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U TS ST DENT C FA OCT. 2017
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E Z VOL. 30 ISSUE 2 H C UR ICH HIGH S
MEETING EXPECTATIONS
The pressures students feel as they strive to measure up to others Page 6
Editor’s Note Dear Readers, We are excited to present you with the second issue of Bear Facts. As our first full length issue of the school year, the magazine will not only be longer, but also contain more in-depth pieces within the SPOTLIGHT section. These pages correlate to this issue’s theme of expectations. As the school year intensifies, students begin to feel pressured to meet many common expectations they are held to by others or even by themselves. Through this package of stories, we discuss not only expectations felt within a school setting, but also at home and in life. From the expectations students feel from our parents, siblings, teachers, and peers, to the expectations teachers have of us as students, Bear Facts presents many different angles toward the theme of expectations within this magazine. To further display this theme, the cover of the magazine shows a Lake Zurich High School student staring outwardly at a computer screen as she searches “expectations of high school students.” We had this student search this phrase in order to portray many of the expectations we discuss in the magazine instead of simply one. You will notice that the first two pages of the SPOTLIGHT section include the same student from the front cover. In order to create a visual tie from the entire theme of expectations to the stories covering this theme, the same model was used on the cover as well as on the first page of the section. Additionally, you will see black arrows used throughout the section to show unification of the pages. This aspect was chosen as the unifying piece because when striving to meet expectations you can choose to follow the common path or go your own way. After about six weeks into the school year, we believed discussing some common expectations students of Lake Zurich face would be a prevalent topic to discuss before the end of the first semester, before our first school dance, before we take our first finals, before Winter Break, and before seniors must decide where they are going to college -- all times when individuals feel the need to meet common expectations. We hope these pages provide you with information on common expectations students face throughout their high school and into their young adult years.
BEAR FACTS STAFF MAGAZINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
megan monoson
WEBSITE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
meggie furlong
SECRETARY/ BUSINESS MANAGER
rachel brauer
CO-SPOTLIGHT EDITORS
chloe faris ria talukder
SPORTS EDITOR
valerie multra
STAFF WRITERS
adam cupples alice farsalas jackson farsalas parul pari emma brumage-kilcourse meghan warner
ADVISER
carolyn wagner
Sincerely, BEAR FACTS STUDENT MEDIA
Lake Zurich High School 300 Church Street Lake Zurich, IL 60047 (847) 540-4642
Megan Monoson Magazine Editor-in-Chief Cover design by Chloe Faris, Ria Talukder, Megan Monoson Cover edits by Rachel Brauer About Us All decisions are made by the Bear Facts staff. The advisor is responsible for making recommendations based on school rules, applicable laws, ethical journalism, and other concerns. However, final authority rests with the staff. The Bear Facts staff strives to inform, entertain, and showcase high quality work to our readers. We always seek to uphold standards of journalistic integrity, acceptable ethics, and truth.
Our Website Bear Facts is also published online at http://www. lzbearfacts.com. Online materials report daily news occasionally related to our print publication. Advertising To advertise in Bear Facts, please contact our editorial board at bear_facts@lz95.org. Prices vary on size and placement of the advertisement. For a complete editorial policy, please see our website.
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BEAR FACTS STUDENT MEDIA LAKE ZURICH HIGH SCHOOL
300 CHURCH ST.
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LAKE ZURICH, IL
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SPOTLIGHT
SPORTS
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Social Media Reliance
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Survey Says
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Career Pressures
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Wise Spending
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Families Footsteps
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Our View
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Sibling Stress
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Comitted Athlete
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Coaching Teachers
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Sports Coverage
News
photo from wbur.org
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Brief written by
Alice Farsalas staff writer Jackson Farsalas staff writer
Photo by Carolyn Wagner
Lake Zurich families help natual disaster relief Five major natural disasters have occured around the world, in the last month. These disasters include the Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Hurricane Irma in Florida, a Typhoon in Indonesia, a 6.1 earthquake in Mexico and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. In response to the disasters, Carl Krause, college and career counselor, teamed up with the Antioch Fire Department and organized a mass donation of supplies to help victims of
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NEWS october 2017
Hurricane Harvey. Students, parents, and community members assembled relief products within a week. National Honor Society members then loaded the trucks with the supplies for the firemen to drive to Houston. “We’re proud of how our school came together to help those in need,” Aubrey Anderson, senior and vice president of National Honor Society, said. To donate to the other natural disaster funds, please visit redcross.org.
around the AREA
LONG GROVE
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Go to the Long Grove Turkey Trot to burn off some calories before your Thanksgiving feast this holiday season. The Turkey Trot is an annual 5k run/walk that raises money for the Northern Illinois Food Bank. The run is going to start and end in downtown Long Grove. Runners are set to receive a Turkey Trot sweatshirt for their participation. People have the opportunity to enjoy live music, and drink warm beverages after this seasonal event. The Turkey Trot costs $50 dollars in order to enter. The event will take place on November 28, so dress warm. Go burn off some calories this fall before your Thanksgiving Day feasts.
Night of 1,000 Jack O’ Lanterns
Photo from used xxxx with permission of commons.wikimedia.org
Halloween Horror Film Fest
Run 10 Feed10 Fun Run
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Start your autumn off right with a night tour of more than 1,000 Jack O’ Lanterns. Artists from the company Rise of the Jack O’ Lanterns take nearly 15 hours carving each unique pumpkin. For under $20, you can go to the Chicago Botanic Gardens and enjoy this fest. Come to this festive night out on October 26–29 from 6:30pm–10:30pm, for some pre-Halloween fun.
History is in the making this year with Richmond’s first Halloween Horror Film Fest. The Fest will consist of multiple short horror shows, so if you enjoy unnerving music and suspense, go to Richmond Memorial Hall on October 13 from 6pm– 10pm or catch the shows on October 14 from 4pm–10pm. Tickets are $25 each or $40 to go on both of the days.
Take your post-workout excellence to a new level this October! On October 28, and join the Run 10 Feed 10 Fun Run. The fun run will start at the Macy’s on 111 N State St, Chicago, at 11am. This charitable activity uses your registration money of $35 to provide ten meals to Americans in need. Be a part of this impactful event while working out at the same time!
Chili Cook Off LAKE ZURICH
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If you like free food and supporting your community, then the Chili Cook-Off After Hours hosted by the LZ Fire Department is the event for you. It takes place on October 26 from 5pm7pm at the LZ Firefighter Association Hall. Attendees have the opportunity to try samples from the local LZ Firefighters. People there get to judge which chili is best!
NEWS october 2017
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BEYOND THE SCREEN
how social media limits real life relationships
SPOTLIGHT
Chloe Faris co-spotlight editor Photo by Chloe Faris
Over 70 percent of both high school and college students spend time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms, according to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center in 2015. These numbers show that the majority of students are involved in the virtual world of social networking. While to many it may seem like students have strong relationships through social media, very few bonds go beyond the screen.
“I do think a lot more than I should about a stupid picture I post online. It is not fair to kids these days. That’s their number one priority instead of focusing on how perfect they actually are [by] just being themselves.” - Kaiden Mortimer, senior
“I do believe that here at the high school, students feel the social pressure to keep up with social media just because everybody here uses it from Instagram, to Facebook, to Snapchat,” Natasha Rosenak, counselor, said. “I feel like [social media] is a way for you guys to communicate. If a student doesn’t have social media, they may feel left out.” According to well-known American psychologist Abraham Maslow, the social need of humans is the third most important requirement after physical and safety needs. This is the main reason billions of people use social networking to stay connected and satisfy their social desires, especially when it comes to school. “If you’re in clubs and activities, you do need [platforms] to stay connected and know what is going on,” Kaiden Mortimer, social media user and senior, said. “[This is] especially [for] Twitter because school [related accounts post] so many things about what we are doing.” Due to this seemingly necessary reliance on social media that students have as Mortimer describes, Rosenak believes students’ real life relationships are being negatively affected every day. “I think they miss that face to face time,” Rosenak said. “Back in the day, when I was growing up, we didn’t even have texting on our phones. We were still
forced to talk to each other, and, I think, for students now it is easier for them to send a message rather than to have a face to face or even [an over-the-phone] conversation. That human interaction is something that I do feel is missing.” Mortimer agrees that this limit of human interactions makes it then difficult to communicate in person. “You have a text message conversation with someone, and then you have a real-life conversation with someone and it is not the same at all,” Mortimer said. “[When] texting, you make up who they are in your head, but then you [meet] in person and it’s actually super awkward.” This discrepancy between social media users online compared to in real life continues to be an issue because social networks provide students the freedom to do whatever they want — to upload what they want and talk to whom they want. As users create online identities, they may not match their real world personalities because users can provide the information they want to, according to The impact of social media on student life by Abhishek Karadkar. “I have a lot more friends on my phone than I do in real life,” Mortimer said. “I Snapchat all these people, but 90 percent [of them] don’t actually talk to me. People are constantly texting me,
‘we should hang out,’ but we go through the entire year and no one asks me.” The fake relationships Mortimer says she experiences online may be due to how students portray themselves through social media. Dani Morga, social media user and sophomore, sees this as well. “I feel like people try to act differently on social media than who they are in person because they want to portray a different person, but in real life they are completely different,” Morga said. “On social media, I show a lot about my life, but in person I am very quiet and I don’t like to share a lot. It seems like I am more outgoing on social media, but, in reality, I am very shy towards a lot of people.” This identity crisis is one of [social networking sites’] biggest problems, according to Professor S. Shyam Sunder, a renowned researcher at Penn State, and this can lead to misrepresentation. “There’s a lot of peer pressure to be seen one way or another, so I think students may post things on [various social media outlets] that may not truly represent the person that they are. But, a lot of students use social media responsibly, and [their accounts do] represent who they are,” Rosenak said. “I think a lot of good can come from social media if it is used in a way that truly represents who [someone is] as a person.”
SPOTLIGHT october 2017
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STRUGGLING TO DECIDE many students find that choosing their career paths is hard with limited time and experiences
Knowing what to do with the rest of your life can be a major struggle for many, if not most, teenagers and young adults. Students experience pressure to find career paths during high school, and many feel that the limited time before having to decide does not allow for proper exploration of potential careers. Even years later in college, students can still find it hard to decide. A University of South Florida study found that an estimated 75 percent of students change their major at least once before college graduation. One example of this uncertainty is with Deb Fattes, a six-time career changer and mother of three District 95 students. “Honestly, I don’t think you should know what you want to do when you grow up until you’re closer to 30. I think you should just experience life, but that’s not the path Morgan wants to take,” Fattes said. “I think there’s nothing wrong with changing your major, and changing schools if you need to because you have to be happy. The most successful people in the world are happy. I don’t view [my current career] as a job. I love it.” Megan Monoson
magazine editor-in-chief
Photo illustration by Megan Monoson
From first-hand experience, Fattes knows what it’s like to change majors and switch careers after entering college. Because of her uncertainty in college and through each career she has pursued, Fattes is shocked that her daughter already knows what she wants to pursue. “My career path is crazy. That’s why it’s funny that Morgan knows what she wants to do, because my career changes as my life changes,” Fattes said. “I never pushed her or anything, but I think she’s watched me be successful and strategize things [so] that she knew [what] she had to [do]. I’m very much the mom that [says], ‘you’ve got to figure it out. I’m not going to do it for you.’ I think that when you own it you’re more responsible, and I watched friends be successful doing that so I try to put it on my kids [to] do better than I did.” Through this method of parenting, Fattes’ daughter, Morgan Beaudoin, sophomore, says she actually already has her whole life planned out because
she has had this plan since fifth or sixth grade “I want to go to law school, graduate, start practicing, [and] maybe go into the private sector for a little bit. I want to become a family attorney and deal with divorce. Then my dream goal is to be a Supreme Court Justice by the time I’m 75. Everyone else says I’m very good at arguing myself out of situations, so everybody growing up said I should become a lawyer, and then I thought about it.” Although Morgan figured out her passion and career path by age 11, her older brother James Beaudoin, senior, is still undecided. “I know people say it’s not a big deal to go into college undecided, but nowadays certain jobs and internships look for a university that has a good school based on that business or topic. You have to also realize that we’re still kids,” James said. “No matter if we’re 17, 18, or whatever [age] going to college, we’re still kids, and we
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don’t know. I’m so unplanned on what I want to do, [and] although I’m pretty sure I want to go into marketing and advertising, I don’t know that for sure just because there are so many [things] I have passions for. Time will tell.” While struggling to find his true passion, James finds that high school is not enough time to figure out his career, and suggests that the structure of high school should change. “I think they should make classes in high school more mandatory to take, like different art classes and business classes, and not just make them more elective-type to choose because then people don’t get experience to other things,” James said. “[For example,] I took a drafting class my freshman year and I absolutely hated it. Then sophomore year came around, I took a marketing class, and I fell in love with it.” Although he feels this way, James agrees with his sister that you do at least begin to find your passions during high school, even without mandatory exploration of classes. Morgan also relates this in-
troduction from her F.A.M.E class from last year. “Your first day of freshman year in F.A.M.E they basically ask you what you want to be when you’re older,” Morgan said. “I feel like in high school they really push you to find out what your interests are and what you enjoy doing because they really want to set you up for success, not be in the middle of college and realize, ‘I’m studying the completely wrong major, and I’ve already spent all of this money. Now I will have to restart.’” Although Morgan is set on a career at the moment, unlike many other parents, her mother does not expect her children to know what they want to do by the end of high school and believes that it is okay for them to experience life first. “I’m a big believer in having faith and it will all work out. You can’t stress about things. I have met so many amazing, educated, and wellrounded people in the world. None of them took a straight path,” Fattes said. “You’ve got to follow your gut-instinct and your heart too.”
SPOTLIGHT october 2017
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STEERED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
ONE STUDENT FINDS HERSELF FOLLOWING IN HER PARENTS CAREER TRACKS
Photos by Rachel Brauer
“The dream is to be as successful as I can be, that I can do what I want. To see my parents, how they resemble that, they are very successful and they did go down that path.”
Rachel Brauer secretary/business manager
A daughter follows in her parents’ footsteps after growing up in a house surrounded by technologically savvy engineers. Jessie Houghton, senior and future engineer, says she was inspired by her parents’ careers while she was growing up. This has helped spark her passion for engineering. “I plan on majoring in computer science or engineering. My parents are electrical engineers/software engineers, [and] they actually met working at Motorola,” Jessie said. “Just growing up being surrounded by technology, and knowing that my parents had a part in creating that technology really influenced how I felt towards that subject.” Although the career path Jessie is taking has been inspired by her parents’ past and current jobs, there was never any pressure to become an engineer from them, Jessie said. She has always had her parents’ support in major decisions for her, she said. “I do think that Jessie looked up to us
and was inspired by what we do which helped to motivate her to go into the engineering career,” Karen Houghton, Jessie’s mother and previousl software engineer, said. “Her father and I would talk about work and our engineering jobs; Jessica picked up on that, and started to became interested from what we were saying.” As early as grade school, Karen said Jessie’s steadily growing interest in her parents work became a potential career path for her when Jessie’s father informed her of a coding website he knew of. “One day, my dad comes home and he tells me to look up the website code.org, which is essentially a website where you can make a pledge to spread the idea that programming knowledge is an important asset to the future employable force,” Jessie said. “It gave me an opportunity to learn programming before learning about [it] in a school setting, and [it] helped me understand how much I like the subject and that I wanted to pursue it.”
Her drive motivated her to teach herself computer programming so she could go into the AP Computer Programming class. Additionally, she decided to join the Robotics team her junior year and quickly took on the position of lead programmer. “When I went to her robotics competition, she took us down into the pit where all the robots were,” Elisa Krause, senior and Jessie’s friend, said. “She was showing us all the different teams of robots and [then] she got really excited because of the other team’s designs.” Jessie’s fascination towards programming pushes her to improve the engineering skills she has acquired, as well as learn new ones, Jessie said. She strives to one day achieve the future she looks forward to living. “I enjoy feeling like my future will involve making people’s lives easier, making people’s lives better, and solving some of the world’s big-
gest problems,” Jessie said. “I think that people that are [the] most handson in creating new products [that] better [our] society come from an engineering background. Having the problem-solving mindset and having the set of skills [an engineer has] really is going to help the world.” The career path Jessie is taking has been inspired by her parents past and current jobs, but there was never any pressure to become an engineer from her parents, Jessie said. She always had a choice in her college major and whatever future that would lead to while also maintaining the support of her parents. “We pretty much encouraged her to go into whatever field she would like to,” Karen said. “I just hope that Jessie finds a school that best fits her and that challenges and betters the skills she already has [while also helping her] learn new skills to work with for the future.”
Following Family Footsteps Sometimes teens intentionally follow their parents’ career path, other times a parent’s career influences a child. Below are representations of correlations between parents and their childrens’ career path, according to a Dailymail survey.
4.6 3.75 3.9
A lawyer’s son is 4.6 times more likely to be a doctor A nurse’s daughter was 3.75 times more likely to become a nurse Scientist fathers were 3.9 times more likely for their daughters to go in the same field.
Jessie Houghton, senior, says her career path was inevitable once she understood her parents’ jobs. While she practices her craft in and out of class, Jessie also works with her team members to take care of the technical programming of the robots which are built for the Robotics club competitions.
SPOTLIGHT october 2017
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SIBLING PRESSURES: Parul Pari staff writer
stepping outside the shadows
“She would want to hear about all were more immature.” of our stories and then she would tell Identifying similarities and differus about her middle school drama or ences between Dani and her siblings the fifth grade drama when she was 11 became evident, according to Anna, or 10. We thought it was hilarious be- when the four siblings all got older because we were 18,” Anna Pereira, Dani cause the age gap became less apparent. “When I was little, I was the annoyPereira’s second oldest sister, said. Having three older siblings, one of ing little sister. I wanted to be like my whom is attending Harvard, is full of big sisters, so I would annoy them all pressures according to Dani, senior. Ac- the time but, now that they have moved cording to Dani, however, by embracing out, we are closer. I’m also older, so we similarities with her siblings, rather than hang out all the time,” Dani said seeing it as a constant competition has According to Anna, she is closer to Dani now that they are both older. Dacombated these pressures. ni’s maturity has always shown because “Dani and I are so similar, and that would cause us to argue [frequently]. [But] it was “[The teacher] didn’t even know him also the reason we and he [didn’t] know her, and she would bond the best,” [said] ‘Oh, we talk about your brother Anna said. “[We fought about] Dani trying to at meetings’. It’s scary in school betake things from my cause he’s really smart and I’m not room, and I was so much younger and we dumb, but there’s a lot of pressure,”
Dani Pereira, senior, said.
she “has always known a lot for her age,” and Laurie Pereira, their mother, agrees. “For me, I’ve known a lot of 17 year olds. I think she’s one of the most mature 17 year olds in terms of how she thinks, [in addition to] the
Photo by: Parul Pari
way she approaches things that come up, [she] amazes me,” Laurie said. The way Dani handles tasks in her life with maturity allows her to not feel like she is in her brother’s shadow. “It’s easier because [my brother, Matthew] is a boy so I don’t feel as much in someone’s shadow, and personality wise, we are very different so it does not feel like a shadow,” Dani said. “Sometimes, I want to be like my siblings because my siblings are older, [so] I feel like I want to grow up faster.” In Dani’s eyes, all of her siblings have very different interests, allowing them to shine in different lights. “My sisters played lacrosse, my brother ran, and I play soccer. Career wise, one of my sisters is in business, my other sister is a social worker, and my brother wants to go into math - so we are all different,” Dani said. “One of my sisters is the ‘mom sister’ and my other sister is similar to me in a lot of ways. My brother is who I can tell my secrets to, and he won’t tell anyone. Everyone is different so I can go to different siblings for different things.” With three kids in the family who have already graduated, from a parental perspective, the youngest child can be the hardest to let go of because it is going into a new stage of their life and your own, according to Laurie. “You have to remind yourself as a parent that this is your goal: for them to [go to college]. If they are doing this, then you are doing a good job,” Laurie said. “If they can, then their next step is supposed to be to spread their wings and go to the next step of their lives.”
survey says:
CHECK YOUR EXPECTATIONS
Meghan Warner staff writer
Do you expect teachers to always be in positive moods?
“I like when teachers are in positive moods. I know there are going to be somedays when they’re having a bad day so their mood might be a little off, but positive moods put a more positive vibe in the class,” Leah Cunningham, freshman, said.
What is your expectation for students and teachers forming close relationships or bonds? “I think what’s really important to me is that teachers are approachable. As a teacher, I work really hard to be approachable and to let students know that I care so I can help them. I also find that it is okay to joke with them and have fun in class, and to let them know that we are people too,” Julie Bryniczka, math department chair, said.
What do you expect from teachers when it comes to them using technology in their class? “Teachers don’t need to be tech geniuses but it’s cool when they adapt with the school’s changing style of learning, so it’s nice if a teacher knows how to use the projector and the iPad, or understands Canvas really well,” Duncan McMillain, senior, said.
Do you expect teachers to show their school spirit by attending school events?
40%
of students surveyed say they think it would be nice for teachers to show off school spirit, but teachers do it enough when they wear Bear Wear on Fridays.
“Yes. Teachers should have school spirit and attend sporting events, because they should be supporting their students. Teacher support is important to students, so seeing them at events is really cool,” James Piggott, sophomore, said.
3/4
of the 464 students surveyed said teachers need to have a sense of humor in order to make class fun.
59%
of students say they don’t care if teachers use technology as long as they teach the subject well.
What is your expectation of students forming close relationship with teachers? “I don’t expect to be friends with my teachers, but there’s some that I get along with really well, either because they are a coach of mine or our personalities kind of coincide with each others,” Gabby Vitale, junior, said.
SPOTLIGHT october 2017
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PRICE OF LUXURY
struggling between finances and trends Ria Talukder co-spotlight editor
By the time students reach high school, they’ve mastered many skills, but many of them do not understand the ABCs of balancing their personal desires with financial responsibility. “In [Lake Zurich], there is a definite stigma that people [should] have name brand clothing [and] cars,” Blake Rowell, junior, said. “There is a lot of pressure to keep up with [all of the trends these days].” Having nicer things, is something a lot of students, including her, care about. According to Rowell, when someone cannot afford luxury items or things that are the most up to date, there is added pressure as some students struggle with this financial capability. “Not everyone can have nice things, even though we all want them,” Rowell said. For some students, coming up empty when searching through their wallet is a common occurrence. According to Heidi Smith, senior who cur-
rently holds two jobs, working is the best way for a high schooler to provide for themselves. “Having a job in high school lets me prepare myself for my future,” Smith said. “I won’t always have my parents to help me, so I need to learn how to pay for things myself.” To fund her expenses, Smith juggles a job at Culver’s and working concessions around town for events like Rock the Block. According to Smith, while she knows the expectation to be trendy is prevalent at the high school, being in charge of her own expenses has taught her how to be financially responsible instead of spending money to follow trends. “Lots of parents just give their kids whatever they want,” Smith said. “I have to work for my money, [so] I don’t just go around spending it. When you sacrifice a [lot] of your time into working, you don’t throw away the reward for that work without really thinking about it.” Working for her wants, Smith said, is a value her mother, Rhonda Smith, has instilled in her. Smith’s mom, a single mother of two teen-
“Food has become such a social thing I think you have to spend your money on it. Whether it’s getting coffee with a friend, or studying at Panera, you can’t avoid it nowadays. For those reasons, I think spending money on food is worth it.” - Blake Rowell, junior
How Teens Are Spending Their Money
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age daughters, has taught Heidi and her sister that if they want to splurge, then they must pay half or all the price. “Kids are expensive,” Smith’s mother said. “There’s the expenses of registration fees for school, clothes, a car, but then there’s the expense of [kids] wanting to go out places with their friends, or even small things like the school yearbook.” All this add up, according to Smith’s mother. To provide for her kids, she works overtime and sometimes even picks up a second job. In her opinion, the best way for Heidi to learn the value of a dollar is to take on her own responsibilities. “Being a student at Lake Zurich, Heidi sees a lot of her friends with new cars and going on fancy vacations, and I’m not able to do that for her,” Smith’s mother said. “But [she] helps with all
of her extra expenses. She will buy nice clothes for herself, but she’ll shop for a sale. We’re going on a cruise for Christmas, and Heidi is paying her own way.” Both agree saving their paychecks and working non-stop has given them the mindset best fit for the real world. According to Smith, unlike other students at the high school who drive costly cars and wear all the trendy clothes, she drives a car from ‘99 and does not get too wrapped up in what’s trending at school. “It’s about not caring what other people have and just focusing on what you as an individual [need,” Smith said. On the contrary, Rowell argues sometimes having a job is not a possibility for a student to take on along with school work and other responsibilities. “Having a job while also having four hours of homework or being in the musical isn’t a reality,” Rowell said. “Does that mean I still can’t have or want nicer things? I’d like to say no. It’s not that some people don’t want to work. Some can’t. Those people still deserve to get the nice things they desire.” Because of Rowell’s personal experiences, she believes high schoolers should not feel ashamed to be slightly reliant on their parents for money, commenting on the fact that most parents are willing to help their kids out at this age. “Being reliant on [parents] doesn’t mean you are spoiled as long as you understand how hard they work for their money,” Rowell said. “The most important thing is to be appreciative.” Asking your parents to assist you in
costly purchases, such as buying a new car, or paying for a school trip, are acceptable situations to splurge in Rowell’s eyes, as such purchases, albeit costly, are necessities for many students. Despite a difference of opinion over teens in the workforce, Smith and Rowell both agree many students, even the ones that have mastered the art of managing their money, want luxurious things. “When I see someone in the parking lot driving a brand new Jeep, for example, there is a sense of jealousy and longing for something I don’t have,” Rowell said. Ultimately, both Rowell and Smith believe saving your money is more helpful in the long run, no matter how much you might desire something. “It’s nice to have up to date things, but in the end, it’s not the most important thing in the world,” Rowell said. “Your personality and who you are [are] much more important.”
“It’s not worth spending money on expensive food and drinks when you can spend only a few dollars and get the same amount of food, maybe even more, that tastes good and isn’t super pricy.” -Heidi Smith, senior SPOTLIGHT october 2017
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OUR VIEW
Extreme Expectations? High school students have a lot of expectations to balance-- grades, college, extracurriculars, and social lives being only a few examples. What can we do to help every student meet their expectations?
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The Bear Facts Staff believes... That when listening to any group of high school students, the conversations inevitably turns to one topic: balancing workloads. The halls of Lake Zurich are filled with complaints and anxiety over AP classes, extracurriculars, and pleasing college admissions counselors. Even if a student is not an incredibly high achiever themselves, they may feel inferior when their peers talk of caffeinefueled days and nights of cramming for exams. This romanticism of academic anxiety has a real, negative impact on students and often creates an incorrect idea of what is expected of them. When even outings with friends are under constant threat of turning into academic complaint sessions, it is easy to see why sometimes students feel like they cannot escape the constant reminders that achievement should be their highest priority. At Lake Zurich, these expectations are even
“What can students do if they think too much is being expected of them?”
built into the classic high school timeline. Despite the fact that only slightly more than two-thirds of American 2016 graduates went to college after high school, seniors are bombarded with college information, with Decision Day being considered a quintessential milestone of senior year. While of course all students should have the opportunity to go to college, members of the Lake Zurich community and the student body do not have perspective on what is expected of most teenagers outside of the suburban environment. As a result, students who are going to trade schools or less elite universities feel left out or like their post-graduation plans do not measure up to the standards of their community or peers. Conversely, an oft-forgotten factor in the conversation around high school expectations is the fact that many students, both at Lake Zurich and
CAITLYN WENZEL, freshman
“It’s okay to rely on other students if you’re stressed out, and distance yourself from that at least for a little while. Just realize that high school isn’t the extent of your life.”
JAIDEN LAWLOR, sophomore
“If there’s too much expected of them, they can have better time management and go to the teachers and guidance counselors.”
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nationally, are being underestimated. When some students are told they will naturally achieve more than others, this can be a self-fulfilling prophecy In 1964, a Robert Rosenthal, a Harvard psychologist, told a small group of schoolchildren that they were on the cusp of a dramatic growth in IQ–despite them being no different than the control group. The students who had been told that they would reach new heights consistently performed better. Similarly, accoring to a New York University study conducted in May 2017, even after controlling for attendance, standardized test scores, and other factors, teachers still low-balled the abilities of Black and Hispanic high schoolers. According to the Illinois School Report Card created from Board of Education data, the achievement gap between low-income and
THE PROBLEM
58%
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of LZ students with GPAs over 4.0 believe that their friends put more effort into homework than they do.
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35% high-income students at Lake Zurich as measured by scores on the PARCC tests is above the Illinois state average. Because of the effects of being underestimated, we need to make sure that our expectations of students match what they are actually capable of and watch for internalized biases that might impact that. To fix this problem, we need to listen to students and reduce the stigma of lightening your workload for the sake of mental health. It is also important to make sure we are forming our expectations of students on their abilities rather than race, income, or other factors they cannot control. A top priority moving forward needs to be ensuring that every student can manage the expectations of themselves and has the confidence to assert themselves socially and academically when necessary.
AMANDA PEREZ, junior
MATT ETKINS, senior
BETHANY TOLLBERG, science teacher
“Try to take care of yourself, and take a few breaks if you really need it. I beleive that the more stressed you are the more you can’t concentrate on anything except the negative things.”
“I have outlets, like clubs and sports, to relieve my stress. Sometimes, it can be a distraction though, because you’re paying attention to the sport and not whatever is stressing you out.”
“If students are really stressed out, they can always visit the counselors to help. Another thing that can help is asking a teacher to help you wuith whatever yyou might be struggling with,”
But only slightly over a third of students with GPAs under 3.0 think the same thing.
33% of LZHS students do more than three hours of homework in one night
THE SOLUTION As a community, we need to help students manage the expectations put upon them, but without underestimating minority students. Source: Bear Facts Student Media survey of 464 students.
SPOTLIGHT october 2017
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HITTING IT OUT OF THE PARK sophomore commits to big ten university
Valerie Multra sports editor
SPORTS
After years of training, one sophomore athlete commits to a Big Ten university by age 16, while most high schoolers do not start thinking about college specifics until junior or senior year. Tyler Snep, junior, committed to the University of Iowa at the end of his sophomore season for baseball in May to continue his passion into college. “For Tyler, the sky’s the limit for him. He’s the kind of person that you have a conversation with and know they’re going to be successful.” Richard Erickson, varsity baseball coach, said. “Baseball wise, he’s going to be a scholarship player in college, and hopefully we will see him in the major leagues: which is something he can accomplish with his dedication, talent, and work ethic.” On the field, according to Erickson, Tyler is not only a teammate, but another coach. When he is taught something, Erickson says, he then helps the rest of the team. “I love the team aspect. You can’t do anything without the eight other guys out there. You win or lose as a team,” Snep said. “What you do out on the field helps the entire team.” Improving as a player and moving up on teams has been a challenge, according to Snep, because he played on varsity as a freshman. Tyler said that with his family’s support, he has the confidence to play on any team. “The person who has influenced my baseball career the most is definitely my dad. I spend a lot of time with [him], and he’s push[ed]
me since I was young.” Snep said. “He always motivated me to work, and it’s gotten me to where I’m at.” Tyler has reached his goals through countless hours of hard work, both on the field and in the classroom, according to Gary Snep, Tyler Snep’s father. Gary is proud and excited about the opportunities Tyler has received. “He spends a lot of hours training and balancing his schoolwork,” Gary said. “His grades are just as important to him as baseball. Baseball is a game of failure: you learn a lot of lessons and apply them to school and life.” Always practicing, playing with other teams, and getting better at baseball whenever he can, according to Erickson, is because of his passion for the sport. “Tyler is an obviously very gifted athlete, but part of the reason why he is so talented is because of his character and his work ethic,” Erickson said. “As a sophomore, he was voted team captain of the varsity team, which is very rare. He carries himself with a class and confidence. That makes him such a great kid to work with.”
Photo used with permission of Tyler Snep
DOUBLY DEDICATED
teachers go above par to coach Adam Cupples staff writer
Photo by Adam Cupples Above: Terry Geoghegan, government teacher and boys’ golf coach, prepares his class for the upcoming assignment. Below: Teri Johlie, poms coach and English teacher, instructs her team on a dance routine.
Photo used with permission by Sophie Young
His morning begins at 4am. After a dark commute, he arrives at school by 6am. Throughout the day ge teaches over one hundred students until 3pm, goes to coach until 6pm, and finally arrives home at 7pm. Each school day he repeats the process again. This is one of the daily schedules for teachers who also take on the task of coaching. Terry Geoghegan, government teacher and varsity golf coach, handles the large workload of coaching along with teaching by keeping these two careers separate from each other. “I don’t think about my golf season during school. I let [those thoughts] occur after school, and I stress about my golf season prior to the season,” Geoghegan said. In addition to keeping this balance, Geoghegan says spending quality time with family is a challenge to fit in on busy days. “Honestly, it seems as if family comes last during golf season,” Geoghegan said. “I’m always going to be a father first, but I think that my family knows I’m not home that much. I know it’s hard. I’m lucky that my kids are older and they’re understanding of this juggling.” On the contrary, Geoghegan has encountered situations in the past where he has to put his family before coaching and teaching. Alike to Geoghegan, Teri Johlie, English teacher and poms coach, says that important family events have also “forced” her to chose family over coaching and teaching at times. “The only thing that really becomes a challenge is dealing with family illnesses. [They] have taken me out of state in order to take care of my parents or my own personal family,” Johlie said. “Overall, it’s just certain times of the year when the load with school, working, grad-
ing, and meetings make it tough to keep a balance, but it doesn’t happen often.” Spending time at home is one priority Johlie has, and she says that spending time with her family are important aspects of any day. “My family is my main priority,” Johlie said. “I think it’s important for parents to be home, if possible, as much as they can. However, I started coaching when my kids were doing activities after school as well. In fact, some of my kids were nearing the end of high school, so I had a lot less at home to deal with. But, the priority is still being able to be home and being a part of my family in the evening and for dinner.” In addition to family time, Johlie says her nights at home are focused on finishing school-related work. “I never go home after coaching done with school stuff. There is always something I need to be working or focusing on. With any teacher, you don’t typically leave it all at school and go home. It’s a job you take home with you,” Johlie said. One student that Johlie coaches and teaches at the sane time this year is Chayse Spies, junior, who mentions that stress occasionally reaches Johlie when handling everything. “Johlie gets overwhelmed sometimes, especially during competition season,” Spies said. “However, she’s always managed to get us to listen to her and pay attention, which is helpful since we are stressed out as well.” Even when the stress of the daily routine may seem too tough to handle, the payoff is worthwhile. “Coaching is a commitment, but if you enjoy it, it is worth it,” Johlie said. “While it is time-consuming, it’s a good type of commitment if you are enjoying it, since that’s what it’s all about. If I’m not having fun, I’m not going to continue to do it.”
SPORTS october 2017
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Sports Coverage 1. “We all get along really well. We help each other out and work well as a team,” Riley Pemstein, senior football player, said.
Valerie Multra sports editor Adam Cupples staff writer
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2. “I love the family aspect of volleyball because even if you’re down for not getting a point, they cheer you up and it’s an amazing unit to be a part of,” Katie Guy, senior volleyball player, said. 3. “My favorite thing about flying is that it teaches me to never give up at working towards a goal, even if that goal feels like it is miles away,” Amaya Snyder, freshman cheerleader, said.
Photo by Ria Talukder
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Photo by Parul Pari
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Photo by Meghan Warner
4. “I was glad to spend the last four years on this team. It was a great experience,” Konnor Kininmonth, senior golfer, said.
Photo by Emma Brumage-Kilcourse
5. “[The season] is going pretty well. We have had our ups and downs, but overall we have been exceeding some expectations that we had. My favorite part about soccer is the late night games. Especially the home games when we get a little crowd come in to support us. It is always fun when you have [people] cheering you on,”Joe Heffernan, senior soccer player, said.
4 Photo used with permission of Jack Gilboy
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6. “We lost a lot of seniors last year that we were close with and were vital to our team, so getting new players [made us realize] how good we can be working together through a positive attitude,” Jordan Dickson, senior varsity tennis captain, said. 7. “My favorite part about the girl’s cross country is the people on team. Everyone is so supportive and cheers on everyone’s race and that what makes our team so great,” Elisa Krause, senior cross country runner, said.
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Photo by Chloe Faris
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Photo by Megan Monoson
SPORTS october 2017
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Photo by Emma Brumage-Kilcourse Photo by Meggie Furlong
Photo by Chloe Faris
8. “Traveling to Peoria as a team is a great way for the upperclassmen and underclassmen to become acquainted. Many teams only take their varsity runners, which excludes new runners that do not get the same experience that the varsity runners do. I think by giving our whole team the opportunity to run at Peoria, the new runners feel more like they are a part of the team,” Matthew Schwartz, senior cross country runner, said. 9. “I’m really looking forward to how our team does in the year, because hopefully we’re going to get better,” Isabella Martina, junior golfer, said. 10. “My favorite part of poms is working together, going to competitions, and performing at games,” Cassidy Pirron, junior poms dancer, said.
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Laura Knight laura@knightmusicacademy.com 847-72MUSIC [ 847-726-8742 ] Lake Zurich Shoppes 579 N. Rand Rd. • Lake Zurich, IL 60047
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Photos used with permission of Emmi Connick, Peter DiCerbio, Megan Monoson, Patrick Hart, and Paige Orals
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