In my opinion, people should not base beauty standards off magazines…

Reason being, most of the celebrities are photoshopped. When people see these celebrities in pictures, they automatically want to be like them because of how pretty or handsome they are. This is one of the influences photoshop has on people, that it creates beauty standards that do not exist.Ai??Ai??People are trying the impossible, to be like someone else just because they saw it or because everyone else wants to do it. It makes me upset that most fashion companies or ALL of them, use photoshop to make their models look PERFECT. Donai??i??t they already put enough makeup on these women/men to enhance their beauty? I think beauty is based on a personai??i??s natural appearance, not on what a computer edits.Ai??Many people are depressed and are near committing suicide, just because they feel like the way they look is not enough. Photoshop is only temporary beauty because once people are exposed to their natural looks, itai??i??s completely different. Therefore, I think photoshop is a BAD influence on the way people see things because it is hiding what it really look like.

Ai??Heyliani Clemente

Photoshopping has become a common thing in modern day society…

Ever since it was invented in 1988, we haved used it to improve our profile pictures, magazines, digital artwork, and much more. With all of its various uses, it seems like photoshop is an amazing thing to have in our society. But itai??i??s not. Experts are led to believe that photoshopping has influenced the way people see things. They say that the photoshopping done in beauty magazines has made people have unrealistic beauty standards towards both men and women. In fact a United Kingdom survey showed that 15 percent of the 18 to 24 year olds surveyed said that they were Ai??ai???unconfident or extremely unconfident with their body.ai??? Other health officials, like licensed psychologist Ai??Dr. Sarah Ravin, say that the photoshop in magazines are making men and women dissatisfied with their bodies. She said, ai???I think that while Photoshop is a wonderful tool, but it has been overused, photoshop has made society believe that it is normal to be flawless and to have perfect proportions, and thatai??i??s not true.ai??? Photoshop is an amazing tool that can benefit us in many ways. But one way it doesnai??i??t help is in magazines. It is making us more depressed and dissatisfied with our bodies. And we shouldnai??i??t allow magazines companies to photoshop their pictures. This way people will stop thinking that a person is supposed to look a certain way.

Ai??Amber Fleitman

If I had to live in another country, Iai??i??d live in Swedenai??i??

I would live in Sweden because of: Swedish benefits, the weather, and the landscape.Ai??The Swedish benefits are good because they give around 480 days of parental leave, five weeks of vacation (for starters), and if youai??i??re under 18, you pay nothing for a doctorai??i??s visit. The weather is very nice in Sweden. Itai??i??s very cold and dark in the winter, which makes it a good time for skiing, ice hockey, and ice skate. The summers are very nice in Sweden as well. During June, there is a celebration called ai???Midsummer.ai??? This is when Swedes get a 5 week vacation and celebrate the whole time. That is the weather in Sweden. The landscape is quite pleasant. Scandinavia is full of mountains, flowers, and places to go kayaking in the countryside. In the city, on the other hand, the night is alive with the vibrant lights of Stockholm. There are many big buildings and streets as well. The Swedish landscape is enjoyable in the countryside and the city. That is why I would live in Sweden. The benefits are helpful, the weather is pleasant, and the landscape is pretty.

Ai??Asaiil Askari

Video games do have a negative effect on kidsai??i??

They have the effect on passing through aggressive and violent behavior to adolescents. There are no limits to the type of games people can choose to play, so when a game is purchased that contains ai???violenceai???, ai???blood and goreai???, ai???intense scenesai??? they will not leave the best impact. Ai??In 2010 a survey showed that kids spend a minimum or 7 to 10 hours playing video games per day, and their parents have no limit to what they play or the amount of time they play for. As you play the same game as the same character, you will ai???become the characterai??? and when you move up in the levels Ai??the player will directly benefit from the act of violence shown by the character in the game. The American Psychological Association (APA) found that people who start violent games at young age, are those who are the violent criminals later in life.Ai??Ai??With all the negativity video games bring, there is some good in all the bad. Ai??Video games have been shown to help increase creativity and problem solving in children, when it comes to finding new ways to complete a task. They also help with manual dexterity and computer literacy in children. hand -eye coordination and fine motor skills are improved by playing.Ai??Even though there are facts helping both the negative and positive effect that videogames have on kids I agree with the negative impact. I believe that videogames are good for short amounts of time, but when they begin to impact your school life, and the way you behaveai??i?? is when you (and your parent(s)) should monitor the amount of playing time and the type of games you may play.

Megan Hughes

Do video games have a negative effect on kids? Do they have positive effects?

Depending on the game yes they do have a negative effect on kids because they are Ai??inappropriate. You get so addicted to the games that you think think like a gamer in real life, but video games could also have a positive effect on you because you could become a pro and be very good at the game. It might influence you to want to make a game of your own and if you are lucky you could be a millionaire.

Ai??Kayla Mayes

Do video games have a negative effect on kids? Do they have positive effects?

It affects the way people see things because you can take things that are ugly and make them look good. You can change anything with photoshop. You can make fake things look real. It can be very misleading. Ai??

Ai??Jevon Thomas

If you had to live in another country, what country would it be, and why?

I would live in the Netherlands. I would live in the netherlands because it is really flat and they love their coffee there. Which is great for me because I love coffee too. Another big factor on living there is they are the largest beer exporter in the world.

Ai??Jaden Tarver

If you had to live in another country, what country would it be, and why?

If Ai??had to live in another country outside of the US if would be Canada here are some reasons why: Canada third cleanest air on the planet.Ai??Northern Lights which is one of mother nature’s most beautiful occurrences.Ai??World’s longest recreation trail it’s made up of 400 trails that total to Ai??24,000 km of trail.Ai??You can sleep in an ice hotel with games, Dog Sledding, Restaurants, spa, waterpark, and a winter playground. Finally you will be able to swim with polar bears in Ontario

Ai??Noah Miller

Photoshop is when a picture is altered to make it look differently than the originalai??i??

It can be altered positively or negatively. Positive changes could be getting rid of red-eye caused by the flash or clearing up someoneai??i??s skin. Negative changes could be making a person look inappropriate or make them look very unrealistic.Ai??Photoshop gives a person a false image for what something really looks like. A person can fall in love with the changes done by photoshop and be disappointed by what they look like in reality. For example, many famous people use photoshop heavily. Kim Kardashian uses Ai??photoshop to enhance her gluteus maximus. This makes people think her butt is bigger than it actually is, even though it is already very big. I think photoshop can play with a personai??i??s eyes and trick them into believing certain things.

Ai??Madalyn Drozal

Do video games have a negative effect on kids? Do they have positive effects…

Yes video games do have a negative effect on kids especially teenagers who are still in school. Also, When teenagers are using video games late at night they won’t be able to function the next day Ai??at school. They will constantly fall asleep in their classes. They will also get poor grades. Video Games do have a positive effect on kids because it can be used for educational purposes for kids in school and what they are studying. It also promotes good eye -hand coordination.

Ai?? Sherri Green

Photoshopping has become a common thing in modern day societyai??i??

Photoai??i??s influence how fake people are. For example, girl look at models and try to look like the model but they donai??i??t understand that the picture is fake. The picture has been edited some many time its unbelieveable.Plus the model that took the picture has starved herself to look like that. Now girls are unhappy of how they look because how fake the pictures they see in magazines.

Ai??Juwan Little

Photoshop has completely changed our society, mostly in a negative way…

Most models or people photographed that are going to be in a selling magazine or tabloid will be photoshopped to look virtually “perfect”. This could include slimming down of the body, deletion of blemishes, changes to structure of the body entirely, or even eye color.Ai??This could create an unrealistic expectation that someone might have for themselves. This in turn could lead to eating disorders, depression, or insecurity. The way that someone looks on a magazine cover is most of the time not the way that they look in real life. People shouldn’t feel pressure to look the way that “models” look in magazines.

Ai??Jamie Bittiger

If you had to live in another country, what country would it be, and why?

If I had to live in another country I would live in Greece because the weather is nice and in Greece the crime rate is moderate. Estimated number of guns is 22.5 per 100 residents. Plus the food would probably be great but I’ll miss out on American classics.

Tyler Klingel

If you had to live in another country, what country what it be and why?

I would live in Canada because the people are nice.

Ai??Musib Khan

If you had to live in another country, what country what it be and why?

If I could live in any country I would want to live in Italy. Italy Ai??has a variety of things to do. The main reason I would want to live in Italy is because their food is very very good. Ai??87% of people like Italian food. 4% of people don’t like it. 6% of people are neutral on Italian food and 3% of people just don’t know. Also Italy makes some of my favorite cars like Maserati’s, Lamborghini’s, and Ferrari’s. Those are some reasons why I would want to live in Italy. A lot of famous rich people drive Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s. It says that Italy is one of the greatest countries at making super cars.

Ai??Johathan Mecurio

If you had to live in another country, what country what it be and why?

If I had to live in another country Iai??i??d live in Japan. There are many benefits to living in Japan. The first reason Iai??i??d say is that it has very low crime rates relating to guns. Second reason is the culture. The third reason is the scenery it looks beautiful the building and the lights in the city in tokyo. Those are the main reasons why i think japan would be a great place to live. Low on crime, Beautiful and The culture is very good.

Ai??Allendy Nova

If you had to live in another country, what country what it be and why?

If i had to live in another, i would live in Peru. I would move here because i have a lot of family members in Peru. They would provide me with shelter and food. I would live off their food until i get a job. I would go to school until i get a decent paying job. There are also many sights i could visit in Peru. i would visit Machu Picchu, because a lot of family members have always told me to visit it. My parents used to live in Peru. So they know everything around there. They could help me get a decent job. They would also help me get a decent home. Peruai??i??s government isn’t the best in the world, however i know exactly how to obey and follow the rules. they are very religious in Peru, so i would have to go to church a lot. And their food is great which is another reason why i would go out there. This is why i choose to live in Peru.

Ai??Carlos Hidalgo

Photoshop has completely changed our society, mostly in a negative way…

Photoshop influences the way people see things because magazine articles, social media websites etc. edit a lot of their photos. Magazines will photoshop their models almost all the time to enhance their appearance. They will use photoshop to slim models, erase birthmarks etc. It puts a false image into many peopleai??i??s minds and gives us a representation of ai???what we should look likeai??? but the images are enhanced and edited so much that itai??i??s completely inaccurate. I believe it makes a lot of our society insecure and self conscious, especially the younger generations. Even when I see a magazine or picture on social media of a beautiful girl with nice curves and a slimmer body I begin to become self conscious and wish to myself that I had some of those features, even if I have the knowledge to know pictures can always be photo shopped. Which is really upsetting, the younger generations will probably become even more self conscious about their looks and body. There should never be a certain way you have to look and photoshopped images online or in magazines make people believe there should be and I believe something needs to change.

Madison Jones

Photoshop has completely changed our society, mostly in a negative way…

Photoshop is a big part of society right now. Photoshop is the ability to alter (a digital image) with Photoshop software or other image-editing software especially in a way that distorts reality (as for deliberately deceptive purposes). I believe that photo shop has a negative effect on people because they are only looking at images that are unrealistic. This causes many people to become upset with the way they are because they are comparing themselves with unrealistic images. Also the person that is having their image taken and altered might become unhappy or uncomfortable with the way they look on a regular day to day basis.Ai??Many reality stars are constantly going to photoshoots and releasing photos that are 100% perfect due to photoshop. Some examples of these reality stars are the Kardashians and the Jenners. They are constantly advertising these images to the public and they are very fake. They have the photoshop experts enhance certain parts of their body in order to make them appealing to the public eye. When an ai???averageai??? person looks at these, it sadly can have unrealistic expectations for themselves.Ai??Overall, I think that photoshop shouldnai??i??t be used at frequently as it is now. All of the negative effects should overrule the celebrities that would be against the ban of photoshop.

Kalin Duke

Do video games have a negative effect on kids? Do they have positive effects…

I think that videogames do actually have a negative facts on kids. I think they have a negative effect on kids because of the violence they contain. When the kids are exposed to this violence at a young age they can become violent themselves. Some positive effects video games may have his hand eye coordination. I think this because you are not looking at your hands when you are playing the game you were looking at a screen while the buttons are on the remote.

Ai??Lucas Macias-Del Valle

If I could live in any country in the worldai??i??

I would live in Spain. Spain is a beautiful country with many different buildings and different things to look at including the beautiful paintings and architect. My family comes from a Spanish background as well so I could understand what the people are saying. My parents went to Spain for a week and fell in love with it, my mom went to a bunch of churches and loved them all so I feel like i would fall in love with them as well. I enjoy eating all types of food especially any type of Spanish because it all taste amazing, so the food in Spain would be fantastic and I know I would never have a meal that would disappoint. I enjoy spending time with my family and I know if I would liver in Spain I would be with them all their time and always having something to do because of everything Spain offers. Spain is a country in would love to live in and I would fall in love right away.

Lauren PelaezAi??

I think that some video games have a negative effect on kids…

and can cause them to do very stupid things. It also impacts their health, the University Of Texas video game addiction lead to medical issues like backaches,headaches, eyestrain and carpal tunnel syndrome– pain and numbness that they may feel in their wrists, hands, shoulders and elbows. Violent Video games like GTA Ai??that feature violent actions and scenarios could lead addicted players to become desensitized to the violence. There are some positive effects on children playing video games like better problem solving, sharpened hand-eye coordination, and improved motor skills, etc.

Naszir Hobbs

I would live in the UKai??i??

because I have always wanted to go back from when I went there and it is really nice. Ai??Their crime rate is a lot lower than it is in the U.Sai??i?? and I do not like high crime rates. Ai??It is a more peaceful environment in my opinion. Ai??I like the way they operate down there.

Ai??Michael Benedito

Photoshop is influencing the way people see things….

It warps the way we see things and our perception is changed. It makes life harder to accept when people realize that itai??i??s not what itai??i??s made out to be. It creates unreal expectations. Almost anything can be photoshopped if you’re good enough. This can be taken out of context too fit that person’s need such a project for school or a job.

Ai??Keeley Staples

Games could be negative for kidsai??i??

because it can influence people do things that are done in certain games. This is evidenced by the sandy hook school shooting where a person decided to shoot up a elementary school and his mother influenced by call of duty. He then killed himself and no one knows why he decided to do this other than the violent games he played. It’s like those shows where people do dangerous stuff and say ai??? do not do this at homeai??? but games do not do that and they want to do something that looks cool or impressive to them as a young person. People often interpret what they see or experience (especially young children) and try to do it like today as a challenge or just because they feel like it.

Ai??Michael Wiggins

I think the worst day of the week is Sundayai??i??

because when youai??i??re laying in bed getting ready to go to sleep; the panic and anxiety that tomorrow is Monday and you have to get up early hits hard.

Ai??Kendall B

If I were to live in another countryai??i??

then I would choose France. France is a beautiful place with many attractions. If were to live in France then I would love to go visit the Eiffel Tower or go to The Louvre then I would love to visit Disneyland Paris then go to the Arc De Triomphe. I feel like there are endless attractions and activities to do in France plus when I came to visit America I would be able to enjoy everything that I would usually see everyday and I would probably have the best time with my friends since I havenai??i??t seen them in a while.

Ai??Amir Bryant

In my opinion video games have a powerful effectai??i??

on children especially young children. Young children have brains that work very differently than grown humans, their brain is like a sponge and it absorbs large amounts of information about its surroundings. Most video games that are meant for children have colorful images and often teaches them all sorts of shapes and colors. This is why programs like ABCmouse.com work so great, it’s because it’s an interactive and colorful way of learning and it grabs the child’s attention. Some games also teach children good and bad morals as often video games have very distinct good versus evil. In some ways video games are like intractable story books because they are colorful images and teach children a good moral. Now I’m not saying all games are good for children but you have to be a responsible parent and pick a game that is appropriate for their child’s age.

Ai??Albin Deda

Does it matter how many friends you have?…

In reality, no it doesn’t. I would say aim for fewer friends. Less relationships to keep managed at once and the bond you’ll grow with said small amount of people you can trust will grow stronger then it would if you had dozens of friends. Friends are people you can confide in and trust. You don’t need a million of those.

Ai??Nicole Foraci

Kids are learning just things they will never need to know during lifeai??i??

Things we learn during school is not important and things should change definitely in my opinion. I think teachers should be teaching us how to deal with problems we will face in the real world, how to do taxes and pay for things. Real life problems is what we should be learning in school instead of things we will never use during life. Itai??i??s just a waste of time the things weai??i??re learning now considering weai??i??ll never use it and kids donai??i??t pay attention to it because we donai??i??t need it. But if we were actually getting taught things that we will need to know like how to do taxes and pay for rent and deal with life crisis we come across then maybe students would actually start paying attention in school more! Therefore things should change

Ai??Ashley Rizzieri

If I were to live in another country, I would want to live in France…

Most of my knowledge of French living and customs comes from the four years of French that I have been studying in school. France has an extraordinary variety of architecture lying in the state. Inspired by the rural manor homes of the 1600s, French provincial homes are characterized by: balanced, symmetrical proportions, brick exterior, steep roofs, tall second-story windows (often with arched tops), and porches with substantial balustrades. The eclectic cuisine that France has to offer allows everyone to have a wide choice of favorite foods. A typical breakfast in Paris, France is a croissant (buttery rolls of flaky pastry) and/or a tartine (French bread sliced lengthwise, with butter and jam), some fruit or juice, and cafAi?? au lait (coffee with milk, also called cafAi?? crA?me). Dinner in France usually consists of a meat or fish (and a wine to match), with rice, salad, or pasta on the side. Finally is cheese and dessert. A cheese board is prepared (local cheeses, of course) alongside baguette, fruits, and nuts. A light dessert follows the cheese, and is meant to complement the meal, not stuff the eater. Finally, I would enjoy living in France to embrace the French culture. I have been taking French classes since eighth grade, and I truly would love to use my knowledge into good use. I have enjoyed learning the language, and traveling to France is certainly on my bucket list.

Mardan Daurilas

What are kids really learning at school? Is it important? Should things changeai??i??

In my opinion, yes I think children are learning at school, but I feel like they arenai??i??t learning enough. I know we go to school to learn about our basic education, but I think we should also learn how to live our lives. Our typical classes has kids learning that they should do things analytically but not really mentally. I feel like schools must have a change in the way how they are teaching because someday we will have use our mental skills more than writing down something.

Brianna Brown

What are kids really learning in school? Is it important? Should things change…

I think some kids are learning and some kids choose not to. Some of the things that we learn are important but other thing that we learn we aren’t going to need in the career we are going into. I think math should change because I know I’m not going to need what we are learning in math for my career. Just keep math simple we don’t need all that extra stuff.

Olyvia Ulmer

If I could live in a different country it would be France…

There are a lot of beautiful sights to see. Such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris. They have lotsAi??of museums, cultural centers, and historic buildings. France offers freeAi??admission to those under 25 with a long-term residency visa or EUAi??passport, so most things are free! Higher education requires marginal feesAi??from between 150ai??i??-700ai??i?? per year (26.54-123.84 American dollars yearly).

Tamyia Bowens

Photoshopped perspective…

Photoshop can be both good and bad depending on many things. It can be good for someone who believes in perspective, or they have artistic statement to make. Some same photoshop is bad because then youai??i??re trying to promote body shaming. People think you will make others feel bad about themselves because you uploaded a photoshopped picture of yourself. Not all photos that are photoshopped are of someone’s body or face with extra makeup. I personally believe photoshop is still art depending on the way you use it.

I have seen many forms of photoshop but my favorite are the photos with a statement. For instance you see a photo of a tree and someone adds a photo of a face, it would make an image showing how trees are alive too even if they donai??i??t look like us. This could be a statement of pollution. Even if the photo doesn’t have a deep political statement, it could still be a photo to make you stop and think. Like if you saw a photo of someone smoking, but the smoked formed a skull you would probably start to think about smoking being bad for you.

When talking about photoshopping of people, adding makeup or reducing size, I believe it’s acceptable to a certain extent. Someone who uses it to make themselves feel good rather than others, is different than wanting to look good on social media when no one knows you. Posting photoshopped images on social media is okay if you just added a little makeup or a filter. Some people take it too far by giving people a false idea of what you look like and who you are. Tricking people into thinking you look like that photoshopped image of you is going to make that person trust you less when they meet you. Ai??

Cydney Bumford

Do schools offer enough opportunities for students to become leaders? How does our school offer these opportunities, or how should it?

Ai?? I believe that our school does offer opportunities for students to become leaders. We have tons of clubs and activities after school that pushes them in that direction. For example FBLA which is short for Future Business Leaders of America. It was leader in the title and it provides multiple different topics so if youai??i??re not good with presenting you could take a test. We also provide key club which helps kids give their ideas to help out different groups in a leadership manor. This is why I believe that our Stroudsburg High School does offer opportunities to become a leader

Kayliegh Trunfio

If I had to live in another country I would probably live in Australia…

I want to live here because I actually have a few friends that do live there. I met my Australian friends in a summer camp for my church. They told me stories about the reefs out there and about how beautiful it is. It really made me want to go there and hang out with them. It would be a cool experience. Ai??Ai??Ai??

Lucas Macias-Del Valle

Do you think charities really donate their money?

I don’t think all charities really give to others, I think almost all do but there is definitely a lot of corrupt ones.

Anthony Cabrera

If you had to live in another country, what country would it be, and why?

I would want to live in Australia for many reasons. Australia has beautiful beaches and lots of other attractions. Australia is home to the Great Barrier Reef which is regarded as the world’s largest living organism. There are also koalas, kangaroos and many other animals inland you can’t see in America unless you went to a zoo. It is also the only continent covered by a single country. Australian seasons are way different than ours. Summer is from Ai??December to February; Winter is from June to August; Fall is from March to May; and Spring starts in September and ends in November. Overall, ai??i??ai??i??Australia has beautiful weather, even though some areas can receive snowfall.

Daniel Sanchez

Does it matter how many friends you have? Is it better to have more or fewer? Why?

I don’t think it matters how many friends you have at all. If I think youai??i??re a friend, then you’re a friend. I think it’s better to have less friends like I do now. Like when I was younger I tried to make friends with everyone, but now that I’m getting older and maturing I’m realizing that it’s better to have less friends. There’s not a lot of drama and people calling you names and all that stuff. Like say if you have a lot of friends and they all want to hang out at once well that’s not going to work and you might lose friends easier. When you have fewer friends you most likely can hang out with all of them at once so you wouldn’t lose a friendship or hurt anyones feelings. My friends now aren’t friends, they are family because they have been here for me through a lot and they help me through it all. Thanks to all my friends I’m on the right track now and I’m not hanging out with the people that got me into trouble almost all the time. That’s why I think you should have less friends more than more friends.

Austin Starkes

How does photoshop influence the way people see things?

Photoshop creates an unrealistic beauty standard. Itai??i??s often used on models but even with nature itai??i??s still makes an unrealistic beauty standard. You have the power to perfect anything you view as a flaw such as discoloration, placement, size and just overall everything. Ai??people nowadays see such a perfect photo and donai??i??t realize that itai??i??s edited or if itai??i??s a naturally good photo they just assume that itai??i??s edited. Because of photoshop people donai??i??t trust photos.

Mercedes Bator

What are kids really learning in school? Is it important? Should things change?

Kids are learning all sorts of things, from algebra to calculus, they can take whatever classes they do choose as long as they apply themselves. Is it important? Well it all depends on what youai??i??re learning and what youai??i??re going to be doing after school. If you take trigonometry in high school and then donai??i??t use it in any job you have after that then there really wasnai??i??t a point to taking that class at all. I think schools should start focusing on what people NEED to learn, not on what they want to learn or should learn.

Damien Hahn

Does it matter how many friends you have? Ai??Is it better to have more or fewer friends? Ai??Why?

No, it doesn’t matter. Ai??Some people prefer to have a more intimate, close-knit group of friends, in which case it would be better for them to have fewer friends. Ai??Other people who might be particularly extroverted are perfectly happy with a large group of friends–perhaps with friends in different areas (eg friends from their sports team, their place of work, etc). The number of friends someone has doesn’t matter as much as his/her personal preference for their own social groups.

Blanca Zhang

What are kids really learning at school? Is it important? Should it change?

Kids are learning life skills, kids learn history which is important , ai???this is your lifeai??? is important but math classes are teaching kids the wrong thing. Math classes should be teaching children how to think logically and not analytically. Kids are learning to get along with different kinds of people. School is basically a sandbox testing ground to see how kids will be when theyai??i??re older. School is too competitive. Things should change, school shouldnai??i??t be so competitive, yes they should reward students for doing good but teachers shouldnai??i??t talk down to students who arenai??i??t doing as good.

Xavier Benson

If you had to live in another country, what country would it be, and why?

I was born in the United States of America, with a mother who was born in Quito, Ecuador, and a father who was born in America as well but has family born in Ireland. I would want to live in a country that I can find myself relating to culturally. I consider myself a product of the household I was raised in, which is Ecuadorian. However, I find myself to relate more so to my father and his Irish ethnicity. According to a recent survey done, Ireland seems to be more preferable over Ecuador, whereas Ecuador has many downsides to live in. Despite the employment and financial woes Ireland seems to be in currently due to the EU plunge, which Ireland is a part of, it will not be too difficult to make a decent living if youai??i??re decently qualified. There is also a great amount of culture in Ireland, even in the United States we acknowledge Saint Patrick’s Day due to our 34.5 million Irish population. There is a history between the United States and Ireland, where in the 1800s due to the Irish famine many Irishmen moved here to seek a better life. Iai??i??m proud of my Irish heritage and Iai??i??d like to dedicate myself to better Ireland if I could not live here.

Daniel Dorry

Do school offer enough opportunities for students to become leader? How does our school offer these opportunities, or how should it?

Yes I think schools do offer enough chances to become leaders. Our school offers these to anyone that wants to do it. Ai??Through forms and just signing up on a paper and you are in the running.

Michael Benedito

If I were to live in another country then I would choose France.

France is a beautiful place with many attractions. If were to live in France then I would love to go visit the Eiffel Tower or go to The Louvre then I would love to visit Disneyland Paris then go to the Arc De Triomphe. I feel like there are endless attractions and activities to do in France plus when I came to visit America I would be able to enjoy everything that I would usually see everyday and I would probably have the best time with my friends since I havenai??i??t seen them in a while.

Amir Bryant

What are kids really learning at school? Is it important? Should things change?

In history we learn about the mistakes that have happened in the past so it very important to learn about them. I also believe things should change to make the world better.

Nathaniel Santiago

Are all charities really giving to others? Do you know of examples of examples of fair or corrupt charities?

No, not all charities are really giving to others. For example, Kids Wish Network is a charity that is exactly like it sounds. However, people are not aware that they only use three cents per dollar to go towards benefiting the dying children and their families. Most of the rest goes towards the charity’s operators and the companies that help boost the donations.

Grace Gilbertson

Are all charities really giving to others? do you know of examples of fair or corrupt charities?

Sadly not all charities give to others. Ai??Some people form fake charities to steal the money from people who think that it is a genuine charity. Ai??One example of a charity who scammed millions of people after a horrific tragedy was during Hurricane Katrina. Ai??According to the FBI, about 4,000 websites were identified fake charities. Ai??Some people even posed as the Red Cross or other real charities to scam others for their money.

Brianne Kucharski

If you had to live in another country, what country would it be, and why?

If I were to live in another country I would live in The Bahamas. Their country is very nice. They have beautiful beaches and many tourist attractions. There are also many sites where you can go snorkeling and scuba diving. I love the weather because I hate the cold and over there it’s generally warm all year round. I’m really into photography too and this is a great place for me to do that. The land, ocean, and overall scenery in general is spectacular. I go there every year and see the way the community is and how everyone gets along. Itai??i??s always really nice and that’s something I would want to be a part of.

Jaden Hurdle

Do Video Games Have A Negative Effect On Kids?

Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Every day we are exposed to bad things people do in this world. Whether itai??i??s in the news, or in person, people are always facing bad influences and good influences. There are some people who take after bad traits from what they see. However, people, including kids, are in complete control of what they do, think, or say. To blame the actions of kids on video games is just a lazy alternative to actually figuring out whatai??i??s making kids act the way they do.

Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Kidsai??i?? behavior make up a lot of our lives, so to dismiss it and simply blame video games is not okay. Especially, since there is no concrete evidence supporting that video games affect kids in any way, shape, or form. This begs the question, why are people so fixed on believing a theory when there are real life circumstances that leave kids traumatized every day that affects how they act growing up? That is what specialists should be working on.

Souvary Rowe

Are apps helpful or do they just waste time? If you know of any, give examples of good and bad apps.

Apps are good and a good use of time. Social media like twitter, Instagram and snapchat are just a part of the world we live in. As a society it is regular to interact on social media and it is helpful. For me personally and a lot of my friends, I go on social media to be aware of my surroundings and for fun. It is cool to see what my friends are up to and also see important news or just something funny. In my opinion you only waste time on apps when you should be doing something else at the moment you are using it.

Branden Hayden

What are kids really learning at school? Is it important? Should things change?

I think that we are learning the right material that is important, but we are being taught way too fast. Instead of being taught to take a test, we should slow down and actually learn how to do something that way it will stick with us for the rest of our life.

Justin Demarest

What are kids really learning at school? Is it important? Should things change?

Kids in this school are learning a lot. It also all depends on the kid because some donai??i??t want to learn and some do. More kids need to start to learn, pay attention, and listen to the teachers. You canai??i??t change anything, people have to change them self.

Katarzyna Kusz

How does photoshop influence the way we see things?

In my honest opinion, I don’t feel like photoshop has influenced me to see thing in any other way than they actually are. The only time I see photoshop is for comedic purposes like memes and such.

Andrew Bunker

What we learn depends on how the teacher teaches the content…

I think everything we learn is important. Although, when the teacher just assigns busy work, it’s a waste of time. In that case, I do not learn anything. I think particular teachers need to change their teaching styles.

Katelyn Marina

No it doesn’t matter how many friends you have…

It only matters how much those friends mean to you. Base it off quality not quantity.

Tyler Slomiak

All charities may give money to the cause they claim to be donating to, however, not all charities have good intentions…

There are a few charities that may send little of the raised money to a said cause, but the majority of the money goes to the organization itself. For example, Kids Wish Network raises millions of dollars for children who are sick and dying, but less than three cents of each dollar they receive actually goes to the children.

Erin Hunt

I believe that there are some corrupt charities…

We put a lot of faith into charities because we aren’t the ones handing the money directly to the people we want it to go to. Ai??I am sure that most charities are fair, but there will always be corrupt people in the world. Ai??The corruptions of the charities lies with the people who run the charity. Ai??I do not have an example of a corrupt or fair charities.

Allisen Trunfio

In my personal experiencesai??i??

it is better to have more friends because then you can usually find something to do or hangout with more people and have fun more often.

Kyle Wilson

I think that what we learn in schoolai??i??

pertains to each course well and that the core classes are important. Ai??With the ability to choose electives students are able to prioritize what is important to them in life.

John Indzonka

What are really learning at school? Is it important? Should things change?…

We learn nothing therefore I hate school, but I have committed to Yale to play division 1 soccer. For some people this may be important, but not for me. I couldn’t care less if things change.

Rayhan Razak

What are really learning at school? Is it important? Should things change?…

To be honest, some of the things we learn in school will become completely useless once we enter adulthood. It’s hard to find the motivation to study knowing this. For example, we need a certain amount of History credits in order to graduate, however, unless you’re going to become a History teacher or some historian, then History is not really useful in day to day life as an adult (besides like basic U.S. History, I don’t think we need to be forced to take excessive history classes just to graduate). This doesn’t just apply to History, but some other classes like Calculus.

Derek Amat

What are kids really learning at school? Is it important? Should things change?…

Kids are really learning life skills, and how to succeed in life. This is very important because all these skills will be used in real life and things should not change

Ryan Vanvarick.

How does photoshop influence the way people see things?

Photoshop makes people think they are imperfect. People can get depressed by thinking they are imperfect and “ugly” because they don’t look like photoshopped models when the models don’t even look like that in real life; it’s all fake. Kids need to be informed that these pictures aren’t realistic and that they shouldn’t and don’t need to look like that to love themselves.

Tatum Corwin

Does it matter how many friends you have ? Is it better to have more or fewer friends?

I personally do not think it matters how many friends you have. I donai??i??t think itai??i??s a matter of how many friends you have but itai??i??s a matter Ai??of the quality of friends you have. It doesnai??i??t Ai??matter because you can have hundreds of friends and not be happy and you can have 5 friends and be completely content and happy.

Keana Smoot

Do video games have a negative effect on kids? Do they have positive effects?

Some video games are not good influences to young minds, but there are certain type of video games that can really teach kids good things. It teaches kids how to drive, like my older sister who learned how to drive off of a driving game. It teaches kids the real world and how to really survive out here because itai??i??s a cold world. Ai??I will admit, playing an excess amount of video games isnai??i??t good, but playing a reasonable amount of video games is. Especially for a young mind, depending on what type of game they are playing.

Anne Ai??Aka

Do video games have a negative effect on kids? Do they have positive effects?

Yes video games do have a negative effect on kids, especially on teenagers who are still in school. When teenagers are using video games late at night they won’t be able to function the next day at school. They will constantly fall asleep in their classes, which can result in poor grades. However, Video Games can have a positive effect on kids because it can be used for educational purposes for kids in school and what they are studying. It also promotes good eye- hand coordination.

Sherri Green

If I had to live in another countryai??i??

Iai??i??d want to go to Ireland. I want to see the statues, also Iai??i??m part irish. I think Ireland would be a really cool place to go to because Iai??i??ve never been to another country.

Connor Krajnak

Do video games have a negative effect on kids? Do they have positive effects?

A video game only has positive effects because you practice good eye, hand coordination. Some video games open up some kids minds to the world. Grand theft Auto can have a negative effect because it makes kids want to do those things.

Jason Fleming

Does it matter how many friends we have? Is it better to have more or fewer friends? Why?

I think fewer friends are better because having friends that you truly know and care about is the meaning of friendship. If you hang with someone that is lonely to make them feel better and get friends is an act of kindness.

Alexander Lepinski

Do schools offer opportunities for students? How does our school offer these opportunities, or how should it?

I think many schools offer good opportunities for many students. One way we do that is in clubs and sports. I just think that not everybody uses the opportunities.

Isabella Pretell

Are all charities really giving to others? Do you know examples of fair or corrupt charities?

I feel like about 5% of the time if you donate to charity it’s your money going into someone else’s pocket. No I do not know any examples.

Jason Genovese

If you had to live in another country, what country would it be, and why?

I would move to New York City because I grew up in the city. Also, I like the way the lights look at night. There’s always someone awake roaming through the streets and the sounds of cars honking help me fall asleep. Also, the stores are close and there are a lot more places to go and Iai??i??m used to walking or taking the bus or train to my locations. I also become more street smart in the city.

Sarah Colon

If i could live in another country it would be

Haiti because there are a lot of people struggling there and i would love to help them have a better life. I believe video games both have a negative and positive effect on kids. The Negative effect is loss of sleep and memory. The Positive effect shooting games can give you 20/20 vision and instincts to react to movement also can help make memory stronger depending on the game.

Photoshop influences the way we see things based on a transformation of a photo it can make it upside down separate and disoriented to the eye depending on how the picture is altered with,

Ruben Alequin

What are kids really learning at school? Is it important? Should things change ?

Honestly, weai??i??re really learning just to pass the keystones, and no itai??i??s not important. Things should change, How come I have not have had one class to learn about what I need to know for the actual real world like credit cards, buying or renting homes & apartments, purchasing a car, money managing skills, how to do taxes, my old school had less money than this school and they teach you how to drive. Not everyone has a ride to the DMV, and we should be able to have a class that actually interests us for what we want to do in the future.

Ashley Abreu

What exactly is photoshop?

It’s an editing tool used for the assortment of picture stored within your mobile devices. It has strong capabilities such as editing people out, which can give you false information. For example, if a picture of JFK’s murder or murder(s) were revealed, and you edited them out, that’d be false information.

Kyra Gilman

How does photoshop influence the way people see things?

Photoshop causes people to have extreme expectations for the way that photographs should look especially those of themselves and others. Ai??This effect of photoshop is so powerful that many people cannot or will not take pictures without using it. Ai??I think that this is pathetic. Ai??

Brittany Webster

Do attractive people have advantages that others don’t? How does society affect this?

In my honest opinion, I believe they do. Not to sound judgmental, but when someone is attractive they get it easy than people who do not. For example, when your in school and people find you attractive, you might possibly get popular quicker, more people come up to you to try and start conversations oppose to those who do not get that affection at all.

Derok Rosario

Does it matter how many friends you have ? Is it better to have more or fewer friends ? Why?

In my opinion it’s ideal to have a few great friends. If you have many friends you won’t be as close with them and you’ll have to share your time and not be able to create such a strong relationship. Having one strong best friend and being able to devote all your time and love into one person and having that one true friend is a lot more important than having more friends who may not care as much.

Deana Ahmed

If you had to live in another country, what country would it be, and why?

If I had to move to a different country for some reason, I would most likely flee to Canada. Canada is such a kind country and theyai??i??re very accepting of everyone and everything. For example, same-sex marriage was legalized in the US on June 26, 2015 but Canada had legalized it 10 years earlier. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it is very important to have an accepting community and country. Canada also has universal health care. Canadian patients have little to no financial burden when being in and coming out of the hospital or the doctorai??i??s. For these reasons and many others I just think that Canada just seems like a very pleasant country to live in and I wouldnai??i??t mind moving there at all if I had to.

Megan Filipkowski

What are kids really learning at school? Is it important? Should it change?

Kids are learning social stuff and whatever stuff they need to pass their current classes. Different kids come from different backgrounds, so everybody has a different social experience in school. It gives kids the ability to meet and socialize people from a lot of different backgrounds, which is pretty good. It’s important to have an understanding of people that are different from you, so I’d say it’s pretty important. Maybe some things should change, like giving people more opportunities to have free time outside of class. But, overall, things seem to be pretty decent and getting better.

Ryan Pinchback

Does it matter how many friends you have? Is it better to have more or fewer friends? Why?

It does not matter how many friends you have, only if you have true friends. i don’t think it is necessarily better to have a lot or a few friends. as long as you are content with the ones you have then you’re good. Ai??

Josephine Sweeney

What are kids really learning at school? Is it important? Should things change?

What we’ve more or less been learning, besides some specific course based information in our AP classes, is more or less just mental exercises. Math, History, and Literature is more or less reading, memorization, and the repetition of information.

While it is important, we’ve somewhat stopped learning new useful information or tactics, and just began to focus more-so on practicing with what we know and what we can do.

Things should either pick up with new, more engaging classwork, or college based sections of our courses where it’ll use more of a college style way of teaching to prepare us.

Eric Bushta

Do schools offer enough opportunities for students to become leaders? How does our school offer these opportunities, or how should it?

Yes schools offer enough opportunities for students to become leaders. Our school offers numerous activities in which students could hold leadership positions. Such as, Student Government, Sports Teams, Music Department, and many other clubs.

Lia Parker

Does it matter how many friends you have? Is it better to have more or fewer friends? Why?

I believe that one should always strive to have a few genuine friends, rather than many insensitive friends. Friends are useful for many things, but the true colors of one can be seen when an unfortunate event occurs. When something bad happens, it is always best to have one person who can help you, rather than 100 people who don’t care.

Adjoa Anim Appiah

Are all charities really giving to others?

I donai??i??t know if all charities are giving the donations to who they say they are giving them to. There is a good chance that some charities keep donations as a scam. I donai??i??t know of any examples of fair or corrupt charities.

Michael Oehrlein

Are all charities really giving to others?

No I donai??i??t think all charities are given to others, and I know of no examples.

Samantha Bush-Macaluso

Are all charities really giving to others? Do you know of examples of fair or corrupt charities?

There are definitely good charities in the world that truly want to help people but there are also “charities” that only seek the benefits for themselves. One example of a truly caring and giving charity is The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The charity only mission is to prevent and cure breast cancer by advancing the worldai??i??s most promising research. Its program percentage is 90% and its its cost to raise $100, which is how many dollars a charity spends on fundraising to raise each $100 of contributions, is $7. An Example of a selfish self-centered ai???charityai??? is The Kidai??i??s Wish Network. It operates from a metal warehouse behind a gas station. Every year Kidai??i??s Wish Network raises millions of dollars in donations for all in the name of dying children and their families. Every year it only spends 3 cents on the dollar to help the children. The rest of the money? It gets diverted to enrich the charity’s operators and the for-profit companies Kids Wish hires to drum up donations. In the past decade alone, Kids Wish has channeled nearly $110 million donated for sick children to its corporate solicitors. An additional $4.8 million has gone to pay the charity’s founder and his own consulting firms.

Kendall White

Are all charities really giving to others? Do you know of examples of fair or corrupt charities?

I am sure there are plenty of charities that are only interested in the money that they sucker from people eager to make a change in the world. It does not seem like it is something reported in the news due to the hubbub of terrorists and presidential scandals. However, I hope that the ones that seem like they make a change truly do make a change. It is similar to the belief in world peace or that everyone has a bed to go to bed to at night. It is really only something plausible to a someone who has not experienced the world. The Kids Wish Network has been suspected to have siphoned millions of money to for-profit companies, but new sources have been increasingly lacking in the ability to report. The Make-a-Wish foundation has been known to provide cancer patients with their requests of a lifetime.

Manuel Fors

What are kids really learning at school? Is it important? Should things change?

I think what we are being taught in school is in the long run, a waste of time. For example, students are being taught about Benjamin Franklin and being tested on 92 History vocab terms when they want to explore a career in technology. We are getting loads of useless information and are expected to remember it all to be tested on. Students need to learn the topics and specific skills that they want/need for their desired career. We shouldn’t have to waste our very valuable time with classes like Engineering Tech concepts. Also, having required classes like this gives students more reasons to not pay attention and not have the passion to do the work. We should have classes that are structured around a specific career choice that we are interested in, instead of taking useless classes that won’t benefit us.

Emily Banashefski

Some apps are useful and others waste timeai??i??

One useful app is google docs. It allows for the creation of documents wherever and whenever. One very bad app is most likely the flashlight app.

Justin Aubry

Is it important? Should things change?

Kids are learning just things they will never need to know during life. Things we learn during school is not important and things should change definitely in my opinion. I think teachers should be teaching us how to deal with problems we will face in the real world, how to do taxes and pay for things. Real life problems is what we should be learning in school instead of things we will never use during life. It’s just a waste of time the things weai??i??re learning now considering weai??i??ll never use it and kids don’t pay attention to it because we don’t need it. But if we were actually getting taught things that we will need to know like how to do taxes and pay for rent and deal with life crisis we come across then maybe students would actually start paying attention in school more! Therefore things should change.

Ashley Rizzieri

Does it matter how many friends you have? is it better to have more or fewer friends? Why?

I feel as though it really doesn’t matter if people have friends or not because people still function fine everyday without them. Itai??i??s better to have more friends so you can develop relationships so in the future you can have connections later on in life.

Star Lockhart-Russ

In my opinion, I believe that it doesn’t matter how many friends somebody hasai??i??

This is because people can have tens of thousands of friends, but, not all of them will have the same meaning to you as others. Some friends can just be friends. Someone you say hello and goodbye to. Then there are the friends that are more than just friends. They can be a best friend, they can feel like family, or they can be like a boyfriend or girlfriend. It doesn’t really matter how many, as long as they are someone special. I believe it is better to have fewer friends because you don’t have to worry about drama or untrustworthy friends. I have a couple friends I can count on and depend on and that is all I need.

Kevin Abdullah

While the number of friends you have doesn’t matter a whole lotai??i??

it is important to maintain relationships with people you feel comfortable with. Having positive influences in your life can impact the way people live their lives. That being said, I think having fewer, stronger relationships is much more important than trying to befriend everyone and results in a much more fulfilling life experience.

Timothy Geiger

I believe that we have strayed from learning the important things in schoolai??i??

We spend too much time focusing on subjects that most students will not need unless they choose to major in it, and we barely learn anything about things everyone will have to do such as applying for jobs and paying bills. Ai??This is especially important for high school students because they are much closer to becoming independent individuals and selecting a career path in college. Ai??Some of the classes that are considered required should probably be electives for those who are planning to specialize in those fields. Ai??Also, the style of teaching is very different from college, and may not prepare students enough for the real world. Ai??However, some of the classes are very important such as basic algebra, history, and language classes. Ai??These courses help to strengthen education of students and will help in the long run and do not waste time focusing on things we will never need.

Jordan Schnaitman

All charities are not really giving to othersai??i??

A lot of charities are not organized well and they may commit fraud. For example, the Cancer Fund of America does not give 100% of profits to cancer patients. The patients only receive about 3% of money raised. Also, the aid promised with the only 3% is not actually given according to a fraud case filed by FTC.

Lexie King

I think kids learn a lot of things in schoolai??i??

obviously… but social skills are the most important. Things should change in which that social skills are more valued.

Benjamin Pembleton

We take many mandatory classes in schoolai??i??

We learn about Algebra, Language, History along many other classes and required classes. What we are really learning is to almost always to listen to what our objective is with little room for creativity. We don’t have many options for what we learn or how we work on our projects. Our tests are centered around memorizing information as opposed to carrying out a practical purpose. While we are being prepared for one of many possible paths, many of them will not apply to us. Some things we learn are important. It is important to be up to date in the world while being able to consider both sides of history and how it contributes to how people behave. Algebra is an impractical and somewhat useless course that will not help most people in everyday life unless they major in math or go into a math related career. For those that have no plans to, it’s a waste of time and won’t help you. Some classes are useful such as cooking classes and partially ETC. It really depends which classes you are taking. While I believe that things should change, I do not know any great solutions to change the system. I would be happier if creativity was encouraged in more than just art classes, but I know that this message has practically no effect on anything and won’t change any systems. This will probably be duly noted.

Eric Serbin