Homecoming Research

Homecoming Research

This week in class we began planning our group research projects. My team decided to investigate if students feel social pressure to attend our school dances, or if they genuinly look forward to attending them. This is an important subject to me as an active member of Stevenson's Student Council. If there is a reason students are not enjoying dances, I can figure it out through this survey, then address the issue in a student council meeting, and attempt to correct it so that dances are as enjoyable as possible for everyone in attendance, and are deemed an overall success.

The Ocean Liner

This week in class my favorite activity was the ship wreck simulation. I was one of the characters aboard the "boat" where 7 out of the 16 passengers had to be kicked off. It is very interesting, looking back on how we handled the situation. For most of it, it seemed as if there was very little thought put behind who would go and who would stay. A name would be mentioned, and everyone would attack. It didn't matter whether or not that person should have been spared, there was an argument that could have been made against each and every one of us. Every time someone else was called out I felt a sense of relief, they would die, and I would have a greater chance of survival. Even if I didn't fully agree with their sentence, I would always raise my hand against them in the group vote, because although they may not have deserved it, it was better them than I. It was selfish really, but I could see most others were doing it too. When put in a life or death situation we throw mindfulness out the window, and tend to only protect ourselves.

Doing Nothing

Today at lunch I stood up, halfway through the period, and proceeded to do nothing. I stood near the edge of my lunch table, where my friends sat eating, and merely stared ahead. At first no one noticed what I was doing, and continued to eat their lunches. After awhile a few of the students I had been sitting with noticed my absence, and I explained to them my assignment. But aside from my friends, no one else seemed to mind what I was doing. A few glances were thrown in my direction, but no one really cared why I was standing purposeless in the middle of The Point. Everyone around me was busy, chatting with friends, scarfing down lunches, or scrambling to finish homework. If they noticed what I was doing at all, it didn't matter to them, because they had more important tasks at hand. I know if I was in their place I would have reacted the same way. We are all so busy, especially at Stevenson, and are always rushing to make the most of our time. Although people may briefly have wondered what I was doing, they were not troubled about it enough to get up and approach me. They remained in their own worlds, absorbed in their friends and their lives, and uncaring about what was happening around them. Sure, the experiment showed me that teenagers can often be oblivious to the world around them, but it also showed me a group of students having fun and enjoying themselves, trying their best to make the most of their time in high school.