14 September 2011

The Price Of Getting Involved is an article about the rising fees schools are charging to allow their students to participate in certain school activities like sports and performing arts. The once moderate prices have risen significantly to make up for lack of state money usually given to the schools. Some schools are charging as much as $900 a year for students to plat sports. Others are even telling the students that they must buy their own AP books at $85. Although some parents can afford this, both the school and other parents find it unfair to the lower income families. In most areas where this is occurring they are having bake sales and raffles to raise money for the other students whose parents can’t afford the $100 for them to play a sport.

                I think students should pay for their extracurricular activities to a limit. Since they are participating and costing the school board money for coaches and equipments they should pay a fee to help cover some of the cost. However I don’t think that the fee should be so high that some students feel left out because they can’t afford it. Here at Pine Ridge High School we have a $75 pay-to-play fee plus $25 for every extra sport. That’s $100 for just 2 sports, plus uniform fees and equipment fees. Even band makes you pay to hold your interment! On the other hand we do have some cheap activities like club, where you only pay once a year.

                Schools aren’t asking for their funding to be dropped, but it happens anyway. Without all of that money certain things will have to change, you will have to pay more and help more. It really isn’t fair that the lower income students won’t be able to participate as much but, the school has to fund these activities somehow and that is why they have these fees. No I don’t they should be that high, schools should try to fund raise for all activities so the fees are lowered but I do understand where they are coming from on the charges.

6 September 2011

Okay here is the truth about school; it doesn’t matter whether or not you like school you still need to go. Going to school is not about having fun or hanging with your friends it’s about getting an education because not even McDonalds wants to hire a 27 year old man without a diploma. You don’t have to like school, infact most teenagers don’t, but if you want to do anything with your life you better suck it up and go to school. The fact that you don’t want to be here is not a reason to ruin your future.

                High school is a bummer! Long nights staying up doing ridiculous homework assignments, test at 7:30 in the morning when you first get to class, and a lunch break that is full of drama. That tends to be the average high schooler’s day. So yes, I can completely understand why you don’t want to be here. It is a lot of work and sometimes you just don’t have the energy or the will to do it anymore. However dropping out won’t solve anything. Think of it this way, work hard now and work less later. If you drop out you are going to be working your but off to make barely minimum wage, while the person who stayed in school is pushing papers all day, and telling people what to do it making 17 bucks an hour.

                Dropping out of high school is simply this, DUMB! What could possibly be your brain process to think that dropping out will work out in your favor? Yes, you could get a job and make some cash instead of going to school, but like I said earlier, you will never move up in the ranks! Be smart, stay in school. I know it stinks, I don’t want to be here either, but I make the best of a dumpy situation.