S4 Enrichment class : about school life in EEB1 (1)

The students in Ms Music-Softic S4 Enrichment class have been writing articles about school life in EEB1.

Mental health in schools

December 6, 2022. It is the S4’s math B Test. While waiting, students can be seen bouncing their legs nervously, biting their nails worryingly and whispering anxiously. The pressure is obnoxiously present on everyone’s tired faces. I realize then that my classmates look as mentally drained and stressed as I feel. How are we going to achieve productivity and good results feeling like this constantly? It seems impossible.

Students can feel pressure from parents’, teachers’, and classmates’ expectations daily. This may often lead us to stress, anxiety, poor mental health, and low self-esteem. Another problem is the density of school programs and how time-consuming they are. Understandably the reason for that is excellence in education, but it becomes an issue when work is unfinished in class and homework is given. Every evening students must spend more time working, rather than focus on themselves and doing things they love. They may lose balance. It can be argued that it is possible to do both with organization, but the thing is we do not always know how. Yes, learning how to productively plan your day is a part of growing up like managing stress is. But at what cost? Are teenagers supposed to sacrifice their well-being for learning the hard way?

 This is exactly why mental health support should be integrated in school subjects for awarness and better self-understanding. Teachers should put more effort into empathizing with students going through tough times, rather than hardly reacting if there is suddenly a lower grade. And lastly, more specialized mental health help in schools is crucial and better awareness of our current support. One of our school psychologists, Ms. Grandi, replied to my question on student awareness, saying “No, I don’t think students know that they can come to me or to my colleague, but I am convinced that colleagues and professors are doing their best to understand and point students in the best direction.” So, schools are already making efforts, but more is needed to accomplish healthier mental health for the future generations.

Boyana Demirdjieva (S4L2SENC)

Artificial intelligence in schools

Ever heard of Chat GPT? It stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer” and belongs to the US based research company OpenAI (AI= artificial intelligence). With GPT you can generate well-written texts in a wide range of topics and languages. Since ChatGPT came online in November 2022, speculation about its impact on modern society has run rampant. Many schools and universities have already banned the use of this AI Chabot, because they are concerned that students will use it to cheat. Indeed, GPT makes it extremely hard to spot if a text is written by a student or not. Some US states have even gone so far as to expel students if they were caught using it. 
But opinions are very divided, and while some rally for a total ban of GPT in education, others say it might help to understand technology better and students should learn how to use it correctly. Education technology experts even see it as a necessity to include it in the school curriculum, as AI is and will be a part of young people’s future, and its conscious use should be taught in schools as well. They argue that Chat GPT could be a valuable educational tool if it is paired with properly developed critical thinking and the young generation needs to learn exactly that in school. 
One thing both sides agree with is that using GPT mindlessly might look like a short-term solution to cheating with homework, but it is a long-term disaster because students will cheat on themselves and miss out on building their own analytic mind. 

Clelia Bartholmes

We want snow !

It snows very rarely in Belgium nowadays. When it does, there is actually a decent amount of it and, kids are happy.  

There was a memorable moment in winter 2018 when it snowed quite a lot, and our school grounds were covered with a thick layer. A miracle! During break time all the kids wanted to play outside, have snowball fights, and build a snowman. It was not something we could experience often and if we did, then only abroad.  

Around break time school maintenance staff member was sent to melt the snow using salt, sprinkling it from a small vehicle. He drove around the whole school, melting the snow in every part of the grounds. The students, however, were not happy about it.

 Some primary students decided to protest and started throwing snowballs at the vehicle while the man was inside. Several pupils decided to join him and soon there were more than 20 kids chasing the man around the school. In order to fight the enemy, they even stepped out of the area they were not allowed to leave. The man jumped out of his vehicle, and it seemed like the kids had won. Unfortunately, not long after, the culprits were identified and were sent to the director’s office for assaulting the school staff member.  

Adults would say that the students behaved horribly that day and what they did was unacceptable. While it is true that attacking a man for just doing his job and disrespecting the rules was wrong, one could put themself into the kids’ shoes. It is so rare that they can play in snow …. It is unsurprising they decided to take matters into their own hands when adults decided to take away their fun. So dear school management, next time we have a lot of snow on the school grounds, let us enjoy it! 

Milena Dyła