Embrace The Suck

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Photo by Michaela O'Brien

Grand Ledge High School juniors Abby Hernandez and Brianna Stange working on homework in the library.

Michaela Obrien, Staff Writer

Life in high school is like a roller coaster– there are lots of ups and downs. But out of all those ups and downs, the good things about high school will be the most important. Students today have it harder than adults did back when they were in high school. Students now have new technology, a harder curriculum, and peer pressure with vaping.

    With new technology always coming out, students can be on their phones whenever they want and not have to focus on the class they are in. With more phone usage happening, it distracts kids from learning, which in turn can affect their grade. Students’ grades can drop dramatically because they are not listening to the teacher, so they do not know what they are learning about in class, which leads to them not doing well on a test or quiz. But there can be good things about technology, too. Letting students use study tools on their phones can help them, but often the way they use it is not helpful to their education.

    As the years go by, both the way schools teach and the curriculum has changed. I think adults now had it much easier in high school than kids do today. Math has changed, AP classes are harder, and there are lots of new classes adults might not have had back when they were in high school. The way teachers teach now is also very different back then. Teachers now have a newer curriculum to teach the students, and when students go on their phones it distracts them from learning. When students go on their phones, they are not listening in class so when they do their homework, they do not know what they are doing. Then their parents can not really help them, because what the student is learning is different form what their parents learned back when they were in high school.

The big thing that most kids are pressured into doing is vaping. I think most kids started doing it because it was the cool new thing that everyone was doing and they wanted to be a part of it.

— Michaela O'Brien

    Peer pressure then versus now is different. Kids these days can be pressured into doing anything. The big thing that most kids are pressured into doing is vaping. I think most kids started doing it because it was the cool new thing that everyone was doing and they wanted to be a part of it. Almost every teenager today has a vape on them, which makes it harder for kids to stay away from vaping. This leads to teens getting themselves addicted to vapes, and that can lead to problems later in life. However, no one really knows about the long term effects of vaping, or even what it could be doing to their bodies right now.

    Every teenager just wants to get the high school experience and try new things. However, school work should be a main priority to them because it sets up their future; all these distractions are not good for them. The highs and lows of high school are what make it high school.