HORNET’S NEST

Are You a Procrastinator?

By Owen Woods

I sit in my room after a long Proctor day sinking into my bed, knowing I have an English assignment due tomorrow. Do I open myProctor and tiredly revise it, or do I scroll on Tik Tok until midnight…?

Many students and some faculty have experienced something similar to this. Procrastination shows no mercy to Proctor. In a survey I sent to our community, 79% of the 84 responses said that they procrastinate. Now if this doesn’t surprise you, that’s fine. But out of everyone who responded, roughly 18 were faculty. This struggle grips many on campus.

Research from the McLean Harvard Medical School Affiliate, an international center for medical research, says that procrastination is usually linked with poor mental health, ADHD, and anxiety. Stress and sadness cause us not to be as focused on work, causing procrastination. One Proctor respondent noted, “I have anxiety, so I tend to lose my mind if I’m not caught up on my work, or ahead of my work. Not really a strategy, but it works”. Another wrote, “Taking my ADHD meds [helps], if I don’t have them I constantly procrastinate.”

I procrastinate because of my phone addiction. I know many of you on campus can relate to this, and it’s also why we aren’t getting that much sleep (other than schoolwork). Being a chronic procrastinator fueled by my curiosity to figure out why my smartphone derails me. When there is an assignment sometimes I will just watch videos to try and forget about my work. Another responder explained how summative assessments take more focus and effort and create more procrastination. “Larger ticket items. Hard to start a portion of something I know I can not finish in one sitting.”

But next time you have a paper due and your phone looks lonely on that desk or bed, remember that if you complete your work then and there, tomorrow will be only half as hard. If it’s too much for you in the first place, try to establish a routine and set up plans. Don’t let your stress and self-doubt hold you back, it’ll only cut down those grades. One teacher wrote, “Sometimes I see a stack of work that needs to be graded and I want to procrastinate, but then I remember that people are waiting on me and I owe it to them to grade and give good feedback.” We are all doing this work for each other and ourselves, so make the most of it Proctor!

Journalism? Who? What?

By: Finn Connor

It’s a random Tuesday and you walk into the dining hall for lunch and you see a few a paper on every table. In big bold letters across the front cover reads The Hornets Nest. Who writes The Hornet’s Nest? No other than the small class of journalism students and their fearless leader Pete Southworth.

Before I go any further I want to define Journalism Class for you. I pulled out my handy dandy syllabus (for the first time this year) for the definition. ”This course will introduce the skills of observation, interviewing, and writing! We will plan, edit, & write stories that will be published on Proctor’s website under our banner, The Hornet’s Nest.” get the responses that I wanted from certain interviewers. Also, it was challenging sometimes when I really wanted that one person to weigh in on my topic but they just didn’t get around to answering my questions in time. Other than those few challenges I endured along the way, Journalism taught me so much more than I would have ever expected.”

What are the values behind the field of journalism? Walter Dean, a director from the American Press Institute spoke about Journalism and its value in Journalism Essentials. “News is that part of communication that keeps us informed of the changing events, issues, and characters in the world outside. Though it may be interesting or even entertaining, the foremost value of news is as a utility to empower the informed.” In Proctor Academy’s case, our school newspaper allows students to voice their own opinions.

Hobby Reading at Proctor

By Wyatt Corrigan

Christopher Ingraham, states that the national percentage of people who enjoy reading is down to 19%.

Senior Romy Smith is a Proctor exception. “I enjoy reading because it allows me to calm down and focus on something other than my personal life.” Reading as an escape was also reflected in some of the answers to the survey. Some noted that reading helps with stress, “Makes me feel safe and takes me to another world.” or from another respondent, “Calming, it’s a good escape that feels nice to my brain.”

I am a student of Journalism, and here I am in The Hornets Nest preaching about Journalism. Senior Kellen Heally is also a member of Journalism. “I love Journalism class. As soon as I walk into Pete Southworth’s class it’s a breath of fresh air knowing that we don’t have a quiz or test that I totally forgot about. It’s a break from your everyday English class. We create articles and write interesting essays, like reviews.” He also spoke about voicing his opinion. “It’s really cool knowing that you are allowed to voice your opinion about different things… like mine in the last edition, Are There Two Many Assemblies?

I also had the chance to speak with former Journalism student Senior Colin Kwak. “Journalism class showed me what goes on behind the scenes with not only The Hornets Nest but also on a larger level. At times it was frustrating when I didn’t

Do you enjoy reading? The overall number of people who enjoy reading has been steadily declining year after year since 2004, so why are there more people at Proctor who enjoy reading compared to the national average?

For someone who enjoys reading as a hobby, reading for classes sounds like an easy A, but Romy said this about reading during school, “I actually hate reading for classes. It’s something that I enjoy because it’s something that I do to de-stress, and reading for classes isn’t calming.” Another survey respondent agrees.. “I love reading, but school has absolutely ruined my desire and ability to read. I can’t focus on a book because it feels a bit like a punishment after having only read for academic reasons since like the sixth grade.” While students might be deterred from reading as a hobby, Romy has continued to read in her free time despite her distaste for reading some books while in school.

So, stop by our library and pick out a book that you’ll enjoy reading without needing to rush through it or worry about what you’ll be quizzed on.

In a survey to faculty and students, over 50% of Proctor students enjoy reading.