the
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Paola High School • 401 N. Angela • Paola, KS 66071
Scholar’s bowl
3 (academics)
February 2013
Local Artists
5 (entertainment)
Tattoos
6-7 (features)
Differing
Swimming at state
11 (sports)
Cutting class class Skipping school has consequences
jackson setter reporter Senior Lindsey Biggs said she never second guesses the legitimacy of her religion, but does often wonder what other religions believe. Biggs considers herself a Jehovah’s Witness. “We follow the Bible as best as we can,” Biggs said. “One of our role models is Jesus Christ. It’s hard to be like Him, though, because we are not perfect.” A simple question that decides the life of millions, why do things happen? What makes these things happen? Many people have different explanations. Some believe in a monotheistic light, which is the belief in one God, while others don’t believe in a higher power. “I try not to judge other religions,” Peter Timpe, senior said. “I really don’t know what the person’s point of view is.” Timpe is a Catholic. According to Timpe, the basis of the Catholic religion is the blessed trinity. Like Timpe, Sakeena Agha, sophomore, believes in a monothestic religion. “There’s one God,” Agha said “Prophet Muhammad was the messenger of God.” Agha is a Muslim. According to Agha Islam is a monotheistic religion in which you can’t eat or drink certain things. “You can’t eat pork or drink alcohol,” Agha said. “You can eat anything else, but it has to be slaughtered by Christians, Jews or Muslims.” Being Islamic also requires praying five times a day. “You pray once in the morning, twice in the afternoon and twice in the
brooke prothe reporter night,” Agha said. Like Muslims, Catholics also have certain rules to follow. “In the Catholic religion, we have holy days and obligations,” Timpe said. “We just do what they ask us to do. We always do what the Catholic Church asks of us, like the basic guidelines of being Catholic.” Like Catholics, Latter-Day Saints follow certain rules. “We do the sacrament every week,” said freshman Sean Thompson. “The General Conference happens twice a year that is transmitted via satellite or radio to every other place in the world.” Timpe’s religion helps him through everyday struggles in life. “It definitely helped me to be more optimistic,” Timpe said. “It makes life easier and answers all of my basic questions.” Thompson’s religion puts boundaries on his social life. “I can’t date until I’m 16 and I have to be morally clean and I cannot swear,” Thompson said. Unlike Catholicism, Islam and Latter-Day Saints, Jehovah’s Witnesses only observe and celebrate one holiday. “The only thing we celebrate is the memorial of Christ’s death,” Biggs said. “It is the most important day in the year and it changes every year because Jesus used the lunar calendar.” Biggs said that people of her religion tend to do a lot of research. “We cross-reference scriptures and other sources to find the answers that we are looking for,” Biggs said. Some people don’t believe in any religion and are considered Atheists. Junior Rochelle Alexander said she believes there is no higher power.
“I don’t think there is a God, but sometimes I wonder what makes things happen,” she said. Alexander said she didn’t start off not believing in anything. “I went to a Christian-based daycare for ten years,” she said. Alexander recently started to question her religion. “In middle school I started to think about it,” Alexander said. “I just don’t believe the stories in the bible are possible.” Rochelle said her decision to be an Atheist was not influenced by her parents. “They believe in God, but they respect that I don’t,” said Alexander. As a part of the curriculum, Social Studies teacher Lesley Wilson teaches about multiple religions in her World History class. “If you keep it out of the textbook, keep it neutral, and don’t insert you own beliefs, I think it’s good for kids to be exposed to different ideas,” Wilson said. “The world is full of ideas and you have to choose your own path. Wilson said it is good to talk about differences. “The world is just so diverse,” said Wilson. Although the world is diverse, Wilson says the high school is the opposite. “Because we don’t have a large diversity, I have heard some derogatory comments towards our Muslim students,” Wilson said. “I felt they were very inappropriate.” Wilson said tolerance is the key. “ To l e r a n c e c o m e s f r o m understanding.”
Senior Nils Beverlin said on average he skips school two days a week. Beverlin said he stays home and sleeps because he doesn’t feel like getting out of bed in the morning. Counselor Justin Elliott said students who have a higher attendance rate are usually the ones who have a reason to be here, for example sports, play rehearsals, club meetings and other after school activities. Sometimes they try to avoid certain situations such as bullying, a major test, or simply the stress of another school day. Paola High school has an attendance of 93.9 percent. 1.3 percent lower than the state average attendance rate. Osawatomie High School has an attendance rate of 95.1 percent. Louisburg High School has an attendance rate of 94.8 percent. Elliott said he believes the student’s parents know they skip and the students have convinced them that they wouldn’t miss anything important that day, whether or not it’s true. A simple way to change this: don’t give the students an opportunity to stay home unless they really need it. Make it an expectation for them to be at school unless they really feel unhealthy and sick enough to stay home. “Don’t make it more fun to be home than at school,” Elliott said. Beverlin said skipping school negatively affected his grade and catching up on school work was extremely hard to do. Beverlin said students should be motivated enough to come to school even when they don’t want to. According to Elliott, regular attendance makes it easier for a student to stay caught up. Being in school also makes sure that a student is being exposed to everything they need to be for the tests, ultimately making it easier for a student to get good grades. Employers want people who they know they can count on to be there,” said Elliott “Skipping school could become a bad habit that will spill over into their careers.” Elliott said Louisburg High School has a system where each class, freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors compete against each other to have the highest grade attendance. The winners receive a treat of one day off of school to go to Worlds of Fun.