Caitlin Heenan Editor-in-ChiefFenton InPrint

Writing Samples - Pages 2-6Design Samples - Page 7

Writing and Design Samples - Page 8-11

Student Journalist Staff Portfolio

News Writing&Reporting

Writing SamplesThis was the first story I wrote as a journalist. This first interview I conducted was not with peers, but with business owners, making the process more professional in my mind. I poured my efforts, seeking any editing and critique pos-sible. This story shows the dedication I gave to journalism and the hard work I put into my job as a journalist from the beginning of my career. I am most proud of this piece as the first I pub-lished as a journalist.

Published: October 26, 2012Awarded: First Place for News Writing from MIPA - 2014

An iconic tradition of fall will be absent this year as Mueller’s Orchard will be closed. While other people enjoyed the warm weather last spring, apple farmers in Michigan and from as far

away as Mississippi watched their apple trees blossom with the premature warm weather and die away with the frost.

“There were five or six freezes after blossom. We got through all but the last one,” owner Charles Mueller said. “April 29 was the last one that got all the apples. Partly because the fruit was at a very critical stage, more importantly, it was 24 or 25 degrees for six hours. After six hours, the fruit was frozen. If it had only been for an hour or two, the apples may have stood a chance.”

The rest of the state is experiencing similar results. “I’m getting varying reports, but it’s safe to say that except for some

pockets in the Lake Erie region, the total loss around Michigan was 90 percent,” Mueller said. “Other crops like peaches were far enough along to have the strength to get through it.”

Although Mueller’s apples will not be up for sale this season, apples will be found on grocery store shelves for almost more than three times the price from last year. Other establishments such as cider mills have shipped apples from parts of the country that were not as badly affected.

“We made the decision to not sell apples that somebody else grew,” Mueller said. “We’re not comfortable charging supermarket prices.”

Grocery stores have no choice but to raise prices to make a profit with the shortage of apples.

“We went to the orchard yesterday and they only had two bags of apples that they imported from someplace,” freshman Hope Dagenais said. “And at the grocery store it was $7.50 for a half gallon of cider; that is a rip off. One honey crisp apple was $2.50.”

Farmers of last year’s season could get 18 bushels of honey crisp apples for roughly $500, now it is around $1800. Cider apples were $85-90 for 18 bushels, this year it is a little less than $300. With each box of cider apples making 50 gallons of cider, farmers have to charge $6 a gallon to break even.

The Muellers do not have to worry so much about the shortage of apples. Financially, they are prepared for a bad season or two.

“It is a part of farming; you better be able to live a couple years without profit. You’re at the mercy of Mother Nature,” Mueller said. “The established guys have enough in reserve to survive, but the young guys just starting will have problems.”

The mills and some orchards in the area, such as Parshallville Cider Mill and Spicer Orchards in Fenton, will still be open to sell apples, cider, doughnuts and keep the atmosphere of the fall season despite the few apples available to them.

“People come to the orchard for the apples. The attraction of the orchard is to pick your own apples, and enjoy cider and doughnuts,” Mueller said. “The mills are a historical piece of America. It’s a different destination than an orchard; it doesn’t need the support activities that an orchard needs. “

Mueller’s will be open next year; provided that the area has a less bipolar spring and that more of their apples will prosper.

“It’s not family friendly to charge an arm and a leg,” Wendy Mueller said, “but maybe this will make people more appreciative when we are open.”

OCTOBER

201226InPrint

FENTON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL | 3200 W. SHIAWASSEE AVENUE FENTON, MI 48430

election coverage p. 6-7

Not so Apple-ly Ever AfterUncharacteristic spring weather results in ruined crops, tough times for orchardsBy Caitlin HeenanWriter

Orchards that are open for the season

Spicer Orchards:Hours: 9a.m.-7p.m.

Location: 10411 Clyde Rd., Fenton

Parshallville Cider Mill:Hours: 9a.m.-6p.m.

Location: 8507 Parshallville Rd., Fenton

Uncle John’s Cider Mill:Hours: 11a.m.-5p.m.

Location: 8614 N. US 127, St. Johns

Franklin Cider Mill:Hours: 9a.m.-6p.m.

Location: 7450 Franklin Rd., Bloomfield Hills

MereditH Brown | photo editor

Writing SamplesAs editor-in-chief, I was able to write a reoccur-ring column titled, In the Spirit of, which allowed me to showcase my column writing in a manner where I could connect with the student body. This particular column allowed me to offer a unique approach to snow days.

Published: December 17, 2014Awarded: Submitted for Featured Columnist to MIPA - 2015

The snow begins to fall, a white blanket coats the ground. Thanks to Michigan weather, that snowfall soon turns into a polar vortex and that white blanket turns into a wall. Many a student, seeing that there is no possibility of having school the next morning, thanks the snow gods and goes joyfully to sleep knowing he or she will not have to wake early the next morning. I, on the other hand, stress over the pending snow day to come.

For many, snow days mean extra vacation and extra sleep in the morn-ing. For me, snow days mean less preparation for the various tests I will have to take in May and less time to learn the material,

Despite having snow days and less educational time, my IB and AP tests will still occur on the days they are set for, regardless of whether or not I feel prepared or have covered the necessary material.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the extra sleep and spending a lazy day on the couch with my cat and some orange juice, but if I am going to get college credit and scholarship money with my test scores, I am going to need more than two days a week of school for almost three months.

Some assignments can be done at home, the assignments assigned pre-snowpocalypse. Other assignments, like completing reading assign-ments and finishing an essay, can be taken on by myself and done at home when the roads are too icy and slick to drive.

In the Spirit of ...Snow Days

However, most of the time, the material that really needs to be cov-ered, the difficult concepts, are buried and lost with the snow. It is the material like how a neuron fires in IB Biology and using infinite limits and summations to find the area under a curve in AP Calculus that I really need to be in school to cover.

Many would agree, the initial snow day is a pleasant break from the dreary everyday functions of a full school week, but when school be-comes about just as frequent as seeing a flying saucer land in the back-yard, the stress begins to accumulate.

Teachers and students alike feel the pressure as weeks of material needs to be crammed into a single class period and tests and quizzes have to be smushed together in order to save time. Some material is even cut from the class, raising serious problems.

Students should stop for a second, take a step back from turning their pajamas inside out, putting their spoons under their pillows and throw-ing their ice cubes down the toilet and really think about the impact a snow day has on their education.

Snow days for many mean relaxation. For me and others taking advanced classes with huge cumulative tests at the end, they epitomize the stress of winter as more and more time is shaved off of the clock and those ominous test dates come closer and closer.

2 3

Writing SamplesThis column is another example of my reoccur-ring column, In the Spirit of. This particular ex-ample was an essay I wrote as a prompt to apply for college on a word that cannot be translated from its original language. The writing takes a unique point of view and draws readers by using a reference from Pop Culture.

Published: February 4, 2015Awarded: Submitted for Featured Columnist to MIPA - 2015

In the Spirit of ...L ve

Even though this word has a place in every language around the world, none can do it justice. The language of love is a lan-guage humans have yet been able to master. There is no grammar, sentence structure, tenses of verbs; It is the language of emotions and human behavior.

It is this unspoken, unwritten language that love belongs to and flourishes in. When humans attempt to translate this lan-guage, the message is greatly misconstrued.

Only one definition of love has ever crossed my path that has come relatively close to what the word should be used for and ironically enough, it comes from the comedy TV series, “How I Met Your Mother.”

Ted Mosby described the emotion, expected from human life as such: “‘If you’re looking for the word that means caring about someone beyond all rationality and wanting them to have every-thing they want no matter how much it destroys you, it is love. And when you love someone, you - you don’t stop, ever. Even when people roll their eyes or call you crazy, even then, especial-ly then. You just, you don’t give up, because if I could give up, if I could just take the whole world’s advice and move on and find someone else, that wouldn’t be love, that would be, that would be

some other disposable thing that is not worth fighting for.’” The disposable things, unworthy of struggle and pain are all

of the other objects and relationships we as humans attempt to describe with the word love.

Love should only be used to describe the relationship with the few people held in the inner circle of one’s life, those a person would give anything, even life, to be with. As a society, we over-use the word love. We destroy the meaning by believing it applies to those things that are not worth fighting for. Even those of us with the best of intentions dramatically overuse it.

This word is used to describe an emotional connection to ob-jects and even relationships unworthy of the word. Not a day goes by that the word love is used to describe the supposed emotion-al relationship people have with objects such as food, clothing, electronics or relationships with people that will leave the lives of those claiming such a strong connection. Love is a word disrespected in meaning by our society. People should take a step back and really think about what is import-ant to them, what they really love. I can bet it is not the menial objects and places that many claim to love, such as Chipotle and an iPhone.

Writing SamplesIn the wake of recent passings of students with terminal illnesses, I thought teenagers needed to learn about coping skills. I contacted and inter-viewed an esteemed psychologist, who not only gave an excellent interview, but commended me for not being afraid to conduct such a profession-al interview with a professional adult.

Published: May 3, 2013Awarded: Never submitted for judging

4 5

Design SamplesTaking risks with unique fonts and the use of intricately produced art allowed success in the design of this Halloween themed page and shows my willingness to push my limits and comfort zones as a designer.

Published: October 25, 2013Awarded: First Place for Editorial Opinion Page/ Spread - 2014

Writing SamplesAs opinion editor, I often had the opportunity to write half of the pro/con editorial. This partic-ular entry was the first I had the opportunity to write a pro/con. Because of the serious nature of the topic, in writing this entry, I honed research skills and learned how to effectively put my opinion into written word in a professional way, rather than like a column.

Published: October 25, 2013Awarded: Third Place for Pro/Con Editorial Columns from MIPA - 2014

76

4 www.fentoninprint.com | February 13, 2014opinion

The Thursday before winter break I was in a great mood. I had finally finished study-ing for a test and I was confident I knew the material. Four snow days and a two week break later, the same material I had known like the back of my hand suddenly looked like a foreign language.

This sheds light on an important flaw in our education system. Students in high school are not really taught information. Cramming the night before for a math test and memorizing a practice essay before a timed write is not learning.

Elaine Tuttle Hansen, author of the book “How to Survive in College,” explains the problem with our current education system in an interview with NPR. Students “have not had the time to kind of sit back and think about hard questions and big questions. They have been taught to check the right boxes, to do well on standardized tests.”

Memorization skills are not important for success in college and in a career. Students need to be taught how to think critically, how to analyze a problem and how to write well. Learning how to beg for extra credit to keep a 4.0 is not a successful life skill - it is a by-product of an educational system that is too focused on testing and grades to actually teach students. This system results in students and parents who are more focused on making the grade than on learning useful skills.

This problem is not the fault of the teachers who are forced to meet common core standards and follow rules set by the state. The blame falls on our current ap-proach to education. As stated in the book, “The Myths of Standard-ized Tests: What They Don’t Tell You, What You Think They Do,” the current goal of our schools is simply to increase scores on standardized tests.

The state of Michigan is currently working to develop new testing options to replace the MEAP. One of the proposals is the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA). While its name sounds like a step in a positive direction, the SBA is really just a relocation from the classroom to the computer lab. The test involves standardized testing using a com-puter program instead of using a scantron. SBA is really not any smarter for students it is just a slight alteration to the already failing system for measuring growth.

At the State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama continued to push his Race to the Top program. The program essentially grades teachers on student test scores and encourages states to turn under performing schools into private charter schools. Programs like these do not benefit students or teachers. They turn each student into a dollar sign and schools become focused on standardized test scores because of the monetary attachment to students achievement on these tests.

Schools currently function as more of a prison than an environment that encour-ages intellectual growth. The one size fits all model drastically hinders a students natural curiosity and breeds a dislike for learning. If public education is to continue to exist in this country, programs like Race to the Top need to be abolished and replaced.

At a relatively low cost, Finland was able to build an impressive educational system by focusing on educating teachers and allowing them to work. There is little standard-ized testing and minor national standards. Finnish students work with teachers to de-velop a curriculum so the education is completely focused on students. Despite success with this model in Europe, America continues to add more regulations and spend more money on this failing system. The SBA test or Race to the Top will not fix education, stu-dents need to be given good teachers who have freedom to teach in an effective manner.

Loud, eager barking meets anyone who dares to open the gate to the PAWS Animal Rescue in Swartz Creek. Those brave enough to venture farther are greeted with puppy hugs, cuddles and wagging tails. On the surface, these dogs may seem like any others, but years of abuse or dog fighting have hindered their ability to have normal relationships with humans or other dogs.

Many of the dogs at PAWS come from Flint and have been part of illegal dog fighting for most of their lives, either as pullers or as breeders for litter after litter of puppies. Many of my favorite dogs sport incredibly large thighs, evidence of years of using those muscles to pull dogs in and out of dog fights. As a result of dogfight-ing, many of these dogs are aggressive toward each other and would lunge at one another, teeth barred, given any chance to do so.

Zena is one of these dogs. What Zena lacks in social skills for her fellow canines, she makes up for with humans. Zena is the kind of dog that could play fetch for hours: in snow, rain, mud and at night when her weath-ered tennis ball can barely be seen. Working with dogs like Zena brings tears to my eyes. People have taught her to be aggressive for entertainment. People have taught her to see a dog and think “kill,” rather than “friend.” People have prevented her from being able to play catch with a family. Instead, Zena has to live her life in a cage, waiting all day to play catch for a half hour because people have taught her to be aggressive.

While some dogs display their insecurities as aggres-sion, others cower in the corner of their cage in hopes of getting as far away from the human hands that have hurt them for so long.

One of these dogs is Gracie, she wears her scars of abuse all over her face and cannot let go of the wrong humans have done to her. She can only make it out of her cage for a couple minutes before she realizes a man or woman holds the leash attached to a collar wrapped around her neck. I have never been able to walk Gracie. Every time I walk by her kennel, she growls a little and cowgers to the corner, not able to bring her self to look in my direction. Seeing the pain Gracie goes through every day makes me hate people, the kind of people who can harm an innocent animal and prevent that animal from ever having a normal life.

Another one of these dogs is Brynn. She is the most beautiful, gentle dog I have ever met and for the longest time, I would try to take her on walks only to have her hide her tail between her legs. After months of walks, petting her head gently and kneeling down to let her sniff my hand, she finally trusts me and jumps at her kennel door to go on walks. Being an active part in Brynn’s transformation has been the most rewarding experience. Brynn was recently adopted to a woman who has worked with abused animals for almost ten years and knows how to make her feel safe. Although I will miss her more than words can express, I take pride in knowing I made a differ-ence for her and helped her find a forever home where she will be loved and cherished instead of abused.

The shelter dogs at PAWS have taught me about pa-tience and the value of kind hearted actions. Unfortunate-ly, the victories of working with abused animals are small victories, such as getting an aggressive dog to the walking track without using treats or dragging them away from other snarling dogs, or getting shy dogs to sniff your hand or let you pat their heads. I will take the small victories I get every Wednesday evening over no victory at all, hop-ing one day each of these dogs will have a forever home.

By Caitlin HeenanOpinOn editOr

Puppy Love, Worth the Work

For more profiles of dogs, visit fentoninprint.com. For more information about PAWs, see their ad on page 11.

Think twice before hitting or screaming at an animal; it could destroy their ability to be man’s best friend or have a home

He may be a loud barker and intimidating at first, but Blizzard is PAWS’ best cuddler.

Beautiful and energetic, once her trust is earned, Brynn will make anyone smile with her goofy personality. Brynn was recently adopted.

Brynn

Blizzard

Zena was a puller and cannot get along with other dogs, but give her a stick or frisbee and she is in heaven.

Zena

ABused AnimAls

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By Allie HowelleditOr-in-Chief

shelter Volunteer opportunities:adopt - a - pet: fentonpaWS animal rescue: Swartz CreekLast Chance rescue: flint

Shelters can always use donations, such as money or animal care supplies.

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American Education vs. Finnish Education

Total Spending

America - $809.6 billion Finland - $10 billion

Science Rating

America - 23rd worldwide Finland - 2nd woldwide

Math Rating

America - 30th worldwide Finland - 6th worldwide

Reading Rating

America - 17th worldwide Finland - 3rd worldwide

Source: National Education Association

Writing and Design Samples

The simplicity of this page’s design allows the serious nature of the topic to take hold, while remaining clean and attractive to the eye. Writing this narrative column allowed me to immerse myself in my passion for journalism, gathering research and taking the photos for this page. More impor-tantly, writing this column allowed me to express another passion of mine, working with abused animals. I can make a differ-ence for these animals, not just by working with them, but by bringing attention to their struggles through the written word.

Published: February 13, 2014Awarded: Honorable Mention for Personal Narrative from MIPA - 2014

Writing and Design Samples

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Girl

s can

nev

er g

o w

rong

with

food

for a

guy

. Th

e be

st g

ifts a

re th

e on

es y

ou c

an e

at.

“Per

sona

lly if

I w

as g

oing

to g

et so

met

hing

fo

r Val

entin

e’s D

ay, I

wou

ld w

ant m

y fa

vorit

e fo

od,”

soph

omor

e C

olin

O’C

onno

r sai

d. “N

oth -

ing

is be

tter t

han

gett

ing

food

as a

pre

sent

. It’s

th

e pe

rfec

t gift

.”Th

e ol

d sa

ying

is tr

ue. Th

e w

ay to

a g

uy’s

hear

t rea

lly is

thro

ugh

his s

tom

ach,

and

it’s

a gr

eat w

ay to

go.

Mos

t won

’t ca

re if

they

get

an

ythi

ng o

r not

, but

get

ting

som

e fo

od o

n Va

l -en

tine’s

Day

is a

gre

at w

ay to

mak

e th

is st

ress

ful

day

a lo

t mor

e st

ress

-fre

e.

Mal

esS

imila

rities

and

Diff

ere

nces

Fem

ales

The B

rain

:T

he B

ehavi

or:

1. 1

5 pe

rcen

t lar

ger b

rain

ove

rall

2. L

arge

Am

ygda

la3.

Tes

tost

eron

e re

leas

ed b

y Pi

tuita

ry G

land

4. E

mot

iona

l con

nect

ion

to e

atin

g fo

od

1. H

emisp

here

s of C

ereb

rum

hav

e m

ore

conn

ectio

ns

A. S

ectio

ns th

at a

id in

tran

spor

t are

larg

er

B. In

form

atio

n is

stor

ed in

mul

tiple

pla

ces

2. E

stro

gen

and

Prog

este

rone

rele

ased

by

Pitu

itary

Gla

nd

Man

y of

the

diffe

renc

es in

the

way

s girl

s an

d bo

ys a

ct a

nd th

ink

can

be at

trib

uted

to

the

way

thei

r bra

ins w

ork.

One

of t

he m

ain

diffe

ring

aspe

cts b

etw

een

mal

es a

nd fe

mal

es

that

impa

cts t

heir

beha

vior

is th

e st

ruct

ure

of th

eir b

rain

.W

hile

mal

es a

nd fe

mal

es u

se th

eir b

rain

s fo

r the

sam

e fu

nctio

ns, t

hey

go a

bout

the

proc

ess o

f tho

ught

in d

iffer

ent w

ays.

This

is be

caus

e of

diff

eren

ces i

n th

e st

ruct

ures

of t

he

part

s of t

heir

brai

n. Th

e siz

es a

nd co

nnec

tions

be

twee

n th

e he

misp

here

s and

lobe

s of t

he

cere

brum

, whi

ch is

in co

ntro

l of h

ighe

r bra

in

func

tions

such

as t

houg

ht, m

emor

y an

d pe

rcep

tion

of st

imul

i, ca

n ac

coun

t for

diff

erin

g th

ough

ts fo

r mal

es a

nd fe

mal

es. L

ikew

ise,

the

Am

ygda

la, t

he e

mot

iona

l cen

ter o

f the

br

ain,

and

the

Pitu

itary

Gla

nd, w

hich

secr

etes

ho

rmon

es, c

an a

ccou

nt fo

r the

em

otio

nal

chan

ges f

or g

irls a

nd b

oys a

nd w

hy th

ey a

re

not t

he sa

me

for e

ach

gend

er.

1. A

larg

er b

rain

allo

ws b

oys t

o co

mpl

ete

singl

e ta

sks e

asie

r tha

n gi

rls.

2. Th

e la

rge

Am

ygda

la e

mph

asiz

es a

ggre

ssiv

e be

havi

or a

nd ri

sky

beha

vior

, suc

h as

bei

ng m

ore

will

ing

to fi

ght o

r go

sky

divi

ng. F

or th

is, b

oys a

re m

ore

likel

y to

get

ang

ry at

peo

ple

and

thin

gs th

at ch

alle

nge

them

hea

d on

.3.

Tes

tost

eron

e pr

oduc

es m

ale

geni

talia

bef

ore

birt

h, d

evel

ops s

econ

dary

sex

char

acte

ristic

s at p

uber

ty a

nd

mai

ntai

ns se

x dr

ive.

4. C

hem

ical

s are

rele

ased

by

the

brai

n w

hen

food

is e

aten

and

the

effec

ts a

re fe

lt by

the

emot

iona

l str

uctu

res o

f th

e br

ain.

1. M

ore

conn

ectio

ns b

etw

een

the

left

and

right

side

s of t

he b

rain

allo

ws f

or in

form

atio

n to

be

stor

ed in

mor

e th

an o

ne p

lace

, allo

win

g gi

rls to

hav

e be

tter m

emor

ies a

nd m

ake

conn

ectio

ns b

etw

een

topi

cs a

nd a

spec

ts o

f life

ea

sier a

nd m

ore

freq

uent

. This

allo

ws g

irls t

o m

ake

plan

s, be

org

aniz

ed a

nd re

mem

ber/

car

ry o

ut th

ose

plan

s m

ore

effici

ently

than

boy

s. Fo

r thi

s, gi

rls a

re m

ost l

ikel

y to

get

ang

ry at

situ

atio

ns o

ut o

f the

ir co

ntro

l.2.

Thes

e ho

rmon

es a

id in

the

men

stru

al c

ycle

for g

irls a

nd m

ake

them

mor

e se

nsiti

ve th

an b

oys.

SOU

RCE:

Guy

s are

Waffl

es G

irls a

re S

pagh

etti

By C

had

East

ham

and

Will

and

Pam

Far

ell

EDIT

OR IN

CHI

Ef c

aitl

in h

eena

n

EDIT

OR IN

CHI

Ef c

aitl

in h

eena

nH

e w

on’t

text

you

bac

k. S

he’s

givi

ng y

ou m

ixed

sig

nals.

He

does

n’t p

ay at

tent

ion

to y

ou. S

he w

on’t

let y

ou h

ang

with

you

r frie

nds.

Prob

lem

afte

r pr

oble

m a

rises

in y

our r

elat

ions

hip

until

one

of

you

deci

des e

noug

h is

enou

gh a

nd y

ou ch

ange

you

r Fa

cebo

ok st

atus

. Sin

ce th

at’s

done

it’s

time

to te

xt th

at c

utie

in

your

Eng

lish

clas

s.It

seem

s tha

t tod

ay th

e ul

timat

e go

al o

n ev

eryo

ne’s

min

d is

obta

inin

g a

boyf

riend

or g

irlfr

iend

. Nev

erm

ind

that

onl

y tw

o pe

rcen

t of n

ew m

arria

ges a

re b

etw

een

the

clas

sic p

air o

f “hi

gh

scho

ol sw

eeth

eart

s.” L

et’s

just

focu

s on

the

slim

pos

sibili

ty th

at

the

one

is sit

ting

right

nex

t to

you

but j

ust t

alks

to y

ou to

ask

w

hat t

he d

ate

is.W

hile

bel

ievi

ng th

is m

ight

be

ente

rtai

ning

, it a

lmos

t alw

ays

lead

s to

com

plic

atio

ns th

at c

ause

unw

ante

d dr

ama.

Hig

h sc

hool

rela

tions

hips

are

wha

t the

y ar

e-re

latio

nshi

ps. Th

is m

ay

be su

rpris

ing,

but

rela

tions

hips

take

wor

k. Th

ey ta

ke aw

ay ti

me

from

the

endl

ess l

ist o

f res

pons

ibili

ties t

hat a

re g

iven

to th

e av

erag

e hi

gh sc

hool

er a

nd it

com

es to

a p

oint

whe

re re

latio

n -sh

ips a

re n

ot w

orth

it, e

spec

ially

in h

igh

scho

ol.

Ever

yone

in h

igh

scho

ol m

ust c

ome

to th

e re

aliz

atio

n th

at

in th

ree

year

s or l

ess t

hey

will

be

leav

ing

hom

e to

take

on

adul

thoo

d. A

stud

y do

ne b

y D

r. Fr

itz G

rupe

foun

d th

at 8

0 pe

rcen

t of c

olle

ge-b

ound

stud

ents

hav

e ye

t to

choo

se a

maj

or.

If yo

u ca

n’t d

ecid

e w

hat y

ou w

ant d

o fo

r the

rest

of y

our l

ife,

you

can’

t dec

ide

who

you

wan

t to

do fo

r the

rest

of y

our l

ife.

Ther

e ar

e to

o m

any

deci

sions

to m

ake,

clas

ses t

o fo

cus o

n, a

nd

not e

noug

h pe

ople

in h

igh

scho

ol lo

okin

g fo

r a re

latio

nshi

p fo

r an

y no

tabl

e pr

ogre

ss to

be

mad

e in

the

gam

e of

love

.C

olle

ge o

pens

doo

rs to

eve

ry a

spec

t of l

ife a

nd it

isn’

t fai

r to

clos

e off

opp

ortu

nitie

s whi

le in

hig

h sc

hool

. Sur

e yo

u ha

ve

fun

for a

yea

r or t

wo,

but

then

one

or b

oth

of y

ou g

radu

ate

and

sudd

enly

goi

ng in

to co

llege

in a

rela

tions

hip

does

n’t s

ound

too

cool

any

mor

e. Th

ere

are

7 bi

llion

peo

ple

in th

e w

orld

, and

you

tr

y to

say

you

pick

ed th

e on

e fr

om a

gro

up o

f 1,1

00 k

ids?

Man

y pe

ople

clai

m d

atin

g in

hig

h sc

hool

giv

es p

eopl

e th

e ch

ance

to “d

isco

ver l

ove”

and

lear

n w

hat c

hara

cter

istic

s th

ey a

re lo

okin

g fo

r. H

igh

scho

ol is

not

the

time

to d

iscov

er

love

, it’s

the

time

to d

iscov

er at

trac

tion.

No

one

is lo

okin

g to

da

te so

meo

ne el

se p

urel

y be

caus

e th

ey th

ink

they

can

hol

d a

conv

ersa

tion

with

them

for t

he re

st o

f the

ir lif

e. H

igh

scho

ol

datin

g op

ens d

oors

to e

very

thin

g th

ey d

on’t

teac

h yo

u in

hea

lth

clas

s and

not

hing

mor

e.

ONL

INE

EDIT

OR a

lexi

s M

egda

noff

Bein

g ab

le to

enj

oy h

igh

scho

ol m

emor

ies w

ith

a “s

igni

fican

t oth

er” c

an b

e ex

citin

g an

d ev

en

nece

ssar

y fo

r som

e te

enag

ers.

Alth

ough

ther

e ar

e m

any

posit

ives

with

in a

hig

h sc

hool

rela

tions

hip,

th

ey sh

ould

not

be

view

ed a

s too

serio

us.

Ther

e’s a

n id

ea o

f “do

’s an

d do

not

’s” w

ithin

ea

ch a

spec

t of a

rela

tions

hip.

For

exa

mpl

e, do

intr

oduc

e yo

ur b

oyfr

iend

/gir

lfrie

nd to

you

r frie

nds a

nd fi

nd a

way

to

have

fun

toge

ther

. Do

not t

ake

away

all

of y

our b

oyfr

iend

/gi

rlfrie

nd’s

frie

nds t

o on

ly sp

end

time

with

eac

h ot

her a

nd

pret

end

you

are

an is

olat

ed m

arrie

d co

uple

. It i

s im

port

ant

to k

eep

frie

nds a

roun

d an

d st

ay in

volv

ed in

hig

h sc

hool

ac

tiviti

es. Y

ou c

an d

o al

l of t

his w

ith so

meo

ne b

y yo

ur si

de,

just

mak

e su

re th

ey a

re n

ot h

oldi

ng y

ou b

ack.

O

n sp

ecia

l occ

asio

ns it

is n

ice

to g

ive

your

love

d on

e so

me

kind

of g

ift. H

owev

er, m

any

peop

le o

verd

o th

is id

ea. I

t is b

y no

mea

ns n

eces

sary

to g

o ou

t and

buy

a $

400

ring

for y

our

girlf

riend

on

your

“thr

ee m

onth

ann

iver

sary

”. M

oney

just

sh

ould

not

be

that

big

of a

fact

or in

a h

igh

scho

ol re

latio

nshi

p.

You

are

doin

g it

right

, tho

ugh,

if y

ou h

and

mak

e so

met

hing

th

at w

ill g

ener

ate

mor

e ha

ppin

ess o

r lau

ghte

r tha

n so

met

hing

bo

ught

eve

r cou

ld.

Hig

h sc

hool

rela

tions

hips

can

teac

h pe

ople

a lo

t abo

ut

them

selv

es, a

nd a

llow

them

to k

now

exa

ctly

wha

t the

y w

ill

look

for l

ater

in li

fe. I

ndiv

idua

ls ca

n be

nefit

in le

sson

s, kn

owl -

edge

and

goo

d m

emor

ies j

ust b

y be

ing

linke

d to

som

eone

. H

owev

er, i

f tak

en to

o se

rious

ly, re

latio

nshi

ps c

an b

e da

mag

-in

g, h

eart

bre

akin

g an

d m

essy

. This

is w

hy it

is im

port

ant

to h

ave

prio

ritie

s and

to b

e th

inki

ng st

raig

ht w

hen

deal

ing

with

som

eone

you

hav

e fe

elin

gs fo

r. G

irls s

houl

d no

t mak

e it

thei

r big

gest

goa

l to

find

thei

r hus

band

in h

igh

scho

ol ra

ther

th

an fo

cusin

g on

a c

aree

r and

colle

ge. B

oys s

houl

d no

t allo

w

thei

r opi

nion

s and

inte

rest

s to

be sw

ayed

just

bec

ause

they

are

w

rapp

ed a

roun

d a

girls

fing

er.

The

bigg

est p

robl

em w

ith lo

ve-s

truc

k te

enag

ers i

s tha

t th

ey th

ink

thei

r rel

atio

nshi

ps w

ill la

st fo

reve

r. Ju

dgem

ent c

an

often

be

clou

ded

whe

n on

e is

deci

ding

on

his o

r her

futu

re

with

the

cons

tant

thou

ght o

f sta

ying

with

his

or h

er p

artn

er.

Ther

e is

still

a tw

o pe

rcen

t cha

nce

that

you

’re h

igh

scho

ol

swee

thea

rt w

ill st

ick

with

you

thro

ugho

ut li

fe. T

rue

love

doe

s ex

ist, a

nd y

ou m

ight

just

find

it e

arly

on.

It is

per

fect

ly o

kay

to e

njoy

tim

e sp

ent w

ith a

boy

frie

nd/g

irlfr

iend

but

you

r liv

es

shou

ld re

mai

n se

para

te. I

f som

eone

is g

oing

to ch

ange

the

othe

r, it

shou

ld b

e fo

r the

bet

ter.

ASSI

STAN

T ED

ITOR

she

alyn

Man

dle

Onc

e up

on a

tim

e th

ere

was

a w

oman

. She

w

as to

live

hap

pily

eve

r afte

r with

her

hus

band

an

d th

ree

child

ren

in th

e fa

raw

ay la

nd o

f W

arre

n, M

ichi

gan.

The

dest

iny

of th

is se

em-

ingl

y jo

yous

fam

ily w

ould

fore

ver b

e ro

cked

on

June

6, 1

944,

also

kno

wn

as D

-Day

. The

husb

and,

stor

min

g th

e be

ache

s of N

orm

andy

, was

shot

and

take

n ba

ck to

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es in

hop

es o

f hea

ling.

Sho

rtly

afte

r, th

e w

oman

w

as w

idow

ed a

nd n

ever

mar

ried

agai

n. R

athe

r tha

n dw

ell o

n he

r hus

band

’s de

ath,

to th

is da

y, th

e w

oman

kee

ps sw

eet m

em-

orie

s of t

heir

shor

t tim

e to

geth

er.

Ever

ythi

ng I

know

abo

ut lo

ve, I

hav

e le

arne

d fr

om m

y gr

andm

a (t

he w

oman

from

the

stor

y). I

find

it in

cred

ible

that

sh

e co

uld

spen

d m

ost o

f her

life

alo

ne b

y ne

ver r

emar

ryin

g.

This,

to m

e is

a te

stam

ent t

o tr

ue lo

ve, s

how

ing

that

love

can

co

me

from

any

whe

re, a

t any

tim

e an

d ca

n la

st a

life

time.

This

dem

onst

ratio

n of

love

can

eve

n co

me

in h

igh

scho

ol o

r mid

dle

scho

ol fo

r tha

t mat

ter.

Love

shou

ld n

ot b

e de

fined

with

in th

e lim

its o

f age

and

m

atur

ity le

vels.

It is

selfi

sh a

nd n

aive

to th

ink

high

scho

oler

s ar

e inc

apab

le o

f lov

ing

each

oth

er ju

st b

ecau

se th

ey a

re y

oung

. H

igh

scho

ol is

the

time

whe

n th

e co

rrup

tion

of th

e re

al w

orld

is

kept

just

far a

way

eno

ugh

to a

llow

peo

ple

to se

e ea

ch o

ther

as

par

tner

s, no

t jus

t an

oppo

rtun

ity fo

r a ta

x w

rite

off.

Hig

h sc

hool

rela

tions

hips

hav

e a

posit

ive

influ

ence

on

teen

ager

s; th

ey a

llow

teen

s to

lear

n w

hat t

hey

like

and

disli

ke

in th

e pe

ople

aro

und

them

and

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w te

ens t

o ex

perie

nce

the

proc

ess o

f for

min

g an

d de

velo

ping

rela

tions

hips

. Acc

ordi

ng to

a

stud

y by

the

Uni

vers

ity o

f Den

ver,

“The

form

atio

n of

rom

an-

tic re

latio

nshi

ps is

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n th

ough

t to

be o

ne o

f the

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ce a

nd th

ese

rela

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ha

ve si

gnifi

cant

impl

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for h

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adj

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ple,

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requ

ire th

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invo

lved

to g

ive,

not j

ust t

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nd to

list

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the

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r per

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mak

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bel

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tions

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to la

st, I

am

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gh sc

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will

get

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ren

and

live

happ

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fter a

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re

latio

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n th

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owev

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ives

them

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OTOS

Mad

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Roy

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ants

4 www.fentoninprint.com | February 13, 2014opinion

The Thursday before winter break I was in a great mood. I had finally finished study-ing for a test and I was confident I knew the material. Four snow days and a two week break later, the same material I had known like the back of my hand suddenly looked like a foreign language.

This sheds light on an important flaw in our education system. Students in high school are not really taught information. Cramming the night before for a math test and memorizing a practice essay before a timed write is not learning.

Elaine Tuttle Hansen, author of the book “How to Survive in College,” explains the problem with our current education system in an interview with NPR. Students “have not had the time to kind of sit back and think about hard questions and big questions. They have been taught to check the right boxes, to do well on standardized tests.”

Memorization skills are not important for success in college and in a career. Students need to be taught how to think critically, how to analyze a problem and how to write well. Learning how to beg for extra credit to keep a 4.0 is not a successful life skill - it is a by-product of an educational system that is too focused on testing and grades to actually teach students. This system results in students and parents who are more focused on making the grade than on learning useful skills.

This problem is not the fault of the teachers who are forced to meet common core standards and follow rules set by the state. The blame falls on our current ap-proach to education. As stated in the book, “The Myths of Standard-ized Tests: What They Don’t Tell You, What You Think They Do,” the current goal of our schools is simply to increase scores on standardized tests.

The state of Michigan is currently working to develop new testing options to replace the MEAP. One of the proposals is the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA). While its name sounds like a step in a positive direction, the SBA is really just a relocation from the classroom to the computer lab. The test involves standardized testing using a com-puter program instead of using a scantron. SBA is really not any smarter for students it is just a slight alteration to the already failing system for measuring growth.

At the State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama continued to push his Race to the Top program. The program essentially grades teachers on student test scores and encourages states to turn under performing schools into private charter schools. Programs like these do not benefit students or teachers. They turn each student into a dollar sign and schools become focused on standardized test scores because of the monetary attachment to students achievement on these tests.

Schools currently function as more of a prison than an environment that encour-ages intellectual growth. The one size fits all model drastically hinders a students natural curiosity and breeds a dislike for learning. If public education is to continue to exist in this country, programs like Race to the Top need to be abolished and replaced.

At a relatively low cost, Finland was able to build an impressive educational system by focusing on educating teachers and allowing them to work. There is little standard-ized testing and minor national standards. Finnish students work with teachers to de-velop a curriculum so the education is completely focused on students. Despite success with this model in Europe, America continues to add more regulations and spend more money on this failing system. The SBA test or Race to the Top will not fix education, stu-dents need to be given good teachers who have freedom to teach in an effective manner.

Loud, eager barking meets anyone who dares to open the gate to the PAWS Animal Rescue in Swartz Creek. Those brave enough to venture farther are greeted with puppy hugs, cuddles and wagging tails. On the surface, these dogs may seem like any others, but years of abuse or dog fighting have hindered their ability to have normal relationships with humans or other dogs.

Many of the dogs at PAWS come from Flint and have been part of illegal dog fighting for most of their lives, either as pullers or as breeders for litter after litter of puppies. Many of my favorite dogs sport incredibly large thighs, evidence of years of using those muscles to pull dogs in and out of dog fights. As a result of dogfight-ing, many of these dogs are aggressive toward each other and would lunge at one another, teeth barred, given any chance to do so.

Zena is one of these dogs. What Zena lacks in social skills for her fellow canines, she makes up for with humans. Zena is the kind of dog that could play fetch for hours: in snow, rain, mud and at night when her weath-ered tennis ball can barely be seen. Working with dogs like Zena brings tears to my eyes. People have taught her to be aggressive for entertainment. People have taught her to see a dog and think “kill,” rather than “friend.” People have prevented her from being able to play catch with a family. Instead, Zena has to live her life in a cage, waiting all day to play catch for a half hour because people have taught her to be aggressive.

While some dogs display their insecurities as aggres-sion, others cower in the corner of their cage in hopes of getting as far away from the human hands that have hurt them for so long.

One of these dogs is Gracie, she wears her scars of abuse all over her face and cannot let go of the wrong humans have done to her. She can only make it out of her cage for a couple minutes before she realizes a man or woman holds the leash attached to a collar wrapped around her neck. I have never been able to walk Gracie. Every time I walk by her kennel, she growls a little and cowgers to the corner, not able to bring her self to look in my direction. Seeing the pain Gracie goes through every day makes me hate people, the kind of people who can harm an innocent animal and prevent that animal from ever having a normal life.

Another one of these dogs is Brynn. She is the most beautiful, gentle dog I have ever met and for the longest time, I would try to take her on walks only to have her hide her tail between her legs. After months of walks, petting her head gently and kneeling down to let her sniff my hand, she finally trusts me and jumps at her kennel door to go on walks. Being an active part in Brynn’s transformation has been the most rewarding experience. Brynn was recently adopted to a woman who has worked with abused animals for almost ten years and knows how to make her feel safe. Although I will miss her more than words can express, I take pride in knowing I made a differ-ence for her and helped her find a forever home where she will be loved and cherished instead of abused.

The shelter dogs at PAWS have taught me about pa-tience and the value of kind hearted actions. Unfortunate-ly, the victories of working with abused animals are small victories, such as getting an aggressive dog to the walking track without using treats or dragging them away from other snarling dogs, or getting shy dogs to sniff your hand or let you pat their heads. I will take the small victories I get every Wednesday evening over no victory at all, hop-ing one day each of these dogs will have a forever home.

By Caitlin HeenanOpinOn editOr

Puppy Love, Worth the Work

For more profiles of dogs, visit fentoninprint.com. For more information about PAWs, see their ad on page 11.

Think twice before hitting or screaming at an animal; it could destroy their ability to be man’s best friend or have a home

He may be a loud barker and intimidating at first, but Blizzard is PAWS’ best cuddler.

Beautiful and energetic, once her trust is earned, Brynn will make anyone smile with her goofy personality. Brynn was recently adopted.

Brynn

Blizzard

Zena was a puller and cannot get along with other dogs, but give her a stick or frisbee and she is in heaven.

Zena

ABused AnimAls

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By Allie HowelleditOr-in-Chief

shelter Volunteer opportunities:adopt - a - pet: fentonpaWS animal rescue: Swartz CreekLast Chance rescue: flint

Shelters can always use donations, such as money or animal care supplies.

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American Education vs. Finnish Education

Total Spending

America - $809.6 billion Finland - $10 billion

Science Rating

America - 23rd worldwide Finland - 2nd woldwide

Math Rating

America - 30th worldwide Finland - 6th worldwide

Reading Rating

America - 17th worldwide Finland - 3rd worldwide

Source: National Education Association

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This spread is by far one my most favorite to have created. Each design element was carefully thought out and representative of an aspect of Valentine’s Day. Each of the candy hearts was selected for a reason, the highlighted words in each story were cho-sen as classic representations of love and relationships, even the colors of the outfits of the individuals pictured were planned and specified to the theme.

Published: February 4, 2015Awarded: Submitted for Features Spread to MIPA - 2015

The Brain: The Behavior:

1. 15 percent larger brain overall2. Large Amygdala3. Testosterone released by Pituitary Gland4. Emotional connection to eating food

1. Hemispheres of Cerebrum have more connections A. Sections that aid in transport are larger B. Information is stored in multiple places2. Estrogen and Progesterone released by Pituitary Gland

1. A larger brain allows boys to complete single tasks easier than girls.2. The large Amygdala emphasizes aggressive behavior and risky behavior, such as being more willing to fight or go sky diving. For this, boys are more likely to get angry at people and things that challenge them head on.3. Testosterone produces male genitalia before birth, develops secondary sex characteristics at puberty and maintains sex drive.4. Chemicals are released by the brain when food is eaten and the effects are felt by the emotional structures of the brain.

1. More connections between the left and right sides of the brain allows for information to be stored in more than one place, allowing girls to have better memories and make connections between topics and aspects of life easier and more frequent. This allows girls to make plans, be organized and remember/ carry out those plans more efficiently than boys. For this, girls are most likely to get angry at situations out of their control.2. These hormones aid in the menstrual cycle for girls and make them more sensitive than boys.

SOURCE: Guys are Waffles Girls are Spaghetti By Chad Eastham and Will and Pam Farell

MalesSimilarities and Differences

Females

Many of the differences in the ways girls and boys act and think can be attributed to the way their brains work. One of the main differing aspects between males and females that impacts their behavior is the structure of their brain.

While males and females use their brains for the same functions, they go about the process of thought in different ways. This is because of differences in the structures of the parts of their brain. The sizes and connec-tions between the hemispheres and lobes of the cerebrum, which is in control of higher brain functions such as thought, memory and perception of stimuli, can account for differing thoughts for males and females. Likewise, the Amygdala, the emotional center of the brain, and the Pituitary Gland, which secretes hor-mones, can account for the emotional changes for girls and boys and why they are not the same for each gender.

EDITOR IN CHIEf caitlin heenan

Once upon a time there was a woman. She was to live happily ever after with her husband and three children in the faraway land of War-ren, Michigan. The destiny of this seemingly joy-ous family would forever be rocked on June 6,

1944, also known as D-Day. The husband, storming the beach-es of Normandy, was shot and taken back to the United States in hopes of healing. Shortly after, the woman was widowed and never married again. Rather than dwell on her husband’s death, to this day, the woman keeps sweet memories of their short time together.

Everything I know about love, I have learned from my grandma (the woman from the story). I find it incredible that she could spend most of her life alone by never remarrying. This, to me is a testament to true love, showing that love can come from anywhere, at any time and can last a lifetime. This demonstration of love can even come in high school or middle school for that matter.

Love should not be defined within the limits of age and maturity levels. It is selfish and naive to think high school-ers are incapable of loving each other just because they are young. High school is the time when the corruption of the real world is kept just far away enough to allow people to see each other as partners, not just an opportunity for a tax write off.

High school relationships have a positive influence on teenagers; they allow teens to learn what they like and dislike in the people around them and allow teens to experience the process of forming and developing relationships. According to a study by the University of Denver, “The formation of roman-tic relationships is often thought to be one of the important developmental tasks of adolescence and these relationships have significant implication for health and adjustment.”

For example, relationships require those involved to give, not just take, learn about each other’s strengths and weak-nesses and to listen to the other person, making sacrifices when necessary.

Although, I believe it is possible for high school relation-ships to last, I am not suggesting everyone who claims to love each other in high school will get married, have a bunch of healthy children and live happily. After all, not every relation-ship as an adult occurs in this fashion. However, I am suggest-ing high school relationships are a lot more important than our society currently gives them credit for.

Writing and Design Samples

In writing this column as part of the tri-column, I took the stance that rela-tionships are meaningful, even in high school and was able to incorporate per-sonal aspects from the experiences hear-ing about my grandmother’s life events.

Published: February 4, 2015Awarded: Never submitted for judging

Writing and Design Samples

The writing of this research-based piece is enhanced by an alternative story form design and still maintains the theme of love and Valentine’s Day with the male and female symbols.

Published: February 4, 2015Awarded: Never submitted for judging

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