreaking textbooks that have so long been the go-to.

By: Marcus Lund

As a 16-year-old with a high metabolism, I’m always hungry. So, when I head to the lunchroom, I’m ready to eat a nicely sized meal. But, then I’m served 3 chicken nuggets with a side of sadness and beans. After those 250 calories, I’m obviously going to still be hungry, so I head up again, only to be turned back: “No seconds”.

Highland Park seems to think that by offering unpaid lunches, they can’t afford to give two lunches to high schoolers who need more food. However, other schools in the Saint Paul school district who offer free lunches do offer seconds. They implement a system in which they require student pay for seconds, while their first lunch is still free. This allows the school to retain the funds needed to keep up free firsts and free breakfasts, as well as lessen food waste.

In multiple instances, when students bring up their tray and ID for a second lunch, they’re turned away. This happens even though SPPS nutrition services states that second lunches are purchasable for all SPPS students for $4.40, with second breakfast also available for $2.75. Even an extra milk is apparently available for 50 cents if wanted, an option I haven’t even heard of.

Not allowing for seconds at lunch has caused much strife throughout the cafeteria. Methods used to get a second lunch include students using other students’ IDs, students hopping the barrier to avoid scanning their lunch pass, in hopes of only needing to scan once for two lunches. Students have even gone as far as literally running away from lunch staff.

Teenagers need a lot of food, and school lunch shouldn’t be a sad excuse for a real meal. Can Highland Park step it up?

For more information, please visit:

• https://www.spps.org/Page/24291

By: Isaac Lund

Homework is a concept that has been utilized by teachers all around the world for decades. It seems to be a tried and true concept, but is it really the best for students?

Many teachers and parents argue that homework is necessary to keep the standards of education high. With the following pros I’m about to list off, you may well agree.

First off, homework helps students develop study skills that they can utilize throughout the rest of their life. It teaches responsibility and organization, as well as enforcing individual learning skills that will come into play more and more as students stop having teachers to look to for help later in life.

Another upside of homework is that it helps to further engrain classroom learning. According to Ed Cooke, a grand master of memory, using a word repetitively is the best way to remember it. This repetition concept carries over to homework as well.

Homework can also help students apply what they learned in different situations, many of which weren’t gone over in class. This helps to improve improvisation.

Homework also helps teachers recognize patterns in academic comprehension within students. This can help give students who are struggling more help, and change teaching approaches if entire classes fail to comprehend the material.

Although the paragraphs above makes homework look like a fine and dandy tool, it ignores the grievous shortcomings homework has to offer as well.

Obviously, homework decreases leisure time. As I sit here at my desk writing this article, I am squandering time that could be spent building social skills or discovering a new hobby—both are things that will benefit me for much longer than my grade in newspaper class.

Homework also increases stress levels: when the workload becomes too much or too difficult, students lose sleep and motivation. Through this concept, homework is seen as a negative aspect of school by almost all students.

Finally, homework isn’t always effective. A study conducted at the University of Melbourne found that homework in primary school has an effect of around zero, with many students completing work unrelated to class material.

Homework can be greatly beneficial, but it can also be greatly detrimental. Although I do agree that homework should remain to some extent, it must be related to class material, and must create a low stress environment, while still reinforcing prior learning.

By: Marcus Lund

School lunch sometimes sucks. It occasionally either tastes gross, the texture is just off, or there’s something else wrong with the meal. And let’s be real, nobody eats those green beans. So, inevitably, something gets thrown away.

According to a new study from the World Wildlife Foundation, U.S. schools waste 530,000 tons of food yearly, costing around $1.7 billion. This much food in weight is equivalent to 76,000 school buses. That’s a massive problem.

Additionally, the U.S. is much worse at controlling its school food-waste than other developed countries. According to a cafeteria audit from Penn State, food waste from countries like Sweden, Italy, and Spain ranged from an average of 23%-30% of the food served, whereas the U.S. ‘s ranged from 30%-50% of the food served. This means that out of the food that we receive, most students throw away at least a third.

So, how do we combat this problem?

People around the nation have been trying different methods. The Boulder Valley School District in Colorado is one of nine participants in a pilot program launched in 2019, where students go through different measures to decrease their waste. Signs around the cafeteria remind students not to take more than they can eat, and classes are held with farmers to connect students to the food that they throw away.

Food waste audits also create noticeable impacts on waste amounts, with one held by WWF decreasing food waste by 3%, which could lead to $52 million in cost cuts if implemented around the nation.

Before COVID, The Burlington School District in Vermont allowed cartons of milk and other untouched items to be placed on share tables. After school, much of that food is taken home by students or eaten as an after school snack.

Across the nation, many different methods have been used to lessen the amount of wasted food. How will Highland Park step up?

For more information, please visit:

• https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/food-waste-warriors
• https://news.psu.edu/story/644493/2021/01/18/research/us-school-cafeterias-waste-more-food-those-other-developed