Tag Archives: Spotlight

Spotlight Blog #3

--Original published at Rachel's Blog

A big conflict in today’s society is the issue of whether or not school should be year round.  Some people find that it is very beneficial for school to be year round, and some people think that it is a disadvantage for students to attend school year round.

The first article, “Research Spotlight on Year- Round Education” talks about how many schools in the United States still go by a 10- month calendar, giving two months off for the summer.  Some people think that this system is “outdated” and that schooling should be moved to year- round.  The author talks about different styles of schooling, mentioning that the most popular is the 45-15 plan.  This means that students will attend school for 45 days, and then have 15 days off. This includes the holidays which schools would give breaks for.  The author also mentions two other plans which would be the 60-20 and the 90-30.  If schooling were to be changed to this, the most important part would be how the schools implemented it.  This brings up the idea of will schools follow the single track schedule, where all students get the same break, or will they follow the multi-track schedule, where students are broken into groups, and these groups go to school at different times and they have different vacation times.  A benefit of the multi-track is that the schools can then enroll more students since not everyone is attending school at once.  The author then mentions a few reasons why people argue for year round education, which include students forgetting a lot of information during summer break, so with year round schooling, this will help students to retain more information.  Also, the use of the school will be more efficient because instead of the building being empty for two months, it will still be in use all year.  The final reason is that during the school year, teachers can help the students with any learning problems they may encounter.

Another article that supports year round schooling is written by Matthew Lynch, where he explores three main reasons for switching the schooling system.  He begins by explaining that only about 10% of United States schools use the year round schooling system, and he expresses that it is time to switch to this so that students in the United States are not falling behind other countries academically.  He justifies this claim with three different reasons to support this.  The first reason is that students will actually remember what they learn in class.  The author mentions that if students are in school year round, then students will not “unlearn” information that took hard work and a lot of time to learn.  He then talks about a study that was performed in 2007 by Ohio State University.  The findings for this study are that there is no differences in the way students learn if they are in school year round or on a traditional schedule.  Also, research from the National Summer Learning Association shows that it can take from 8-13 weeks at the beginning of the school year for teachers to get students back to the pace of learning new information.  The second reason is that students who speak English as a second language, economically disadvantaged, and students with disabilities are more affected by the summer break.  This is because they are not “on task” and they are not doing a lot of things academically at home.  Also, the drop out rates for these students are a lot less when in school year round because they have less time to get used to being away from school, and they have less time to work.  He explains that this could be an advantage because high school graduates on average earn $11,000 more per year than someone with a GED, so not working over the summer if it was year round schooling would be beneficial in the long run.  Lastly, the author states that students will like school.  He explains this by saying that kids will start to have closer relationships with their teachers since they will be seeing them more often.  Also, students will still feel like they are in school mode because they are not taking a long time off, and do not have to get back into the schedule of things.  Also, from a research study, it showed that students in year round schools have more self- confidence, have fewer insecurities, and have more positive feelings towards school.

Oppositely, the article, “Should School be Year Round?” by Bailee Flanagan, begins by showing the reader two pi charts; one of traditional school schedule, and the other is of a year round schedule.  This chart is a nice way to visualize the two possibilities of the school calendars.  The author immediately begins by mentioning that students do not like to have their summers taken away from them, and says that while school in the summer would let students be able to learn more, there are some negative effects to this.  The first being a decrease in spending time with family, there are no breaks for students and teachers, and the lack of real life experiences with their friends.  The first negative effect is that students and teachers do not get a break.  This is important to have because it allows for students to just relax and recharge before having to think about school again.  This is beneficial because if students do not have a mental break, then they can become overwhelmed, which can then lead to them not performing well academically.  If students do not have a break, then they will not be prepared to learn, and will constantly look bored.  Students tend to lose their motivation when they do not have breaks, but it could be motivating to them when they know that a break is coming up in the near future.  The second negative effect is that students will not be able to spend as much time with their families.  The author says having quality family time is important for the “emotional and developmental well being of a child.”  When kids are in school all year around, it is hard to plan family vacations, and therefore, kids do not get to spend as much time with their families.  A final negative experience is that students do not get to experience real life situations with their friends.  A few examples of this is summer camps or jobs.  If kids are in school during the summer, then they are unable to attend summer camps and make new friends, or they are unable to get a job to have a little bit of extra money for themselves.

Another article that has a similar stance is called, “From Our Archives: Year Round School Bad Idea for Students.”  Immediately the author expresses that he thinks that this is a bad idea, and thinks that it will impact students in a negative way.  The author brings up many important arguements for why this would not be a positive thing to do.  The first is that many students would get tired of going to school, therefore, many kids would drop out.  Students look forward to the summer as a time to relax and take a break from school work, and they also use it as a bit of motivation to finish out the year.  The second example is that students like to enjoy the summer, and they do so by playing sports, going to camps, and spending time with friends and family.  If there was school during the summer, then it would stop them from spending this time with their family, and this is something most kids look forward to.  A final part is that some students use the summer as a way to earn some money by getting a part time job, which could help them start to save for college.  Some students feel it is too overwhelming to get a job during the school year, which is why they wait until the summer.  If they have classes during the summer, they will not not be able to work, and therefore will not be able to make a small earning.

Overall, after reading the articles, I felt like the authors did a nice job in the way they presented their arguments, and how they had evidence to support their claims.  According to the articles above, I think that most kids would probably benefit from school all year around.  It seems as if the summer break is not something as beneficial to students because most kids are not learning anything new over the break.  Also, it is harder for students to retain information that was previously learned, which translates to the next school year because it is even harder for students to get right back on track after coming back from a long break.  Also, with the way this would be set up, it still allows for students to have a mental break and relax from school work.

http://www.nea.org/tools/17057.htm

http://www.theedadvocate.org/top-3-reasons-the-us-should-switch-to-year-round-schooling/

https://www.learningliftoff.com/year-round-school/

http://www.pantagraph.com/news/opinion/mailbag/from-our-archives-year-round-school-bad-idea-for-students/article_356f1b3a-baa2-11de-ade3-001cc4c03286.html

Spotlight Blog Post #3

--Original published at Melissa's Blog

Filming people with mental illnesses has become a growing trend on reality TV networks. Very few networks accurately portray mental disorders, while most expose the world to false information. Another controversy regards how people with mental health disorders are treated on the shows. The people with the mental disorder should be the priority, however, some TV shows treat them unethically and cause additional stress, just to please the audience. Two highly debatable shows are Hoarders and Hoarding: Buried Alive, which aim to improve hoarders living conditions and relationships.

One supporter of the hoarding shows is Terrence Shulman, an attorney for 22 years and a licensed certified social worker and addictions therapist. Additionally, Shulman is credible because he is the founder and director of The Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft, Spending and Hoarding, is the author of several books about shoplifting, theft, and hoarding, created the support group C.A.S.A. (Cleptomaniacs And Shoplifters Anonymous), and is in recovery for addictive-compulsive shoplifting and stealing. In a Huffington Post interview, Shulman stated the hoarding TV shows are overall positive and effective. He thinks the shows are accurate representations of this mental health disorder because real people are being filmed. He mentions the shows have raised awareness for hoarding disorders. He also said the TV series informs the public of the causes of hoarding and how it should be treated.

Furthermore, many followers argue the shows are ethical because a practicing psychologist and professional organizer help the person with the compulsive-hoarding disorder. Dorothy Breininger, also known as Dorothy the Organizer, appeared on several hoarding episodes with psychologist Dr. Michael A. Tompkins. According to Dorothy’s website, Dr. Tompkins believes hoarders excessively buy and collect, are extremely attached to their items, have unhealthy, cluttered living conditions, and are significantly distressed or have an ailment. Dorothy supports the HARM Reduction Technique Dr. Tompkins uses on the show, which focuses on reducing the risks associated with hoarding and improving quality of life. Tompkins prefers the HARM Reduction method, rather than treatment, which has the goal of completely stopping the hoarding behaviors, because most hoarders rarely seek help and often refuse treatment. Although hoarders frequently resent treatment, they still need assistance because they are living in dangerous environments. Additionally, Tompkins argues HARM reduction is more effective than treatment because it involves hoarders’ families and communities, who are also at risk. Lastly, Tompkins emphasizes forcing treatment on resistant hoarders can lead to dislike and mistrust.

Dorothy is credible because she is the best-selling author of five books, appears in several TV shows and magazines, owns three companies, is a former national board member and Los Angeles President of the National Association of Professional Organizers, is actively involved in the Institute of Challenging Disorganization, and is a renowned international organization speaker. Dr. Tompkins has impressive credentials: he is a behavioral and cognitive psychologist, the co-director of the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, a founding member of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, a trainer and consultant for the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior, and the author or co-author of several scholarly articles, chapters and books. Dr. Tompkins’s credentials and experience strengthens his argument to use HARM Reduction to combat hoarding, rather than treatment.

Contrary, Anna Almendrala’s article, “Hoarding Reality Shows Might Do More Harm Than Good,” disputes televising this mental disorder. Almendrala believes a majority of the audience are uneducated about hoarding disorders and watch the shows to enjoy a home makeover. She is supported by the British Psychological Society’s belief that the purpose of these shows is to entertain the audience, rather than help the person with the compulsive hoarding disorder. Almendrala also cites Randy Frost, the author of the book Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding And The Meaning Of Things, who emphasizes removing the clutter is only a temporary solution and will eventually lead to relapse. Almendrala argues the hoarding TV shows are ineffective because hoarders need long-term treatment, so they can gradually overcome and cope with their mental illness. Almendrala’s article is credible because she is a senior reporter for the Huffington Post, and references psychologists, psychology organizations, and authors of hoarding books to support her argument against the accuracy of the hoarding TV shows.

Another critic of televised hoarding is Scott Helman, whose article, “Where the TV Shows Get it Wrong on Hoarding,” discusses how non-clinical hoarding organizations are more effective than TV shows at treating hoarding disorders. Helman’s focal reference was Jesse Edsell-Vetter, a man who inspected Boston housing and had to evict residence for hoarding. Edsell-Vetter created a hoarding intervention program, based on cognitive behavioral therapy and intensive case management to help hoarders who are in danger of being evicted. Edsell-Vetter forms relationships with these people and their families, talks about their hoarding behaviors, personally helps clean and organize their homes, and monitors them to prevent relapse. Helman supports Edsell-Vetter’s gradual and realistic method for helping hoarders. Edsell-Vetter finds hoarding shows harmful because someone’s mental health condition should not be used for pleasure and entertainment. He argues it is stressful, violating, and destructive to force a hoarder to immediately dispose of all their valuable possessions. Also, he believes the hoarders on the shows often regress because they received no follow up care.

Helman also cites Randy Frost and Lee Shuer, who created Buried in Treasures, a 16-week program for hoarders, led by hoarders, and is based on cognitive behavioral therapy. Helman explained the workshops are more beneficial and successful than the TV shows because the current hoarders are comforted and motivated by those in recovery. Overall, Helman is against hoarding shows because they disrespect and mistreat the people with the disorder and are only used to make money and amuse the public.

Scott Helman’s article is trustworthy because it was published on the Boston Globe newspaper, he is an author of two books, and his team were finalists for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting for investigating the Massachusetts mental health care system, thus, he is educated in mental health disorders. Additionally, Helman included credible references, Jesse Edsell-Vetter, Lee Shuer, and Randy Frost, who was also cited by Anna Almendrala.

After researching, I am against the controversial shows, Hoarders and Hoarding: Buried Alive, but I agree with some of the supporting arguments. I understand Dr. Tompkins uses the HARM Reduction approach because hoarders are likely to refuse treatment if they are in denial or are skeptical, however, he ignores the need for long-term care. Hoarders need persistent care, not an instantaneous home make-over, which Dr. Tompkins defends. The prompt clean-outs disregard the meaning behind the clutter, thus, causing the hoarders anxiety and distress. This can intimidate hoarders in the audience and make them reluctant to get help for themselves. Additionally, other convincing points are the shows raise awareness for the disorder and accurately represent the dangerous living conditions and relationship struggles hoarders experience. Although this is true, I think most audience members are ignorant of this mental health condition and solely watch the show for enjoyment. Also, the shows only portray extreme cases of hoarding, and ignore less sever stages, to entertain the audience. I think the TV producers and cast are more concerned with their ratings than the hoarders’ well-being, due to a lack of follow-ups or monitoring after the show has aired.

Mental health conditions should not be used for entertainment and pleasure. Often, people with mental health disorders need long-term treatment to make any progress. Thus, barging into a hoarder’s home and forcing them to throw away their meaningful belongings is an inappropriate way to help. Instead, I think it is most beneficial for hoarders to receive care from recovering hoarders who have gone through similar situations. This connection will motivate the current hoarder and give them someone to look up to. If this service is not easily accessible, hoarders need long-term aid from an experienced professional. During recovery, the hoarder and professional should from a relationship, go through the clutter together, slowly and gradually, and discuss the underlining cause of the hoarding, like Jesse Edsell-Vetter in Scott Helman’s article. The TV shows are unethical because they provide the public with inaccurate and inefficient treatment strategies for compulsive-hoarding, dismiss how traumatizing the show is for the person, and misrepresents how they feel.

https://www.becomingminimalist.com/hoarding/

https://www.dorothytheorganizer.com/hoaders/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIV0WxvpPcA

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/17/hoarding-reality-shows_n_7605804.html

https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2016/11/01/where-shows-get-wrong-hoarding/vnzaM9LsKM5P3HqGSrUteJ/story.html

Spotlight 3

--Original published at CurtisCollegeBlog

I chose to pick apart the topic of year-rounding schooling. I originally thought that summer break is almost like a necessity for kids. As a public-school graduate and a current college student, I am used to a large summer break, with a winter break that is a lot smaller. This was just the normal for me, as year-round schooling is the normal for others. I thought about this a little more though. A lot of my summers included sitting around the house doing nothing. Talking to people was rare, I didn’t always go on vacation, so my summer seemed to go by the wayside. Thinking back a year-round education might have been better for me in terms of enjoyment and learning as well. Every year coming back from summer break, I seemed to struggle retaining the old information from the past year.

Enough about me, we need the cold hard facts to prove if year-round education is better for learning outcomes and information retention. Early on, summer was given off due to America being an agricultural society, the kids helped on the farm a lot. As the idea of this grew it was said to have been an economic necessity to let the kids have time off and be themselves away from school. Traditional schooling allows children to have this time off and be with their families, year-round schooling doesn’t offer this same option as there will be less family time. Scheduling something like a vacation could be hard inside of a smaller time frame rather than the three months allotted for summer break. Another problem with year-round schooling is that it’s generally harder to find child care such as a babysitter or a nanny. Summer is almost like the light at the end of the long tunnel called school, it’s something that the kids look forward to. Also, in the summer you have the opportunities for learning that aren’t offered in school. Summer vacations give way to cultural and artistic experiences.

The big problem that year-round schooling is supposed to solve is the concept of the “summer slide”. This is when students forget or unlearn things when they are given too much time off from school.  The National Summer Learning Association claims this is still true, however an Ohio State study showed there’s no real difference in learning between the two types of schooling. While the average student learns around the same, the big improvement is shown in at-risk and disadvantaged students. These students were shown to lose around 27 % more of the knowledge over summer rather than the average student. Year-round learning allows them to keep their minds focused on school more rather than not in the off-months. This also includes students who are learning in an environment that adheres to their second language. They will be around their second language often, allowing them to develop the linguistics better. In traditional school, the summer is considered too long, because there is no way to totally stimulate a child for that full length of time; children get very bored. It’s said the teachers and students will bond more frequently and have deeper bonds as well.

I’m not totally sold on instituting year-round schooling because of the claim that it’s better. However, most of the evidence supporting traditional schooling didn’t involve anything saying how students perform better in school. All of the support for traditional school seemed to not show anything in terms of actually learning, it was more about freedom for children. Year-round schooling showed learning improvements for disadvantaged kids, so there is an advantage for those kids to study this way. I personally, still lean toward the traditional way of schooling.

Works Cited

10, et al. “Top 3 Reasons the US Should Switch to Year-Round Schooling.” The Edvocate, 13 Aug. 2016, http://www.theedadvocate.org/top-3-reasons-the-us-should-switch-to-year-round-schooling/.

Kalil, Kimberly Demucha. “The Pros and Cons of Year-Round School.” Care.com, Care.com, 18 July 2017, http://www.care.com/c/stories/3283/the-pros-and-cons-of-year-round-school/.

Lynch, Ed.D. Matthew. “Year-Round Schooling: How It Affects Students.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 Mar. 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-lynch-edd/year-round-schooling-how_b_4622211.html.

“Reasons Why Year Round School Is A Good Idea-Screenflex.” Screenflex Portable Room Dividers, 21 Apr. 2017, http://www.screenflex.com/reasons-why-year-round-school-is-a-good-idea/.

Weller, Chris. “Year-Round School Doesn’t Solve the 2 Big Problems with Summer Vacation.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 5 Sept. 2016, http://www.businessinsider.com/year-round-school-normal-school-2016-8.

 

Spotlight Blog 3

--Original published at Emily's Blog

Negative peer pressure is a problem which many people will face in their lifetime. It is a direct influence of someone of the same age group. It is proven the performance of people changes when others observe them. Also, the presence of others tends to increase the most likely outcome (whether it be positive or negative). Peer pressure has an influence on many types of people and it is commonly associated with children. Children through young adults are the most known recipients of peer pressure but their experiences vary.

The first article involving peer pressure is, “Teaching your Child to Resist Negative Peer Pressure.” It is about different strategies parents can use to influence their children when they are faced with peer pressure. Peer pressure is among the most prevalent reasons why children act out in social situations. Some of the strategies for parents include hearing your child’s excuses and trying to see the underlying issues, educating your child about outside influences, giving them talking pointers when they are in a tough situation, and reenacting situations so they can see how to handle peer pressure. These situations all involve the parents or parent sitting down with their child and talking with them about peer pressure. While communication is good and healthy, this is only helpful if the child is willing to have this conversation with their parent.

This article does a good job of explaining a large part of peer pressure is conformity. Conformity is adjusting behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard. The article does point out the negative aspects of peer pressure but does not address peer pressure having a possible positive influence. For example, if a child is surrounded by children who love to play outside and not play video games constantly, the peer pressure to also play outside is good because it is healthier than playing video games non-stop. The author of the article should have the parents explain both the positive and the negative effects of peer pressure on their child.

The next article is, “Dealing with Peer Pressure” and it is directed at High Schoolers. The article begins by stating all peer influence is not bad. It can be helpful for receiving friendship, encouragement, advice, or learning to experience new things. The author goes on to explain how following peer pressure is natural. Just as animals stay together in groups so do human beings. It is natural to follow peer pressure, but it is not always right. A few pointers the article gives to teenagers are to listen to their gut, plan for situations, stay close to those with similar values, learn to say no, and speak up if you are uncomfortable.

Overall, the article does a good job explaining what peer pressure is and how it can affect those who are influenced by it. The article fails to explain any of the scientific reasons behind social groups and conformity but instead shares general and vague information. The end of the article does a good job talking about the difference one person can make in a situation. Teenagers are more likely to conform when they are made to feel insecure, they are in a group of at least three people, they admire the group’s status or attractiveness, or they know the others in the group are observing their behavior. If one person stands up for what they believe others will be less likely to conform.

The last article is called, “Dealing with Peer Pressure in College.” It provides a little background about peer pressure and assumes the reader understands what it is. The bulk of the article is list tips and tricks for avoiding peer pressure in college. These include being confident in your decisions, finding a new group of friends, knowing your values, removing yourself from uncomfortable situations, and being a good influence on those around you. The article ends by saying peer pressure is a part of life and everyone experiences it.

This article has a weak argument for why and how college students should avoid peer pressure. It does not explain what it is or why it can be harmful to individuals. The article is even confusing when talking about being confident in your own decisions. It states the way to combat peer pressure is to just not do something if it is uncomfortable for you. If that was the only solution to this issue I feel as though people would not struggle with it. The article is totally undermining the effects of being in a social setting and the pressures which come with it. The article does well in addressing the importance of culture in society. Culture is the behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next. This article challenges college students to find a culture or set of values which fits best with their beliefs and stick with it. Cultures can shape us into who we want to be while allowing us to be our true selves.

Peer pressure varies across the world and is different for children, high schoolers, and college students. These articles on peer pressure are not peer-reviewed and are not completely trustworthy sources. While they are not scholarly, these articles did make some true statements about the positive and negative effects of peer pressure. Also, they mentioned peer pressure occurs across the lifespan and it is natural for human beings to conform to groups. The people reading these articles looking for advice need to be careful of where the evidence is coming from because each of these sources fails to share important information about peer pressure.

https://www.healthyplace.com/parenting/the-parent-coach/teaching-your-child-to-resist-negative-peer-pressure/

https://www.highschoolillustrated.com/under-pressure-403

http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2010/10/10/dealing-with-peer-pressure-in-college/

 

Spotlight Blog #3

--Original published at Miguel's College Blog

Year-round Education

Year-round education has been a topic of conversation with parents, teachers, and students alike. What are the benefits and disadvantages of having, or not having year-round education? What is year-round education?

Year-round education is when a school’s education schedule is a couple weeks of teaching material, followed with a couple weeks off throughout the entire year. A common year-round schedule is a 45-15 plan, where teaching is done for 45 days, then three weeks off for the student. The traditional school schedule is laid out to leave three months of space in the summer for students to have a break. Interestingly enough, the year-round schedule has the same 180 days of school as the traditional schedule.

What are the benefits of having a year-round schedule?

Supporters of the year-round schedule say that having school throughout the entire year stops the dreaded “brain drain” of summer, forgetting a large amount of knowledge and skills acquired during the traditional schedule school year. After a long summer break, teachers spend the first couple of weeks having to re-acclimate students to learning and trying to find out what information students have remembered before starting new material. This could take away extra time from learning new material.

Another benefit of having a year-round schedule is that students are kept occupied throughout the entire year. Traditional school schedule allows for the summer break to be a time where students are offered a break and to enjoy the outside weather, however, as social media and technology dependency increases, more students are using their free time inside on devices. The summer break has turned into an empty time for students to reduce their learning to a minimum. Having a year-round schedule would keep students occupied and mentally stimulated throughout the year, while still offering needed breaks  for recovery.

What are the disadvantages of having a year-round schedule?

Opponents of having a year-round schedule say that having a year-round schedule could be more expensive as facilities are constantly running throughout the year (a small sacrifice for fostering more education in the summer). Also, having a year-round schedule may rule out the opportunity for faculty to offer summer remediation classes for students who may need it or are lagging behind academically. Having classes held throughout the year may be too fast for some students and may not have the opportunity during the summer to catch up.

Another disadvantage may be that parents are likely to feel the change the most in year-round schedules. Parents who have children in different schools on different schedules are sure to run into problems for transportation, vacations, and extracurricular activities.

Conclusion:

I think having year-round schooling would be a great change for the education system, especially in public school settings and lower income areas because of the benefits for the students. From experience, many summer breaks before I was able to have a job was spent inside, not learning anything new, and I paid the price when school started up again because a tough learning curve would arise trying to review everything. Even when I worked in high school, I was still inside and not being mentally stimulated. Where I grew up, many students relied on the school cafeteria for their daily meals. Over 2/3 of the students at my high school qualified for free and reduced lunch. When the school year ended, there was 3 months of meals that were not guaranteed. Having a year-round schedule gives students the opportunity to have meals throughout the entire year and to be occupied/mentally stimulated throughout the entire year.

Sources For:

Lynch, M. (2016, August 13). Top 3 Reasons the US Should Switch to Year-Round Schooling. Retrieved May 1, 2018, from http://www.theedadvocate.org/top-3-reasons-the-us-should-switch-to-year-round-schooling/

Chen, G. (2018, April 06). Year Round vs. Traditional Schedules in Public Schools. Retrieved May 1, 2018, from https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/year-round-vs-traditional-schedule-public-schools

Sources Against:

Lynch, M. (2016, October 27). 3 Reasons Not to Adopt Year-Round Schooling. Retrieved May 1, 2018, from http://www.theedadvocate.org/3-reasons-not-to-adopt-year-round-schooling/

Weller, C. (2017, June 05). Year-round school is booming – but its benefits are over-hyped. Retrieved May 1, 2018, from http://www.businessinsider.com/year-round-school-summer-vacation-2017-6

 

 

Spotlight Blog 3

--Original published at Max'sPHY105blog

Peer pressure is something everyone deals with a least once in their lives. There are some cases in which peer pressure is a good thing, but others in which it is not. Peer pressure has the ability to greatly influence how an individual behaves. Many people say that people should be held responsible for their own actions and resist peer pressure whenever it is necessary, but this is easier said than done. As Asch’s conformity studies have shown, people will give an incorrect answer to a question if everyone else in that person’s group gives the same incorrect answer. Also, Milgram’s obedience studies have shown that people would shock a person with 450 volts when instructed to do so by a lab official. Conformity is a big factor in everyone’s lives. Many people would rather conform to people’s standards than be in a spotlight in which all eyes are on them because they do not conform to group standards. This is how peer pressure alters they way one thinks and acts.

The website How to Handle Peer Pressure on caps.ucsc.edu, provides tips about dealing with peer pressure for young adults, particularly college students. One tip it gives is to check with yourself, which means to ask yourself how you feel about the situation and measure its pros and cons. This advice might be effective because, it allows individuals to access what they believe about what they are being pressured into and if it is a good idea. People could tell themselves that they should not do what they are being pressured into as it will not be beneficial later. However, this tip would not be guaranteed to work all the time since people might rather not appear in an awkward spotlight. Another tip this website gives is to spend time with people who respect your decisions and would not put pressure on you. This advice would be effective because it is more likely to steer individuals away from being pressured into doing something that is not beneficial to them as they can rest easy knowing that they have one person who will not criticize them for not doing what everyone else does. This would reduce the spotlight effect. The website also suggests asking for advice from a family member. This is great and effective advice because it allows people to asses what rules they have been raised to follow and compare these rules the rules they live by now. This would help them see a change in their personality.

Another website How parents can spot and deal with negative peer pressure on thenational.ae, is target toward parents who have kids dealing with negative peer pressure in school. It offers some tips for parents to help their kids resist negative peer pressure. One tip it gives is to develop an open, honest, and close relationship with your children so that they will rely on you when they are having problems. This is effective advice because it would give kids someone to depend on when they are feeling negatively pressured. This person would not criticize them for a change in their behavior and teach them why whatever they are being pressured into, is not beneficial to them. This also provides someone who thinks the same way the kid does and would reduce the spotlight effect. Another tip this website offers is getting to know the friends your kid. This advice is effective because it allows peers to know what their friend’s parents want for their kid and the peer would be more likely to act on those desires. This would reduce negative peer pressure. The website also suggests to teach kids to say no, and to stand up for what they believe in. The idea of this advice is to give kids chances to practice saying no to their peers and explain why they do not want to get involved with what they are being pressured into. However, this advice is probably not very effective. Kids can be taught to say no, by their parents but again, resisting peer pressure is easier said than done. Kids might end up saying that they will say no, but when they are confronted in a situation in which they must conform to group standards or put themselves in an awkward spotlight, studies show that they are more likely to conform to group standards.

Another website Teachers and Students Team Up to Combat Peer Pressure on neatoday.org, provides some tips for teachers to help students deal with peer pressure. On tip it gives is to use positive peer pressure to promote constructive influences students have on each other. This tip is very likely to be effective as it would reduce harmful peer pressure and encourage good peer pressure. Kids would be less likely to be forced to make decisions to keep them out of an awkward spotlight. This website also mentions listening to students concerns and provide advice on how to deal with difficult issues such as peer pressure. It even explains how having a morning advisory period gives students a chance to develop a relationship with someone they can trust, their teacher. This advice is also likely to be effective because it gives students a positive mentor who will not criticize them and give them advice on how to overcome what they are being pressured into. When students know that they have a mentor who will not criticize them, they are less likely to feel that they would be in an awkward position if they do not do what others do. This website also suggests letting students make a list of things they are sure they would say no, to. Then ask the students to revisit the list once a year and see if they really are abstaining from the behaviors they have listed. This is an effective tip because it would let students see which of their behaviors have changed due to peer pressure and how they can deal with these changes.

In conclusion, peer pressure is hard to overcome, but there are some strategies and tips that can be helpful in overcoming it. The bottom line with peer pressure is that it is strong because people feel a strong need to conform to the standards of their groups or generations. Otherwise, they fear that they will looked down upon by others. In order for a strategy in dealing with peer pressure to work, it must involve a way to recognize what behaviors have changed in people who deal with peer pressure, whether it involves a mentor or keeping track of things people have said no, to before that they do not say no, to now. Having a mentor probably has more advantage because it gives people someone they know will not criticize them if they resist peer pressure and protect them from the spotlight they fear getting caught in.

 

https://caps.ucsc.edu/counseling/aod/peer-pressure.html

https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/family/how-parents-can-spot-and-deal-with-negative-peer-pressure-1.410899

http://neatoday.org/2013/01/04/teachers-and-students-team-up-to-combat-peer-pressure/

Spotlight Post #3

--Original published at Madison's Blog

Peer pressure is a situation all people go through sometime in their lives. It can come in many different forms, and in certain situations can be very hard to overcome. Tips to avoid peer pressure can vary between different groupings of people. High school students have different coping strategies than an adult parent would, and similarly an athlete may also have differing techniques. In all, these peer pressure coping strategies aid in avoiding the pressures placed upon them by their equals.

High school students are faced with peer pressure in their everyday lives. It can come from their friends, or just from social media and society’s set norms. Teens are advised to deal with peer pressure in a variety of ways, like making friends with a group of friends who are school-work focused and keep out of trouble regularly. Your friends influencing you in a good way is positive peer pressure, which is a good thing. It can help create new norms in a group and distract from unpleasant situations where negative peer pressure is an issue.In a negative peer pressure situation, a high school teen is advised to listen to their gut, and if a decision is being made that does not sit well with them, do not follow along. Standing up for what they believe is very important to their mental health. Also, teens could learn to feel comfortable saying “no” to their peers, and this can make peer pressure lessen. Teens could also blame their parents in certain situations. When a invitation or unwanted occurrence comes up, the teen could simply say, “Are you kidding? If my mom found out, she’d kill me, and her spies are everywhere.” This could be helpful, since the peer will not have any way to persuade you, since the parent was brought up. These can be great ways to combat peer pressure in normal life for any teen.

To me some of these tips could work well, while others may not. I think the blame your parents one is genius. I have personally used this method countless times, and every time it has worked. A peer will not know your parent actually had no say in the matter, since they cannot contact them, and usually after a day the situation is blown over. On the other hand, I do not think the method of just saying no could help a lot. In some situations, saying no can help a little, but peers can continue to pressure. When continuously hounded, it can be very hard to keep the answer no. In most cases, giving in is easier than standing your ground.

http://kidshealth.org/en/teens/peer-pressure.html?WT.ac=ctg#catproblems

For adults, peer pressure is handled differently. In a way, adults can look at their lives and peers as a game of bowling. The bumper guards are peers, they guide your life in the right direction based on values. Pressure from others may cause adults to feel like they have to keep up with the ‘Jones,’ and are pressured into a lifestyle that isn’t theirs.

Ways for adults to combat peer pressure is to know themselves. The best way to make the right decision is to take time to reflect on the past and trust feelings. If unsure, take more time to relax and think carefully. Ask questions internally to focus thoughts, like  “Is this new job one that would be fulfilling to me, or am I taking it because I think my parents/spouse would want me to?” “Can I make a daily choice to invest in my health, my wealth, or my well being?” These types of questions can help keep the mind true to self, and fight unnoticed peer pressure. Also, be assertive at times. Either by parenting styles or by just saying no firmly. An adult could also make sure to validate themselves when a decision has been made. Validating self beliefs can create a sense of calmness which is good for health.

I think these methods seem very easy to do for any adult. I especially like the method of asking internal questions to reflect on life and how the body is feeling about it. I think relaxation is very important, and using that paired with steady thought can be really helpful in being confident enough to say no. Personally, I think again that just saying no can be a bit harmful, since peers can be persuasive in their way of thinking. I would pair the no with a strong reason and then take yourself out of the situation. That would be a better way of fighting the urge to follow.

https://www.uwhealth.org/news/dealing-with-peer-pressure-when-youre-an-adult/46604

In athletes, peer pressure comes from many different places, since there are peers from teammates and opposing team players. Also, society paints a picture for men and women that if one is an athlete, it means being skinny and muscular. These expectations that flood the minds of youth can create destructive patterns of behavior. They are expected to keep up with their academic work, and maintain a healthy social life.

Ways an athlete can fight peer pressure is by, keeping friends who are not athletes around you, so sport pressure won’t always be following. Pressure can be at bay when not in the athletic field. Also, athletes can confide in their captains and coaches about pressures placed upon them in wrongful manors. Telling someone about sport related pressures can help rationalize them in the mind, and sort them into good and bad ideas. Be aware of surrounding peers, and do not get caught up in the wrong crowd when sport events are being held. Peers can be persuasive in many different forms, and even when the game is going on, still be aware of potential peer pressures and how to best combat them. Parties to celebrate victories can lead to alcohol and drug consumption, which is  bad idea for athletes. A way to fight this is to celebrate a win by rewarding yourself mentally or with a favorite activity outside of sports. Distance from sports peers can help relax the pressure placed by them in day to day life.

To me, I think the advise to talk to friends who are not athletes can help fight peer pressure, but those peers can also place new pressures on the individual. I think pressure is everywhere, and can be placed by anyone, but relying on a group of friends to deal with other peers seems risky. Two negatives don’t always ,make a positive. I do like the idea of rewarding yourself after a win with something that doesn’t involve sports activities. An ice cream sundae or watching TV for an hour can help reduce peer pressure but also still give a reward for a good game.

http://www.livingfithealthyandhappy.com/2010/03/negative-peer-pressure-among-teen-athletes.html

Spotlight Blog 3

--Original published at marybraun99

Mental Health Treatment:

According to apa.org, psychotherapy brings about lasting changes, and connects the emotion to the root of the problem. The site argues that many people do not realize that psychotherapy is targeting the roots of the problem to bring about a lasting change in emotion. The site argues that pharmaceuticals have an incentive to give patients medication because it makes their industry grow. Disorders such as major depressive disorder create problems for individuals not only in their personal life, but their social life as well. By targeting the root of the problem, there is a possibility of unwavering those problems from your social life and treat your personal life to create a better and healthier life. If you are just taking medication, there is no “fixing” the problem, rather just covering the problem up. Psychotherapy helps you to target your blind spots, and change the things that you never realized were affecting your life.

groupsinc describes the benefits of psychotherapy, and how it is not only a counseling service to help you understand your mental illness, but it also helps you to understand your full potential, and help you to reach it with small goals, and one big ultimate goal. Using psychotherapy is very effective if you are willing for it to be successful. If you are going because you don’t have a choice, and you do not open up to your therapist and let them help you, you will receive no benefits from psychotherapy. Using therapy to find coping skills is more effective than taking a medication, because being able to have life long skills to use when you are going through a depressive episode can help you more in the long run than when you stop taking medications and it fades out.

On the other hand, medications are seen as a better alternative to treating mental illnesses such as major depressive disorder.

According to depressionisreal, it is important to realize that if your symptoms are not severe, medications probably will not help you. If you are suffering from severe depression however, medications will probably be your best friend. If you are taking antidepressants for a shorter amount of time, and just until you can get back on track, that is when it will be most helpful. If you do not have immediate means to solve your depression, medications will help. Even if their effects can not be seen until about 8 weeks in, they are helpful for dealing with anxiety especially because they help to soothe your nerves and help you to better deal with everyday stressors if you do not already have a coping strategy.

On psychologytoday, there is a news article that talks about the benefits of taking medications. It is urgent that you listen to the directions given to you by doctors for the most effective outcome. Some people do not like to open up to other individuals and by taking medication it is giving them a way out, or they are more open and willing to talk to others. Medication can be an effective side to your therapy sessions as it can help you better express what is wrong, and help you get to the roots of your problems. Many people prefer medications because therapy can only provide educational information about their illness and can not provide an actual treatment other than advice and help. Most believe that medication is actually the treatment, or cure to their illness and depend on that more than therapy. Most people just have the stigma that medication works better than therapy does.

Overall, I believe that a combination of therapy and medication is the most effective way to treat a mental illness. A medication should be a helping hand, not the whole treatment. It is important to talk to someone and get the roots of your issues sorted out so that you can live a happy and healthy life later on and not live a horrible life. I think finding a perfect combination and continuing even when you are starting to feel better is the best way to get your mental illness under control and not end up relapsing.

http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2010/01/psychodynamic-therapy.aspx

http://www.groupsinc.org/the-benefits-of-psychotherapy/

http://depressionisreal.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-taking-anti-depressants/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201507/psychotherapy-vs-medications-the-verdict-is-in

 

Spotlight Blog 3

--Original published at Sidney's college blogs

For the last spotlight blog, I decided to gather information about year-round schooling. Growing up I can always remember my mom saying that she would much rather all of us sibling be in year-round school. She always wanted this because even though we were home all summer, she hardly ever got to see us because she was working every day. She wanted more frequent breaks even though they were shorter so that she would be able to take off some work to send time with us. As a kid, her idea never seemed appealing to me, but my opinions may have changed since then.

In schools who are on the summer vacation program, there are only vacations in the summer and a few days off here and there for holidays. In schools with a year-round program, there would be a greater frequency in breaks. This program still operates on 180 school days over the course of the year. There are just more breaks in between this amount of time. This frequency in breaks allows for not only the student, but also the teachers to recuperate and not burn out early in the year. The longer time in school allows for the students to cover more material in class. The books within the schools are hardly ever covered completely. The extended time allows for this missed material to be covered and the critical lessons would no longer be rushed or skipped over. If schooling was year-round, there would be very little distinction between one year and the next year. Because there is very little distinction, the more advanced students would be able to move to the next grade with ease and faster than the others. It allows for a faster advancement for students. During the summer, students are not challenged to use their critical thinking skills. Without exercising this critical thinking, the students lose a lot of information over their summer break. Because of this lost material, teachers often have to spend vast amounts of time reteaching things from the previous year. Instead of one long break, frequent, shorter breaks will allow for a higher retention rate. This will allow for the teachers to spend less time reteaching in the beginning of the year as well.

Although there are various reasons supporting the year-round schooling program, there are also plenty of reasons not to enroll students in the program. Because the summer months are hot, electricity bills tend to rise a lot. If students were still in school during the summer, the bills for the schools would also likely increase. Many public schools already suffer from a lack of funds, and this would not help the school budget at all. A large component to growing and learning is having the ability to go outside and play. This is vital to healthy development in children. The summer months allow for them to be able to spend that time outside and take a break from the school walls. Children with attention difficulties may struggle with a year-round schedule as well. They need those breaks to be away from a strict and confined area. This can cause more behavioral problems with those children. Another down-fall to year-round schooling is for the older students. Highschool students need to work to pay for college, bills, and their future plans. This would not allow for the students to have enough time off of school to really hold a job and make a decent amount of money for their future plans. Families may have a hard time scheduling family vacations due to not having a distinct summer vacation. This also goes along with band and other extracurricular activities. They use these summer months to prepare their music, marches, and other components for their club. The activities could run into problems in that regard. Lastly, the year-round program for schooling is not conclusively proven to benefit the students academically.

In my opinion, year-round schooling would be a great option for students. Growing up I would never agree with this, but now that I graduated, I would rather have more frequent breaks rather than just my summer off. I can remember sitting in class the first week of school, and I would not remember anything from the previous year. I think that year-round schooling would allow for better academic excellence in students. I know that many kids just stay inside and play videogames their entire summer. This in no way helps them grow or flourish in their academics. Short breaks would allow for the student to not burn out and lose motivation. These short breaks would allow for playing and down-time without it being excessively long. I do understand that the schools would suffer financially, however, I think that adaptations can be made to support those changes. I also think that having more successful academic students is more important than an electricity bill. It may make planning a vacation in the summer harder to do, but many students get a permission form to fill out to approve a trip anyway. I agree with my mom’s opinion when I was little. I think that students would benefit overall from having shorter, more frequent breaks, rather than one long one.

 

Resources:

https://www.screenflex.com/reasons-why-year-round-school-is-a-good-idea/

http://www.nea.org/tools/17057.htm

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/education_futures/2014/07/_year-round_schooling_3_common_arguments_against_it.html

https://www.verywellfamily.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-year-round-school-621001

https://www.thoughtco.com/year-round-education-6742

 

Spotlight Post #3

--Original published at JanellesCollegeBlog

For my last spotlight post, I decided to write about intelligence and whether or not year-round schooling is a good idea. Although students may hate the idea, there are some valid pros to year-round schooling. The first article states that students will actually remember what they learn, like school, and the achievement gap will start to be bridged. In summer break, students often lose a good amount of information that they worked hard to learn during the school year. We have all experienced this effect when we know we learned something the previous year but just cannot recall it. With year round schooling, there would be less time to lose this precious information. The article also believes that students would tend to like school more because there would be more time for students and teachers to build stronger relationships. The achievement gap is between minorities and other students in school. Research has shown that minorities are likely to lose more information over summer vacation than other students, so year-round schooling would help these children benefit from the education that they are receiving. Also, this would hopefully help decrease the drop out rates for minorities if they start seeing results from their schooling. The second article presented ten arguments for year-round school. These included easier vacation scheduling, solving overcrowding in schools, benefiting low-income students, having more frequent breaks, allowing teachers to earn more money, increasing respect for teachers, getting rid of an educational system meant for a different time, limiting time constraints on teachers, allowing students to advance more quickly, and cutting down on loss of information. This article talks about a multitrack system where there would be different groups in the school and one group would have vacation at one time while the others were in school and then the vacations would be rotated throughout the year, thus solving overcrowding in school. The system would also allow students to advance at the pace that they are able to go instead of having students restricted by grades like the current system does, which would allow students to achieve more. The article also thinks year-round school would be a good thing for teachers. They could earn more money instead of potentially having to pick up second jobs in the summer, would get more respect from other professions that consider them lazy for having a break in summer, and would be less constrained with time and could cover more material over the course of a year. The last new perspective that this article had was that the current school system was designed for an agricultural society where families needed their children to help cultivate crops over the summer when they were not in school. Society does not revolve around this labor anymore and the article’s point was that the system should actually match society.

The two articles against year-round schooling have valid points against the idea. The first article states that the academic benefits have not actually been proven and students will forget the same amount of information in 3 weeks as in 10, so teachers may actually have to take more time reviewing information previously learned throughout the course of the year. Summer camps and the ability for older students to hold a summer job would become obsolete. Also, extracurricular activities that usually practice throughout the summer would run into scheduling issues with this time taken away. Finally, if schools implemented a multitrack system, parents with children in different tracks would have an impossible time trying to schedule a family vacation because the children would have different breaks. The second article states three main arguments against year-round schooling including it being more expensive, children not having enough down time, and scheduling conflicts. Summer months have the highest rates of energy consumption so school districts would actually have to pay more to run schools year-round. This shot to the school budget could create other budget cuts elsewhere lessening the opportunities that students have. Finally, summer break is a vital time for childhood development where students need to get out of sitting in a classroom and go outside. Summer allows children to do this and to experience the outdoors.

Personally, with a lot of bias from being an actual student, I do not agree with the arguments for year-round schooling. I think summer is an important time needed for students to be able to relax, spend time with their families, go on vacations, and take a break from school. It is a good time to recharge before the new school year. I have experienced the issue of forgetting information from one year to the next, but I agree with the first against article that stated the loss of information would happen anyway even within a shorter amount of time, so teachers would need to spend more time reviewing over the year. Also, I do not believe that stronger relationships between students and teachers would occur because there would be a huge backlash from students when this system would be implemented. Students would actually end up hating school more. I also do not believe that it would allow students to advance more quickly because I do not think that schools would get rid of grades. Also, if there was a really intelligent 11-year old that advanced through all of school, I have a hard time believing that they would be allowed to graduate. Finally, I agree with the argument that it would help bridge the gap for minority students, but I do not believe that this huge jump to year-round schooling needs to be made just to help the minority. I think that other programs could be tried first during summers to help these students keep up with their learning and work. This would be a better first step to trying to bridge the gap between students. Overall though, I do not support the idea of year-round schooling.

For year-round schooling:

http://www.theedadvocate.org/top-3-reasons-the-us-should-switch-to-year-round-schooling/

https://www.screenflex.com/reasons-why-year-round-school-is-a-good-idea/

Against year-round schooling:

https://www.thoughtco.com/year-round-education-6742

http://www.theedadvocate.org/3-reasons-not-to-adopt-year-round-schooling/