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Viewpoint
Mountain View High School 2135 Mountain View Road Stafford, VA 22556
STUDENT NEWS Magazine MVHS VOLUME 12 ISSUE 1
September | october EXTRA
Read more about MCJROTC and how the leadership program has grown at Mountain View on page 13.
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Editorial
INDEX 01 Cover 13 MCJrotc 02 Advertisement 14 education crisis is the way 03 Index 15 originality to go to school at Mountain View 04 Back 16 Have you heard to school at 05 Back 17 have you heard mountain view 06 Climate change theory 18 advertisment difference between 07 climate change theory 19 the sat and act 08 3 vs 3 pro basketball 20 see color feel color 09 advertisement 21 are you still watching 10 the best of summer 22 the aftermath 11 the best of summer 23 the aftermath 12 high school to-do list 24 college alternates 25 what’s more important
Halloween originated over 2,000 years ago in Western Europe as a festival of Samhain, the celebration of the end of the harvesting season. The Western Europeans, mostly the Celts, believed that on this day, the barrier between the living and the dead was the thinnest. This thin barrier allows the dead, like ghosts or demons, to cross over into the land of the living. The festival of Samhain also led to trick-or-treating. While it originally started off as a way for the poor to beg for food and money, it evolved into a way for children to express themselves through costumes in order to get treats. These modern-day children, dressed in their costumes, walk around their neighborhoods and knock on people’s doors for candy. Although most high schoolers have stopped trick-or-treating, many of those who celebrate Halloween still carry their own traditions. Whether it be splurging on candy, carving pumpkins, or watching scary movies, everyone has their own unique way of observing Halloween. Some favorites films include “Scary Godmother,” “House on Haunted Hill,” and “Goosebumps.” However, since only 64 percent of Americans celebrate the holiday, according to CNN, it’s important to acknowledge and respect the fact that Halloween might not adhere to everyone’s beliefs and that not everyone celebrates this holiday. Some parents also may not allow their children to trick-or-treat due to the fact that it may be unsafe. Many urban legends exist about poisoned Halloween candy and crazed people on the loose, but it may be dangerous due to being out at night, knocking on stranger’s doors, and because of people not following traffic safety rules. During this time of year, remember to be safe and respectful and to have fun, whether you are trick-or-treating or staying in.
CHELSEA TRYON, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Lexi Strawder
by Lexi Strawder Chelsea Tryon was appointed as the new AP as of July 2017. Previously, Tryon worked as the AP and special education teacher at A.G. Wright Middle School (AGW) and a principal intern at Brooke Point High School (BPHS). Working at both BPHS and AGW allowed Tryon to learn what it takes to create relationships with teenagers by building trust and mutual respect, as well as helping them deal with the everyday struggles as emotional teenagers. She approaches any situation by first trying to understand where they are coming from. Tryon is the adminstrator for students starting with the last names starting from O through Z. In addition to being an AP, she is in charge of the special education department, world language department and the fine and performing arts department. Tryon is determined to help students at
MVHS to do whatever it takes to succeed inside the school walls, as well as in our community. “Being a special education teacher has taught me that kids need different things,sometimes they need to be treated a little differently. Even as an assistant principal now, I still find myself utilizing that aspect a lot,” said Tryon. As a graduate from BPHS, Tryon has lived in Stafford for the majority of her life. Outside of school, Tryon spends time with her husband as well as her two sons.Tryon was very complimentary of the pride she sees in the upperclassmen and the way they mentor underclassmen so they can adopt some of the same values. Both excited and humbled to work with the Wildcat community, Tryon is eager for her first year on the prowl at the View.
The Viewpoint SEPT | OCT 2017 VOLUME XII ISSUE I Managing Editors Paige Doerfler Emilee Holmquist Social Media Editor Sophie Perez Copy Editor Bella Roeske Photography Editor Emilee Holmquist Extra Editor Ruby Jackson Briefs Editor Charlotte Hazard Adviser Trisha Orndorff The Viewpoint is a cross-section of the news and opinions of the student body of Mountain View High School. It is a forum of expression published by aPrintis. Letters and art to the editorial board are welcome and should be submitted to rooms 303 or 311.
Staff Writers Brody Albertson, Javonna Brigham, Gia Morreale, Isabel Navarro, Selena Obregon, Danielle Piper, Caroline Pollock, Chloe Reid, Adam Skoloda, Lexi Strawder, Damien Veal, Abbey Whitehead Front Cover Paige Doerfler Ruby Jackson 2014-2016 Virginia High School League State Championship First Place Award Winner 2013, 2014, 2015 Free Lance-Star Best Over All Newspaper 2011 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist 2011, 2010 and 2009 Virginia High School League First Place Award Winner Mountain View High School 2135 Mountain View Rd. Stafford, VA 22556
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Back to school at Mountain View
IT Review By Damien Veal Renowned author Stephen King has many great works, but “IT” may have just became one of the best the thriller genre has ever seen. “IT” lived up to its hype as it had packed theatre after packed theatre of people shaking and screaming in their seats. Starring Jaeden Lieberher as Bill Denbrough, the movie follows his search for his little brother and the countless other kids who have recently gone missing with his group of friends. They soon discover these cases of missing kids aren’t simple as they uncover secrets about the town and even about each other. Due to having the largest opening weekend ever for movies released in September and showings to follow, “IT” will go down as one of the best in horror movie history. Not only because it focused on gore or cheap jump scares, but also it is full of humor and a great story along with it. Great acting along with a great script showed as the young actors have careers in front of them. This movie has single handedly raised the bar for new thrillers on their way to theatres. With a sequel on its way, audiences will be anxiously be waiting for the next movie that is going to attempt to live up to “IT.”
Hot N Fluffy By Javonna Brigham Hot n Fluffy is a newer restaurant located here in Stafford county. It is Southern themed and serves many Southern-themed meals. This eatery serves sandwiches, breakfast, and of course, chicken and waffles. Every sandwich on the menu is named after a large city located somewhere in the U.S. The restaurant itself is extremely cute. With simple yet adorable decorations, as soon as you enter the location, you feel right at home. The staff greet you as if you’re their best friend. They continuously make sure you’re satisfied and happy. Unfortunately, as I was waiting in the restaurant, I realized I had been waiting for a much longer period of time than everyone else. Finally, I called a waiter to my table to figure out what was happening and why I hadn’t been served yet. The waitress explained that with all the rush of still getting used to the restaurant, my food was accidentally tossed in the trash. Unhappy but understanding, I told them I get what they’re going through and that it wasn’t a big deal. The woman in charge, Lynn Drake, came out to our table to understand what was happening. She informed me that it was 100 percent an accident and that if I waited to be served again, my meal would be free. Along with the free meal, I was also provided a Hot n Fluffy gift card. After waiting (a much shorter wait) new food was returned to me and I began to eat. I was served chicken and a selection of sides. The food was extremely delicious and definitely pleased my expectations. The food was also presented nicely, which I was very impressed with. I had a nice conversation with Lynn Drake and she explained how she was sorry about the incident that had previously occurred. She said that Hot n Fluffy makes her so happy and that she’s trying her best to make it perfect. “Hot n Fluffy has been my dream for three years and now that we’ve been open for six months, I’m happy to see that our home-cooked food is becoming so popular in here Stafford.” Drake said. Overall, Hot n Fluffy is an extremely cozy restaurant with mouth watering food. We’re only human and everybody makes mistakes. I positively see myself enjoying food from this eatery again soon.
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Homecoming Prep By Selena Obregon Homecoming is one of the biggest nights of the school year and every year many students spend weeks preparing for it. From looking for a dress to getting a date, students put a lot into making sure that they have a memorable night. But, the one thing most students don’t do when it comes to Homecoming is help organize and set it up. Planning for Homecoming begins as early as the first week of school and requires the help of the Student Council Association, National Art Honors Society, Production Club, and teachers who oversee all the activities leading up to Homecoming, as well as Homecoming itself. The process of setting it up starts off with SCA, and their responsibility is to come up with a theme and come up with the school’s spirit days for Homecoming week, as well as overseeing the decorating that NAHS does. Kristin Mohan, the faculty sponsor of NAHS, said, “The Student Officers (for NAHS) talk to one another and brainstorm on decorations for the theme and depending on how much time we have, we might do three big pieces. Sometimes, we do four”. NAHS and the Production Club also collaborate on decorations. Typically, the Production Club will cut out wood for sets, like the carriage and tower that was at this year’s Homecoming, and NAHS will paint them. A lot of work is put into this one special night in an effort to make is as memorable as possible, and as always, it pays off and the result is a fun evening for students.
Back to school at Mountain View
Service Club by Abigail Whitehead Recently, junior Lainey Breland started a service club at Mountain View High School. She started the club because she was tired of people talking about how they hate living in Stafford. She said, “I want to try to make it a better place any way that I can.” She’s tired of people waiting around for things to change when something they don’t like happens. So she started the service club as a way for people at Mountain View to get involved and to make a change to the things they do not like in Stafford. Throughout the year, service club has several events planned to help get club members involved in the community .The first thing that is planned for the year is a coat drive. After that they are planning a boys vs. girls volleyball match to help raise money for Saint Jude’s research hospital. Then again later in the year, they will be doing an animal food and toy drive to give them to the local shelters. Lainey also said that, “When we see people in need we will do bake sales or whatever it is we can do to help those people.” Throughout the year we will be able to see the difference the members of the new service club will be able to make throughout Stafford and Mountain View High School.
Spirit Week by Danielle Piper On October 2, the Wildcats of Mountain View High School rolled out of bed and...came to school in their pajamas? Well, they didn’t make this questionable fashion choice on a whim--it was how they showed their school spirit for the upcoming Homecoming game. Following Monday’s “Woke Up Like This” theme was “Twosday: duo day.” Students got to dress up as their favorite couples, such as Ken and Barbie, partners in crime, like Blue and Steve, or just twinning outfits. Wednesday and Thursday had students pick a side: “Mathlete vs Athlete,” and “Country vs Country Club.” The festivities were wrapped up on Friday when students not only got to show their Mountain View Spirit--but the spirit for their classes at the homecoming pep rally for the football team. Overall, spirit week was a blast for most participants. Next spirit week should definitely include a, “wake up and come to school day, because you don’t have to get dressed up,” said sophomore Nathan Dawson. No matter what themes are used next, the Wildcats will no doubt be spirited when next need be.
National Art Honors Society by Adam Skoloda Kristin Mohen, the visual arts teacher at Mountain View High School, sponsors the National Art Honors Society. On Thursday, October 5, the National Art Honors Society put the finishing touches on the 2017 Homecoming decorations. The students were found working tirelessly on finishing the decorations up so they could be set up on Friday of that week. In order to be a participant of the National Art Honors Society, you are required to take an art class of some form or fashion. The president is senior Ashley Lowry, the vice president is junior Nelson Carrillo, the secretary is junior Ashley Isaacson, and the historians are seniors Elizabeth King, and Lauren Bristow. They elect new officers every calendar year. The National Art Honors Society is a club for art students who want to serve the community in an artistic manner. Typical activities of the NAHS include creating art for the Mountain View community, creating art for fundraisers, and hosting “pop-up” art shows to show off the NAHS’s artwork. “It depends on the year,” said Mohan about the events of the club. This year the NAHS will be putting an art show together outside of the auditorium for the fall play, “A Midsummer’s Night Dream.” Also, a guest community speaker comes in to teach about art, and they will do an art project with the NAHS.
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Pixabay
Wikimedia Commons
CLIMATE CHANGE THEORY
Wikimedia Commons
91% of millennials
It’s safe to say that recently, the world has been hit with disaster after disaster. Within the last few months, Three hurricanes have left parts of the US and the Caribbean utterly devastated, along with 7.1 magnitude earthquakes in Mexico, and a mud landslide in the Democratic Republic -University of Texas at Austin of Congo. There are a few theories on the cause of the sudden rise of storms that are seemingly becoming more violent than before. One of them, is the Climate Change Theory. The Climate Change Theory is the notion that the World’s temperature “I definitely think it is real and has risen dramatically in a short amount it’s a real problem. I of time, due to human activity, and has believe in it because the caused a shift in the Earth’s climate, resulting in Polar Ice Caps melting and science behind it is factually more destructive storms and weather.
WikiCommons
by Selena Obregon
NASA
The Climate Change Controversy (Agreeing side)
agree that climate change is occurring -The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
“Climate Change is something no one seems to be talking about. Many regard climate change as a hoax. When in reality, scientific studies show because of greenhouse gasses, that we produce, Climate Change is only going to grow. Unless, we as a generation do something about it.” Vanessa Lee, Junior 06 u
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supported. You can see that the temperature keeps rising over time and that the ice caps are melting and some species are even dying off due to the climate change.” Katie Rowe, Junior
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believe climate change is occurring
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believe climate change is occurring - Mountain View High School Survey
NASA Earth Observatory
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PxHere
CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX The Climate Change Controversy (Opposing side)
44%
by Selena Obregon
Wikipedia
It’s safe to say that recently, the world has been hit with disaster after disaster. Within the last few months, Three hurricanes have left parts of the US and the Caribbean utterly devastated, along with 7.1 magnitude earthquakes in Mexico, and a mud landslide in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There are a few theories on the cause of - Mountain View High School Survey the sudden rise of storms that are seemingly becoming more violent than before. Two of them being for Religious reasons and Natural Reasons. Religiously speaking, many people believe that these natural disasters are signs of the End Times, or the time left of the Earth before The “I think the Earth goes through Rapture (In the Christian Faith), Yawm al-Qiyāmah (In the Islamic Faith), The End of Days (In the Jewish changes. The Earth is eventually going faith), etc. Natural Reasons that could explain the trend to have another Ice Age just like it has would be things such as the world is bound to before, The Moon and Earth have their change after billions of years, or that it’s hurricane season and that’s why there are hurricanes occurring.
of 50 Students
Flikr
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Believe Natural Causes explain this
5 % of 50 Students
rotations, things are bound to change and/or repeat.. “ Alyssa Endrizzi, Junior
36%
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What’s more important? The Viewpoint explores the beginning of school, whether it should be more academic or more relationship building by
The beginning of school, the first week to be exact, is all about setting the tone. What is the tone? Tone can deal with how your classes are conducted and certain styles your teachers may use in the classroom. Does the teacher want to jump right into the content for the year, or does he want to build student-teacher relationships first? Would students be more excited to learn if teachers chose not to teach any content the first week of school or make it clear to their students that community is a priority over the content in their class? If teachers followed the guideline of not teaching content the first week, then teachers would learn about what makes them unique. They would let you learn about your classmates, play games, and complete bonding activities. Teachers would make connections with their students. What if they didn’t just do an icebreaker and think that everyone knew everything about everyone else? What if they did more to truly get to know their students? Math teacher, Mark Sanford says, “Instead of doing either, you do both. You build the relationships through the academics. There isn’t time to do anything but that.” These teachers that get to know their students first, believe that it is more important to build relationships with the students first, then begin teaching the content. Some teachers believe that it is essential to the students’ success in the class for them to feel safe and excited to learn before anything else. That is the reason for the relationship building being first and the curriculum being second. If teachers built relationships first, would the students be more willing to work because they would know the teachers took the time to get to know them first? Alternatively, if students knew the teacher and made connections with them, would they want to go to class and learn; would they be excited to come to class? Sophomore Grace Dausman said, “I feel like the beginning of the school year needs to be very much centered around the rela-
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Caroline Pollock | Photos by Caroline Pollock
tionship building between the teacher and the students. Without a strong, positive relationship, the students won’t be as receptive to what the teacher has to teach the rest of the year.” Some teachers, however, do things a bit differently. They jump head-first into the content. They know time is limited, that they only have a certain amount of time to get all the students to master all the concepts. That is why they may skip the relationship building activities and start right off with the curriculum. Some classes are semester classes, so it is even more essential to get started as soon as possible. Teachers need the time to make sure they are prepared for the final exam or SOL. Some teachers might skip the icebreaker and jump right in because they want rules and procedures to be established right off the bat. They want the students to be fully conscientious that this is serious business and there will not be any slack being cut. Another reason why some teachers want to start with the content is that they believe the student-teacher relationships will happen gradually and develop throughout the year. If teachers jumped right into the content, would students be quicker to get into the hang of working hard and be able to handle having a lot of work? Would students be more willing to work earlier in the year because they know that those are the expectations if teachers taught this way? “Some teachers make us participate in an icebreaker and personally, I do not look forward to them at all. Most of the time, I don’t know my classmates any more than I did before the icebreaker. I would rather teachers do an activity that lets them truly get to know us, but also lets us get to know them,” says sophomore Morgan Dugan. What if teachers did both? What if teachers performed a relationship building activity that got the students back into the swing of things, that introduced the content they would be learning that year? What if students got to learn about their new classmates with an educational activity that was also relationship building?
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Over summer for Maya’s 16th birthday, one of her gifts was going to New York City to see an Association of Volleyball Professionals beach volleyball tournament beach volleyball tournament. Maya got to get pictures with all her favorite professional volleyball players. She even got autographs from some of the players she met. Barnhill got a picture with her favorite player, April Ross, who even wished Maya a happy birthday. Sadly, April had to leave shortly after the tournament because she got hurt during the game. Barnhill thought that it was super cool to see the professional beach volleyball players player because she’s on the team at Mountain View. She said it was cool to see some of her favorite players in action. After going to the Volleyball tournament, Barnhill got the opportunity to go on a bus tour of New York City. She got to see Upper East Side, Lower East Side, Harlem, and Brooklyn. Her favorite part was seeing Brooklyn because of how big and busy it was.
Lets take a look back and see what Mounatin View students did over the summer by Abbey Whitehead
Mrs.Barnhill
The best of summer
Junior Maya Barnhill
“I went to Atlanta because I got invited for the USA football development game. I went there in July. When we played the game my team won, and we all had a lot of fun.”
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Junior Tyler Haskins
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Junior Lauren Jackson
This summer, Jackson went to a Shawn Mendes concert. Shawn Mendes is her favorite singer and she said it was the best night of her life because she actually got to speak to him. She was super nervous but excited to meet him with her backstage passes. While talking to Shawn Mendes, she got the opportunity to ask him a question. Jackson asked Shawn, “If he could listen to one song for the rest of his life what would it be?” Shawn said that if he could listen to one song for the rest of his life it would be “I Want Crazy” by Hunter Hayes. Jackson said, “That night was so much fun because I got to have floor seats to see him perform later that night.” Her favorite performance at the concert was Shawn Mendes’ song “Ruin” because he was so passionate when singing it. Lauren said she’ll remember that night forever because she got to experience it with her best friend.
Junior Clare Johnson
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Johnson’s favorite summer memory was when she got to travel to Switzerland. It was her last full day there and the next day Johnson and her family were leaving for Italy. She said that she was upset that it was time to leave because she adored Switzerland. Since it was her last day there, her family decided to go hike a mountain close to where they were staying. The last mountain they hiked in Switzerland was super cold and they were still jet lagged. Johnson decided to go along and hike the second mountain the next day anyways. Johnson was still upset that they had to leave the next day, but when she saw the first summit her mood completely changed. Johnson said, “It was the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen. I was crying. There was a mineral lake, waterfalls, bike paths, and a trail.” Later she got to go up to the trails and go for a run. Johnson said the trails were breathtaking and they saw a bunch of cows on the trails. She said that she could not stop crying because it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
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High School To-Do List Get the most of your four years of high school by making sure you know what you should focus on each year by Isabel Navarro
Freshmen
Sophomores
- Ask your counselor about the various types of classes offered at school and figure out which ones interest you the most. - For example, ask your counselor about IB classes; if it’s something that interests you, you will need to take pre IB courses. - Look into different types of clubs to get involved in and join the ones you think you would enjoy. - You should try to find clubs you really find interesting, so you can continue participating for the next three years. Don’t be afraid to try new things! - Get involved in school events such as sports games or fundraisers. - Take challenging courses. - Freshman Nila Williamson says, “Keep up with your homework. Do not procrastinate with it.” - Ask your counselor about the IB program and see whether or not it is something you would like to pursue junior and senior year.
juniors - Take the PSAT. - Attend college fairs and explore the various types of colleges and universities that appeal to you. - Start studying for college entrance exams such as the SAT and ACT. - Edit the list of colleges you are thinking about applying to and continue to research them thoroughly. - Take the SAT and ACT for the first time. - “Students should be thinking about what colleges they might be interested in and in keeping their grades up, because that’s very important,” said senior Rachel Janney. - Go on college tours. - Talk to seniors about their experience with getting ready for life after high school. - Start brainstorming about topics to write about in college application essays. - Begin scholarship research: how to apply, when to apply, and requirements needed to apply. - Decide whether or not you want to apply early decision to any school. If you do decide to apply early decision, you will need to finish your application before November of senior year!
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- Begin thinking about your interests and how you would be able to pursue them in college. - Take the PSAT. - The PSAT, also known as the NMSQT, stands for Preliminary SAT. NMSQT stands for National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Students with high performance on the PSAT/NMSQT can qualify to earn college scholarships. - Start preparing for the PSAT that will be taken again junior year. - Make a list of colleges you would like to apply to and research them thoroughly. - When researching colleges, check different websites and books that provide an overview of various colleges and universities (doing this earlier in high school will reduce the amount of research you will have to do later, when it is time to apply to college). - Read. Reading is an important skill for every student to excel at. By reading, you could raise your scores on standardized tests such as the SAT. Higher scores on these exams will strengthen your college applications. - Continue participating in extracurricular activities.
Seniors - “You should locate a college that best suits your needs and is affordable. Then I would look at what the admission requirements are for that college . Finally, I would be mindful of deadlines,” said senior Felicity DeToll. - Take the SAT or ACT. - Narrow down the list of schools you want to apply to. - Write college essays and ask a teacher to edit and read over them for you. - Ask teachers who know you well to write a recommendation letter for you. - Make a list of all fees required for college application and tests (SAT/ACT). - It’s important to do this early so you know how much you need to pay for everything ahead of time. - Create accounts for college application websites such as the Common Application or Coalition Application. - Complete your college applications: send test scores to your list of colleges, send transcripts, and finalize your essays. - Apply for financial aid (if you have questions about the process ask your counselor!). - Schedule college interviews (if required). Make sure to schedule interviews when you are prepared! Think about why you want to attend that school and be ready to talk about it! - Submit college applications. - Continue to maintain good grades. College applications are typically due in January of senior year, but colleges require that grades from the second semester of senior year be submitted as well. Make sure to take your studies seriously during this time period. - Enjoy your last year of high school! The college application process can be pretty stressful, so make sure you find time to enjoy yourself and spend time with family and friends.
MCJROTC MCJROTC is a new class offered in Stafford Outline and there are a few things that people should know about the course by Adam Skoloda Emily Narvaez mom
Jesse Scott Emily Narvaez mom
The Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps is a new and popular elective to take here at Mountain View High School. It is a great opportunity for military-bound students, and students looking to increase their discipline and leadership skills. Sergeant Major Allen Tanner said, “The main purpose is to build leadership among students.” The MCJROTC instructors emphasize leadership more than anything else. The students need to be accustomed to good habits and responsible behavior. Lieutenant Colonel Richard Barnes said, “They [the students] have to get good grades, set an example, and be physically fit.” The leaders of each class have to get good grades to set an example to the rest of the group. If the leaders are getting bad grades, it won’t encourage anyone else to get good grades. In addition, they have to be physically fit in order to push everyone else to participate and improve in the physical activities. Events that the MCJROTC are doing are endless. The MCJROTC has connections with the color guard and they walk out before football games, and they are organizing community service projects. The MCJROTC will be out at the 2nd annual Stafford Education Foundation 5k Run. Some of the students in the program will be running and some will be working for the 5k Run. The MCJROTC have several competitions such as Physical Training,
academic competitions , and drill teams. The kids who compete in PT are the most fit in the MCJROTC at the school. The PT units compete in pull-ups, crunches, push-ups, and the 1 mile run. The academic competitions include PSAT questions and students compete similar to how they do in a spelling bee. If they do well, they could be invited to go up to DC for a bigger competition among other schools who have a MCJROTC program. This is where academic ethic is a priority in MCJROTC, and this is an example of how the MCJROTC encourages hard work and discipline. About 9 percent of the student body is involved in the MCJROTC program. Boys make up the gender majority in the MCJROTC classes at Mountain View, as males make up about 76 percent of the students in the MCJROTC program. The biggest class is the sophomore class with 51 students, followed by the freshman class with 41 students. The MCJROTC focuses on physical fitness, weapon training, academics, and moral that are important in life. The MCJROTC instructors are Sergeant Major Allen Tanner and Lieutenant Colonel Richard Barnes. Most people think MCJROTC is all about weapon training and getting ready for the military, but it’s for any student who wants better discipline and leadership skills. feature u
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Education Crisis
An increasing teacher shortage spreads panic through schools around Virginia by Bella Roeske | Photos by Bella Roeske In the past few years, there has been the increasing issue of a teacher shortage. Fewer and fewer students are obtaining education degrees and following a career in the school system. This causes larger class sizes, a higher student-to-teacher ratio, and some say a lower quality education. These effects are seen in our own school. Katie Werner, a vice principal at Mountain View, said, “We definitely have an increase in our class sizes this year.” However, this is also due to students being redistricted from Forge to Mountain View. The Virginia State Department of Education has identified ten positions that are considered the most difficult to fill. They include special education, elementary education preK-6, middle education grades 6-8, career and technical education, mathematics grades 6-12, science grades 6-12, foreign languages preK-12, school counselor preK-12, health and physical education preK-12, and English grades 6-12. This covers almost every position in the school and it is obvious how critical the shortage has become. Researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles have been studying the incoming freshmen around the nation about their desired area to major in. The statistics from 2016 and 2017 show that the number of students who plan to get an education degree is the lowest that has been in 45 years. In 2016, a mere 4.6 percent of incoming freshmen surveyed answered that they would like to major in education. “I travel and go on recruiting trips for Stafford County Public Schools and last year I went on a recruiting trip in New York and we went to three different cities, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse to recruit teachers. The reason that we do that is because in the state of Virginia, we don’t graduate enough teachers in the colleges of Virginia to fill what our needs are state-wise. So, we recruit in others states, like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York where they graduate many more teachers than they actually hire in their state. Last year when I went on the recruiting trips to Rochester and Buffalo and Syracuse, I really noticed that there were a lot less teachers to interview than there had been in previous years,” said Werner. Classes are having to be canceled since there are not enough teachers to teach them. Schools are also forced to hire people who have not yet obtained their teaching license. They are hired on a provisional license that allows them three years to finish their degree and become licensed while employed at a school. Teaching is a career that is alluring for many students who want to spend their lives bettering others in an educational environment. Teachers have summers off and are able to see their work pay off first-hand in the classroom. It is most definitely a rewarding profession in some aspects, but others are less than appealing. “I think the low income scares people away from a teaching career, but I feel like a lot of teachers don’t get a lot of appreciation for all their hard work, so it can come across as a job that reaps little rewards. I really feel that if you are a good teacher, your reward is educating many, many children and setting them up for success. You’re creating the future of America and that’s really important,” said Emily Elston, a junior at C.D. Hylton High School.
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Another factor that plays a role in the teacher shortage is teacher attrition. Teacher attrition can be explained as the amount of teachers leaving their profession for a number of reasons. According to the Washington Post, “Nearly two-thirds of the teachers who leave the profession do so before retirement age and cite dissatisfaction with their job as the reason. Addressing the job-dissatisfaction issues could help avert a teacher crisis.” Many educators find that they cannot support their family on their salary and must find another job that allows them to provide sufficiently. According to the Center for American Progress, teachers with at least a bachelor’s degree and 10 years of experience, earned, on average, $44,900 annually. A little over 16 percent of those teachers hold additional jobs. In certain states, that number can rise to a quarter of teachers holding additional jobs. The people who make it possible for the growing generation to become the head of our companies, government, and all institutions in the future should not make less than $45,000 annually and have to rely on multiple payment sources to live. Even though the reasons behind the teacher shortage are increasingly clear and easy to identify, the solutions are a bit more difficult to address. Benefits are a huge factor in the decision of going into an education career. Solving the problem at the source is a start. Offering more options for teaching and education degrees is another path to take to fix the crisis. “One area of concern for me is that in the state of Virginia, we don’t have a lot of teaching schools, so I think that one thing we need to do is to work with our universities and ensure that they have active teaching schools,” said Werner. The numbers are becoming more and more depressing and a solution is dire at this point in time. The future of the country’s education depends on this generation’s problem-solving.
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Originality is the way to go
Nolanswer
The early 2000s and late 90s was an incredible time for the channel “Cartoon Network.” The channel had amazing shows such as “Teen Titans,” which first premiered in 2003, “Ben 10,” which first premiered in 2005, and of course “Pokemon”, which first premiered in the United States in 1998 and episodes are still currently being aired on TV. Most people who grew up watching “Cartoon Network” have fond memories of these shows, which is understandable for the following reasons. One of the reasons shows like “Teen Titans” were memorable was because the creators took their audience seriously. Even though their target audience was mainly young kids, they knew how to have gripping plots and character development that really could draw children in. The animation also was very well done and clearly had a lot of time and effort put into it since it was hand drawn. Each character in “Teen Titans” was very well developed, had a backstory, and each had to overcome certain obstacles. There were even some morals thrown in, such as “don’t let your past define you,” “the one thing you want in life can be the one thing that ends up destroying you,” and “sometimes it’s hard to break away from toxic places and people in your life.” The best part about these morals was that they weren’t shoved in your face. The creators of “Teen Titans” used the “show don’t tell method” and were able to get the messages across to their viewers through creative storytelling and not just having the characters look at their audience and bluntly say, “Here’s what you should have learned today!” Cut to the year of 2013 where “Teen Titans” was rebooted, only it was under a new name: “Teen Titans Go.” This show is basically the exact opposite of the original. It relies on bad humor, has little to no plot, and throws away all character development and relies on stereotypes. Raven is the goth girl, Starfire is the dumb blonde, Robin is the cocky leader, and Beastboy and Cyborg are the goofy idiots who are only there to spew catchphrases that “all the kids are saying.” In the original “Teen Titans,” Robin could be a little cocky, but was very determined, had very good leadership skills, and cared deeply
about his friends. Cyborg and Beastboy were also comic relief in a way, but there was also a serious side to them and they had more character traits than just being goofy. Raven was a demon with a dark, tormented past who has to learn to overcome it and learn she can be good. Starfire was a likeable quirky alien from another planet who had to learn to adjust to living on earth. “Teen Titans Go” only really exists to get a cheap laugh out of children and not to engage them in good storytelling. The best quality of “Teen Titans” was that it never needed to rely on what was popular or “hip” at the time. All it had to do was tell a good story with a lot of action, character development, and even some good comedy. It is understandable that some children like shows that have a main base of comedy instead of a plot based one. “Cartoon Network” has some pretty good comedy shows with clever humor, such as “Regular Show” and “The Amazing World of Gumball.” Recently however, it seems that Cartoon Network has given up on originality and is rebooting their old shows such as “Ben 10” and “Powerpuff Girls” and adding modern comedy just for a quick laugh, which doesn’t make the shows as memorable. The reason the comedy worked in shows, such as “Adventure Time,” was because even though that show had a lot of humor and comedy, it also had memorable characters with personality traits. The show never had to rely on stereotypes and the humor didn’t have to rely on jokes that the kids are saying these days. The comedy was clever, there were even some hidden “adult” jokes that children would not understand, and it was meant to serve the shows. The unfortunate fact about these reboots are that they don’t have the same clever dynamics that the originals had. Instead of coming up with interesting and exciting plots and characters, they rely on modern comedy and stereotypes. It’s time for the creators of these shows on “Cartoon Network” to go back to the drawing boards and start from scratch. With new storylines, new characters, and great animation, there’s no reason why “Cartoon Network” can’t become great again.
Robin Zenn
Grey Strenalll
Channels such as “Cartoon Network” have given us amazing childhood memories with different kinds of creative shows; however, it seems recently the content on “Cartoon Network” has been going downhill by Charlotte Hazard
Lester Maxi
Keith Elshee
Storm Chaser
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Have you heard Whether it’s good or bad, the news often fails to inform us about everything happening in our world by Javonna Brigham
In the news News is a topic that appears in your everyday life. Anything from happy news, to breaking news, to sad news, you hear many stories while watching the news. Sometimes, mainstream media news fails to tell us stories many would find important. Whether it’s fear of losing viewers and ratings, or just simple uninterested in the topic, you rarely hear everything. Ashleigh Gray, a world history teacher here at Mountain View, believes that mainstream media reporters know what’ll get them more views and higher ratings, and that’s what they report on. She says that many news stations report stories that can be deemed as secondary news. “Stories such as the Kardashian sisters being pregnant don’t need to be reported as ‘breaking news,’ it should be on a secondary news source,” said Gray. Jonathan Day, another world history teacher, agrees. He says that mainstream media reports news that presents a shock value. He disagrees with the statement that news stations present only important information. He said, “Some stories are common sense and are just meant
World Hunger World hunger recently hit a 25 year low. Back in 2010, 821 million people went to bed every night hungry. Now, in 2017, 795 million people out of the world’s seven billion do not have enough to eat. 795 million people is still a lot of people, but it’s the smallest amount our world has ever seen. Unfortunately, it has been recently stated that world hunger is on the rise again. Many organizations and teams of people are working together to raise money and decrease the amount of starving people on our planet.
Ivory Trade China announced that they plan on ending their ivory trade by the end of this year. Ivory goes for a little over a grand which means cutting ivory trade will cause China to loose a good bit of money. The upside to ending the ivory trade will be the fact that China will save around 30,000 elephants every year. The current population of elephants is a little over 400,000 and it is hoped that with the end of ivory trade, the population will rise.
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Endangered Species
Humanitarian crisis in yemen Yemen is currently facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. Two-thirds of the population is in desperate need of help, and these problems could soon become a catastrophe, according to The Guardian. Since 2015, there has been an ongoing armed conflict happening in the country, endangering the lives and ending the lives of millions. “This has been going on since 2015 and I have yet to hear about it on the news,” freshman Bishop Jones said. Along with the constant violence, a cholera outbreak is making its way through the country. Cholera is an often fatal disease that you can get from drinking infected water. This disease isn’t always fatal, if it’s treated right away you can be healthy again in just a few short days. Sadly, because Yemen doesn’t have the advanced medical technology we have, it is more deadly. Many are helping to build Yemen back up, but a whopping 4.4 billion dollars is needed to restore the country.
You often hear about animals that are becoming endangered, but you rarely hear about the ones coming out of endangerment. The giant panda became an endangered species way back in 1984. Last year, in 2016, it was announced that the giant panda was no longer on the endangered species list. According to the National Graphic, two-thirds of the giant panda population are now protected in over 60 reserves. In 2014, it was recorded that there was a 17 percent increase of the panda population. In sadder panda news, the oldest living panda in captivity passed away due to liver and kidney problems. Basi was 37 in panda years, which equals about 100 in human years. She had been kept in a panda facility located in Southeast China since she was just four years old. Her body is now preserved and has been placed in a museum dedicated to her life. Along with the giant panda, manatees are also no longer an endangered species. Florida alone has seen a 500 percent increase in their manatee population, and there is now a total of about 6,300 manatees worldwide. These ocean animals were announced endangered back in 1967.
Illiteracy rate in u.s The U.S. Department of Education and the National Institution of Literacy conducted a survey several years ago in 2013 and found that 14 percent of the U.S. adult population is not able to read. Statistics show that criminal activity has a lot to do with illiteracy. Many that engaged in unlawful activities at a young age grew up in trouble and were never taught to read. The study also shows that 21 percent of adults in the U.S. cannot read above a fifth grade level. What makes these statistics so shocking is the fact that the literacy rate for U.S. adults has stayed the same for the past 10 years. The people of the American Library Association are currently working and trying hard to promote the importance of literacy.
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The difference between SAT and Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, you should know the difference between the different types of college entrance exams by Isabel Navarro
The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and ACT (American College Test) are important standardized tests that most colleges and universities require as part of their applications. Many students are unaware of the difference between the two tests. It is crucial that students, especially upperclassmen, are sufficiently informed about these exams. The SAT and ACT are both timed exams that test students on subjects, such as math, English, and reading, but there are a few significant differences between both exams. The SAT is a three-hour exam that consists of four individual sections. The four sections of the SAT include reading, writing and language, math with a calculator, and math without a calculator. Each section is timed differently and has varying amounts of questions. The reading portion consists of 52 questions in 65 minutes. The writing and language section has 44 questions in 35 minutes. The math without a calculator section has 20 questions in 25 minutes, and lastly, the math with a calculator section has 38 questions in 55 minutes. 131 seniors at Mountain View were surveyed about the ACT and SAT. When asked about whether or not they have taken the SAT or ACT, 81 percent of seniors said they have taken the SAT. “I only took the SAT, but I feel like it gave enough time. Only one of the math sections felt rushed, but, I mean, I finished everything,” said senior Brianna Ivy. Senior Jared Baggett said, “I disliked how long the SAT was and the sections that it contained.” An optional section of the SAT is the essay. If taken with the essay, the SAT is three hours and 50 minutes long. The essay portion consists of a passage and prompt where you are asked to construct an analysis of the author’s argument in the passage in 50 minutes. Not all colleges and universities require the essay portion as an addition to the general SAT score, but it is important to check whether or not the colleges or universities you are applying to require the essay. The scoring scale for the SAT ranges from 400 to 1600. The total score given is a com-
bination of the scores from each individual section of the test. The ACT is different from the SAT in terms of sections, timing, and scoring. The ACT, consists of four multiple choice sections: English, Math, Reading, and Science. One key difference between the ACT and SAT, is the ACT includes a science section. Like the SAT, each section of the ACT is timed: 75 English questions in 45 minutes; 60 math questions in 60 minutes; 40 reading questions in 35 minutes; and 40 science questions in 35 minutes. Unlike the SAT, the ACT does not include a math section where test takers are not allowed to use a calculator. The ACT also only has one math section, while the SAT has two. An optional essay portion can also be taken with the ACT. For the ACT essay, you are given 40 minutes to read a given passage and write an essay. The essay prompt requires that you take a position on a situation in the passage. Scoring for the ACT is based on a scale of 1 to 36. Like the SAT, each section of the ACT is averaged together to create the overall score of the test. Each section on the ACT is individually scored on the of 1 to 36 scale as well. If you’re wondering which test you should take, you should take both a practice ACT and a practice SAT. By doing this, you can figure out which test you perform better on and can determine which one you should focus on taking. Senior Lauren Bristow said, “I took both the SAT and ACT. I like the ACT because it has a wider range of subject tests.” Out of the 131 seniors surveyed about the ACT and SAT, 80 percent say they prefer taking the SAT, while 19 percent say they prefer the ACT. 77 percent of the seniors said they think their score on the either the SAT or ACT could have improved if they studied for a longer period of time. Also, 52 percent of students that have taken either test, took the test once, while 33 percent of students said they have taken either test two or more times. Choosing which test to take is a personal choice and is based off which test you feel is right for you.
Have you taken the SAT or ACT?
Out of 131 seniors surveyed, 7 percent have taken the ACT, 69 percent the SAT, 12 percent both, and 12 percent have taken neither.
Did you study for the SAT or ACT?
54 percent of seniors studied for the SAT or ACT, while 46 percent did not study.
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r o l o C e Se lor o C l e e F
Social media is littered with eye-catching graphics stating “facts” about color, but no matter how interesting a read these are, they are ultimately inaccurate because every individual is different by Danielle Piper
Pix a
One of the colors usually featured on these lists as dominant, or makes one think of aggression, like sophomore Sandy Coffee said, is red. These descriptions might actually have some truth. A 2011 study from Dartmouth College connected negative responses to red in wild rhesus macaques monkeys; a close relative of humans and chimps. In the experiment, wild macaques were offered apple slices by people wearing red, blue, or green. The majority of the time, the monkeys didn’t take the slices offered by the person in red. Red is also linked to sports teams’ performances according to an article by Psychological Science. Teams in red have a hidden advantage because men who chose the color often have elevated testosterone levels, leading to more aggression and competitiveness, similar to that in dominant mandrill males. Men who chose to be on the red team either had heightened testosterone levels before, or because of being on the red team. In a more academic setting, you might be able to use a red pen to finish up that history paper, but maybe not come up with the perfect idea for your science project. In a study conducted by the University of British Columbia, the people performing tasks written in red performed better with technical things like spelling and punctuation, but people performing tasks written in blue had a different result. ba y
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In the study from the New York Times comparing thinking abilities of red and blue, people performing tasks in blue were better with creative things like coming up with alternate uses for bricks or fun shape designs. Blue is often connected with peace and relaxation. Sophomore Keith Mankin said,“I don’t know [why], it used to be red and then I just kinda grew up and found a love for the color blue. It reminds me of calmness and like [how] water’s calm.”. In marketing, blue is used in a variety of logos in order to evoke a specific response related to a product of a company. A study conducted by the University of Missouri-Columbia concluded that blue logos give people the impression of reliability and success, but also that a logo’s color should fit with a company’s branding and personality.
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The color green is often related to nature and health, but is more neutral than blue or red. Marketers use the color green with environmental-related movements or organizations, such as the recycling initiative, or the Animal Planet logo. Green is also a common opposite of the color red; it’s the “go” to red’s “stop.” Because of its neutrality, you’d think that in an experiment from Hubspot testing which colored download button would be chosen more: a green download button would or red. After over 2,000 visits to both
Pixabay
Pixabay
pages, the page with the red download button had 21 percent more people click it than the green button. This is a large difference, but the majority doesn’t for sure say that red download buttons are better than green. When designing a web page, think of the general visitors you’ll have and the audience you’re trying to market to because everyone thinks differently. For example, sophomore Brenna Futrell associates green with “camo,” not one of the things normally listed. The way people perceive color isn’t at all uniform, leaving lot’s of room for different interpretations of a logo or work of art.
Businesses that stream television such as Netflix, Hulu, and Am“Techno brain burnout” is the term for when people look at azon have changed the way people watch tv. Not having to scroll screens too much,causing mental exhaustion.. Social media takes through to find what you want now allows people to watch their people into a feedback system where you are just waiting for favorite shows for hours on end. This is often referred to as ‘Binge the next notification. Mountain View psychology teacher Byron Watching’. But new studies have shown that spending too much Hoover said, “You end up becoming the rat in the cage doing antime looking at screens can cause, not only what many people ything for the next food pellet.” People can spend just hours a day feared in eye damage, but also depression. waiting for the next notification to come. According to a Quartz Watching the TV is not the only thing bad for you either. Smart study done in 2014 people spent over 7.4 hours a day just looking phones, tablets, and laptops have all made technology easily at their phone, and the number has likely increased since then. accessible and very addicting as well. Many people use TV as a way Increased technology for the new generation has taught new skills to escape their real world troubles, so watching too much can be such as increased communication and collaboration skills,but a sign of depression. A University of Maryland study showed that, other skills are deprived such as face to face skills and patience. on average, the happiest people Junior Lainey Breland watch two hours or less of telesaid that looking at screens vision a day and spend most of for too long can definitely their days socializing with their cause depression and “the friends and family. lighting just can make someThis can affect teenagers thing in your brain go off.” heavily as they often have to Technology is a major depend on others for transporpart of daily lives and doesn’t tation and can’t always get out need to be taken out comof the house. pletely just cut down on Senior Steven Lang said that Stress and depression he used to binge watch TV can be avoided by simply takalmost daily during the summer, ing your eyes off the screen but now he’s too busy, so his and living your own life. binge time has been cut down to about once a week. said, “I think if you binge watch too How too much screen time can cause mental often, you could lose your social skills.” health issues by Damien Veal | Artwork by Clare Johnson
Are You Still Watching
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The Aftermath
Air Force
Find out what the aftermath is like after a major hurricane by: Brody Albertson
America Taken By Storm
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We can see everything a hurricane has caused after it’s gone; it’s called the aftermath. The aftermath of a hurricane is the worst thing that comes with a hurricane other than the hurricane itself. The destruction caused to the community and effect on the local economy -both financial and environmental -- is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to baggage that a hurricane carries with it. Recently Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma have struck the southern-side of the United States of America, Harvey in Texas
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and Irma have already racked up over 150 billion dollars in combined total damage. In Texas, mainly certain parts of Houston will be uninhabitable for several weeks and/or months. Even a month after being struck, some parts of Texas are still left with water from the hurricane. According to USA Today, the rainfall hit a record-breaking 51.88 inches in Cedar Bayou, Texas, a city about 20 miles out of Houston. Surprisingly, Hurricane Harvey wasn’t expected to cause as much
damage as it did. Although being a category four hurricane, Harvey was expected to roll right through Texas and move onward. But instead, Harvey was stuck in the Houston area, and formed three mini-hurricanes inside one big hurricane. Add that Harvey kept getting fed water from Gulf of Mexico, and you have yourself a Katrina-like catastrophe. Houston residents were very ill-prepared, and their city definitely wasn’t built to withstand a storm like Harvey. But, Houston-residents had little time to prepare.
Spellcast
According to USA Today, Harvey was not even a tropical storm four days before striking Houston. But Florida was prepared for Irma. Right after Harvey finished with Houston, another hurricane formed out in the Atlantic Ocean. This was Hurricane Irma. After seeing what a category four hurricane did to Houston, Florida acted fast. Irma soon formed into a category five hurricane, with winds breaking over 180 miles-per-hour, ripping through Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Caribbean. Unlike Houston, Florida had team to act upon Irma. Most of Florida evacuated, few stayed. For America, Hurricane Irma was better than expected. Despite having winds over 185 MPH, being wider than Texas, and producing enough energy to meet an average electric company’s season,according to WIRED, it hit Cuba first. Cuba took most of the damage that America was expected to get from Irma.
And Senior Ezana Mekonnen said, “My aunt lived in Springfield, and they were powerless for bit of time. By the time it reached us was a superstorm. We were powerless for two days and it was horrible for the community. It didn’t seriously affect me, but it did affect others in the community. Expressing his thoughts about the recent hurricane, Maria, in Peugeot Rico, he said, “I think that it’s a serious issue that needs to be dealt with. I know our nation is doing its diligence down there. Puerto Rico needs help and they are getting ignored. They could take 30 years to recover. They have a 30 million population and they are the most affected.” But more economical, and natural effects can be seen closer to Houston. According to BBC, over 30,00 Houston natives were left homeless after the floods; the population can expect a major decrease that Houston won’t be able to bounce back from, like Katrina. But, some parts of Houston were less-flooded, and some were more flooded, just depending on where you’re at. An estimated 27 trillion gallons of water was rained down on Texas and Louisiana, causing some places to get up to 51 inches of rain. This caused over 75 billion dollars in damage, by itself, and causing over 75,000 people needing to be rescued by Coast Guard according to CNN. These past weeks, and past hurricane, have been some of the worst for North America as a whole. The damage these hurricanes have caused, and the small time to prepare for each have left the country in awe. As a country we need to stand together and help each other in these times of hardship.
Effects On The Community
Wikipedia
Even students at Mountain View have been affected by a hurricane. Junior Turrell McCoy said, “I was in Florida, and my uncle’s houses got destroyed when I was there a few years ago. It sucks because it’s destroying a lot of people’s lives and nobody deserves that. I hope it stops. I think people should donate to the Red Cross because those people didn’t ask to get their homes destroyed and all that.”
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Military
Trade School
Enlisting in the military is definitely not something for everyone, but for those who do see it as an option, there are many benefits. The military can be similar to trade school in that you have the option to work in a specific field, like mechanics or electricity, so that, once you leave the military, you have the option to get a job similar to those fields. Some may want to attend college while they’re in the military or after they get out, and there are benefits for them as well. The military offers its members a Government Issued (GI) Bill that essentially pays for them to attend college for four years. Since the military is a job, it offers its current and retired members healthcare. This is a perk for solo individuals and individuals with families to support. “I grew up with the military being a part of my life so i have a huge respect for it. It means a lot to me to be able to serve and help this country.” said Emily Narvaez. It’s well known that the military is a place of rigor and discipline; this gives anyone who enters an opportunity to learn character traits and disciplinary skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
Peace Corps
Trade school may be a lesser known option, but if you’re looking to be almost guaranteed a job once you graduate, it could be the place for you. Trade schools teach the skills people need to have careers as electricians, plumbers and auto mechanics, etc. There will always be a need for these kinds of services, which is why the chances of obtaining a job are so likely. Like community colleges, trade schools are, on average, cheaper than public or private colleges. An average trade school degree costs $33,000, whereas an average bachelor’s degree costs $127,000. They can also take less time to graduate from, taking anywhere from eight months to two years to earn a diploma or certificate. Trade schools often offer smaller, more personalized classes size, so if you prefer a more intimate learning setting, trade school could be for you.
College Alternatives Going to a four year university might seem like the only option after highscool, but it might not appeal to everyone by Sophie Perez
Community College
An option that is maybe even lesser known than trade school is the Peace Corps. In the Peace Corps, you travel to different countries to do things like teach and build schools, all while being provided with housing and a living stipend. In some cases, if you end up joining the Peace Corps after college, they are able to pay off your student loans. The Peace Corps also provides medical benefits and $8,000 after two years of service to help with adjusting to life back home. The Peace Corps could be just what you’re looking for in a more cultural or spiritual way as well. While you are living in a different country, you are given a salary with an amount that replicates the standard of living in that particular country. This enables you to connect with the country and its people on an even deeper level. Junior Grace Dalton said, “My mom was in the peace corps and she loved it. She went to romania and had to learn the language all while teaching english eight hours a day.”
Other than going to a four-year university, community college is likely what you think of when questioning what options you have after high school. One of the biggest perks of community college is that it’s much more cost efficient than public or private colleges. The average US tuition cost is $24,610 for a public college and $49,320 for a private college, where as the average tuition cost for community college is $3,374. If you attend a local community college, you may also have the option to save even more money by continuing to live at home and not have to pay boarding fees. Say you are looking to move out of state but there’s no way you want to pay an even higher out-of-state tuition cost at a public or private college, you could always attend a community college wherever you decide to move and then transfer after you qualify for instate tuition. Community College also has the benefit of a more personally tailored schedule. You can choose when you want to take classes based on your work schedule or any other responsibilities. Another option that community college provides is that you could take all your required classes at a community college and then transfer to a public or private college to take classes that are more specialized to your desired major. Although there may be a stigma surrounding community college, it could be the smartest option for you.
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