Sunday, March 31, 2013

Knowledge

If somehow all knowledge was destroyed, and only one sentence could be passed on to the next generation of people, what one sentence should be given to them and why?

Without law and order, there can be only chaos. 

I think that sentence should be given to them because a civilization can only survive with a set of rules to be followed.  If everyone were allowed to do whatever they wanted, then there would be chaos.  Crime would be everywhere.  People would steal, kill, and do all sorts of things if they felt like it.  With a set of laws, the future generation would know to set boundaries of what they could and could not do.  From the sentence that I chose they would also know to choose people to make sure the laws are followed.  They would then figure out that they would need a penal system for those that didn't obey the laws.  The future generation would know that they would need to establish people to look over others to make sure that they're doing their job.  If the next generation of people could only receive that one sentence, then they would know to establish a set of rules to live by and people to make sure that they're followed so that their generation could flourish and be successful.     

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Teens Stress Too

What is the number one problem facing teens?  Some might say that it's drinking, smoking, or one of the other classic answers.  However, many people do not take stress into consideration.  It is the number one problem facing teens because it is the source of most of the other problems.  For example, too much stress can cause teens to smoke, drink, or participate in another inappropriate way to relieve the stress.    Some even avoid trying to deal with their stress.  This causes feelings to build up, thus causing more stress.  Teens try to relieve stress their own way because most don't want to ask for help.

                                Boys
  • 25% avoided or refused to deal with their stress,
  • 23% sought ways to distract themselves away from their stress,
  • 17% sought support, and
  • 35% actively tried to reduce their stress.

  •                                 Girls
  • 19% avoided or refused to deal with their stress,
  • 14 % sought ways to distract themselves away from their stress,
  • 22% sought support, and
  • 45% actively tried to remove or reduce their stress

  • These statistics show that girls and boys deal with their stress in different ways.  Boys have a tendency to avoid dealing with their stress while girls have a larger tendency to actively reduce their stress.  As said by TeenHelp, girls' stress stem from their relationship with boys and friendships with girls.  Most boys' stress tend to stem from authority figures. 





    Many things cause teens to have stress.  According to Johns Hopkins, school is the number one cause of stress in teens.  The two graphs above support this statement.  It's understandable when you factor in the pressure of getting good grades, planning for your future, and achieving the extracurricular activities required for college.  In the top graph, it shows that girls tend to stress about school, friends and family more than boys.  The graph shows that boys have a habit of stressing about work more than girls.  In the bottom graph, it shows the top ten things that cause teens stress.  School, family/parents, friends, work, and sports cause stress the most. 

    How can this problem be improved?  A solution to this problem would be to have schools do something to help teens release their stress at least one day a week.  The P.E. classes could take one day off and let the students do something that they enjoy for the class.  This way, teens could take a break from their stress at least once a week. 

    http://www.teenagestress.org/

    http://www.teenhelp.com/teen-stress/stress-statistics.html

    http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/center-for-adolescent-health/_includes/Teen_Stress_Standalone.pdf