September 28, 2007 -Vol. 36 Issue 2

Editorial: Season premiers can cause
failure to accomplish homework
By Emily Hauser, sr.
For the Editorial Board

As September comes and goes, it brings with it many possible obstacles for students.

Although the school year is still new and students are not yet fully in the grips of senioritis or its lesser forms, distractions such as television are a viable problem when trying to become motivated to finish homework or study for a test.

Middle to late September is the time of year when reruns are finally over and new shows begin. For any student, the promise of knowing relationship statuses on Grey’s Anatomy or finding out the outcome of CSI is far more tantalizing than any school assignment.

Admittedly some students resist temptation exceedingly well and these are the students who will in general do better on homework, pay more attention in class, and get better grades. There are those few kids who are able to not care and still do well, but for the most part it is difficult for focus to be regained once it has been lost.

Once someone is off task they do not want to start to work, and they put it off and put it off until class time comes around and it is not finished. Schoolwork should be finished before other activities are started.

Procrastination hurts far more than it helps and though it feels like it does not matter, the work ethic learned in high school will follow through to college and future careers.

Cartoon by Bethany Wolverton

Although watching educational television may be less entertaining, slow, and dare I say it, educational, it is more valuable than watching a television series purely for entertainment.

People may argue that watching television at all is a waste of time. However, there will be spare time in a person’s day eventually, and if that person does not have anything to do, he or she can watch something educational such as the Discovery Channel or the History Channel.

Watching these types of shows not only helps pass the time, but they also stimulate brain cells as well. Information gained from these shows could even help in school.

If students were to know random important facts in history they might be able to use them in a college paper for instance, or they could impress their teachers with their abundant knowledge.

Watching a special on our founding fathers instead of a three hour marathon of Sponge Bob may lead to learning things such as Rhode Island did not show up at the second continental congress. Facts like these could be used when it is least expected; plus, they will expand the student’s general knowledge level.

If students watch educational television and expand their minds, they can help prepare themselves for their futures. Besides, teens certainly are not going to get any dumber from watching a documentary on Thomas Alba Edison than an episode of Ren and Stimpy followed by an episode of Beavis and Butt head.

The first half hour of Superbad is, as its name suggests, not the best way to spend thirty minutes.

Seniors Seth and Evan, the main characters, spend most of their time talking about inappropriate topics. While the portrayal of high school boys is fairly accurate, it is not something that needs to be in a movie that already seems long. The start seems disconnected from the rest of the movie, almost as if it was only put in there to earn an ‘R’ rating so the rest could be filled with the occasional curse word or sexual reference.

If the beginning is completely disregarded, Superbad is amusing and clever with an ending scene worthy of any chick flick, where the guys fix their friendship and end up with the girls they want. The inappropriate topics are severely toned down, even though their presence still makes itself known.

The last three-quarters almost make up for the borderline torture of the first twenty-five percent, but when reflecting upon what has been seen, the opening scenes stand out in memory and discourage repetitive viewing.

Overall, the movie is definitely not for family viewing, but if they meet the age requirements, high schoolers could find it entertaining because they might be able to relate.

Jock Wilson, fr. “I enjoy watching hunting shows because it gets me excited for deer season."	Deedra Barnett, sr. “I like to watch the Discovery Health channel because I want to be an R.N."
Billy Schomaker, jr. “I like to watch motocross and championship off-road racing because they are always on the edge of crashing and you never know when or where they are going to go over."	Glendolyn Neely, so. “I like to watch reality tv shows because they are very humorous."
Eric Carlson, Social Science Teacher “I enjoy watching baseball and football, the Discovery and Learning channels because I like those sports and those channels are both entertaining and informative."

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