School Loop increases parental involvement Sideline saboteurs

the hub
january 31, 2014
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Culture 13
School Loop
increases
parental
involvement
KATIE
LEE /
IC
With so much pressure to
get into a good college, parents are more involved than
ever in their child’s grades.
Add School Loop to the mix
and things can get out of
hand, adding stress to students’ lives.
Junior Jamie Bautista says
her parents check the School
Loop parental emails daily
to see all of her grades, and
were in the habit of emailing
teachers over disputes regarding her grades.
“[School Loop] makes it a
million times easier for them
to check my grades which
in turn makes the conversations about my grades
at home more frequent.”
Bautista said. “When I’m
at home I just want a break
from school and stress for a
little bit and talking about
more grades at home makes
it impossible to relax.”
Although School Loop
can be very helpful towards
the end of the semester to
get real time updates on
grades, at the beginning of
the school year or of a new
semester, having only a few
assignments in can be a
cause for stress.
Senior Destina Agar says
her parents aren’t as involved, but that when she
only has a few grades put
into her School Loop account, her parents can stress
her out.
“In Comp/Lit, the first
thing we did this semester
was an in-class essay on a
nine point scale,” Agar said.
“I scored a five, so when it
was put in School Loop my
grade in the class was an ‘F’
because it was the only thing
[inputted].”
“So of course my mom saw
it and immediately freaked
out because she thought I
was failing English, and I
had to explain to her that it
was the only assignment in
there.”
Sophomore Nathan Hassid’s parents are involved
in checking his grades on
By Thomas Oide
HUB Staff
School Loop with the daily emails and on his online
profile, but he welcomes
their involvement in his
studies.
“[My parents’ involvement] affects me positively because ever since my
parents have been checking
my grades, they have started going up,” Hassid said. “I
think it’s better if parents are
involved because it makes
it so the students want to
work harder to keep up their
grades.”
Junior Louis Pak agrees
with Hassid: he thinks parents’ involvement with their
kid’s grades through School
Loop is a good thing, but
only to a certain extent.
“Honestly, I think it’s good
and bad,” Pak said. “If the
kid isn’t committed to his or
her grades, then it’s important for parent involvement.
If it’s a kid that knows what
he or she is doing, then excessive parent involvement
will probably just be a nuisance.”
School Loop’s parental
emails aren’t the only way
that parents are involved
with their kid’s grades. Junior Nikki Bayar has her
parents check in with her the
old school way: they ask her
in person once a week how
she’s doing on her tests and
homework, which works out
well for her.
“I love having my parents
involved with my school
work,” Bayar said. “It keeps
me on track when they always asks me about my
upcoming tests and assignments.”
“When parents see that
you’re not doing as well
as you normally are, they
can help you get back
on track, which is really
helpful,” Bayar said.
Senior Izzy Leamon
likes the School Loop
system much better
than Zangle or the old
school way of checking
grades, but she’s the only
one checking it, not her
parents. Leamon said her
One soccer-playing junior
at DHS says her parents yell
at her at each game for small
mistakes that she makes on
the field, even if the team is
winning.
When she plays defense,
her parents often admonish
her when she doesn’t try to
get up the field and play an
attacking role.
Her parents knowingly
call out instructions to her
that are contradictory to
what the coach is saying.
She’s not alone.
Paul Salitsky, a sports psychologist at UC Davis, said
that youth athletes feeling
pressure from parents is a
growing trend across the nation.
“There is increasing evidence that more of a negative influence is proliferating
through youth sport,” Salitsky said. “And we’re seeing
the effects of that on a lot of
levels: a lot of kids are quitting sports a lot earlier than
they probably would because
of parental pressure.”
The junior, who asked not
to be named, says that her
parents’ presence affects her
greatly at games. It has come
to the point where she no
longer wants her parents to
attend games because she
feels more at ease without
them there.
“I feel like when I’m in
the game, I start thinking
about what [my parents] will
think about certain things
that I do on the field,” she
said. “I kind of freak out,
because I already have
pressure from my teammates, and coach and
myself to do well, so
that pressure doesn’t allow me to think clearly
during a game, which
makes me make really stupid mistakes.”
Another
DHS
sophomore, who also
requested anonymity,
has played one sport
for virtually his entire
life and has been held
to a high standards by
LOOP
continued page 2
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opinion 10 -11
Parents can negatively
impact athlete performance
Where is the line between
concerned and overbearing?
By Riley Donahue
HUB Staff
Face-off over value of
Student Government
Sideline
saboteurs
RAPH
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vol. 88/issue 6
his parent. In the summer,
when it is too hot to train
outside, his father makes
him watch instructional
videos and train indoors to
maintain his skills.
“It wouldn’t be as fun
to play anymore because I
wouldn’t feel comfortable on
the field,” one DHS sophomore said. “I knew if I lost
[the ball] my dad would get
mad, so I was playing more
nervously than playing for
fun. So I wasn’t 100 percent
focused on playing; I was focused on what my dad would
have to say after the game.”
In some cases, this pressure to perform can go as far
as degrading the relationship
between parents and players.
The soccer playing junior
finds it hard to have a normal conversation with her
father as most of their conversations turn into debating
about what happened during
a game.
“[The pressure] affects my
relationship with my father
because we have a lot of conversations that are about my
performance on the field,
so that basically means that
we’re yelling at each other,”
she said. “I’m not as close to
him as I used to be, and I feel
like we don’t take as much
joy doing sports activities together as we used to.”
And these high pressure
parents don’t just affect their
own athlete, they can affect
the entire team as well.
Jason Dal Porto, an assistant coach for the men’s
varsity soccer team and a
coach at the Davis Legacy
Soccer Club, has observed
that parents apply pressure
on their children to perform
at a high level between the
ages of 8-13 and has noticed
that the performance of his
players is greatly affected by
parental pressure.
“If the parent doesn’t think
that the kid is working as
hard as he or she can, you
can see the negative effects,”
Dal Porto said. “The kid will
start crying, and as soon
as the emotions come out,
their performance drops big
time.”
PARENTS
continued page 2
february at a glance
FEB.
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BReak The
ReCoRD niGhT
•
7 p.m. in north Gym
spRinG DanCe
•
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“Barnyard Boogie”
free admission
FEB.
11
FEB.
27
eleCTions
assemBly
open house
2 News
January 31, 2013
A new year to celebrate
Chinese New Year
Student Government Elections
By Ellen Finn
HUB Staff
Sophomores and juniors seeking leadership positions will address their fellow classmates at the official election assembly
on Feb.14, hoping to win votes. Here is a quick peek at some of what candidates seeking school-wide positions have to say.
A month after the world welcomed in 2014, Chinese
New Year welcomes in the Year of the Horse. Festivals in
Chinese communities around the world celebrate the start
of the new lunar year on Jan. 31.
The 31st is actually the end of the a 15-day celebration
known as the Spring Festival. Many preparations must be
made before the parades and festivities break out on New
Years day.
It begins with a complete cleaning of the house to take
out the old and welcome in the new, according to Chinese
teacher Angela Cheung. The house is then decorated, most
commonly in red to symbolize good luck.
On the eve of the New Year, a family dinner is a chance
for relatives to gather from all over and enjoy dumplings
and fish, as these two dishes represent prosperity heading
into the New Year.
For junior Kurtis Lavelle, this is the best part of the tradition. He and his family gather at a relative’s house in San
Francisco. “It’s a great time to catch up with relatives and
enjoy food that I don’t get to eat too often,” Lavelle said.
The fireworks and parades that are associated with the
holiday were originally meant to ward off evil, and the first
person who launches the fireworks in the New Year will
receive good luck.
The Chinese Club will also have a celebration at lunch
today in the quad to give everyone in school a chance to
experience part of the longstanding tradition.
According to Bjian Varjavand, vice president of the Chinese Club, many activities will be available, including a
chopsticks competition and an opportunity to learn about
Confucius and Chinese traditional philosophy. I think everyone can find something they enjoy,” said Varjavand.
Finally, red packets with small gifts of money are handed out, a practice believed to ward off evil from the young
and keep them healthy.
ASB
President
Candidates
Annie Leck
Jeff Stark
“I am running for ASB President because after being
in leadership classes for the past four years and finding my passion in leadership, I am ready to take my
skills to the next level and hope to help our school
by doing so.”
ASB VICE
PRESIDENT
CANDIDATES
Tina Simpson
“I’m running for ASB Vice President because I wanted to contribute to the school and student government in a greater way, and I believe I can do a great
job in the position of ASB Vice President. I really
want to make this year the one to beat.”
Scan here for more
Chinese New Year
coverage on
BlueDevilHUB.com
“It will be a really good race! It’s an important school
position and I hope that all of our classmates find
the time to vote. I’d really like to be able to serve the
student body next year.”
DANIELLE NEWMAN/ HUB PHOTOS
By Skyler Blume
News Editor
Maya Gilardi
“I’m really interested in have an influence on campus
and in continuing to participate in Student Gov.”
Warmth Drive supports domestic violence victims
By Maddy Shippen
HUB Staff
The Feminism Club ended its Warmth
Drive today. The club accepted all cold
weather clothes, including coats, sweatpants,
sweat shirts, blankets and towels. All donations went to the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Center, or SADVC, in Woodland.
The SADVC has been in Yolo County since
1977, providing people with a safe place to
go in case of abuse. They provide a shelter
for women and children, a 24-hour crisis
line, support groups and counseling. The
shelter consists of 25 beds, which are packed
throughout the year.
Additionally, the sexual assault team collects various daily necessities to donate to the
shelter to help provide for those in need.
All of the donations from DHS will be
used primarily for women and children escaping from abusive relationships or households who do not have access to the basics.
The Warmth Drive was presented to the
club by Noelle Averett, who held a very personal attachment to this fundraiser. Averett’s
aunt was a victim of domestic violence and
passed away a couple of months before Av-
erett was born, which spurred her in her attempt to battle abuse.
“I really wanted to help out people in her
position, so it doesn’t end up for them the
way it ended for my aunt,”Averett said.
The Feminism Club publicized this event
by making posters, posting on Facebook and
putting bulletins in the announcements.
President Claudia Shebloski was one of
the many club members preparing for the
Warmth Drive and feels strongly about giving back.
“I think the Warmth Drive will help our
community, so the Warmth Drive is going
to help victims of domestic assault and violence,” Shebloski said.
The club has collected about four large
boxes of clothing, blankets and towels for the
Warmth Drive, which can make a meaningful impact to those in need.
“I’m really glad I’ve been able to do this
knowing that I can make others’ lives even
slightly better has made all the work totally
worth it,”Averett said.
Averett hopes that this drive proves to people that there is no need to be intimidated by
the term “feminism” and that the club does a
lot of good for the community.
ANNA VERDIGUEL/ HUB PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
In this photo illustration a student drops off much needed supplies at the Warmth Drive
collection box in the office which will go to victims of domestic abuse.
PARENTS: Pressure on athletes in sports
LOOP: Overbearing
KATIE LEE / HUB GRAPHIC
parents pose problems
for students
from front page
parents don’t check her grades at all, and she finds that
freedom to be helpful to her grades and stress levels.
“My parents always want me to [do] my best, but
they let me define what my best is,” Leamon said. “I
love that because it means I don’t have to be stressed
about meeting their expectations and it lets me do
what I want to do.”
Bautista says that parents will oftentimes stress her
out by telling her that the path she’s on will keep her
from getting into the colleges that she wants to get
into.
“As for my happiness level,” Bautista said. “I guess
it makes me less happy and more annoyed. Annoyed
that they make my tests such a big deal when in actuality they aren’t.”
can negatively affect performance
from front page
Parents screaming instructions from the sideline can distract coaches as well, because it’s often the wrong thing to say.
“I’d be lying to you if [parents] didn’t affect me,” Dal Porto
said. “It distracts me. For example, if I’m coaching a game
and I’ll hear comment from a parent on the sideline that is
completely the wrong thing to say to the player at that time.
I’ll think about it for a couple seconds, and in a couple seconds a game can be drastically changed.”
Dal Porto has also witnessed high-pressure parents affect
the team chemistry. On some of the teams he has coached,
there are parents who offer to pay their children for scoring
goals, which negatively impacts the team’s ultimate goal: winning the game.
Dal Porto remembers a rivalry between parents about
whose child was being paid the most for goals.
“When the kid is supposed to pass the ball, he isn’t thinking about the assist, he is thinking about the 20 dollars he’s
gonna get for the goal,” Dal Porto said. “So he’s gonna be
selfish and try and score the goal, when he really should’ve
passed the ball.”
Junior Kimmy Siu, who has played women’s varsity volleyball for the past two seasons, confirmed that observation.
“The parents didn’t affect me, but I know they affected
other people,”Siu said. “There was a lot of tension, especially
with our coach being fired and rehired; a lot of parents were
really angry with the program.”
Salitsky believes that the primary source of the pressure
young athletes feel comes from parents’ desire for their child
to earn college scholarships.
“I think sometimes these club coaches sell things to the
parents like, ‘Your kid will more likely get a college schol-
arship [...] if your kid plays on this team,’” Salitsky said. “It’s
hype because the number of college scholarships is so miniscule compared to the amount of kids playing youth sports.”
Which brings up the question: what is the right amount of
parental involvement in sports?
“If after a season or a couple of months, they’re not into it
anymore, you need to reevaluate the situation,” Salitsky said.
“Or maybe at the beginning of every season parents have a
talk with their kid about what their goals are, if they want to
keep playing, and what they want to get out of it.”
That is exactly what happened to a junior, who requested
anonymity, at DHS.
He says, in the past, his father made him do medicine ball
work and sprint with a 20 lb. weight vest in two-minute intervals in order to get him stronger. His father also yelled at him
during and after matches, which affected the way he played.
However, he was able to change the way his parents acted
towards him after confronting them. He was able to have a
conversation with them about the pressure he felt, and the
expectations his parents had of him.
“We just had a talk, and I told them that I loved the sport,
but I had trouble dealing with the pressure that they were
putting on me,” he said. “You can only take and channel so
much of it, and you start to break yourself down.”
After he talked to his parents, the way they treated him
completely changed.
“There was this one match, and I played really hard and I
barely lost,” he said. “And [my dad and I] talked afterwards,
and he said, ‘It doesn’t matter that you lost, you played a great
match, and I’m very proud of you.’ After that, I realized that I
just had to do my very best and excel.”