Irvine High School - Citadel Yearbook (Irvine, CA)

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REACHING FOR HIGHER KNOWLEDGE: Senior Sharon Sohn pulls down a book from the UCI library shelf. The book was vital for her research project in the new honors class, Social Science Research. SHARING THOUGHTS: The Progressive, a liberal magazine, sparks ideas aired by Junior Sean Casey and Social Science Research teacher, Bruce Baron. Feature 25

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P©)!!. tt€! : t m M ' tm mm m M Public opinion about education has, within the last five years, experienced a return to an em- phasis on basics. It is time to end the rhetoric. It is time to restate the principle that a strong public school system is at the heart of a strong, diverse America, said U.S. Representative, Dan Glickman. In California, this new shift toward traditional education resulted in the passing of Senate Bill 813 (SB 813) in 1983. SB 813 dealt with changes in funding, academic curriculum, and teacher-testing. The changes being made and the new, in- novative teaching techniques teachers are incor- porating are all geared for one thing: making students learn, said IHS Unit Principal, Leah Laule. Nationally, funding for public education was not increased. President Ronald Reagan did not slash funds, but he tried to. According to the National Education Associa- tion (NEA), figures for the U.S. Budget for federal aid disproved Reagan ' s claim of wanting to im- prove the nation ' s education system. In 1980, former President Jimmy Carter requested $13.3 billion in federal aid for education. In 1981, Carter upped the request to $13.4 billion. Then, in 1982, Reagan cut federal funds to $13.1 billion, and the 1983 budget was slashed to $10.3 billion and Reagan requested further cuts. However, with the passing of SB 813, public school funding in California saw some improve- ment. For example, $400 per pupil would be awarded to high schools for improving their students ' academic achievement on composite test scores. This funding was proposed as an in- centive to schools to improve their students ' scores on national tests. Along with this fundings, a change that directly affected IHS students was the new honors classes. According to Laule, the classes were weighted with an extra grade point for each grade a student received. This new policy encouraged students to take more classes with a higher level of difficulty. Junior Lendor Tobias said, If the school was not awarding the extra grade point, I might not have taken Social Science Research, and thus learned as much as I have. With the University of California ' s approval, an extra grade point was awarded for the designated honors and advanced placement classes, accor- ding to Laule. Another curriculum change was the requirement of two years of science and one year of Fine Arts 24 Feature or Foreign Language to graduate. In Japan, I never had the opportunity to get in- volved in activities at school. It ' s good for everyone to cultivate an interest outside of studies. Having these new requirements will give everyone the chance to find that interest, said Senior Koichi Hanada. Requiring seniors to take 5 classes a day was another change that sparked controversy. The ex- ception to this requirement was if the student was taking a work experience class or a college course, in which case, the other activity would count as a class. Requiring 5 classes puts too much pressure on seniors. If I was going to take five easy classes, I wouldn ' t mind, but most TA ' s push the seniors to take hard classes. When I end up taking five classes of 4-5 difficulty, plus participating in a team sport, plus working, it just becomes too much, said Senior Michelle Olis. However, Sophomore George Quitoriano ex- pressed a different point of view. The new requirement of five classes would keep seniors on task and prepared for college. Otherwise, seniors just become too lax during their last year in high school and they regress. Another new requirement from SB 813 was for teachers to take the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST) before they received teaching credentials. Teachers changing school districts had to take the exam also. There was a controversy surrounding the CBEST and substitute teachers, said Laule. Substitutes were required to take the CBEST, but the test cost $50 each time to take, and substitutes wonder if it is really worth it. Mid year, California legislature changed again, however, and eliminated the CBEST requirement and mandatory four years of college for substitutes. Due to a shortage of substitutes, only three years of college was necessary to obtain a substitute credential. All these changes came because of a general shift in emphasis toward basic education, meaning more studying, better teachers, and a strong academic core. As said in the NEA ' s slogan, A Strong America Needs Strong Public Schools. — by Cathy Chou AP PHYSICS . . . AMUSING?! Apparently, Senior Jeanne Pandes finds AP Physics problems no problem at all. r m,

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Cracklfyg the stre harrier Stress is not a selective condition that only con- cerns adults; in fact, pressure from all sides, in- cluding taking the best sequence of classes possi- ble, maintaining good grades, becoming involved in school activities, or holding down a job, makes teenagers prime candidates to experience a destructive form of stress. Achievement, satisfaction, health, and hap- piness can all be seriously affected by that seem- ingly unyielding affliction. Dr. Hans Selye, one of the pioneers in stress research, defined the condi- tion as the nonspecific result of any demand upon the body, yet coping w ith these demands is the key focus for today ' s het: ' C society. Not only are students h.. cted to become in- volved, but they are also pressured to achieve in all areas, by either their parents or themselves. Some students turn to alchohol or drugs to escape from pressures, instead of finding another way to deal with their problems. Low self esteem is one of the biggest reasons why students use or abuse substances, according to Richard Messenger, choral music teacher at IHS and member of the Impact Team. A student who feels good about himself or herself will find recourse other than using drugs when they encounter a crisis. Learning that there are other alternatives and capitalizing on their strengths will help students turn away from such abuse, Messenger said. Although usually associated with frazzled people struggling to maintain a grip on sanity, stress is ac- tually a natural reaction to everyday situations. It can be either beneficial or detrimental to a person, depending on how the individual deals with his or her problems and experiences. Researchers have discoverd that sudden upsets in one ' s life (such as death of a loved one, an unex- pected move, or a divorce in the family) trigger feelings of anxiety, but that gnawing feeling really stems from the petty worries of day-to-day life on top of the big problems. The human body is equip- ped with the chemicals and hormones to combat intense grief or excitement, but if these substances are frequently tapped by menial tasks in addition to the major stressors, the body and spirit pay a heavy toll in the form of heart disease, ulcers, migrains, extreme depression, or other mental anguish. Some high school students become affected by stress both physically and mentally, as was one IHS student who developed an ulcer. There was a time when I worried about grades, parental pressure, living up to my sister, and swit- ching schools. Once, I was so scared of what my parents would do when they saw my report card that I sliced a vein so that they wouldn ' t get mad about the grades, but only care about my physical condition, the student said. Connie Caputo, transfer counselor from Foun- tain Valley School District, explained some techni- ques for alleviating anxieties. Relaxation exercises and creative visualization are ways in which students can offset stress. It ' s also important to find ways to nurture yourself, Caputo said. Students find ways to reduce pressure by play- ing sports, writing in a journal, talking to friends or counselors, and spending time alone. According to Toni Iseman, senior counselor, the method in which students deal with problems is a matter of personal style. Usually I either cry, or sleep to hide from it all, said senior Kim Bolton. I play sports which helps me relax; writing in a journal really helps a great deal, also, said Laurie Hagerman, senior. With increasing demands made on teenagers to excell in school and attend college, in addition to the need to be accepted by their peer group, comes a sense of inadequacy when these goals are not met. Often times, parents ' expectations are difficult to live up to, which only adds to the problem. Sometimes stress is so abstract, that there is nothing a student can do about it. One way to han- dle it is to make a list of all the stressful things in your life, indentify the most difficult problem, and work to get control over that one. Many times, reaching cut for a friend or talking to someone who would understand, can help a great deal, said Iseman. — by Allison Joyce 1 -U ' -J l4e VJ S iV c ii fl- A THE WRITE-UP: Helping students is just one part of Gilbert Luna ' s jobs as campus supervisor, as he handles a problem for Tim Pirtle and Mike EsmondT A Vc 1 (yu McxcA. Tcw- ' CWi - sW e, v 26 Feature A Va V tL SCHEDULE CONFLICTS: Changing classes at the semester can be a very stressful time for both counselors and students, as Medea Tallman and Toni Iseman illustrate. f- c. ' s ' Zs-JJj Kelly Irwin