As one of the smartest, most under-rated students at Worthington Christian. Jake Flanigan’s life is much like his job: organized mayhem. Jake has a sister and two brothers with Patrick being his favorite sibling despite him being the “bad one” in the family. Jake tells me that he’s much closer to his mom’s side of his family but dislikes his dad’s side, apparently due to the family dynamics.
Jake has been a lifer at Worthington Christian for 13 years, his favorite courses here are the computer classes with programming being his favorite. In fact, he plans to be a programmer later in life. However, Jake is not a fan of school. Not the academic part but the social structure of the student body. He cites the problem being the “pride and selfishness”. What makes him distinguished from the rest of the student body is his ability to get great grades without studying nor putting in too much effort into his classes.
Jake describes his work at Legoland Discovery Center as organized mayhem. Although he loves his co-workers, the customers he deals with is hectic and the only way to get through the day is nothing but teamwork, which he cites as been a huge help to developing his social skills. Jake works on the Kingdom quest ride at LDC, where he must quickly load and dispatch rides to get the constant flow of customers through the line. Once again, Jake’s life is much like his job: organized mayhem.
“I think one thing for sure to realize is that you shouldn’t stress because you’re probably going to forget about a quiz that you bombed last week, and over time I realized that it’s best not to worry too much about your social life because it will all work out in the end.” These are the wise words of Noah St. John, a high school Sophomore at Worthington Christian high school. Noah is 16 years old, he has a passion for both soccer and the drums. I asked how his school year was so far, “Good, it’s been definitely harder than I thought it would be, I’ve learned a lot though, just these past few weeks.” I also asked him basic questions, what’s your favorite subject at Worthington Christian and why is it your favorite subject? “I would definitely say Biology because shows how big and amazing Gods creation of the animals and Earth really is. After this I asked him more detailed questions, I asked “What’s the best part of playing the Drums” he answered, “I would say that the best of part of playing the drums would be the freedom to make any sound or beat you want, including the challenges that come as well.”
Noah is a musician so I asked him questions to get a different perspective of what it’s like as a drummer. What’s it like playing the drums? “Playing the drums is definitely different than playing the guitar or keyboard, it’s nerve-racking sometimes because the job of the drummer is to keep the band on tempo, but overall it’s taught me a lot about patience.”
“The vibe of learning a new song is great, and the work ethic used in learning it is a good trait for life,” described Austin Crum, a Worthington Christian Sophomore on his motivation to play the guitar. Austin was born in Ohio and has lived here his whole life with his two older brothers and parents. He used to be in the Big Walnut school district until transferring to WC this year because his parents wanted a Christian environment for him. He says that transferring from a large public school to a school of only 360 people hasn’t been much of a challenge, it’s really just tricky getting used to having to wear a uniform. He also says that one thing he likes about WC compared to Big Walnut is that although no one really wants to go to school, everyone at WC is “ok” with it, where as the students attitudes at his old school didn’t like any of school. Austin let me know of his favorite subjects in school saying, “I like English and History because they go hand in hand and English is passed down throughout our history and tells of our past generations while giving us freedom of expression.”
When he isn’t at school he enjoys playing basketball, golf, video games, and has a deep passion for the guitar. He first got into the guitar around three years ago because most of his family plays and therefore he naturally had the interest to play. When Austin is playing on one of his five guitars he usually can be heard playing rock, blues, old country, or alternative. He listens to this because they flow so well with the guitar and is what he enjoys listening to. Austin enjoys listening to, “Jimmy Hendricks or Paul McCartney because of how inspirational they were and the great songs they made. Jimmy Hendricks also pushed boundaries and was innovative in the music industry.” ~Noah St. John
“There is a recognition the Second
Amendment rights, like the First Amendment and other rights, come with
responsibilities and limitations. There is no reason both sides of the gun
debate can’t support policies that both can’t protect the right to legally own
guns for sport and safety, and reduce the likelihood of mass fatality.” Quoted
by Randi Weingarten. There are many mixed feelings on allowing teachers to have
guns at school and how safety could be improved. This has proved a problem that
requires more attention because of the recent shootings in Florida, California,
Kentucky and the tragedies that have occurred during them. Because of the
problems guns have caused, some people think that guns should be taken out of
the picture or that there should be more restrictions placed on them such as a
higher age limit. Others think that more security should be added such as
police officers or people previously in the military to guard entrances.
I asked some students at WCHS what
their thoughts on the subject are and most had different viewpoints on it. The
majority however believed that teachers should be allowed to have guns at
school for additional security in classrooms. One of the interviewees stated
“teachers are already laying down their lives to save their students, why not
give them a way to protect themselves too.” the most common follow up to why
students wanted their teachers to have guns was that teachers were protecting
their students as past news stories have shown and the teachers don’t have a
way to protect themselves and they should to better improve the safety of the
school.
Here at WC we have installed threatextinguishers around our school as an alternative to guns.
Threat extinguishers
are concentrated cans of pepper spray that set off and alarm when they are
removed from their containers. The people I interviewed that thought teachers
shouldn’t have guns, said that they saw these as a better alternative to
allowing the teachers to have guns. Another alternative that was seen fit was
just following school procedures in classrooms such as attacking the trespasser
with the objects they have in the classroom with them. Another student stated
they think teachers could be impulsive and cause further issues than what could
be prevented. each person I have interviewed has a different opinion on the
matter but they all think that there should be a change in some way.
In this day and age, smartphones are a huge part of our lives. People rely on their smartphone for directions, communication, and even personal financing. Health officials have been researching the effects that smartphones have on our society.
In order to dig into this question, we must understand a few different demographics. According to the “Pew Research Center” 94% of young adults ages 18-29 own a smartphone in the U.S. Virtually every young adult owns a smartphone or smart device in one way or another. The average person looks at their phone at least 221 times a day. That is about 9 times an hour, but really about 14 times an hour assuming everyone gets about 8 hours of sleep. Would you consider 14 checks in a single hour, addiction? Studies show that nearly 50% of students claim to be addicted to their smart device, but in reality it is likely that every student that checks their phone 14 times an hour is truly addicted to their smartphone.
Smartphones are addictive, and cause several health issues, like sleep disruption, and neck issues. Studies show, that blue light emitted from smartphones, and other smart devices, disrupt your sleeping patterns. Blue light is the most disruptive light to the human body towards sleep. It hinders the release of the hormone melatonin in the brain that causes the human body to relax and fall into the REM cycle. If one is exposed to blue light right before they go to bed, it will take much longer and be much harder for them to fall asleep.
Ever seen a student walking around with their head down looking at their phone? Studies show that looking down at your phone causes great amounts of stress on your neck that can eventually lead to neck issues like pinched nerves and poor posture. At the upright position, your head puts about 10-12 pounds of stress on your neck, while at a 45 degree angle your head gives about 49 pounds of stress on your neck. With the average student checking their phones 221 times a day, that equates to be a whole lot of stress.
Few people would say to never use your smartphone, the key is, to be responsible with how you use it. Peter Mallory says “Phones can be extremely dangerous to those with feeble minds.” It is important to know your boundaries and monitor the effects your devices have on you. If you are one of the millions of people who have a cell phone addiction, there is no shame in contacting a professional, like Mrs. Nancy Secrest.
Could bullies be the real playground victim? Everyone can relate to the struggles of middle school and the inevitable clash of the ‘school bully’ but if this fact is universally relatable than the bully must be bullied as well. It is 2018 and anyone can be the victim. After interviewing ex-bullies, who shall not be named throughout this article, a common thread runs from the “bullies” school life straight into their front doors. Experts say that bullying originates by what the antagonists consumes from experiences at home and simply reacts to their social challenges of their high school life. Displaying dominance and or social skills through insults and abuse, bullies often struggle with more than they are given credit. One of our ex bullies talks about being mistreated by others earlier in their education and led them down a dark road and ended up becoming the thing they hated most. As culture evolves education is always close behind and with the evolution of schooling and social media a new form of bully has arisen: cyber bullying. Students are now vulnerable to bullying outside of the classroom and even in the safety of their homes. Parents should always keep an eye out for signs of cyberbullying. Any kids
who experiences it should always remembered that you can shut off the phone or delete the app.
Worthington Christian prides themselves on a bully-free zone and as a student who has attended the school their entire life, attributed that privilege to the families behind the scene. If you look behind the scenes of the school you will find hundreds of hard-working Christian families dedicated the upbringing of their children in a safe environment. WC acts as this incubator and for the most part helps eradicate bullies at the source: home. Ex victim laments his journey “I was severely bullied in middle school but thanks to the support of my father, we held a meeting with them and resolved our differences”. If you are experiencing bullying of any sort do not hesitate to grab an adult. The Wc handbook makes a clear strict rule that bullying will never be tolerated and the faculty and staff are all there to help. So, on behalf of Worthington Christian High School we thank all our motivated families for keeping the community safe and secure.
Texting while driving is a common factor among drivers everywhere. From teenagers to adults, chances are most people have texted while driving at least once, even though it is illegal. On average, there are1.6 million car accidents a year caused by texting while driving. In a recent online poll about texting while driving, out of 130 that responded, only 22% of the voters have reportedly texted while driving. Out of ten students recently interviewed at Worthington Christian High school, eight confessed that yes, they have texted while driving, while only two of them stated that no. The people that replied yes, however, have never been pulled over for texting while driving. A few people were asked about their experiences with texting while driving, but everyone responded the same way: No one has ever been pulled over or in an accident. One person had stated they text and drive all the time, while another person had mentioned the only time they touched their phone was to change the music playing. While it is very lucky that nobody at Worthington Christianhas ever been injured for texting while driving, it doesn’t mean that it will never happen. Studies show that 78% of distracted driving accidents are caused by texting while driving.
