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Unbreakable bonds

Lucius Webster (’23) reflects on unique relationship of single mothers and sons. “Sons of single mothers often have a deep understanding of women’s struggles, and they develop a strong sense of empathy and compassion towards them.”

The relationship between a single mother and her son is a unique and special bond that is built on love, trust, and mutual support. Being a single mom is not an easy task, but the bond between a mother and her son can make it an incredibly rewarding experience. In this essay, we will explore the dynamics of the relationship between a single mom and her son and how it can shape the lives of both.

The relationship between a single mother and her son is different from that between a mother and daughter or a father and son. The mother-son bond is characterized by a deep emotional connection, a sense of protectiveness, and a strong desire to nurture and guide the child. For a single mother, her son becomes her world, her primary source of love and companionship, and her partner in navigating the challenges of life. From a young age, a son looks up to his mother as a role model and a source of guidance. He learns about the world and relationships from his mother, who serves as a primary caregiver, teacher, and friend. A single mother is often the sole source of emotional and financial support for her son, and this can create a unique dynamic in the relationship. The son may feel a sense of responsibility to protect and care for his mother, and this can shape his character in significant ways.

As the son grows up, the relationship between him and his mother evolves. He becomes more independent and starts to form his own identity. However, the bond between a single mother and her son remains strong and unbreakable. The son may continue to seek his mother’s guidance and support throughout his life, and the mother remains a constant source of love and encouragement.

One of the most significant benefits of the relationship between a single mother and her son is the sense of emotional closeness that it fosters. Sons of single mothers often have a deep understanding of women’s struggles, and they develop a strong sense of empathy and compassion towards them. They also tend to have a high level of emotional intelligence, which makes them better partners and fathers in their own relationships.

The relationship between a single mother and her son is a unique and powerful bond that can shape both their lives in profound ways. It is characterized by love, trust, and mutual support, and it can help both the mother and son navigate the challenges of life. A single mother’s son is her world, and the bond between them is unbreakable.

Beat the Burnout: Five Steps to Help You Finish the Trimester Strong

Olivia Palmbos (’23) provides tips and tricks to help Skyline students tackle the last push to final’s week. “Approaching a massive to-do list on your own can feel hopeless, but this does not have to be the case…Communicating with those you are working with will open the door to receiving support, accommodations, and/or agreeable solutions that will help you manage and get ahead of your workload.”

As spring break draws nearer and the second trimester comes to an abrupt and rapid end (courtesy of three unexpected back-to-back snow days), it is easy for students to wind down and kick back their feet in anticipation of spring and summer vacation. However, just as students are beginning to feel the slow-motion slog of academic burnout, the workload and assignments begin to step up with the looming presence of finals week on the horizon. With depleted motivation weighing students down more and more heavily with each passing day, the task of staying on top of the to-do list – and the homework assignments due before finals – begins to feel impossible. How do we stay on top of our workloads without falling prey to lack of motivation? In this article, I have compiled several tips, tricks, and strategies that may help you stave off the burnout, and stay motivated till the end of the trimester. 

Step #1: Communicate and get the support you need.

When dealing with a pileup of work and a decrease in motivation, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed, discombobulated, and even isolated. Approaching a massive to-do list on your own can feel hopeless, but this does not have to be the case. When it comes to dealing with a heavy workload, communication with teachers, students, and peers is key. Communicating with those you are working with will open the door to receiving support, accommodations, and/or agreeable solutions that will help you manage and get ahead of your workload. 

Step #2: Set up an accountability partner.

Now that you have communicated with friends and teachers about where you’re at on your academic to-do list, reach out to a responsible friend to hold you accountable for sticking with your plan. Setting out to cope with a large amount of work on your own will inevitably lead to a loss in motivation, and your assignments may fall to the wayside as a result. However, working with a partner will ensure you accomplish what you set out to do. Talk with a partner to check in about your homework load at the end of the day, or go to a library together in order to immerse yourself into a work mindset and setting. By surrounding yourself with work-conscious companions and studying with equally motivated peers, you will hold yourself responsible to complete all of the items on your to-do list.

Step #3: Separate work and relaxation.

Although working from home is often simplest, (and, frankly, a common habit that carried over the pandemic), separating the environment that you work in and the environment that you relax in is beneficial to boost productivity. Trying to find focus in a setting that is more frequently used for play or relaxation can be a difficult task; so, as enticing as it may sound to do your homework from the comfort of your bed, instead try designating a location at which to work, and a location at which to wind down. Whether this means christening the spare room in your house as the designated study spot, or going so far as to visit a library to finish up your math homework, finding the right atmosphere in which to be productive will make all the difference! 

Step #4: Block out your work time and break time. 

Many times, it is easy to either get sucked so thoroughly into a task that you forget to take care of yourself, or to neglect it so harshly that nothing gets done. When trying to maximize your productivity and minimize burnout, it is critical to find ways to walk a fine line between these two polar opposites. While you don’t want to spend too much time on one particular task to the point where you neglect your own needs, you also want to work effectively and efficiently on your assignments. Try blocking out your homework time using websites such as Pomodoro or Tomato Timer. Platforms like these will allow you to set a time period for work, and a time period for getting up to walk around, get a drink or water, or simply relax your brain.  With these toolkits, you should be able to find a happy-medium between blocking out productive work time, and taking time to care for yourself.

Step #5: Reward yourself for your hard work.

Assigning awards after you accomplish specific goals will help you not only stay motivated to complete the tasks at hand, but also recognize and celebrate all of your accomplishments. Rewards such as snacks, break times, or doing one of your favorite pastimes after completing each individual task on your to-do list will help you stay engaged with your work, and make work-time feel like less of a slog, and more of an enjoyable opportunity. 

Between these five steps – and countless other measures that can be taken to finish the trimester off strong – students can tie off their end of trimester exams neatly and start the following trimester on steady footing (regardless of whatever snow days are thrown in our path). Good luck on finals, Skyline Eagles, and finish the Tri off strong.

Wishful Thinking

Spoons Stovall (’24) questions the adage that time heals all wounds. “..your trauma is not all you are, but if it becomes all you can be, then recognizing your in need of help is the first step to reconstituting yourself.”

I believe in wishful thinking. I believe the fabric of the universe can coddle and nourish the will of a person in order to shape or reshape their heart and desires for their greater good. I believe we can use the tools we are given to get a job done while still knowing our limits and trusting our bodies. Morals, as some might call them. These are things that we learn and shape our lives and minds. Experience and word of mouth guilds us through the most difficult of situations with more data being added to it on the other side. For example, I was told from a young age to let time run its fingers over old wounds, to let the light shine in even when you think it might singe your skin from the strength of its warm hug, and that crying is ok and should be encouraged. It will be uncomfortable and you can’t expect it to be easy despite how much it may hurt. The world isn’t a calm or delicate place for a frayed mind on the edge of unraveling completely, and you will have to give parts of yourself away in order to pay the price of living. And this is where the morals are formed, their rigidity striking against the inside of our skulls as we pick ourselves up and continue on. Next time will be different, next time I’ll be prepared, next time will be better. 

But what about the nails left behind? You can pry them out of the wood, sure, but then you’re just left with holes, and no structure is sound with holes in its support. You run the risk of crumbling when put under the same pressure, or god forbid more. This is often where the saying “time heals all wounds” comes into use. You just need to let those holes sit with you for long enough that they heal over, like a scraped knee or a bullet in a tree. And it works, at least it does often enough we assume it can be applied over any wound and we’ll get the same result. It’s a fix I can just carry around in my pocket for future use, lathering it over new cuts and scrapes as they are added to the old ones that decorate my hands and legs. I could count them for fun if I got bored. But what about the ones that get infected? What do I do about the ones that continue to reopen despite the layers upon layers of ointment I put over it. Your wishful thinking isn’t as strong as the reality of your pain, and all of a sudden you’re strangled by the fear of not knowing what to do. How do I fix something I wasn’t prepared for? Time is no longer the salve for my pain, it’s the one picking my scabs off. 

Time isn’t your remedy, and it’s certainly not your friend. No amount of waiting will peel the hurt away from your heart and disgarde it. It will likely only numb you to the pain, and that isn’t healing, it’s just leaving the jar lid on. The truth won’t go away even if I stretch it out of shape. I believe your trauma is not all you are, but if it becomes all you can be, then recognizing your in need of help is the first step to reconstituting yourself. Then letting yourself be helped is the next bridge you’ll have to cross in order to fix the damage. It won’t be comfortable, and it certainly won’t be easy, but it will be the right thing to do for yourselves. And then one day I’ll be able to step into the sun’s light again and let her rays slip into the crevices of my scars without feeling them burn. That’s all I want. 

ChatGPT as Simulcrum

Liam McGlohon (’23) reflects on what the mainstream conversations around ChatGPT are missing. “Mastery grading’s inability to adapt to technological developments has put educators in a position where technology is developed against teaching, not with it. This is a disservice to both educators and students, for it prohibits experimentation by students and distorts the conversation among educators to reactionary dogma rather than any real ethical conflict. “

ChatGPT has created an uproar in traditionalist teaching spaces – barely a week after ChatGPT went online hundreds of articles by teacher and writing organizations foretold the doom of English courses if it wasn’t outlawed, that AI plagiarism would run rampant, and new security measures must be installed to prevent its propagation. The paranoia around plagiarism has only grown worse as teachers have scrambled to respond – all the while without a full understanding of the technology’s real impacts and dangers. 

This fear of seemingly positive technological advancement reveals a serious failure in the current order. Since the invention of the chalkboard, the projector, and even the calculator, the first response from the education system has been fear. While that fear is understandable it prevents real conversation.  Mastery grading’s inability to adapt to technological developments has put educators in a position where technology is developed against teaching, not with it. This is a disservice to both educators and students, for it prohibits experimentation by students and distorts the conversation among educators to reactionary dogma rather than any real ethical conflict. 

The initial concerns surrounding AI essays haven’t necessarily been wrong – but rather the focus has been misplaced. These tools are by no means perfect plagiarism machines, even calling tools like ChatGPT “AI” oversells their abilities, but by no means are they thinking machines but rather hyper-complex chatbots who’ve been fed an absurd amount of information without an understanding of how it relates to reality. 

And there is a real danger to writing that seeks to reflect reality without any basis in it. The philosopher Jean Baudrillard wrote extensively on these concepts, and in Simulacra and Simulation he argues that society has replaced all reality and meaning with signs and symbols; they are not reflections on reality nor even false mediations of reality. They do not contain hidden reality – simply that the way we perceive our lives has been completely disjointed from reality. 

He defines four phases of an image, which are created in any pursuit that seeks to reflect reality.

“It is a reflection of profound reality;”

“it masks and denatures a profound reality;”

“it masks the absence of a profound reality;”

“it has no relation to any reality whatsoever; it is its own pure simulacrum.” (pg 6)

AI writing, by using all internet writing, both that which is a faithful reflection (stage 1) and a perversion (stage 2) – with an absence of any understanding of profound reality beyond simulation it is a reflection of a reflection. It has no profound meaning and rather “masks the absence of profound reality” the sign pretends to be a faithful representation while not actually reflecting reality (stage 3). If these tools were to draw on their own writing for material it would be nothing but pure simulation (stage 4). Thus to create even a deceptive reflection it must take from more faithful creations of humanity.

To satisfy those material needs – they cannibalize other’s writing, remixing “new ideas” from their fractured corpses. It is fundamentally parasitic, it cannot exist without new ideas – new human writers and writing being created. Rather than fear ChatGPT for its plagiarism, the concern must be how online writing has been used to fuel these systems without their authors consent.

Having Fun with your Schoolwork, Instead of Letting it Burden You

Elena Mychaliska (’23) gives readers advice on how to change our attitudes around schoolwork. “While in high school students do not always have the ability to choose which subjects they are studying, making it a priority to search for the qualities of the subject that you are interested in may help.”

We’ve all heard the phrase “time flies when you’re having fun,” although does that same principle apply to schoolwork? I decided to look into how changing your approach to homework or studying can not only make them seem less time-consuming, but also help you learn. 

A better mood has been proven to help the brain understand and retain new information in a variety of ways. Firstly, it can help incentivize work by increasing the rewards felt during and after the task. Additionally, a good mood increases the dopamine released into your prefrontal cortex, one of the more advanced regions of your brain that is responsible for many important tasks in learning. This increase in dopamine helps transition people into the flow state, or the “zone”, and comprehensively absorb new information. In all, being intentional about changing your mood can be referred to as cognitive flexibility, “the ability to adapt our behavior and thinking in response to the environment,” and can help people work more effectively and efficiently.

But how does one change their mood and approach to schoolwork? One way is by sparking your curiosity in the subject you are tackling. While in high school students do not always have the ability to choose which subjects they are studying, making it a priority to search for the qualities of the subject that you are interested in may help. For example, you may not love economics, but maybe you are interested in sociology. Thus, within that class, take that angle, looking at how economics intertwines with the “development, structure, and functioning of human society”. Recently, the University of Michigan CS Mott Children’s Hospital and the Center of Human Growth and Development conducted a longitudinal study in which they found that curious children performed the best in school. They also identified that more commonly valued abilities, such as focus, were actually less important than curiosity when learning. 

Another way to change your mood when completing your schoolwork is incorporating fun. A study conducted at Archbishop Williams High School and the Technical University of Denmark found that students that used Labster, a gamified laboratory simulator, in their classes found the lesson and its content more interesting. So maybe try a Quizlet, a Kahoot, or a Jeopardy game as a study tool!

Finally, altering your study environment can also make it a more enjoyable process. Many things can improve a study space, including but not limited to seating, lighting, noise, and color. Utilizing natural light, a comfortable chair, and a white noise machine could make all of the difference in your daily work. Even having a warm drink next to you could help. 

Studying does not need to be an arduous process, allow yourself to find enjoyment in it. So, when you’re studying for your next math test or finishing your history homework, open the curtains, find a comfy spot, pull up a Kahoot, and get curious.