THE PAW PRINT Spring 2019 • Wilde Lake High School, 5460 Trumpeter Rd. Columbia, MD 21044 • Volume 46, Issue 2
“Positive behavioral forms reward good behavior at Wilde Lake and can become the highlight of a student’s day.” -Kylee Macklin, 11 Teachers Award Record Number of Positive Behavior Forms
Seniors Timia Smith, David Gordon, Abigail Jackson, and Anna Brown having a conversation with Vice Principal Mr. Molin during their lunch. (Photo by Adriana Irizarry-Cruz)
By MiMi Johnson This year, teachers have handed out more positive behavior forms than discipline forms, the result of an increased effort to recognize students for their successes and not simply their missteps. In the first two quarters of the school year, 179 disciplinary forms were given out to students. But during the same time period, 474 positive behavior forms were written. In an effort to highlight positivity around Wilde Lake, the administration held a contest to see which teacher would give out the most positive behavior forms. During this contest, over 200 forms were given out to Wilde Lake students, and the winning students and teachers received gift cards. The winning department was
the math department, which gave out 86 positive referrals. Unlike disciplinary forms, positive behavior forms are not used countywide. Assistant Principal Mr. Crouse and former administrator Ms. Cherry began this initiative at Wilde Lake in 2015, but really started encouraging their use in 2016. Mr. Crouse felt that Wilde Lake could benefit from the program. “In the past, a lot of these behaviors were expected and taught, I don’t think that’s necessarily true today. And so to me positive behavior forms are a way to teach the right behavior,” said Mr. Crouse. A positive behavior form is written by a teacher when a student demonstrates overachievement in the classroom. “I think that positive behavior forms are a good idea because they give students the
opportunity to be called down to the office for something positive instead of negative,” said teacher of the year Mrs. Kenney. Teachers have seen the positive impact that these forms can have on student’s behavior. “Positive behavior forms are great because they bring the positive reinforcement to students, but there needs to be more of them,” said Mr. Beal. “Issues can arise when students display favorable behavior but aren’t recognized. For example, frustration and the students going back to poor behavior. By increasing the number of positive behavior forms distributed or other ways to recognize students for good behavior, poor behavior will be minimalized.” However, some students don’t see the benefit from it. Senior Deola McGeachyAlexander recognizes that good students
rarely get recognized for their good behavior. “When you’re a good student and have never gotten one it feels as if we aren’t recognized,” she said. “Bad or troubled students always get them because when they change their behavior they stand out more.” But some students are surprised by the feeling they get when they receive a positive referral, like junior Kylee Macklin. “It made me feel good when I got a positive referral because I always got an office referral because I did something bad, but this time I did something good so it was a new feeling,” she said. “Positive behavioral forms reward good behavior at Wilde Lake and can become the highlight of a student’s day.”
Howard County Protects Students Against Rising Threat of S.T.I.s
What’s inside the bag? Condoms, an information pamphlet on how to use a condom, fact sheets, and a teen heath matters card. (Photo by Hope Kahn)
By Hope Kahn In response to an increasing threat of sexually transmitted infections, Howard County offers condoms upon request to help protect students from S.T.I.s in Howard County. In 2017, Chlamydia was the most reported S.T.I in Howard
County with 1,136 reported cases followed by 235 cases of Gonorrhea, according to the Maryland Department of Health. Howard County teens contributed to the significant number of S.T.I.s. Of the 2017 numbers, people age 15 to 24 accounted for 775 of all Chlamydia cases in the county
(68 percent), and 101 of the gonorrhea cases (43 percent), according to The Baltimore Sun. This rise represents an S.T.I. epidemic across the United States, Dr. Gail Bolan, the director of sexually transmitted disease prevention at the C.D.C, told The New York Times. “Most people with these S.T.D.s do not know they are infected,” she said. “They don’t realize that these diseases are spreading silently through the country.” Chlamydia and Gonorrhea might seem like just a hypothetical to some teens, or just a minor issue since there is treatment. However, some people do not have any symptoms when they have an S.T.I., and the danger of an untreated Chlamydial infection could cause pregnancy complications and infertility in men and women. In response, the Howard County Public School System, the Howard County Department of Health, and the Maryland Department of Health partnered
together to offer Howard County High school students condoms available in the health rooms. A Wilde Lake senior walked into the health room and walked out with free condoms, and was shocked at how easy and nonjudgemental it was to receive them. “I wasn’t really sure how to ask so I walked in and didn’t talk right away,” he explained, “but then the nurse asked what I needed. I said ‘could I get some condoms?’ and she was like ‘of course,’ and then I walked out of there with a brown paper bag. It was super easy.” The health room also provides test kits for STI’s to students who want to have testing done. Both the request for condoms and the tests are completely confidential, meaning that parents are not informed of either request, according to the description on the HCPSS website. A Wilde Lake parent sees the necessity for the program to encourage safe sex. “I don’t necessarily want sex to be
advocated for at a high school level, but I’d rather have my child be safe than deal with the repercussions of a bad decision,” he said. The health room provides a safe environment, according to nurse Ms. Dickerson. “Any student who attends Wilde Lake can walk into the health room and no questions will be asked. Some students are nervous, but there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We’ve passed out roughly 15 bags every two weeks.” In each bag of condoms, information fact sheets on proper use of condoms is included. In addition, health classes will teach STI prevention and proper use of condoms, which most students feel the curriculum has lacked. “They preach abstinence in high school,” senior Adriana IrizarryCruz said. “There are going to be people that have sex whether they teach abstinence or not, at least now they’re being realistic about high schoolers and helping them be safe.”