Ida Chan
Bristol Board
Leah Kainer
Jarvis Students Lacking Sleep
Sophia Saunders
Profile of a Jarvis Drug Dealer
Ben Jensen
Is Being Gay a Choice?
Ida Chan
I was sitting in my first period class and overheard a conversation between two classmates that caught my attention:
"Oh, I don't think they should allow same-sex marriages; it won't be good for the society."
"I don't see what's the problem though. I mean, if they want to get married, let them. It's their right. It's not their choice that they're gay. They didn't choose to be gay."
"No! I think they chose to be gay. You can't be born gay."
From this conversation, a question formed in my mind: are people actually born gay or is it a choice? This question led me to write this article.
"Oh, I don't really care," replies a Grade 11 female student when asked the question. "They could be born with it. Like, I don't really know. I'm not sure."
And that's exactly it; most people don't really care and don't really know much about homosexuality.
Even though gay teens make up less than ten percent of the teen population, according to the U.S. Department of Health, "one third of all teenage suicides are gays and lesbians." So should we really just brush this issue aside and pretend that it's not at all important?
Many religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, assert that homosexuality is a sinful choice of lifestyle.
"I don't think it's right, "says another Grade 10 female student. "They usually say it's natural, that they're born with it. But I feel they're in control of it."
"They're wrong and they shouldn't be allowed to get married, " says a 15-year-old male student, "They're walking around showing off and it could affect a lot of children. They [the children] would become gay, just like them."
On the other hand, there are those who feel that homosexuality is natural and that nobody chooses to be gay.
"I think that most people tend to be bisexual anyway. No one would choose a life of persecution," says a Grade 12 female student of JCI.
"I didn't choose to pick an orientation where the majority would look down upon, where my religion would condemn me, where my family would kick me out, and where everyday I'm faced with some kind of prejudice against something I have no control over," says an OAC student from another high school in Toronto. "I'm not an idiot; I would never choose to be gay."
Homosexuality has been around since the beginning of human time. "Sociologists and anthropologists have documented homosexual behavior in every country on earth--including in tribes that had no contact with outside human beings until the arrival of the anthropologists," writes Peter McWilliams in Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do.
Modern family studies (Pillard & Weinrich 1986; Baily & Bell 1993) have also showed that being gay or lesbian runs in the family. These studies found that "gay men had five times as many gay brothers as the straight men," and "the lesbians we interviewed also had more lesbian sisters than the heterosexual women," writes Richard Pillard.
Two Canadian researchers, working at the University of Western Ontario, found a link between the number of ridges in fingerprints and male homosexuality. Thirty percent of gay men had more ridges on their left hands than on their right hand, whereas only 14% of heterosexual men showed this pattern.
Researcher Doreen Kimura found that many of the gay men with more ridges on their left hand were also left-handed. In addition, there are a higher number of left-handed gay and lesbian people than in the general population.
Kimura and graduate student Jeffrey Hall have also found a difference in hearing. Most people are able to hear more accurately through their right ear than their left. However, according to Kimura and Hall's research, some gay men could hear equally well out of both ears.
Furthermore, it was found that a part of the brain called the corpus callosum, the part that controls speech, is larger in gay men than in straight men.
With all this evidence, it is hard to deny the fact that being homosexual is something innate and not a choice. Yet, many myths still exist about homosexuality.
The myth of homosexuality being contagious and that a totally heterosexual person can catch the "gay disease", is quite a popular one. This is simply not true. "You can't 'catch' homosexuality any more than you can 'catch' heterosexuality," writes Peter McWilliams.
It's easy to believe that homosexuality is a choice, but the truth is, nobody chooses to be gay or straight. The only choice that people do have is whether to live a life of accepting their sexual orientation or not. And in many cases, gay and lesbian teens would choose to put an end to their life rather than live in persecution and legal discrimination.
"Suicide is an act of desperation," says guidance counsellor Ms. Fricker. "When there's no other solution, when they feel they cannot change their sexual orientation; there's no way out. They feel that they need to escape because of their nature. They come to despair because of something they are not able to change. I think that gay and lesbian youth probably suffer the most of all the groups. They suffer the most, psychologically and emotionally, because they get the least recognition of who they are."
Is homosexuality a choice? Of course not. Heterosexuals don't choose to be straight. Homosexuals don't choose to be gay either. Once we are able to approach this subject from different angles and perspectives, then it becomes intensely obvious--homosexuality is not a choice, but something that occurs naturally. In understanding this fact, perhaps then, young gays and lesbians will suffer a lot less and they can live in a safer, healthier environment without having to take the road to self-destruction.
Bristol Board
Leah Kainer
What's big and rectangular, firm, yet pliable, and comes in black, white or any other colour of the rainbow? Bristol board; a lightweight cardboard, with a smooth unglazed finish, perfect for your every school need, and something every student becomes more than familiar with.
Bristol board projects are just one of the countless assignments students consider to be "busy-work". Busy-work is work that takes time and yet requires no thinking, questioning, or consideration. It is work that is tedious, unproductive and usually boring.
Busy-work isn't limited to one subject or one grade; students seem to be getting assigned busy-work in all courses. Take Bristol board projects, for example. From the Grade 2 science fair project to the Grade 11 history presentation, Bristol board projects have proved to be a popular choice of assignment and a part of every student's life. These Bristol board projects usually consist of one or two sheets of Bristol board (priced anywhere from $0.99 to $2.99, depending on the store or quality of board), magazine cutouts, Internet printouts, and the odd chart, diagram, map, or typed paragraph and are often used to assist a presentation.
"I've had Bristol board projects in every subject, even math and gym," says Jessika Quinlan, a Grade 11 student.
It seems most students agree that these projects do nothing but misuse time and waste money. "It's a waste of time and paper; no one actually reads them and it's just a distraction from the actual presentation," says Caitlin McCarthy, Grade 11.
So what is the purpose of these projects?
Mr. Walters, a History, Law and Society teacher says, "They [Bristol board projects] develop communication skills, thinking skills, and the ability to present information to the class. It helps demonstrate what they have learned."
But students don't seem to be gaining anything form these projects. "The only thing I've learned from doing Bristol board projects is how to cut paper in straight lines," says Caitlin McCarthy.
Of course, not all students dislike these projects; there is the odd student who actually enjoys them, "I like doing them 'cause they are worth a lot of marks and they're so easy. I don't need to do much work," says Federico Sapia, Grade 11.
Is there a lack of communication between teachers and students? Are teachers underestimating the ability of students? Or is there a hidden purpose to this busy-work?
Of course, Bristol board projects are not the only mind-numbing assignments students are given. Another form of busy-work is a fill-in-the-blank sheet where notes are copied directly from a textbook into one's binder. It is understandable that a student needs notes to study from, but copying notes is a mindless activity that requires no thought or analysis and wastes valuable class time. Besides, what can a student learn from copying someone else's work? Would preparing one's own notes not be more creative?
Another similar form of busy-work, requiring no thought whatsoever, is spending an entire class copying pre-written notes off a chalkboard or projection screen. Countless hours are spent in class staring at a black board or white screen, copying notes that just become meaningless words as time progresses.
"I have a problem with the way a lot of the notes are phrased and I know a lot of people who have difficulty understanding what the teacher is saying. The notes we copy are directly out of the text and the teacher doesn't try to tone down the language," says Alice Tseng, Grade 11.
Mrs. Jovanovich, a Grade 10 Science and Grade 11 Biology teacher says, "You need to look at the purpose of the assignment. If you are trying to make sure students have information and have complete notes then I would write a note on the board. If it's a research assignment I would ask students to make their own notes so they can learn how to summarize and learn how to recognize important or key information."
Writing your own notes allows you to present the information in a format that is understandable to you and at least shows that you have some understanding of the material. So why shouldn't students always write their own notes?
Mrs. Jovanovich says, "I think that there are benefits to taking your own notes but it really depends on the grade level. For the younger grades you just have to make sure students have completed notes. In some senior classes you might want students to take their own notes."
It is understandable that there is certain information a student must have in their notebook but is it necessary to copy this information from a pre-written note? If the notes are already pre-written by a teacher, could a handout not be distributed, maybe followed by a class discussion? This approach would not only save class time but would also allow for students to go over the information with the teacher and ask questions. This would also give students some one-on-one time with the teacher and eventually lead to a better understanding of the subject.
Students seem to be getting a lot of homework these days and if class time were used more effectively maybe students wouldn't feel so loaded down with homework. "I get so much homework in all of my classes and it's usually boring and easy, but it still takes me so long to finish," says Cheri Ferrell, Grade 11. A lot of students are finding school to be boring, but at the same time they seem to be doing a lot of work. They are tired of this busy-work.
So what are the alternatives?
Alice Tseng suggests, "a more hands-on approach to teaching, maybe more experiments." Leo Lepiano, Grade 11, says, "Maybe we could have some interactive way of learning. We could take notes in a more exciting way because taking notes from a textbook is so boring. Maybe we could listen to a tape or read a story, just something more than reading fact after fact after fact. That's how I lose interest. There needs to be something between the facts to make it more interesting or else it's just like reading someone else's notes."
Students need something that will get their minds working; some motivation, and they need to start doing some serious thinking. Sure, cutting out pictures is easy, and everyone can do it; and true, Bristol board projects can look pretty, but the truth is students would prefer to be learning.
Jarvis Students Lacking Sleep
Sophia Saunders
Your alarm sounds; the obnoxious buzzing jolts you out of dreamland. One of your sleepy eyelids lifts open a crack, just enough to confirm that it is in fact time to get up, and your clock wasn't playing a cruel trick on you. You roll on to your side and wrap the warm blanket snugly around you. Your body just isn't ready to wake up. You press the snooze button with whatever energy you are able to muster up. If only that button could give you the extra hours you need, instead of minutes.
How many hours of sleep do you get each night? It might not be enough. The Canadian Sleep Society says growing teenagers need 9-10 hours. Sleep releases a growth hormone that promotes bone growth, helps tissues grow properly, and forms red blood cells that deliver oxygen to your brain.
Only 6% of the Jarvis students interviewed get the recommended amount of sleep.
Absher, a Grade 9 student says, "It's hard to concentrate in the mornings because I feel so tired."
Jesse, a Grade 12 student facing the double cohort says, "It's too much! With school work, football practice, community service hours and my internship, I'm never able to get enough sleep."
Teachers are also noticing how lack of sleep affects students. Ms. Beaudry, a guidance counsellor and history teacher, says, "Many students do not get enough sleep. Kids stay up too late. It's not their fault. Their schedules do not match up with the school's."
Teens experience a hormonal shift during puberty, which affects their sleeping patterns. According to a counsellor at Kids Help Phone, teens going through puberty experience a reduction of 'sleeping hormones'. This often makes them unable to fall asleep early enough in order to get the 10 hours of sleep they need. When teens are woken up early for school, they usually have not experienced their REM (rapid eye movement) portion of sleep, which leaves them feeling tired. Studies conducted by the National Sleep Foundation have shown that teenagers are among the most sleep-deprived group in society.
Lack of sleep can cause anxiety, moodiness, irritability, decreased creativity, difficulties processing information, decreased ability to memorize and difficulty handling complex tasks. It has also been linked to increased automobile accidents and teen suicides.
Ms. Beaudry remarks, "I see a definite lack of motivation within the students as well as a lack of organization. They're rushing in the mornings and forgetting things. Some even nod off in the middle of a class. Teachers are forced to work harder to motivate kids and grab their attention in the morning."
So what can be done? Would things improve if school started later? Some students think so.
"Having an extra hour or two would really sharpen my focus and I'd be able to pay more attention in class," says Victoria, a Grade 12 student.
Aral Belir and Dorna Mossallanejad both agree that their ability to focus improves later in the school day.
"The first few periods, those are the worst. They seem so boring because I always feel like falling asleep," Tony says as he chuckles. "Sometimes I do. I can't listen to what the teachers have to say."
Not everyone interviewed shared the same feelings as Tony. One Grade 11 student comments: "I feel rested. I'm getting just enough sleep. In class, I'm able to focus." How does she do it? The key is time management. Find time slots throughout the day when you can get your work done, for example, on the way to work, during spares or as soon as you arrive home so that you can fall asleep on time.
Most schools in Toronto start between 8:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. due to the working day schedule. The National Sleep Foundation suggests that starting the school day at 10:00 a.m. would improve the performance of both students and teachers.
"A sleepy teen struggles to learn. Inadequate and ill-timed sleep contributes to learning difficulties and behavioral problems that interfere with the learning process. We've heard too many stories of teens falling asleep in class, or behind the wheel as they drive to school," reports Richard L. Gelula, the executive director of the National Sleep Foundation.
Until the Toronto District School Board utilizes this information, here are some tips to improve your sleeping habits and leave you energized for the rest of the school year:
IMPROVE YOUR SLEEPING HABITS
--> Establish a regular sleeping schedule. By going to sleep at roughly the
same time each night your body will learn when to start shutting down.
--> Avoid taking naps; it makes it more difficult to fall asleep at night.
--> Don't eat, drink or exercise right before bed. It speeds up your metabo-
lism, making it harder to fall asleep.
--> Make sure not to drink beverages which contain caffeine. This chemical
can stay in your system for close to five hours.
--> To make sure you wake up once that alarm sounds: turn all the lights on
in your room. Bright lights simulate sunshine, telling your body to wake up.
So when you check the clock tonight, and notice it's getting late, do your body a favour and try to go to bed; you need all the sleep you can get.
Profile of a Jarvis Drug Dealer
Ben Jensen
I stand outside a building in Regent Park, at around eight o'clock at night. It's cold, the wind sends shivers up my spine and the streetlights cast my shadow across the poorly kept grass. I'm waiting for "J.D.", the drug dealer, who shall remain anonymous. As the cars drive by, I hear him shouting my name from across the courtyard. I look up and see him standing the doorway of his building in a white Nike t-shirt, blue basketball shorts and flip-flops. He's not wearing any socks. "Hurry up man, it's freezing," he calls to me, as I jog across the grass to meet him.
We enter his building and I am bombarded with the smell of potatoes and garbage. It's only a short walk through the sterile white halls of his building before we reach his apartment.
Walking in, we enter his living room where his younger sister, who is no more than eight years old, sits with their father, in her pajamas. They are watching television together and eating cereal.
We walk down a narrow hall, into J.D.'s room. He offers me a joint, which I refuse. He insists, but I tell him I have other homework to do tonight. He sits at his computer, and I am left standing. His girlfriend is sitting on his bed doing her homework. She smiles at me, and resumes her studies.
I tell J.D. we should get started, and he offers me his seat at the computer.
We begin.
J.D. sits on the edge of his bed, at first unsure of what I am about to ask him. I start with simple questions about his motives behind his illegal activities, such as "Why did you get into dealing drugs?" to which J.D. responds "To make money and support myself."
As we get further into the interview, he tells me small facts about his business, like fifty percent of it comes from Jarvisites, and that a large variety of people purchase drugs from him. On any given day, J.D. could be arrested on felony possession charges, because of the drugs he brings to Jarvis. He told me that he brings "A quarter pound of weed and an eight ball of coke" to Jarvis everyday, and that he's able to sell at least half of these drugs in a day.
According to J.D., getting a start into dealing drugs is not a hard thing. "First of all, I started meeting people at raves. I'd get spotted, and they'd ask if I, ya know, wanted to deal. They'd give me the stuff for free, then I sell it at a higher price. And I'd keep the profit, and ya know, that's how it all started. Just like going clubbing and to raves and meeting other people. If you go through me, you could make money easily. But sometimes, there are people you can't trust. They'll give you shit stuff or they don't give you anything at all, or you can't trust them."
However, with the drugs come ties to what J.D. calls the "older mafia." He tells me these people supply him with drugs and protect him, as well as look out for his interests as a drug dealer. When I ask him if he could have anyone killed, he replies, "If it was something that affects me, or the business, then yes, they would."
Despite J.D.'s connections to people who'd kill for him, and supply him with drugs, he's not by any means an evil person. During the interview he is very friendly with me, and with his family. He smiles lovingly at his sister and bickers with his father just like most of us who are students at Jarvis. However just because J.D. doesn't have a part-time job at the GAP or Starbucks does not make him a horrible person. He's had a tougher time than a lot of people at Jarvis, "I think if people were living in my shoes, they'd see it differently. Like when I was younger, and how my parents can't always afford stuff for me," he remarks when I ask him if people view him as a bad person.
J.D., who is now in his OAC year, is eighteen years old and has been dealing drugs at Jarvis since he was in Grade 11, and now makes upwards of six thousand dollars a month. He's never been caught or arrested for dealing drugs on or off school premises.
In fact, no one has ever been caught dealing drugs on school premises in the past two years. When Mr. Sovran, Vice Principal at Jarvis, was asked how many people have ever been caught for drug related offences, he said "None. Nothing at all. Not even teachers sending students to the office because they are under the influence. If students take the drugs, they aren't going to come to school because teachers are going to detect immediately that they are under the influence."
But there are students who frequently come to class under the influence, "Sure, I come to class wasted, it makes the time pass," says one OAC student. And yet there has never, in the past two years, been a student sent to the office for being suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
While Jarvis does not have a large population of drug users, they do exist in our school, and they aren't just smoking pot on Saturdays. "There's a lot of cokeheads at Jarvis. It's mostly people you don't expect," remarked J.D.
Only eighteen percent of students responding to a school-wide survey taken in 2000 admitted using illegal drugs, and of that eighteen percent, six percent used drugs more than once a week; six percent used more than once a month and six percent used less than once a month. About twelve percent are probably buying drugs from dealers like J.D. And while statistically it sounds like a small number, that means there are approximately 156 students at Jarvis who are probably buying drugs.
There isn't much being done to stop the drugs and their users at Jarvis, because there isn't much that can be done. The staff has their suspicions about the dealers, but with no formal complaints, that is all the staff has. There isn't really much the staff can do about drug dealing at Jarvis. But that's ok; Mr. Sovran seems to believe that Jarvis is of the norm. "Twelve percent out of 1300 isn't bad."
Mr. Sovran's attitude towards drugs at Jarvis isn't as out of the ordinary as you would think. According to a city-wide survey performed by Toronto Police in 2001, concern about drugs has fallen. It seems that school administrations around the city are becoming less concerned about drugs, but not by much. In 2000 sixty-two percent of school administrations around the city were concerned about drugs in their school, but that figure has decreased one percent in 2001.
According to this survey, drugs are no longer the main concern of school administrations. Issues like bullying, vandalism and littering are the ones which seem to demand more attention, as they are more of a visible problem.
Penalties at Jarvis remain strict when it comes to drugs. The administration, if they ever catch anyone, won't hesitate to throw the book at them. According to Mr. Sovran and the TDSB guidelines, if students were found to be under the influence of drugs, their parents would be immediately contacted as well as the police. There would then be a five-day suspension and possible criminal charges. As far as trafficking drugs, an immediate twenty-day suspension is prescribed by the TDSB guideline, and mandatory expulsion follows as well as the possibility of criminal charges. But all this seems to be a moot point, as Jarvis staff can't seem to catch any of the dealers or users.
So all of this begs the question, what can be done to stop drug dealing at Jarvis? The answer is simple: nothing. There will always be people dealing drugs because it can't be stopped as easily as some of us would like. J.D. could be anyone in the school.
The staff has their suspicions, as one teacher, who wished to remain anonymous says, "They're not as invisible as they think they are." However people don't get arrested on suspicion alone. Dealers like J.D. are far too careful to ever be caught; people are afraid to report drug dealers, and the lack of solid evidence means it's hard for people like J.D. to be caught. He's gotten away with it for two years, and it's unlikely that anything will change anytime soon.
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