How many students at Octorara Middle School do you know that like to play sports? To many students, sports are a big part of their lives. Right now at Octorara Middle School we don’t have the opportunity to play school sports. Yes, sports cost money but there are some advantages to having sports. Some advantages […]

Sometimes, while we are at school we feel like it will never end, whether we want it to or not. What we need to remember is, school is not forever, neither is college, and one way or another we will have to face up to the real world. Shouldn’t this be the exciting part? Surely […]

The World is moving too fast and textbooks are starting to get older. “Did you finish your social studies work? “Yea but I Couldn’t find much in the social studies book. I had to look it on the internet and I found lots of great facts to put in my essay. I think that we […]

A college education has become a necessity in today’s society. Students throughout the country are concentrating on their academics and are endeavoring to receive perfect grades. Financing each student’s education has become difficult in today’s economy. Thus, many students, teachers, and people wonder if free college tuition should be granted. I believe free college tuition […]

America… What comes to mind when you hear that glamorous name? Freedom, liberty, justice… ? Look closer, though. Look at the schools, the average American child at age thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen. Do they appreciate music, art, and or literature? Not many of them do. I realize that I am a very lucky child, and […]

We live in what very well may be one of the most despicable, selfish, and competitive societies in all of history. Man has the strongest desire to push aside it’s coexisting citizen and emerge on top, calling himself “the best.” This callous selfishness does not just stem from an individual; it is fertilized, then nurtured […]

I stare at the blank page in front of me hoping that something will come, that at the last minute I will write a work of art. I wait and hope that at the last minute I will somehow understand quantum physics and thermodynamics. I wait for the pixie magic to take its effect, for […]

Public Schools should have elevators that we are allowed to use during school. I think that if we did have elevators, than we wouldn’t be late to class as much. The elevators should be in use all day, until maybe 4:30 after school, for the people who need to stay after school for Friday school, […]

In my public school, the dress code is debated. Is it fair? Is it sexist? Is it constitutional? Most students comply with the dress code, however, many feel the dress code expropriates their rights. Students claim the code is “restricting” or “violating the first amendment,” but is this the case? The High School Handbook states, […]

As I walk around the grim hallways of my once prestigious school, I am utterly disgusted by the lack of formality shown by bright-eyed teachers believing they can truly affect a miscreant student’s life. I pity the teacher fresh out of his college haze; perhaps, the excessive drinking achieved by said teacher remains in his […]

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP sounds the alarm clock in the early morning,joltingan unrested teen into a morning haze. That sluggish feeling and inability to focus in class until late in the school day is pretty typical for the average teen. This problem makes school harder than it should be. School should start at a […]

Standardized testing has been around for hundreds of years, but has been found to be more harmful than beneficial in many ways. It is causing many problems with students, teachers, and money. Standardized testing may have worked before, but it has run its time; and it’s time for a new system. This system is causing […]

Theschool lunch does not always provide the healthiest choices for students who buy their lunch everyday. Students tend to have to decide between two meals that do not contain many vegetables or fruits. The options for lunch are normally solely based around starch and carbohydrates, and the meals sometimes do not even include a portion […]

School schedules are flawed. Having eight or so subjects to pay attention to and get assignments done for is difficult. School should be one subject; ex. Your first class is science, then you would only go to science class everyday for a month. That way you would be able to put all of your focus […]

In April of 1984, Robert Kohls wrote the “Values Americans Live By.” In the essay he took a stand on the importance of future orientation in America. Kohls stated, “Even a happy present goes largely unnoticed because, happy as it may be, Americans have traditionally been hopeful that the future would bring greater happiness. Almost […]

Our society has changed a lot over the years: we charge our phones more than we sleep, we have access to news articles with the tap of a finger and we learn how to hack into free Wifi sooner than we memorize our times tables. Our way of life is insanely fast-paced, changing day by […]

We’ve all heard it before from our sleep deprived teens, “school starts too early”, “I’m too tired to get up” etc… and if you haven’t heard anyone say it, than you probably are. Everyone hears teens complaining about how school starts too early and how they’re too tired to get up and do the work, […]

When a teacher gives treats does it actually motivate students to answer questions? I asked a few students if they agree with teachers giving out candy to increase the number of hands going up to participate, and a majority are positive that it is working for them. The reason I believe it works is that […]

According to Read Faster Reading Statistics, more than 1/3 of adults will never read another book after high school. Walk around any American high school and chances are that complaints about the novels being read in English class will come from the mouths of students. Looking at an average high school’s reading list you can […]

What if there was something you could do that makes you smarter, benefits health, reduces stress and helps brain development. Making music does that and more. (It is also a potential career). The no child left behind act states art as a core classes yet it is not being offered to everyone. The benefits of […]

An issue I feel strongly about is art and music in schools. Art and music can help you express who you truly are. Taking away those things is like taking away a piece of someone. As Stella Adler once said “Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.” […]

Final exams are approaching, and you are not ready. Stop lying to yourself; you are a procrastinator and a slacker. You have done minimum work all semester and you are now wondering how in the world you are going to pass finals. Let’s face it, you suck. If you didn’t, you would be ready for […]

A Sticky Proposal I believe that students should be able to chew gum in school. Chewing gum has many positive aspects; as well as a few drawbacks. Overall, it is a very positive product. It can relax and calm you and can minimize a teacher’s stress. Chewing gum acts as a toothbrush, and it is […]

Cheating can be different for everyone. However, what has been found through these interviews of Arrowhead students, is that cheating and memorization, are a predominant aspect of the school system and it’s up to the students to decide what to do. Maiya , a sophomore at Arrowhead, says, “I believe cheating is fine for busy […]

For the most part, I like school. It keeps me going and gets me where I want to go in life. But there is just one thing that urks me about school: the hallways, and the lack of common courtesy I see in the halls. I believe the hallways at school should have a set […]

Education is something that is highly undervalued not only by the kids that are receiving it, but by the people who are supposed to be supplying it. Education cuts are being made left right and centre and it is in no way beneficial to society. The next generation are supposed to one day be running […]

You know Rebecca Black’s “Friday?” Well the college application process was even more annoying than that. As the culmination of the first eighteen years of our lives, admissions decisions defined 12th grade for me and my classmates. Instead of “what seat can I take?,” Rebecca’s all too famous quandary, we asked ourselves, “what college can […]

As young children, many are taught to pray, first as small little prayers, and as they grow older more personal prayers. Prayer is an essential part to many religions. While all religions differ in the requirements of the prayer, all have the same core ideal; communicating with the one who made people and dictates how […]

The SATs do not measure what people think it measures. The Princeton Review’s Cracking the SAT 2015 book states, “Just because the SAT features math, reading, and writing questions does not mean that it reflects what you learned in school… The test writers claim that the test predicts how well you will do in college […]

Why are you always so tired in the morning even though you didn’t stay up really late? Higher achievement isn’t caused by homework as so many teachers think. Homework has increased over 40% in the last 15 years and that number will keep increasing unless somebody does something. Homework is a horrible waste of time […]