The hardest part of school isn’t the homework — it’s the early time that forces teens to function on almost no sleep. The CDC reports that 7 out of 10 high school students don’t get enough sleep. When teens are tired, we don’t learn well, and early bells make the problem worse.
Studies consistently show that early start time leads to more stress, lower attention, and high chances of students drifting off in class. The American Academy of Pediatrics confirmed that early time causes chronic sleep loss which links to higher stress, irritability, and difficulty paying attention in class.
Sleep deprivation doesn’t just make teens feel tired, but affects our academic performance. Oxford academic researchers using EEG data from high school students found that students in early morning classes had lower attentiveness and performed worse than mid-morning students. Teachers noticed right away that students have unfinished assignments, slower participation, and struggle to stay alert during instruction. Early start times make learning feel harder than it should be.
The main benefit of starting school later is better attendance and grades. The University of Washington Study decided to test out starting school later to see the effects it has on students. In the same study, after school start times were pushed back, final grades were 4.5 percent higher and first period absences dropped. There are also more benefits like improved mood and fewer car crashes among youth.
Early start times also take a toll on students’ moods. When teens don’t get enough sleep, it shows through low energy, irritability, and difficulty staying positive throughout the day. In early classes, it’s common to see students with their heads down or barely awake, but in later classes those same students are noticeably more alert and engaged. When someone starts the day exhausted, it becomes harder to focus, stay motivated, or complete work until they feel fully awake again.
Some may argue that teens can just go to sleep early, but this would not work because teens can’t just go to bed early; our bodies naturally stay up later at night.
Dr. Mary Carskadon stated during a PBS Frontline interview, “there is another part of their brain..the biological timing system, or the circadian clock… But when they start the day with the empty bank…they really should be home in bed sleeping, not sleeping in the classroom.”
Music has long been a part of human culture for centuries, serving both as a form of expression and a way to communicate. Music plays a significant role in enhancing our mental, emotional, and even physical well-being. Engaging with music can foster personal growth and improve our overall quality of life.
One of the most notable benefits of music is its impact on mood. According to Right As Rain, listening to music can trigger the release of dopamine in the brain. This is why many people turn to music during times of stress or sadness. Playing a favorite song can uplift spirits and provide a deep sense of comfort.
Music allows individuals to process their feelings and experiences in a healthy way.
In addition to the emotional benefits it provides, music has been shown to have several advantages as well. According to PMC, engaging with music can enhance memory and boost focus. Learning to play an instrument requires multitasking and commitment, all of which are skills that can bring good academic performance and problem-solving abilities. APA states that students involved in music education often score better in math, science, and English than their nonmusical peers.
A significant part of music is the social aspect. Music often brings people together, bringing connections. Whether through concerts or just listening with friends, the communal experience of music can enhance social bonds. Collaborating in music also encourages teamwork and communication skills, which are essential in personal and professional environments
Music can have therapeutic effects as well. Music therapy is recognized for its effectiveness in treating mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD. It can help individuals express emotions that may be difficult to express or articulate. Additionally, music is often used in rehab programs to aid in physical recovery. Overall, the benefits of music highlight its importance as a huge aspect of human experience.
As a kid, I’ve always thought I would be a teacher, or maybe do something with ocean animals. And I always thought I could just change my job whenever and it wouldn’t affect me. I used to have so many goals and different career paths I had wanted. But now all that is just a fantasy.
Kids like me didn’t even know there were many options for careers only because I was never opened up to the idea of ‘different jobs’.
Now that I’m a sophomore, the next two years really impact my career. I’ve always been indecisive on what I want to do or how I want to do things. And knowing I have to make the right choices sometime this year really scares me even though I know exactly what I want to be, I just don’t know where to start.
I never really thought about how much money I’m going to make, or how confusing it would be to pick the right paths for my career. There are always little Google forms about picking classes to help with a career choice , I never know which ones to pick. It always makes me nervous because I don’t have any idea if I chose the right thing or how it will affect me.
Many people like me feel this way too. There is just a never ending pressure about picking our career. Maybe it’s all too soon?
Teachers don’t give us enough opportunities to explore their career, yes we get to move paths only once maybe twice. But what if that isn’t even enough?
Education should focus on more than making us pick a path early, it should equip us with a broad knowledge base, and explore many different possibilities open to us.
Some students mix up degrees and careers, leading them to pick the wrong classes. I feel us students should have a little more of an understanding about exactly what classes to choose for each career.
Yes, picking a wrong career will not ruin anything. But pressure from friends, family, and society make it feel like it will. Even if we know exactly what they want to be, people can push us to pick classes that have nothing to do with our career.
Feeling stressed about a career can affect our mind and body, as well as, a lot of students overthinking options before making a decision.
Teachers can start giving kids more options at a young age by opening our minds to different ideas and pathways.
In all, students shouldn’t have to stress out as badly as they do just because they have zero idea where to start. Education should have more openings into teaching students where to start.
From reading the book The Wild Robot when I was younger to finally watching it in theaters it meant a lot. The Wild Robot was turned into a film focused on nature as well as motherly love. It came out Sept. 27 2024 and I was ready to watch with the books giving me high expectations.
The movie starts off with a futuristic robot named Roz accidentally arriving on an island full of wildlife trying to do its programming and help any person in need trying to complete its task. Roz starts to understand animal language. The animals in the forest have only rude things to say about Roz just because she’s different from them. Roz tries to leave but finds a duck egg by itself.
She found a task to complete which is to care for the egg with the help of a fox who wanted to help for selfish reasons but turned soft after a while. The main conflict in the story is how to raise a duck as a robot and robots like Roz trying to take her back home from the island.
This animated film has great quality with having the animators from Puss in Boots The Last Wish. Roz was Lupita Nyong’o who did a great impression of a robotic voice. Pedro Pascal playing the fox called Fink had a great personality in his voice that was way different from him in person. Kit Connor as Bright Bill was pretty good.
The story was heartfelt, which gives you a fuzzy feeling with a whirlwind of emotions with a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 260 reviews, 8.2/IMDb the most talked about detail was their animation and how beautifully they portrayed the book.
School uniforms, such a picky topic. Either people are really against them or love them. Let’s talk about it.
At JHS we don’t have specific pieces of clothing that we have to wear to school everyday, but we do have a dress code. Some of the policies in the dress code include no inappropriate signs or words on shirts or hats. No mini skirts, or revealing shirts. But I believe uniforms would make everybody’s school life easier.
Teachers wouldn’t have to worry about sending kids home or to the office to change. They also wouldn’t have to worry about watching everybody in the halls to make sure their appearance is appropriate for school. The students wouldn’t have to worry about what they’re gonna wear to school in the morning, which some of the time causes the teenage girls to be late. And it would also be a good idea because students are always worried about what their peers are wearing and that wouldn’t happen if we had school uniforms.
This would also be ideal for busy parents because they would only have to buy three shirts, two pairs of pants and a pair of shoes for their kids because they would only have to buy the uniforms that are assigned by the school. Having uniforms would also increase our focus in class — everyone would be worried about the assignment and not what people are wearing.
School uniforms would also prevent students from falling for trends, or thinking they have to have the newest clothes or they’re not cool enough.
School uniforms should be mandatory for students, as they promote equality, enhance focus on academics, and save parents money.
Kentucky basketball fans are not known for patience. When you wear blue and white, expectations are always Final Four or bust. So after a slow start to the season, a lot of fans are already worried. But this team isn’t failing– it’s just still building. And with key players like Jayden Quaintance and Jaland Lowe getting back to full health, things could look a lot different by the time conference play really heats up.
Early in the season, chemistry matters just as much as talent. Kentucky has both, but chemistry takes time. New players have to learn from each other, figure out roles, and build trust on the court. When injuries are added into the mix, that process slows down even more. That’s been part of the problem– the team hasn’t been whole.
The good news is that help is coming. Quaintance brings energy, defense, and presence inside. When he is healthy, he changes the flow of the game down low. Lowe adds speed, scoring, and guard depth that Kentucky badly needs.
Fans want wins immediately. That’s understandable. But basketball seasons aren’t movies– they don’t peak in the first act. What really matters is progress. Kentucky is learning how to finish games, how to handle pressure, and how to stay steady when shots aren’t falling. Those lessons hurt now, but they matter later.
Sometimes a slow start is actually a good thing. It forces a team to grow up fast. Nobody feels comfortable. Nobody assumes anything. When adversity shows up early, teams that stick together usually come out stronger on the other end. This is when leadership is built, and roles become clear.
History shows Kentucky doesn’t need to be perfect in November and December to be dangerous in March. The best teams usually don’t run through the season without problems– they survive them. This group still has time, talent, and reasons to believe.
The season is far from over. Once Quaintance and Lowe are back to 100% and the rotation settles in, Kentucky won’t look like the same team from the first few weeks. This is not the end of the story.
Whether we like it or not, phones are everywhere at school. We see them in pockets, peeking from under desks, or being used to text someone who’s just a few seats away. As much as teachers try to control it, smartphones are part of our daily lives now. So, the question is, should they be allowed in school?
Honestly, I think phones can be really useful, like if we need to look up something for a project, want to record notes, or take a picture of the homework on the board. There’s an app for almost anything school related. There’s no question that in today’s world, we use technology for everything from work to communication, so learning how to use it responsibly seems important.
“With the right balance, smartphones could help us learn more and not distract us from learning at all.”
But let’s be real. Phones can also ruin focus faster than anything else. One message, one notification, and suddenly we are scrolling through TikTok for just a minute, that turns into ten. It’s not just distraction, either; phones can cause drama, make cheating easier, or create pressure to look perfect online. School should be a place to learn, and not a place to compare who has the newest iPhone or the most followers.
So, what’s the solution? Completely banning phones doesn’t seem realistic, and letting everyone use them freely definitely doesn’t work. The best option is somewhere in the middle. Use them only when they’re actually needed for schoolwork or let students have them during breaks. And more importantly, teach students how to use technology responsibly instead of just taking it away.
In the end, phones aren’t a bad thing, they’re just tools. How they affect school depends on how we use them. With the right balance, smartphones could help us learn more and not distract us from learning at all.
Solutions:
Make free phone zones.
Bigger consequences if we use your phones in class.
The school can give us phones with no games on so they can use it as a tool.
In 1637 New English Canaan by Thomas Morton was officially the first book to be banned in the USA.
It was banned because it was seen as “a too harsh critique of puritan customs.” Of course the ban was just a sign of times. This wouldn’t happen now, would it?
One of the most recent books to be banned in American public schools was Sold by Patricia McCormick. This book is about a young girl who was sold into prostitution but finds strength within herself to go on.
Why would a book like this be banned? If not for control? Why would we shade things like this from a 13-year-old girl when someone the exact same age is living the story. César A. Cru once said, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”
So should we allow just any books in schools? All for the sake of reality? Should adult fiction novels like A Court Of Thorns And Roses be allowed in school because “No book should be banned.” Where is the line drawn?
The line is drawn for the sake of intent. A book that shows cruelty and explicitly for the sake of story telling is a lot different than one that shows it for entertainment.
What is this “intent” ? Sure we can use the concept of the word “meaningful and telling” but what does it mean? I could say that it has intent because it makes me feel happy, right?
No, because the intent is literary intent. It’s about the purpose of the art and how effectively it is dealt with.
In A Court Of Thorns And Roses there are countless adult topics but they are not handled with care or nuance, the reader both gains and loses nothing from reading it. Compared to say The Handmaid’s Tale where it also shares adult topics but in a way that these topics have meaning. Meaning other than to just entertain; meaning to teach.
This small difference in comparison makes a big difference in impact. I can’t tell you much about the last few romance novels I’ve read over the years but I can tell you how the first time I read Anne Frank’s diary in the sixth grade and how it truly made me realise injustice. How it made me want to look for voices that I might not have heard before.
You can tell children about bad things happening, but unless you show them from their views of those people it’s nothing but a cautionary tale for them. Another reason why they should be thankful for what they have.
But they shouldn’t just be thankful, they should be aware of what children their same age go through in the world no matter how “uncomfortable” that conversation might be.
The stories we read shape us just as much as the events we experience. In today’s world we are so capable of seeing each other so why limit that? Why continue ignorance for the sake of comfortability?
Hate comes from ignorance, so why not open a book?
From seven hours of school to two hours of practice then finally to homework, athletes go through more than what most people wouldn’t expect. Whether it’s on or off the court, young athletes of any sport silently struggle day to day with the heavy burden of being a “student athlete.”
“Pressure to achieve certain goals that come from the athlete themselves or by coaches and parents can lead to dissatisfaction or feeling as if you need to please everybody,” said Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Also, some student athletes may find it hard to make time for academics while also making sure they stay on top of their grades.
“S.A.I.S.” states “Athletes are driven, focused, goal oriented, and high achieving individuals. Qualities that help them excel at sports and in the classroom are also qualities that drive anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns.”
In these cases some student athletes may feel hopeless or even alone. Others find ways to cheer themselves up and motivate themselves.
“Penn State Pro Wellness says that it’s important to set goals for yourself when you feel down and also distract yourself with other activities to get your mind away from the stress of living a student athlete’s life.
Penn State Pro Wellness
Set goals for yourself
Participate in other activities outside of sports
Have emotional support by friends and family
Start your day with a positive attitude
At such young ages athletes burn out or just overall lose interest in their sport because they may feel like it’s too much for them or they can’t find the time to get everything done.
After uncovering the unseen struggles an athlete goes through on a day to day basis you can start to understand that it takes a strong and motivated person to play sports.
Around 96% of teens aged 13 to 17 are reported to spend time on social media each day. Social media is significant to today’s generation. For example, social media allows teens to connect with their friends, express themselves, and find communities of people with similar interests.
Social media is, for the most part, a good thing. But social media can also be quite harmful and can lead to mental health problems in teens. According to a Pew Research study, roughly 48% of teens say social media has a mostly negative impact on people their age, but only 14% say it harms them.
According to the same study, parents of teens are more likely to be concerned about teens’ mental health than teens themselves. Overall, 55% of parents say they are extremely concerned about the mental health of teens. In contrast, only 35% of teens make the same claim.
Women are also more significantly impacted by social media than men. According to a study by Memorial University of Newfoundland, 88% of women compare themselves to other women online, compared to 65% of men who do the same. This can lead to many problematic things, like self-esteem issues, body dysphoria, and, in extreme cases, can lead to an eating disorder.
Not only does social media harm teens’ body image, but it can also increase the risk of teens having other mental health problems like depression and anxiety.
According to a Yale Medicine study, American teens aged from 12-15 who use social media for three or more hours a day faced twice the risk of things like anxiety and depression.
Even with all these problems that social media can cause, it isn’t all a bad thing. Actually, social media can also be good in many ways.
According to a National Institute of Health study, social media can help teens maintain and build connections with their friends and peers. It also helps teens who might have a long-distance friend or relationship keep in touch. The study states that teen girls who spent time with their friends on social media made their friendships closer.
Social media doesn’t just allow teens to connect with others, but it can also give teens a place of belonging.
The same study shows that different groups of people use social media to find other people like them and create and build communities. For example, teens with chronic or rare diseases used social media to find more people like them to connect and combat isolation.
Social media is both a good and a bad thing. Yes, it can cause mental health problems like anxiety and depression, but it can also allow people to find their community and connect with friends. I believe that if teens use social media correctly, they will find it much more helpful than harmful.
Behind-the-scenes look reveals the challenge of performing and competing in marching band
Editor’s Note: Check out pages 12 and 13 of the December, 2025 print Hyphen for a photo essay on the marching band season.
by Cherish Brown
“You’re just walking, it’s not that hard.”
This is what I hear when I try to express that marching band is just as hard as a sport. I wouldn’t be too upset if people told basketball players that “you’re just throwing a ball in a hole,” or told baseball players that “you’re just hitting a ball with a stick.” But no. Instead, they get praised for their hard work, while people overlook ours. So here’s what actually goes into the halftime show that you see at football games.
The first lesson we had to learn was how to march correctly. It might look like walking to some, but it’s a little bit more than that. There’s a specific technique that we have to use going forwards and backwards. To go forwards we had to learn to walk while keeping our legs straight, and also roll stepping. Roll stepping is rolling off your foot into the next step to make it look smooth instead of robotic.
Now for backwards. We have to walk on our tippy toes, while keeping our legs straight, and we can’t look backwards. If we don’t march on our tippy toes when we go fast, we will fall.
Now that we know how to go forwards and backwards, we now have to learn how to go sideways. The weird part about it is, we can’t have our shoulders facing anywhere but forward unless we are told otherwise. So, to march sideways, our bottom half has to face sideways, but our top half is facing forwards. The only people who don’t do that are the drumline, who crabwalk, and the battery, who don’t move.
“So no, we’re not just walking. We’re working hard, competing, and most of all, performing.”
We can’t just have you watch us march, though; that would be too boring. We had to learn how to play the music. To be honest, it’s really hard music. In the first piece we all have to play 16th notes, which is four notes per beat, which means you have to be quick with the notes, even at a slow tempo. And the second piece is at 160 beats per minute, which is double the speed of the second piece. And all that is hard enough while sitting down and looking at it, but when we’re marching, we have to play off of memory.
Now, we have to learn where we’re going, and how the music relates to how we march. The thing is, we aren’t just marching to random places. If you’re high enough in the stands, you can see that we make shapes with where we’re standing. We have to march to specific places, which are called our sets. And we have to learn the entire song while only marching before we can even grab our instruments.
Then we start playing. We have to go by each set (or spot we’re marching to) and learn which part of the music goes where. It takes a long time, especially because there are three different pieces we have to put together. So, we take many days of practice just learning how the music and our sets relate to each other, when we’re supposed to get where, and how big or small of steps that we have to take to make it on time.
Then, we have to make it look cool. We add what we call our choreography. It’s not actually dancing, like the color guard does with their flags. We do different things. Our choreography includes lunges, pliés, and forced arches. And we usually do those while we’re not moving, so we don’t look like we’re just awkwardly standing there. We also do these while we’re playing our music, so it has to match up with what’s happening musically.
Now we take all of this, that we started learning before school even started, and put it together for everyone’s entertainment. But there is something we do that many people don’t get to see.
We perform and represent the Jeffersonville Red Devils at our own competitions. We competitively perform in front of judges, against many bands in our district. This season our hard work led to an appearance at the state finals, where we placed 15th.
Our hard work got us there — work done over many months, and for some of us, years. I hope this season we’ve made everyone proud, especially the seniors, who have helped us all throughout this season.
So no, we’re not just walking. We’re working hard, competing, and most of all, performing.
Marching band performs its show The Devils in the Details. The Red Devils placed 15th in ISSMA state finals competition this season. Photo by Cherish Brown.
Marching band is clearly a sport
by Caitlyn Brock
Marching is a sport.
I’ve done my first season now in drumline, and it was some work. We had to learn how to march, and we stood for hours on end and didn’t get many breaks. During a typical school week, we practice for 8 1/2 hours of just practice alone, not counting all of band camp and competition days, with some Saturday rehearsals We went to scholastic prelims to qualify for finals and ended up getting 6/7 bands and went to scholastic finals, which took place in October.
Marching band is obviously a sport. First off, it requires physical exertion and skill, just like football or soccer. Next, we compete against other marching bands for a score which also can lead to finals, which other sports have, such as basketball. Finally, it’s done for entertainment, especially because of all the visuals and drill.
Initially, people would think that marching bands are laid back and easy, that all the instruments are not that big and don’t weigh that much, but that is wrong.
Drums can go from being 16 pounds all the way up to 70 pounds with gravity, which can be super difficult. Sousaphones weigh about 50 pounds, and all of those weights can be difficult depending on the person and size, with also having the marching around for 6-9 minutes (depending on the show length) while hitting all of the visuals and drill spots and playing all of the music by memory. That is a lot of expectations for high school musicians.
“Marching band is obviously a sport. First off, it requires physical exertion and skill, just like football or soccer. Next, we compete against other marching bands for a score which also can lead to finals, which other sports have, such as basketball. Finally, it’s done for entertainment, especially because of all the visuals and drill.”
Nobody talks about the demand for marching bands. We’re expected to learn music and hit the drill fairly quickly, given the limited time available, as rehearsals are often lengthy. Some days we are expected to start rehearsal as early as 6:30 a.m., going as late as 5 p.m., and marching in the heat is a whole different story.
We compete just like other sports. We have scholastic prelims — which would be called sectionals for other sports — and scholastic finals, which we get to go to. But we compete against other bands at different schools and get a score. Our scoring may be different than other sports, but we still compete.
Others may say that we don’t run around and throw around a ball or even have the same scoring as other sports, and we don’t do it for any entertainment, and that’s where they are wrong.
That comes to my final reason. Doing all of this work for one show is all for entertainment. We make the whole show look good just for the eyes of the judges and the people watching. We play music that people know for their enjoyment, too.
So that brings us back to one question. Is a marching band a sport? Yes, it is. We dedicate a lot time to it, and we march and play music for hours on end and compete for a score.
And we obviously do it for entertainment, because that is what it is all for in the end.
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