The Book to Tell You How Messed Up You Are

The American Psychiatric Association is currently working on releasing the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This book is created by panels of psychiatrists and will have many different effects on not only the medical field, but the patients as well. This edition will have consequences for insurance reimbursement, research, and ultimately determines what is considered a mental disorder.

In this particular edition there are many controversial issues arising. Is compulsive shopping really considered a disorder that can be treated? Do children that suffer from sensory problems just need extra attention? What exactly is gender identity crisis? Is binge eating a disorder? There are so many problems that are weighed in on and their book will ultimately decide the fate of the particular ailment.

I think it’s so awful that this book is playing such a crucial role on the world of psychiatry. I understand the purpose of having disorders defined, but it also determines how the world perceives each disorder. If their research is outdated or too controversial, it can have a horrible effect on the world. This book has also faced a lot of criticism over its time. It originally defined homosexuality as a disease that needed to be treated. In the 1970’s it was removed, but it still had a lasting effect on how the world views homosexuality.

This is something that I think we really need to stop. Not only does it have an effect on how the world views each disorder, it also views how the insurance companies do. One example is with those that consider themselves transgender. Because this book defines it as a disorder, many insurance companies will cover the costs of surgeries and procedures to help them. If the disorder is revoked from the book, it will cause the number of insurance companies that cover surgeries to go down to almost none. If a particular disease is listed but not really true, it could cost the insurance companies millions. If they don’t list it, it could cause devastation to those suffering.

Psychiatry is a field that is always very delicate. The patients involved are not only physically sick, but are in a different state of mind. Unlike a physical disease though, there could be many ways for different disorders to be perceived. If a book such as this is created, we need to be certain that we are including everything with ultimate approval from everyone.

New look on dating for High School Seniors

Attention to all: Dating in high school has officially died. There are officially more seniors that say they never date then say that they date frequently. This doesn't mean that everyone is having more sex. According to the Center for Disease Control, the number of teens having sex or sex with strangers is on the down.

Now, our culture has changed from dating as the social norm, to having hooking up as the new trend. I completely understand where this is coming from too. I think that we all have experienced that relationship, where you find a physical connection first, then worry about the emotional thing. It's easier. You don't have the pressures of the gossip, school, or emotional connection.

I know that it's not the way you want to live your life... blah, blah, blah. But for high school, its easier to worry about an emotional connection later. I mean we have to face it, teenage guys and girls have to very different ideas of what a perfect relationship should be. I think that by people not dating in high school, it almost fixes that differences. It causes both parties to meet someone in the middle. The guys don't have to worry about every last detail, but the girl also tends to be less stiff, if she is on a informal date.

Personally, I think it is the way to go. But then again, that's just me.

The Forgotten School

I must admit that I really hate the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District. They have little funding, and they are now spending a portion of that on advertising the school that they haven't put money into in a long time. Because the school district has lost so much enrollment they decided that it was completely necessary to spend money that is suppose to be on education, for newspaper ads and billboards telling parents to send their kids the the gang infested Rancho Cotate High School.

I am a high school student at Technology High. I am part of this school district, yet you will never hear the school board mention us in an article. I don't even know why they won't! My school is located on Sonoma State Campus, I get to take college classes, and technology is involved in EVERY class I take. We are the reason that the test scores are high, but do you see them telling the media about us? No, of course not, that would be LOGICAL. The STAR testing scores in our school are among the highest in the state, because we are able to learn from teachers that are intelligent and actually want to come to work everyday. We are able to learn from projects, instead of learning from a book and taking a test after.

They justify their spending by saying that they will get the money completely back by enrolling three new students. While this may be true, that money could be used in so many other ways. Even if they want to just advertise Rancho Cotate, they could use that thirteen thousand dollars they have as a budget for advertising, to start a new program there that would actually attract new students. All of the local high schools have something that makes them different, whether its an art program, college prep, international program, they all have SOMETHING that makes them different. Rancho doesn't have these things. They don't have a program that is recognized as part of their school.

So, in closing, I ask why the district chooses to forge the school that brings up the test scores, puts a new spin on learning, and established a connection with the university in the area?

Drug Testing in Schools? TOO FAR

I was scanning for possible blog entries and came across a very disturbing article. It seems that drug testing is becoming more popular in public high schools. Currently, most schools are adopting a system that tests students that they suspect of drug use. This is disturbing with itself, but what I found really upsetting was the fact that schools are now trying to adopt a system where any student came be tested randomly. In schools, they are making it mandatory that if you sign up for a club, sport, or even parking pass you are also agreeing to be part of a randomly tested group of kids that is picked from weekly.

I have no idea how this can possibly be allowed in schools. The school has absolutely no right to test me, merely because my name was randomly selected that week. It’s a violation of the fourth amendment. End of discussion. I just don't see how students have risen up against this system yet. It's obvious to me, that a coup would be staged if Tech High ever tried to adopt this system.

I am all for making sure that a student body is clean, but they aren't even testing for the most used drug. In high schools today, the most commonly used drug is alcohol. These tests that they are trying to conduct only test for marijuana, methamphetamines, and cocaine. If you want to actually make the test useful, why aren’t you testing for something that might actually do some good? Honestly, most public school systems don’t know how to make smart decisions.

On top of it being completely wrong, this is also costing the districts a large sum of money. Why not spend the money on something useful? Maybe start an art program or create a new project that will keep the kids focused on something besides drugs? I mean, that idea only makes sense…