Alcohol has become the drug of choice among youth. Young teens are experiencing the consequences of drinking alcohol at too young an age. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), 50 percent of eighth graders have had at least one drink and 30 percent of 12th graders engage in binge drinking three or more times a month. Underage drinkers are putting themselves at risk for detrimental brain damage, a reduction in their inhibitions and severe legal consequences.
The brain goes through changes during adolescence and exposure to alcohol during this time can cause long-term, irreversible brain damage. The hippocampus and the prefrontal area are the two areas of the brain most affected by adolescence alcohol consumption. A study performed by the American Medical Association showed that adolescent drinkers scored ten percent less than non-drinkers in vocabulary, general information, and memory retrieval.
Alcohol consumption affects a person’s decision-making capacity and judgment by lowering their inhibitions. A reduction in inhibitions tends to lead to risky behaviors among adolescences that result in physical harm. These risky behaviors include sexual behavior and driving under the influence of alcohol.
It is very important to make the right decisions about underage alcohol use. The legal consequences associated with underage drinking are severe. Underage drinking is a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine, community service, or by suspension of the driver’s license. One night of fun can turn into many years of consequences.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
ER
I had the opportunity to watch the final episode of ER over the weekend. I have been a devoted ER fan for years and I never thought the day would come when I would have to say good-bye. ER was a great television series that was different than any other show on TV.
The main thing that set ER apart from all the other medical shows on TV throughout its 15-year life span was reality. ER reflected what life was truly like in the emergency room. It made viewers feel like they were watching a real world emergency room.
The fast paced, action packed episodes also separated ER from other TV series. There was never a dull moment while watching the show. There was always something interesting going on. The show always managed to educated viewers on medical and social issues throughout the course of the intense 60-minute episode.
ER is nothing compared to popular medical shows such as Grey’s Anatomy or Scrubs. These two shows lack the reality and intensity ER had. It will be hard to replace ER, but the things I have learned while watching the show will stick with me for the rest of my life.
The main thing that set ER apart from all the other medical shows on TV throughout its 15-year life span was reality. ER reflected what life was truly like in the emergency room. It made viewers feel like they were watching a real world emergency room.
The fast paced, action packed episodes also separated ER from other TV series. There was never a dull moment while watching the show. There was always something interesting going on. The show always managed to educated viewers on medical and social issues throughout the course of the intense 60-minute episode.
ER is nothing compared to popular medical shows such as Grey’s Anatomy or Scrubs. These two shows lack the reality and intensity ER had. It will be hard to replace ER, but the things I have learned while watching the show will stick with me for the rest of my life.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Sun Exposure
I was looking through spring break pictures of my friends from spring break and in every picture someone had lobster red skin. Their minimal use of sunscreen concerned me because their skin had been damaged by ultra violet radiation. Safe sun practices should be used in order help prevent the harmful effects of ultra violet radiation.
The American Academy of Dermatology and the Skin Cancer Foundation developed a five-step system to reducing the risk of sunburn and skin cancer, which are caused by overexposure to UV radiation. The five-step process includes the follow steps:
1. Minimize sun exposure between 10 am and 3 pm- this is when the sun’s rays are the strongest
2. Use sunscreen with a SPF of 15 or higher
3. Reapply sunscreen every two hours
4. Wear protective clothing and sunglasses
5. Avoid tanning beds
These simple practices are simple to do and the benefits of using them are life-long.
Overexposure to ultraviolet rays can lead to premature aging, abnormal pigmentation, reduced immune and most dangerously skin cancer. It may seem like a sunburn is not a big deal, but each sunburn causes your skins cells to break down. The break down of skin cells can easily lead to skin cancer. Every year skin cancer is responsible for 10,000 deaths each year in the United States.
Those 10,000 deaths a year could easily be prevented if proper sun practices were implemented. By simply putting on sunscreen or by covering up in the sun, skin cancer deaths would be reduced. It may not seem worth it now to protect your skin, but later on your will be glad that you did.
The American Academy of Dermatology and the Skin Cancer Foundation developed a five-step system to reducing the risk of sunburn and skin cancer, which are caused by overexposure to UV radiation. The five-step process includes the follow steps:
1. Minimize sun exposure between 10 am and 3 pm- this is when the sun’s rays are the strongest
2. Use sunscreen with a SPF of 15 or higher
3. Reapply sunscreen every two hours
4. Wear protective clothing and sunglasses
5. Avoid tanning beds
These simple practices are simple to do and the benefits of using them are life-long.
Overexposure to ultraviolet rays can lead to premature aging, abnormal pigmentation, reduced immune and most dangerously skin cancer. It may seem like a sunburn is not a big deal, but each sunburn causes your skins cells to break down. The break down of skin cells can easily lead to skin cancer. Every year skin cancer is responsible for 10,000 deaths each year in the United States.
Those 10,000 deaths a year could easily be prevented if proper sun practices were implemented. By simply putting on sunscreen or by covering up in the sun, skin cancer deaths would be reduced. It may not seem worth it now to protect your skin, but later on your will be glad that you did.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Say No to Standardized Testing
Standardized Testing have become a controversial issue in how our society educates its children and young adults. Standardized tests are important indicators of student achievement and aptitude but they do not show what the student really knows. These tests should not be used for important educational decisions and they should not be allowed to influence the structure of curriculum.
No test is good enough to serve as the only or primary basis for important educational decisions. The National Center for Fair and Open testing says that schools use standardized tests to determine if children are ready for school, to diagnose learning disabilities and to decide whether or not to promote, retain or graduate students. Different curriculum is used among schools, so why would a student have to be penalized for not being exposed to content that was on the standardized test?
The concept of “Teaching to the Test” decreases student capabilities and knowledge. School districts place a huge importance on test scores; increasing test scores are the most important indicator of school improvement. As a result, pressure is placed on teachers to ensure that test scores go up. School curriculum has been changed and narrowed to match the content on standardized tests. This allows for higher test scores, but not an improvement in academic performance.
The common question that arises in the debate against standardized testing is, if we do not use standardized tests, then how will we know how students are doing? The answer to this question is teacher observation of student performance on real learning tasks. By switching to this method and omitting standardized testing, inaccurate education decisions would not be made and the structure of curriculum would not be affected.
No test is good enough to serve as the only or primary basis for important educational decisions. The National Center for Fair and Open testing says that schools use standardized tests to determine if children are ready for school, to diagnose learning disabilities and to decide whether or not to promote, retain or graduate students. Different curriculum is used among schools, so why would a student have to be penalized for not being exposed to content that was on the standardized test?
The concept of “Teaching to the Test” decreases student capabilities and knowledge. School districts place a huge importance on test scores; increasing test scores are the most important indicator of school improvement. As a result, pressure is placed on teachers to ensure that test scores go up. School curriculum has been changed and narrowed to match the content on standardized tests. This allows for higher test scores, but not an improvement in academic performance.
The common question that arises in the debate against standardized testing is, if we do not use standardized tests, then how will we know how students are doing? The answer to this question is teacher observation of student performance on real learning tasks. By switching to this method and omitting standardized testing, inaccurate education decisions would not be made and the structure of curriculum would not be affected.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Say NO to bottled water
Bottled water has grown in popularity over the years, but why? Bottled water really isn’t really anything that special, but yet it has been advertised to be something amazing. Bottled water should be avoided because it is no healthier than tap water and it adds waste to land fills.
Bottled water is just water. Bottled water is no healthier than tap water; in fact most bottled water is filled with tap water. There is very little experiential evidence that shows that bottled water is any cleaner or healthier than tap water.
Bottled water causes 1.5 million tons of plastic waste each year. The plastic used to make bottled water is high quality and in demand by recyclers, but only 20 percent of water bottles are recycled. That means that 80 percent of water bottles are thrown away, filling landfills and major oceans.
Bottled water has been advertised as healthy water, but in reality it is just water. Americans spend on average 5 cents per ounce on bottled water when they could easily fill a reusable water bottle. By simply filling a reusable water bottle, less waste would be produced and less money would be spent.
Bottled water is just water. Bottled water is no healthier than tap water; in fact most bottled water is filled with tap water. There is very little experiential evidence that shows that bottled water is any cleaner or healthier than tap water.
Bottled water causes 1.5 million tons of plastic waste each year. The plastic used to make bottled water is high quality and in demand by recyclers, but only 20 percent of water bottles are recycled. That means that 80 percent of water bottles are thrown away, filling landfills and major oceans.
Bottled water has been advertised as healthy water, but in reality it is just water. Americans spend on average 5 cents per ounce on bottled water when they could easily fill a reusable water bottle. By simply filling a reusable water bottle, less waste would be produced and less money would be spent.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
The Dilemma Of Laundry
I hate doing laundry. To make the laundry experience even more excruciating, our school does not have enough washers or dryers to accommodate all the students that live on campus. It is rather annoying to carry my clothes downstairs to the laundry room to find out that there are no open washers.
Our school needs to increase the number of washers and dryers to allow more students to get laundry done at one time. I am currently sitting in Coburg’s laundry room, where there is one washer open for five people’s laundry. I came down here, after going to my own laundry room to find that one of the 3 washers is out of order and the other two are being occupied.
Another annoyance is once my clothes have been washed; there are no open dryers available. What am I suppose to do with a pile of wet clothing? I can’t leave them sitting around. If I put them back in the washer, I would be holding up a washer for another student.
By increasing the number of washers and dryers in our school, more people would be able to do laundry. The problem of waiting for a washer or a dryer would be eliminated, thus making the laundry experience less excruciating. I would not longer have to carry my laundry across campus looking for open washers.
Our school needs to increase the number of washers and dryers to allow more students to get laundry done at one time. I am currently sitting in Coburg’s laundry room, where there is one washer open for five people’s laundry. I came down here, after going to my own laundry room to find that one of the 3 washers is out of order and the other two are being occupied.
Another annoyance is once my clothes have been washed; there are no open dryers available. What am I suppose to do with a pile of wet clothing? I can’t leave them sitting around. If I put them back in the washer, I would be holding up a washer for another student.
By increasing the number of washers and dryers in our school, more people would be able to do laundry. The problem of waiting for a washer or a dryer would be eliminated, thus making the laundry experience less excruciating. I would not longer have to carry my laundry across campus looking for open washers.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Why the Driving Age Should be Raised.
The 16th birthday is a major milestone in a teenager’s life, it is the day where a teenager can finally get their drivers license and become more independent. But are 16 year olds ready to take on the responsibility of driving a car? Driving a car takes experience and maturity and those two things have not been 100% mastered at the age of 16, which is why the driving age should be raised.
The main argument behind increasing the driving age is that it would save more lives. 16 year olds are three times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash. Car crashes are the number one killer of U.S teenagers. The Associated Press reports that more that 5,000 U.S teens die each year in car crashes.
In New Jersey, the only state to have the driving age set at 17, the overall rate of teens killed in crashes is significantly lower than the rates in nearby states. In one particular study, the rate of crash-related deaths among 16-17 year olds was found to be 18 per 100,000 in New Jersey and 26 per 100,000 in Connecticut. This study shows the impact of increasing the driving age to 17; think about what the impact would be if the driving age were increased to 18.
Teenagers need to grow up a bit more before they should be allowed to get behind the wheel. National Teen Driving statistics show that most car crash related deaths among teens between 16-17 are caused by poor hazard perception, low risk perception, risk taking, and lack of skill. By giving teens an extra year to two years to gain more experience and maturity, the number of deadly car crashes can be reduced.
The main argument behind increasing the driving age is that it would save more lives. 16 year olds are three times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash. Car crashes are the number one killer of U.S teenagers. The Associated Press reports that more that 5,000 U.S teens die each year in car crashes.
In New Jersey, the only state to have the driving age set at 17, the overall rate of teens killed in crashes is significantly lower than the rates in nearby states. In one particular study, the rate of crash-related deaths among 16-17 year olds was found to be 18 per 100,000 in New Jersey and 26 per 100,000 in Connecticut. This study shows the impact of increasing the driving age to 17; think about what the impact would be if the driving age were increased to 18.
Teenagers need to grow up a bit more before they should be allowed to get behind the wheel. National Teen Driving statistics show that most car crash related deaths among teens between 16-17 are caused by poor hazard perception, low risk perception, risk taking, and lack of skill. By giving teens an extra year to two years to gain more experience and maturity, the number of deadly car crashes can be reduced.
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