# Ask The High School Student **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 15, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823 "2012-03-15T02:33:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/21 "2012-03-16T11:59:58Z")
Got a date for the prom ? I never did… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/22 "2012-03-16T12:20:04Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > As the parent of two pre-teens who will be starting HS in the next few years, I’m curious- are HS kids having as much casual sex as the reports will have us believe? Is sexting as commonplace as it seems? Is oral sex as freely given as makeout sessions were back in the day? I think the answer is no. There is a big part of society that exists to scare parents. “Oooh - kids are having - gasp! - sex (like you did at that age), but they’re having - gasp! - More, and it’s - gasp! ‘Kinky’. I think I’m getting the vapors!” Bunk. My HS kids are on their own socially, but I have yet to hear another parent of a high schooler talk about a sex epidemic. Yes, some high schoolers are having sex. But, many high schoolers are not having sex. Do your best to keep the lines of honest communication open with your kids. Make sure they understand your values. For example, my wife has told our kids “There is no good reason for high schoolers to be having sex.” Yes, they are biologicially capable of it and feel the hormonal desire for it, but “I wanna” is not a good reason when you are too young and too un/underemployed to support a kid that would result from sex. “Just say no” isn’t enough - the kids need to understand the reasons behind saying no, else they might let the moment overwhelm them. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/23 "2012-03-17T03:23:38Z")
Hello? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/24 "2012-03-17T03:30:09Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Hello? I’d imagine he’s too busy getting a wedgie. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/25 "2012-03-17T15:47:23Z")
What’s the Facebook culture right now? Also, I know Twilight was big a year back or so. What’s the big “in” thing these days? ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/26 "2012-03-17T23:58:37Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > What’s the Facebook culture right now? Also, I know Twilight was big a year back or so. What’s the big “in” thing these days? My WAG would be “The Hunger Games” books, what with the movie coming out this week. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/27 "2012-03-19T14:36:13Z")
He must be working on a big term paper, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/28 "2012-03-19T15:30:51Z")
Do high school students generally come back to threads they start? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/29 "2012-03-19T15:31:53Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Do high school students generally come back to threads they start? It’s the dreaded Rear Admiral. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/30 "2012-03-19T16:55:03Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > He must be working on a big term paper, or something. Or organizing a talent show to raise money and save the school. ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/31 "2012-03-19T19:05:06Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Or organizing a talent show to raise money and save the school. My dad’s got a barn we can use! ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/32 "2012-03-19T19:09:04Z")
> [@Beastly\_Rotter](#): > > My dad’s got a barn we can use! Girls on horseback! ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/33 "2012-03-19T19:26:24Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > He must be working on a big term paper, or something. Or maybe he got detention. I’d like to know how closed your campus is. In LA Unified, some campuses are almost like cages (e.g., L.A. High–probably for good reason), and some use metal detectors, but others are more open. This really affects the atmosphere for learning and interaction. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/34 "2012-03-19T20:26:26Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Girls on horseback! I’d skip class to see that. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/35 "2012-03-20T01:39:34Z")
Do substitute teachers still assign busy work that is never even looked at by the regular teacher when he/she gets back to school? That used to annoy me. I’d spend an hour writing about an article I read and then the essay was thrown in the trash. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/36 "2012-03-22T01:01:20Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Do substitute teachers still assign busy work that is never even looked at by the regular teacher when he/she gets back to school? That used to annoy me. I’d spend an hour writing about an article I read and then the essay was thrown in the trash. I’ve been a teacher for years and none of my colleagues or I do this. ---
**Author:** ![drdrizzy13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@drdrizzy13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drdrizzy13)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/37 "2012-03-22T04:30:13Z")
Do you see much racism in your school? And, what are the race divisions? ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/38 "2012-03-22T06:22:18Z")
Is the OP enjoying Spring Break? Downing beers, smokin’ blunts, and banging babes on the shores of Tijuana no doubt. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/39 "2012-03-22T23:24:53Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > With wikipedia and the internet, is studying really easy? > > I graduated college just as wikipedia was gaining steam (2004). Looking back, and having done a few wiki searches on things that gave me trouble, I feel like if I had to do school over again it would be easy with the explosion of free, online knowledge. > > I might have been among the last class that went to a physical library and pulled physical books (scientific and engineering journals, mostly) off the shelf to study. > > /chemical engineer I’m a software engineer/computer programmer, and I feel very very similar. I specifically remember using a manual card catalog in elementary school around 1990 - did you ever use one? By the time middle school came around there were computers at the library where you could search by criteria rather than flipping manually through cards. This would have been the early 1990’s. Are you allowed to have electronic communication devices in class? Back when I was in high school, pagers were outlawed for students (you could be _sent to the Principal’s office_ for having one). A student having a cell phone would have been theoretically possible (and theoretically naughty) but kids just did not have cell phones back then. Are there any payphones outside your school? I remember there being like 6 or 8 payphones right outside the school doors available for use. When I visited years later, most or all were gone. ---
**Author:** ![Imago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@Imago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imago)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823/40 "2012-03-23T18:09:05Z")
Are there things taught in classes that you expected would be common knowledge? If so, which things? > [@GameHat](#): > > With wikipedia and the internet, is studying really easy? > > I graduated college just as wikipedia was gaining steam (2004). Looking back, and having done a few wiki searches on things that gave me trouble, I feel like if I had to do school over again it would be easy with the explosion of free, online knowledge. > > I might have been among the last class that went to a physical library and pulled physical books (scientific and engineering journals, mostly) off the shelf to study. > > /chemical engineer I know this question isn’t for me, but as the OP seems to be gone and I graduated in 2010, I do have an answer for ya. All in all studying is still just as hard, albeit in different ways. When you study, you hardly ever have to truly research anything anymore, but you end up having to hunt down things you already knew in books or on the relatively few websites considered reputable just to keep from passing in an un-cited paper. It becomes very tedious and exhausting because you feel like you’re numbing your mind as opposed to learning and growing. At the same time as internet use has been increasing, academic institutions have been getting more and more anal about plagiarism to the point that it’s almost comical. Even accidental plagiarism (saying something someone else said, in your own words, without knowing they said it and maybe even thinking you’re the first to have come up with it) is now punishable by a very stern warning on the first catch and any manner of things the second time around. They scare you with threats of winding up in court, and everyone can recite an anecdote of at least one college/university student who was severely made an example of. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-school-student/615823.md?page=3)