I do not know what you, the reader of this article, need to hear about my high school experience. I don’t even know if you want to hear about any of it. I could tell you that when I came to McCaskey, I thought there was one right way to be a person, and that way was warped by my own insecurities and fears. I … Continue reading Well, Goodbye.
Despite the progress made in mental health awareness, there are certain psychiatric conditions that remain heavily stigmatized: namely, psychosis. Put simply, psychosis is a lack of touch with reality. Episodes consist of two main groups of symptoms: positive and negative. Positive symptoms are anything added to reality, such as delusions or hallucinations. Negative symptoms are anything taken away from reality, like reduced motivation and cognitive … Continue reading Lessons from Psychosis
Senior year went by in a flash. It feels like only a couple weeks ago that I stepped foot into McCaskey’s tall, red brick building for the first time since the year before. The cracked, cream colored stairs leading up to the doorway, the tall green windows, the lampposts lining the very sidewalk each student walks at some point during their time here. That was … Continue reading The Last First Time
I joined Scouting late and with trepidation. Being an older kid and having no experience with the program left me entirely clueless as to what I was walking into. In addition to my seniority, I began my experience in the Boy Scouts of America having spent my junior year with Scouting Ireland. That being said, I’m no stranger to the outdoors. I grew up spending … Continue reading A Reflection on Scouting
In 2019, Megan Phelps-Roper’s life changed. Formerly under the spotlight as a disaffected member of the ultra-conservative Westboro Baptist Church, Roper has since been a commentator of sorts, tracking current issues in politics and culture from a centrist perspective. Her latest and most ambitious undertaking is a podcast covering the events of bestselling author J.K. Rowling’s life and recent controversies. Smugly named “The Witch Trials … Continue reading From Her Hogwarts Mansion: J.K. Rowling and how to Control a Narrative
At what age would you give your child their first device? Seven? Twelve? The debate of when it is best to give a child access to the internet is extremely important in today’s society with the newest generation, Generation Alpha (also referred to as “IPad Kids”) growing up. But, the answer to that question is clear as day. The internet is being used much more … Continue reading Raised By The Internet: Why Children Shouldn’t be Given Access to Social Media
Americans are notorious for not only being unable to speak multiple languages, unlike the rest of the world, but also not wanting to. Native born Americans make the United States a largely monolingual country and English is a growing language that you can find on every continent. There is no shortage of foreign languages spoken in the US, in fact, there are 54 languages spoken … Continue reading Why are Americans terrible at learning languages?
AP (advanced placement) and IB (international baccalaureate) classes are both higher level course options offered at McCaskey and are often equivalated. The comparison of the two curricula though, is arbitrary and inaccurate. Although both courses have the same general structure of a college-level class with a nationally or internationally administered test at the end of the year, the differences extend far beyond geography. AP classes … Continue reading Where IB Succeeds and AP Fails: Critical Thinking
The ‘cell phone’ or mobile phone using cellular data, was invented in 1973. However, the cell phone that we all know and love, the high speed mobile computer with internet access, was invented in 2007. The very first ‘smartphone.’ Today, 97% of America’s population owns a smartphone. Since their rapid rise in popularity over the course of the early 2010s, the smartphone has boasted convenience, … Continue reading We’re All Addicted to Our Phones-Now What?
We, the American people, under the encouragement of ceaseless expansion (capitalism) have destroyed or attempted to tame every wild corner of the United States. Thankfully, this condition of creation, this endless development, was recognized early. President Woodrow Wilson created the National Park Service with the intention of protecting America’s most sensitive and beautiful landscapes. His predecessors, particularly Teddy Roosevelt and Ulysses S. Grant, paved the … Continue reading Road to Ruin: America’s National Parks
Every day, like most students here, I traverse the halls and stairways of McCaskey East and JP. On one particular morning I was bumped into 6 times on my way to homeroom, and got only a single muttered “sorry.” That same day, as I traveled from 6th to 7th period, my shoes were stepped on twice, I was walked into by a young gent on … Continue reading Engagement and Courtesy: What Gen Z Has Sent to the Grave
It’s no secret that people are reading less; books and articles have become passe and unstimulating amidst the overwhelming barrage of content that is invariably at our fingertips. Teens and even young children are opting for more short-form online content that can be consumed passively, rather than actively reading books for fun. The decline in reading has left children and young adults with smaller vocabularies, … Continue reading The Lost Art of Reading Books
The United States is no stranger to censorship. The horrifying attempts to discard any progress made in America’s education system are becoming bolder and more alarming. The legality of attacks on race-based discussions such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ “Stop WOKE Act,” signed last year are gaining media traction as the arguments regarding censorship circulate courts nationwide. Perfectly phrased by Dean Pernell of Florida A&M … Continue reading AP African American Studies: Timeline, Controversy, and Perspective
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”, has been the must watch film of 2023 ever since its release in December of 2022— Tiktoks, tweets, and overall hype centered around the fearless, adorable cat known from the loved film series “Shrek” due to it’s storyline, characters, and overall message in the film. Many animated children’s films had a popular debut in 2022, like Turning Red, Minions: … Continue reading How ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ Changed the Game in Children’s Animation
I picked this article topic because I thought it would take the least amount of time and effort. And yet, here I am, a few hours to the deadline, with a page almost as empty as the list of tasks that I have actually accomplished this weekend. In this rough draft document, there is a page where I have typed the following: d;jkafsdafsjkldsfkjl;fdsjkldfsa;jklsdfajsadf;jklfsd;jkladsfjkl;dsafj;kafsdlsdfajkladfsj;dkldfjk;ldfaj;lkdafsj;kdsfljk;fdsjl;kdfaj;ldfasjlkdfasjk;ldfsjkfdsj;lfadsjkldfasjkl;fdasjl;kdfajkldfajl;dfasjl;kdfasjldfasjkl;dfasjk;ldfsajl;kdfsajdsfajl;adfsj;klfdsajkl; I think … Continue reading On Senioritis
Vidette 