It’s a dreaded part of the school curriculum. It’s long, arduous, repetitive, and you just want it to be over with. No, I’m not talking about standardized testing (I’m saving that for another day), I’m talking about homework. If you’ve watched the news recently, you’ve probably seen stories about Cherry Park Elementary in Oregon. The principal has joined a handful of others across the country in banning homework. While this isn’t the most relevant school to acknowledge, it is the most recent. It also shows that the number of schools dumping homework is increasing, although most of these schools are elementary schools. There has also been research done that shows that there are many benefits of having a regular homework schedule aside from reinforcing learning. To try to sort through the issue, I have interviewed parents, teachers, and students on how they view homework and read the latest research. 

Go:

In 2007, a group of researchers conducted the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). This study involved interviewing students from 59 countries worldwide about their academic experience. The study showed that US students are right in the middle of the 59 countries studied. But the most interesting result was that some of the highest scoring countries on the TIMSS’ math exam – Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan – were shown having ‘heavy workloads’ below the international mean. This trend was common with most countries studied; there was no correlation between high scores and extreme homework. Excessive homework was commonly seen in countries with lower income and higher inequality. There have also been links found between excessive homework and sleep deprivation and a negative attitude toward academic achievement. Policies that completely eliminate homework have also been cited as problematic, and are almost universally disparaged. However the main takeaway from all of this research is that homework has no conclusive effect on grades and learning.

Stay:

While homework has no conclusive benefits on grades, there is evidence that it is beneficial in other ways. One of the most influential effects it has is that it teaches work and time management skills to younger children. It also lets children learn which way they study best and how to become independent. Homework itself is split into two smaller subcategories, instructional and noninstructional. Instructional homework is standard rinse and repeat, practice-practice-practice work that primarily reinforces what students are learning in the classroom. The other type of homework, noninstructional,  is assigned for interaction between students and parents, or students and their classmates. This type of homework has been tested far less, but has been shown to very effectively allow students to socialize with others in order to complete a task, thus building teamwork and other character-building traits.

The Verdict:

All in all, this is a very tough question to answer just yet. There hasn’t been conclusive research done recently enough to make a call and what research has been done has been focused on younger grades where students are beginning to develop and need the extra practice. High school is a much different story about much different people who are very much different in their own ways. The best answer anyone can give right now is that homework should be treated on a case-by-case basis. Students who aren’t being challenged don’t need more homework, they need time (and motivation) to challenge themselves. Students who are being challenged don’t need the extra stress of daily assignments. But the average U.S. student should be able to handle the current level of homework assigned in this country. Until grades start dropping like flies and the main culprit is Undesirable #1, there’s nothing we can do but accept that homework will be homework.

Works Cited

1. LeTendre, Gerald K. “Homework Could Have an Effect on Kids’ Health. Should Schools Ban It?” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 2 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
2. Pawlowski, A. “How a “no-homework” Policy Is Working for These Schools.”TODAY.com. TODAY, 08 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
3. “What Research Says about the Value of Homework: Research Review.” What Research Says about the Value of Homework: Research Review. Center for Public Education, 5 Feb. 2007. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.

Living in the midst of the era of social media can lead to a pretty narrow exploration of the World Wide Web. As teenagers, we seem to devote all of our time online to just a few social media sites. But there are so many helpful and interesting websites to explore even if they do not come in app form. I think that it would be interesting to share some of the websites that I have found to be particularly great, whether they involve personal interest or relaxation, forgotten appointments or forgotten songs, or becoming fit while having fun. Perhaps we can make positive use of the Internet in an even more expansive way.

StumbleUpon

Have you ever wished to find new inspiration or explore your interests? This discovery engine is your chance. StumbleUpon links users with websites relevant to their specified interests—whether sunsets, neoclassical architecture styles or any other branch of life. By using this site, you will be able to interact with what makes you tick and then continuously grow those interests. Stumble away!

Calm.com

There is no need to travel to the Caribbean or pull out a yoga DVD when you have access to this site. In a world that is often hectic and disconnected, Calm.com offers a visual and auditory escape to a place of mindful relaxation and meditation. Take a break from your stress and your studies to center yourself in a peaceful, clear state of mind. With audio-guided or self-guided mediation, you will leave this website with an understanding of why it is called Calm.com.

Any.do

Go to this site and watch your life (literally) fall in to place! Any.do’s organization grid allows you to chart in your agenda for “Today,” “Tomorrow,” “Upcoming” and “Someday.” What is more, the online website allows for a full view of your tasks so that stress can slowly ease away.

Forgotify

If you are looking to acquire a unique, undiscovered music taste, Forgotify will provide you with just that. While Spotify offers more than 20 million songs, this site offers about 5 million that have never been heard. Broaden your taste and your music sensibility by giving some of these hidden songs a listen.

Fitocracy

If you are a competitive person, getting healthier will become easier and likely much more fun with this website. Fitocracy allows you to unlock goals, compete with other members, and go on health “quests” to ramp up your health, all with access to an online coach and team. This website allows fitness to become a team sport!

Hopefully, at least one of these sites is appealing and will become a new bookmark in your browser. And maybe there is even a chance that you will be happier, healthier, and relaxed for it.

Like most people, I make New Year’s resolutions that I think will help me achieve my goals. For example, I want a better body, so I am going to go to the gym more. I want to be smarter, so I am going to read more. I want to be a better student, so I am going to spend more hours studying and complete assignments earlier.

Every New Year’s Eve, I like to imagine myself a year later: hotter, smarter and with stellar study habits. Sadly, many years have gone by without any feeling of success. I often become so overwhelmed with the hope of the New Year that I always think the next year will be different.

I let this cycle go on for far too long. I felt so much pressure and anxiety over my resolutions that they became incredibly tiresome. It was easier to accept defeat than to deal with the constant pressure I put on myself to achieve. This was never more true than with school. Here, the constant need to do better had an adverse affect. I would wilt under the pressure.

This year I decided to break the cycle. My resolution is not to achieve a better grade, but to feel happier while working for my grades. I tried to recall the times when I had been successful in school. On all of those occasions, I was participating in something that I loved. My best grades were in the subjects that I loved the most. Therefore, I concluded that if I tried my best to enjoy what I was doing, rather than obsessing over perfection, I would be more successful. If my new experiment works, I will not only achieve my goal of being a better student, but will have done it in a way that is beneficial to me.

The month of December is here, but would we know what time of year it is without the morning radio updates telling us how many days there are until the holidays? Maybe not. Lately, the weather has been more fitting for a chilly spring morning or a mild fall day. For anyone with winter dread, which seems to be a lot of New England folks still recovering from last year’s streak of blizzards , this oddly warm weather is a blessing. At least one month less of shoveling and home-bound weekends!

Yet, being young and not yet fed up with Massachusetts winters, I cannot help but wish for snow. It seems this time of year’s magic always comes more to life with a beautiful snowfall just in time for the holidays. Unfortunately for snow-lovers like me, the remainder of the month is forecast to be pretty rainy and around 50 degrees on average, according to weather.com.

My fruitless wishing for snow gets me thinking about the reason why the past few Decembers have been so green. Should I wish for snow for a less selfish reason, like the survival of the polar bears who are suffering from the detrimental effects of global warming?
I decided to do some research, and this is what I found out: according to the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA) team, the northeastern United States has gradually warmed up every decade at a rate of roughly .5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1970. Snowfall coverage has decreased, while spring has come more quickly and summer has presented increasing numbers of very hot days (www.neaq.org). As such, according to ample amounts of evidence, it is fair to say that global warming is playing an active role in our green New England Decembers.

These shocking results certainly call for action toward minimizing our footprint. Angela Fritz from The Washington Post makes it clear that the most direct cause for this warm December is tied to El Niño, the irregularly occurring climatic changes that impact the equatorial Pacific area. As a result, pressure is expected to build over North America, meaning that the continent’s regional temperatures will be above average for December. However, as Fritz points out to those wishing for a warm winter and shorts, El Niño does not necessarily mean that the entire winter will be warm.

Luckily, these warm-wishers have some good news for December at least. And for snow-lovers like me, well, we’ll just have to wait until January comes around. In the meantime, we can work on doing all we can to save our planet from the terrible effects of global warming, where lack of a pretty winter day is the least harmful consequence.

Last Friday night, horror struck in France’s capital city on a scale that shocked the world. Terrorists bearing AK-47s and wearing bombs on their chests attacked at least six sites around the city. When all was said and done, 128 people lay dead, including a young man visiting from his home of Martha’s Vineyard, and countless others were left injured and traumatized. The attacks were the work of ISIS, a terrorist group based in Syria. Eight fully armed ISIS militants were positioned at strategic locations in Paris that night, and seven of them were killed in the ensuing  violence. ISIS assumed full responsibility for the attacks in an attempt to create fear in the western nations.

Rather than fear, however, ISIS is being met with a desire for justice and revenge. The French President Francois Hollande described the bombings as an “act of war,” and are in fact the most violence Paris has seen since World War II. The American government offered their aid and condolences to the French, and Obama said, “This is an attack not just on Paris, not just on the people on France, but an attack on all humanity and the universal values we share.” Despite the tragic events that took place just a few days ago, the world has united in support for Parisians. Landmarks such as the Empire State building in New York City, Tower Bridge in London, and the angel de la Independencia in Mexico were lit up with red, white and blue lights in the pattern of the French flag on Friday night. The hashtag #pray4paris was created and circulated around the word on every social media imaginable in a matter of a few hours. In addition, many Muslims have taken to using the tag #notinmyname to emphasize that only a small percentage of followers of their religion are willing to kill for their beliefs. Rather than the terror they hoped to unleash, ISIS has been met with strength and resiliency from human goodness.

In the wake of events such as this terrorist attack, it is important to remember that bombings and shootings such as this one occur almost daily throughout the Middle East. Families lose their homes in a second, and mothers rarely live to see their children grow old. Thousands of refugees are fleeing the war-torn region looking for safety, some never finding it in their dangerous journeys across mountains and seas. It is easy to lose sight of the big picture: that the terror we are experiencing now has been increasing for years in the Middle East.