The following article is a collection of opinion pieces written by students in Mr. Larry Singleton’s class.
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What irks me about McIntosh is that some people at McIntosh do the most stupid, pointless stuff, and end up getting in trouble because they think it’s the “cool” thing to do.
For example doing drugs before or in school thinking you’ll be fine when your eyes are blood shot and you’re not acting like yourself. Another example is drinking or bringing alcohol on the school campus and mixing it with Powerade or other drinks to make it seem like nothing bad, but really it’s alcohol. There is a sign in the front of the school saying “We are a tobacco free school”, when really we aren’t because people bring drugs everyday to school. Another example is peer pressure, people coming up to you saying “Try this if you want to hang with the “cool” kids.” Or “Try that.” I would rather be someone with no friends and live a perfectly healthy life then put my life in danger to hang with the “cool” kids. I personally do NOT believe in doing drugs, because of the past, and people who we lose due to these harmful substances. They don’t know how many people they are hurting and can hurt while in the possession of these things.
Something that could be done about this could be everyone and everything should get checked before they walk into the building. Although that would take a long time, it could prevent many actions held in the future.
Say no to drugs and alcohol. Say no to anything that could put your life at risk. It’s okay to say no, you just have to be firm about when you’re saying it and then walk away, because if you say it like you can’t stick up for yourself then they will pressure you and could possibly put you in a bad position. Don’t put yourself in that position because bad things could happen and you don’t want that. If you are in an uncomfortable position or feel threatened don’t do something stupid to make it worse get yourself out of there and then go find and responsible trusting adult.
by Lexi Henderson
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What irks me about McIntosh is that almost all of my classes are on the other side of the school and it takes time to get there.
Why does this irk me? Well sometimes I get to class late and that is not a good thing. I could be missing something important at the start of the class and the teacher might not repeat it again so the best thing is to walk faster or just run. But I can’t run because the hallways are crowded. That’s my other problem but I can ignore that for now.
How am I going to fix this? I will probably change my schedule or I could just talk to the teacher about this and figure something out that helps.
Now I am going to talk about my other problem. The hallways are too crowded! We need to make more hallways or walk ways so that people have a choice to use the shortcut or use the main way that way the hallways aren’t crowded.
by Kevin Boyden
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What irks me is instructional focus. It is twenty minutes at the end of the day derived from 5 minutes of each class during the day and most people don’t even do anything like band per say. I can see how it is a good thing for makeup work or other things like that but it shortens all class periods where teachers have to rush to teach the lesson they planed and I think it’s redundant to even have it at the end of the day maybe at the beginning of the day where you could do homework or such that you didn’t do the day before hand. Also say for instance you were placed in math when you really need to be in science or another subject you can’t get transferred to another class.
I believe that I.F. should be done away with entirely so teachers can have that last five minutes of instruction instead of shortened 3 days a week.
Now I will recap I.F. is a pointless class at the end of the day and should be done away with so teachers can get that last minute of teaching and if I.F. isn’t gotten rid of I think you should be able to choose what class you need help instead of being placed in a class were you are doing nothing.
by Mark Steffen
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What Irks me at McIntosh is… when people delete desk top icons such as Microsoft Word (on the computers). We’ve all had those moments when we have to get something done for a class and Microsoft word is required to do the assignment. No biggie, right? You go to where word is usually in the icons, but it isn’t there. Ok, you go look in all programs, but it isn’t there either. You go look in the recycling bin, but don’t find it; IT HAS BEEN DELETED TOO! And this is what “Irks Me.”
I can’t stand when Word gets deleted. Documents just can’t be done, unless a blank Document is loaded. AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT! Scrolling through saved word documents is already lengthy so it is easy to miss “Blank Document”.
What needs to be done? Well, the only way to prevent deletion of programs is for people to not delete them in the first place. Trolls (people who make a sport out of annoying others) need to just lay off when it involves a serious assignment. Yes, it may be funny when it happens to your buddy, but it is not okay when it happens to you.
Irking others is funny, but not fun for the person being irked. I really get bothered when people delete important desktop programs, so be gone ye Troll who messes with school computers! Thank you for reading my “Irk of the day.”
by Alex Rojas
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What Irks me about McIntosh is the annoyance of some of the students. Some are very immature. Some are even obnoxious. They could be worse, but that is really the only thing that irks me at McIntosh. In the lower paragraphs I will give details of some of the annoyance I experience every day.
Some of the things that irk me are that kids at McIntosh find it funny to go around stepping on the back of everybody shoes. This causes vexation to me and I’ve heard others discussing this as well. This irks me because it’s very pointless and immature. I understand that the kids are just trying to have fun, but stepping on the back of others shoes isn’t a way to have fun. This is why some kids annoy me at McIntosh.
I honestly don’t think anything really needs to be done about it as far as consequences or punishments. I just think that it will take some time for more of the student to grow up here at McIntosh. I guess the administration could make an announcement on how that behavior isn’t tolerated and maybe that would open the eyes of some of the students. This is what I think should be done about the problem I experience here at McIntosh.
This is really the only thing that annoys me at McIntosh.
byThomas Streeter
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What irks me about McIntosh is instructional focus. Why? What is the point? There isn’t one that I can think of especially the way that it is used here at McIntosh.
Placing I.F. at the end of the day was probably the worst idea ever. By the end of the day, we are all tired and ready to leave. In fact, we were ready to leave like two hours ago, and so when we go to instructional focus, we basically sit there and talk or pretend to work so we don’t get yelled at. It’s a joke everyone (including some of the teachers) know it. Also, if we are going to be forced to participate we should at least be able to choose a class. I spent my last year I.F. classes watching the clock because I had an A in the class or I had already received the help I needed. Some could argue it is good for making up tests or quizzes but even that doesn’t work well because sometimes the class is so loud you can’t concentrate.
One more thing, opting out should be made more easily obtained. If a kid has all B’s and one C why should they be forced to participate? I had a friend in that situation, and the worst part was that he was assigned an I.F. that wasn’t even the class where he’s getting a C.
If McIntosh keeps using I.F. they should change it to the beginning of the day and the students should be able choose their I.F. class. Study hall should be made available as a choice so students can complete any work they need to do and not just sit and pretend to work on one classes work. The opting out rule should also be made more lenient so a student isn’t punished for one semi bad grade.
by Carly Bumpus
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What irks me about McIntosh is how the teachers treat us young adults as kindergarteners. Most teachers have good intentions, but as a senior I believe we should be treated less as babies and more as expected graduates.
First off, students know how to make a graph. Teachers do not need to spend an entire hour reviewing how to connect the dots on a line graph. I love having an easy day, but come on! That is just insulting to seniors. Second, students do not need to be baby sat. You can now leave the room for a few minutes without worrying about students starting a riot. Please, go to the copy machine and print the papers necessary for our education and don’t tally over leaving us for so brief of a time. Last, we do not appreciate demeaning tones of voice. I understand teachers have had more education than us but that does not make you any better of a person to be a smart aleck about it.
Perhaps select teachers of this school may use common sense to the level of our education, take an etiquette class of some sort and baby sit some real babies. I’m talking one-year olds.
McIntosh has some nice teachers; however, a few of them may need help by viewing the opinions of their teaching from their students.
by Lydia Garlits
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What irks me about McIntosh is that the hallways are super crowded. No one can walk down the hallway without having to wait a couple of minutes because there are so many people and not enough hallway space.
Hallways at McIntosh irk me the most out of anything because they are very crowded. Sometimes the hallways are so crowded that people are even late to their classes even though their class is a couple doors down. Although it’s not your fault you are late, you can’t say that the halls were crowded and not get in trouble. Also, crowded halls can lead to more violence. People can get so frustrated that they will start pushing or running people over to get to their classes. Eventually, people will get fed up by getting ran over and fights will start to break out. Harmless people could even get injured in the halls, because people will get pushed into other people and they will get mad and they will start fighting also. Since this is a big problem it might require a large sacrifice in order to this this issue.
One way the McIntosh School System could fix this problem is by making the hallways wider. Having wider halls will result in: more space to walk, less fights, and more students who don’t get in trouble for being late. The only bad thing about making halls wider is that will require a lot of money and the school will have to shut down for a while in order to rebuild. Another way to fix this problem though is, McIntosh could just make the time between classes a little longer by adding on three extra minutes so we have a total of ten minutes between classes and not only seven.
Since crowded halls are a big problem it will take a while to fix. But if this problem is fixed then it will result in happier teachers and students, and that will result in a happier school.
by Ryan Wright
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What irks me about McIntosh . . . is how the football team think they are good, but there playing teams that suck. In order for this to change the team MUST practice 24hours each day non-stop. If this gets done there is no reason why we should not become the best team in America.
McIntosh can easily become great at football we just need to put more effort into the programs. Also we need new uniforms we had the same jerseys since 1999. Another thing is that a lot of the players on the team say they suck too. With that attitude nothing is going to change. Everyone needs to start thinking positive.
With all this being said, the chiefs can do it we need a winning season this year. It’s time for everyone to know who the McIntosh Chiefs are.
by Lamar Walton
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What irks me about McIntosh are the disrespectful students annoy their teachers. Most teachers do listen to students, but every once in a while there will be a teacher that doesn’t or a teacher that is having a bad day and doesn’t listen. The former normally happens when a student is generally disrespectful to the teacher. The latter can happen whenever.
The other day I was having a technical issue with one of my English assignments and for no reason my teacher told me to sit down because she didn’t want to talk to me. I was so mad I was about to yell at her. Similarly I’m a lover not a fighter. Last year I had a teacher who would never listen to my friend Turner. No matter what he was saying she would ignore him, tell him to be quiet, or sometimes write him up. It’s one of my pet peeves and ever since I was little I hated it.
There really isn’t much that could be done to stop this. The only thing that I could think of is that teachers need to learn to be nicer, and students need to learn not to be disrespectful. I know that everyone is human and that people have feelings, but it doesn’t need to be happening as much as it does. This has probably happened to at least 2/3rds of all the students in this school at least once.
There isn’t much that anyone can do about this, it’s human nature. But if someone could figure out something to do about this it would be amazing. Some teachers, it’s just the way that they are and they do it to everyone. For some, it’s just that they had a bad day and are tired of dealing with kids. If teachers and students could just get along better ( like in computer applications) it would be a better school.
by Nigel Reid
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What irks me about McIntosh is the attitude of some students. Some students do not care about anything. It irks me to see students with such great potential but do not use it. McIntosh has a great social and educational environment. For some kids, that’s all they care about. I know kids who are unbelievably intelligent but have straight F’s. It irks me that students will not use their skills for their own benefit.
McIntosh also has students with wonderful attitudes and they are the ones who end up successful in life. I know students who aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed but they try and succeed to make straight A’s and B’s. I wish McIntosh had more students with awesome attitudes and a good work ethic and fewer students with bad attitudes and a bad work ethic.
What should be done about it? I think McIntosh should set up personal meetings with students who have a bad work ethic and try to guide them on the right path. This would increase better grades and better attitudes towards others. Hopefully something will be done about this conflict; it would not only help the students but will help McIntosh become a better school.
Other than that McIntosh is an awesome school with great teachers and administrators. I’m glad I can attend such a great school. I hope the next generation has a better attitude not just only on their school work but on life itself. Students who complete high school with good grades will be successful and will have a wonderful life.
by Austin Brown
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What irks me about McIntosh Is… what time the school ends and the fact that there are no free periods during the day. The school day at McIntosh ends at 3:15 pm. I would rather start the day earlier and get out of here earlier rather than start at the time we do now and end at the time we do now. Then the fact that there are no frees. This is a time where you can get a jump start on your homework during the school day.
At my old school that I went to in Connecticut, the school day started at 7:20 am each morning. Do not get me wrong, I hated getting up in the morning up there at 5:45 am every day, but it was so worth it when the last bell rang at 2:15 in the afternoon and I was walking though my door at my house by 2:45. The extra hour of sleep is really nice, but I do not get home until almost 4:00. This means that you really do not have any free time to yourself once you reach home, and even less if you play a sport in the evening. I am only saying that the afternoon would be so much more enjoyable if I had the time to sit around after a day at school. This cannot happen if the day ends at 3:15 in the day.
Another thing that irks me about McIntosh is that there are no free periods. At my old school there were periods during the day that instead of going to a class like you normally would, you could go to the lunchroom or the library with your friends to either hang out with them or get a start on your homework for the night. Or if you are like me, you could study or do homework that is do that day because you were too lazy to do it the night before. Also relating this to the previous topic, if you had sports or some sort of extracurricular activity the night before and could not do the homework you can still get it done and not get a late penalty
To recap, the school day should start and end earlier and we should also have free periods during the course of the day.
by Jack Thuon
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What irks me about McIntosh is that I some students do not know when to stop talking and start listening. I say that irks me because it happens way too often and it’s a waste of time. It has become a problem in some of my classes. I really think something needs to be done about it.
It would seem that every day that there is a problem with someone talking when they should not be. This is especially true in my Spanish class. Just today, we wasted so much time with people talking out of turn that we did not get to finish the assignment, and now we have to do half of it for homework. Occurrences like this have been happening all throughout the year and it does not look like it is going to stop. It’s not only Spanish though. In my science class some people will occasionally speak out when they’re not supposed to but it doesn’t happen quite as often and it’s never as bad.
Even though I believe it is a big problem, I still think that it can be fixed rather easily. I believe that if teachers were to crack down on discipline a little more and kids just tried to be better mannered. The combination of these two things could go a long way to fixing this problem. I do not think that the problem will ever go away entirely but all we can do is try to make the best out of the situation that we are in.
Even though this school has some problems I still believe that it is the best high school in Georgia. Even if this gets solved to the best it can be, it should still take some time to get much better. I just really hope it does soon so I can see it happen.
by Justin Thom
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W hat irks me about McIntosh… is what McIntosh does to irritate me or annoy me to my very core and gets on my nerves to the fullest.
McIntosh irks me by how people treat each other and how mean and drama filled they can be. Some people treat each other with no respect and are hatful and rude while other people treat others with respect but don’t get any respect back. They can also be mean, they say mean things to another and make fun of others just because they feel the need to. Most people are also very dramatic and they always have to be the person to start drama or even be in it.
All these things irk me for one because its unnecessary like how people treat each other, you shouldn’t just treat people with no respect for no reason because they wouldn’t like it if that was done to them.
The second reason it irks me is because it’s rude, like when people are mean to each other you don’t know how it makes them feel when they are being bullied and when they get home they probably cry and get very angry but when at school they act like it doesn’t bother them.
The last reason why it irks me is because there is no point in doing it, like how people are so drama filled and they always have to be caught up in it. Drama creates stress and the more drama you are in and create then the more stress you get and then when you just get so stressed out to the point where you can’t take it anymore then you will become sick and then you will wish that you hadn’t even been caught up in all of that.
I think there needs to be an intervention with everyone. We all need to go around and say how we feel when people talk to us or do things that hurt our feelings and how it makes us feel. Then everyone should apologize to each other. We should admit to the things that we have done to each other, and make a pact to stop starting drama and try to get along with each other.
The thing that irks me the most about McIntosh is that everyone won’t treat people with respect, they are drama filled, and they care rude and mean to each other.
by Zoe Carter- D
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What irks me about McIntosh is mainly some of the students at this school and what they usually do that is annoying. People have the urge of doing unnecessary things or acting up too much. Sometimes they make a big deal about something they shouldn’t and then just turn it into a whole drama scene for the rest of the school.
There are times when I feel like I’m going to be late to class because some people take their sweet time in the hallways or just stand in the middle of the way to have a conversation. If people are going to do that, they should stand aside and let people pass or walk faster for the consideration of others.
The immaturity of some of the people irks me, especially when they at least should behave in a mature manner in certain situations. Sometimes people that act like immature, waste the teacher’s and students’ time. In that case, we end up with an unproductive class and the work takes longer to complete.
What really irks me about this school is how females sometimes fight for the smallest things and it could carry on throughout the whole year, instead of just solving the situation.
These are the things that irk me about McIntosh, but besides that, I like the school and the education.
by Zuania Rivera
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What irks me about McIntosh is the no cell phone rule. We aren’t even allowed to have them out at lunch when that is our most social period. Also, what makes a lot of students angry, especially me, is no eating in the classrooms. There are many days where I’m too rushed in the mornings to eat my breakfast and that is a problem until lunch. What irks me the most about McIntosh is that the classes are way too long. They just keep dragging on. I feel like they will never end. When the bell rings, I let out a sigh of relief. Things need to be done here.
The no cell phone rule is understandable in the classrooms because they can be very disruptive, but we need a little bit more leash. I say we get to use our cell phones at lunch. That is the most sociable hour and we need to know what’s going on in our social world. We really need to be able to eat in the classrooms. As long as we pick up our mess, I don’t see why not. Lunch doesn’t come for awhile and that’s aggravating because we get so hungry, especially me. The classes go so long at our school, sometimes I just lose focus. I’m sure many students can say that for themselves too.
What needs to be done about the no cell phone rule is I think the board of education should consider it because what if there is a family emergency and we don’t know about it because our cell phones are in our lockers? Those are the types of things we need to know immediately. I think the teachers should have a sign in their room that says on one side that you are allowed to eat in here and on the other side that you aren’t. That gives us a way, if we do start eating in the classroom, to not get in trouble. I don’t know what could be done with the long class times because you would have to go through a lot of people to make that happen but it’s not impossible.
Even though I don’t agree with most things at my school, I still respect and love it. As students, maybe one day we would be able to have more leash and enjoy McIntosh that much more. Once a chief, always a chief.
by Maddie O’Rourke
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What irks me about McIntosh is lack of Russian language. I’m an exchange student from Russia. And in Russia I used to speak Russian. So for me it is new and rather difficult to speak English every day.
I’ve lived in Russia for all my life. I’ve studied English in English classes and with my tutor. And I haven’t had an opportunity to speak Russian here, in the United States, because nobody speaks it. The most annoying for me, when I try to explain something in English and other person doesn’t understand me. It doesn’t happen a lot, but I hate it.
I understand that speaking English is one of the most important parts of my exchange program. But sometimes I really want to speak Russian. I can do it through the Internet, for example to Skype some of my friends in Russia. But it isn’t a good idea to spend much time in front of the computer. So I’d like to participate in some kind of Russian club, if there are any. But as far I know there are no Russian clubs.
At the end I want to add, that it is not a big deal. And I don’t want to change anything. But if it happens, I’ll be a little bit happier.
by Misha Chernov
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What irks me about McIntosh is people who think they are better than the standards that are set by the school principal. People think that they can break dress code or do drugs just to be cool or fit in with the big crowd. But really you’re just hurting yourself and your grades. Your chances of getting into college are basically a big fat zero.
Examples of this would be girls wearing short shorts to get attention or guys sagging their pants so that they touch the freaking ground. I mean no one wants to see all that! I could care less what color your boxers are! People say this is a drug free school but most kids I know when they get out of school there immediately going to do drugs and smoke. Then the next day they walk through the school doors stoned! They won’t get any work done and it’s a huge distraction to everyone trying to learn in this supposedly “safe” learning environment.
Teachers need to start stepping in! If you see a kid that’s acting unusual or different than normal then go and report them! I’m sick of coming to school and smelling the strong scent of alcohol on people and others are to. Enforce the rules because they were made for a reason! Most kids are scared that they’ll get beat up if they say something but I think it’s the teachers job to announce that it is ok to tell an adult about this kind of stuff because it could permanently damage their lives forever!
Open your eyes to these things when you walk around school and don’t be afraid to speak up. This will get that person back on track and you won’t be around that constant stink of drugs all the time. Do your best to help build a better, cleaner, and purer school because if we don’t then schools all around will just become drug houses.
by Alexis Adcock
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What irks me about McIntosh. . . There could be many things that irk me about McIntosh, like the people, teachers, or ways the test are given. I can always keep living and go through high school with the things that irk or annoy me. If the school board were to fix or redo it would make my high school experience so much more enjoyable.
What irks me about McIntosh is the multi-sport limitation. This irks me, because I believe that this limits my freedoms. In health class they tell you to be active as much as possible. I don’t like being committed to one sport I like to have variety. Another thing that annoys me is how in the bathroom there is only one mirror. This annoys me, because there are a lot of teenage girls that don’t know how to share. When you only have one it is tough to look at yourself to make sure that everything looks good and some girls just hog it. One last thing that annoys me is how girls wear so much makeup. I get annoyed how some girls pretend they are so great and pretty with all their makeup. Some girls don’t wear make up at all or only a little so they don’t look as
great as other girls so they don’t get as much attention as others do.
To resolve the problem for playing more than one sport at McIntosh is simple. If the student has all passing grades and they are going to half and half of practices and games for each sport and I think that would be fair to the other players and coaches on each team.
For the mirror problem to be resolved we should fundraise and use partial of the money for mirrors and the extra for the school or give it to a charity. It would be easy to get volunteers from the school for the fundraiser. I think to help resolve girls from wearing to much make up is the teachers need to be more strict. We need to be stricter on the makeup so everybody is equal. So people aren’t pretending to be something they are not.
I think if we could play more than one sport and balance are school work with it that us students would be ready to work on our own for college and be ready for the real world. It might seem stupid for more than one mirror but trust me it would be a lot easier for girls. If all girls didn’t wear makeup girls we won’t have people hiding behind the makeup and won’t have people judging each other or all girls could just be themselves. If all these problems were fixed it would make my high school experience so much better.
by Abby Ott
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What irks me about McIntosh is the condition of our restrooms. They are gross. Our school has a custodial staff, and their job is to clean the school. However, they seem to completely overlook our bathrooms. No one can use the bathrooms in this school. No one would want to use them. It is not only the custodian’s fault; the students need to learn to control themselves. If the students would care about the facilities, there would be no need to have the custodians clean anything (not that they are in the first place). Students need to learn to lift the seats!
The first thing a person sees when he enters the boy’s bathroom are puddles of a strange liquid. What is this stuff? Can we not mop it up? Seriously, why do we have to trudge through a swamp of mystery soup to find a stall? That’s another thing: the stalls are almost unusable. The toilets are clogged; there is urine all over the seats, and there is no toilet paper. The stalls are in a deplorable state in which no one can use. One must travel from restroom to restroom in the hopes that, maybe, he will find a decent receptacle. Among other problems, the bathrooms could use some Febreze. It is like entering the bowls of the underworld. The boy’s bathrooms are disgusting.
In conclusion, it wouldn’t hurt to maybe mop up every now and then or maybe even use some disinfectant. And maybe the guys that use the bathrooms shouldn’t go all over the walls. But then again, I’m just one opinion.
by William Dee
