Features

GETTING A JOB IN HIGH SCHOOL IS EASY

By:Urban G. Tedeski

     It can be argued that every student shares the problem of not having enough money for the things they want to do. Whether you want to become a musician and need an instrument, or you’re just a sneakerhead that needs money for their designer shoes, money can be a big roadblock to your hobbies. A lucky few may have parents who are willing to pay for these things, but for the most part, students are straight out of luck when it comes to funding their hobbies. The most obvious solution is to get a job, but some students still think they won’t be able to or that they won’t have time.

Lincoln students Josson Belluschi and Justin Wong both have jobs and balance their school, work, and social lives.

Wong has a job in customer service working on weekends and sometimes after school. Although this might seem difficult to manage, Wong still finds a balance between work and school. He commented on this saying, “You have to figure out what time you have for school work, and do nothing but that in that time.”

This seems obvious, but good time management is important if you are going to get a job while still attending school. You have to schedule when you will do your school work, when you can go out and use your money that you’re earning, and of course, your hours at work. It can sound like a lot, but it is much easier once you start and are always setting aside time for everything you need to do.

Belluschi, on the other hand, has taken on a much more ambitious business venture. Belluschi runs his own art collective, which primarily makes money from clothes and merch they design and sell. He has a hand in making the clothes, but Belluschi does much more than just clothes for the collective.

Belluschi listed all of his responsibilities at the collective; “I do administration, order management; I make art for the collective, I’ve collaborated with others both within and outside of the collective; I’ve produced films and music...” and the list goes on.

Running a whole art collective is a lot of work, but Belluschi is in a very good position to be running his collective. “I have no 6th period, which gives me more time every day after school. I also have only one academic class, so school work is not all that stressful, which allows me to do everything I do at The Prophet.”

Although his collective does not make large amounts of profit, the initiative and message makes it worth it for Belluschi. “I did it to help inspire,” Belluschi stated.

Balancing work and school can be difficult for some, but it is possible. If you have the time for a job, applying for one can only be beneficial. Plus, getting a job early will look good on a resume in the future. Nowadays, it is easier than ever to send out your resume and get connected with employers for work.

There are apps and services that streamline the entire process putting you just a few taps away from an interview at a coffee shop, a store, or wherever you are eligible for a job. It is a learning experience and a way to pay for all the things your parents refuse to pay for.

“UBER” PATRON SHARES USEFUL TIPS ABOUT RIDESHARING SERVICES.

By: Jonathan Chan

 

Rider checks phone while waiting for uber.  By: stockcatalog uber

     With the rise of ridesharing services such as “Uber” and “Lyft”, there have been some incidents where the riders were put in danger or were in risk of danger. Ridesharing works where the rider is able to request a ride via their mobile app. It works like a taxi, but instead you pay an independent fee regarding the distance of the destination. A feature to “Uber” or “Lyft” is that anyone who is able to legally drive a car can apply to be a certified rideshare driver. For some time now, incidents have been shown where riders have been hurt or assaulted by the driver. In order to prevent incidents like those, there are ways to keep the ride to the destination safe and fun.

        A fellow Lincoln student, Nikko Dul often uses “Uber” to get around the city. He has his own way of keeping safe while taking these ridesharing services. “Well checking the driver's license plate is one, also what I personally like to do is check and see how long the drivers been driving, also followed by people who he drove around in the past. Once I step into the car, I try to read the room. Well, in the case the driver is a talkative person wanting their job. Another key tip would be if you’re going somewhere familiar try to remember the roads to know if the driver is going the right way or is even taking you to your destination. My biggest tip is always whenever calling an Uber from and to your house, make sure it’s about a block away so they won't know which house you really live in.” Said, Dul

        Another rider who uses “Uber” said, “I’d just read the driver and make sure I’m in a safe-ish place cause it’s a car full of strangers.”

In case that the driver makes the rider feel uncomfortable or in danger, there are ways to get out of the situation.   

“You can ask to be dropped off at the corner of the closest area, another thing is on the Uber app. There is a “track me” feature, which means you can send a text to your parents and they’ll track the car as you’re in it. Lastly, there is a push button and if you hold down a certain button, the law enforcement might be en route to your location” said Dul.

THE NEW JROTC INSTRUCTOR SHARES HER CAREER EXPERIENCE WITH STUDENTS.

By: Tiffany Hu

Mar Lagat is wearing her army uniform for inspecting JROTC students

     “Being in high school should be one of the exciting moments in your life, so give shots and enjoy it!” says Mar Lagat, an army Instructor to the Senior Army Instructor in the Abraham Lincoln High School JROTC program. The program helps students develop the skills, knowledge, and attitude needed to become a responsible citizen.

“We prepare for the students or cadets to get ready for the ‘real world’ like college and the workforce,” says Lagat.

She chose to be an instructor so she could mentor and prepare students and cadets who are eager to learn, getting them ready and set for their futures.

Lagat is a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army (E-8), and the cadets usually call her Top. In December 2018, she retired from Active Duty after serving more than 20 years of service. She decided to participate in the Army when she was a senior in high school because she wanted to leave Maui, Hawaii where she grew up at and attended college. But college was too expensive for her to attend, so she had to look for other options to achieve her goals. The Army offered a college budget and trained her in skills she was interested in: learning and gaining experiences.

Throughout the years, she had served in Army, Lagat indicates she had some barriers along within her career.

"As a female and a minority, at that, I had to prove what guys could do, and do it better," Lagat says.

Along with her family’s support, she earned a BS (Bachelor of Science) degree in Business Management with a minor AS (Associate of Science) in Culinary Arts, making Lagat one of the highest ranking in the Army as a female soldier. She was deployed to Iraq, Korea, and Cuba while earning numerous medals associated with her work.

When asked which accomplishments she was most proud of, she replied that her greatest accomplishment was being invited to some of the army’s marriages and their promotion ceremony.

"I look forward to helping students and cadets gain positive experiences in high school," says Lagat.

Lagat provides helpful advice to her students that they should all seize great opportunities in high school, like joining clubs, finding themselves, making tons of real friends, and building lots of positive memories before they embark into the “real world of responsibilities”.

Lagat encourages her students, exclaiming, “I challenge all of you to make your mark on Abraham Lincoln High School!”

DATA SHOWS AN INCREASE IN TEACHERS TEACHING WITHOUT FULL CREDENTIALS.

By: Justin Wong

     From 2002-15, the No Child Left Behind Act held schools accountable for how kids learned and achieved. It also penalized schools that didn’t show improvement. Further, it only allowed teachers to teach within their credentials. Its goal was to help students with disadvantages, like students in poverty, so that every student had an equal opportunity to learn.

In 2015, the No Child Left Behind Act was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act proposed by President Barack Obama. Without the No Child Left Behind Act, the numbers of teachers teaching without their full credentials throughout the country have increased.

According to the SFUSD Research, Planning, and Assessment Department, In 2016-17 five teachers at Abraham Lincoln High School taught without full credentials in comparison to the other 110 teachers that had their full credentials.

 By the 2018-19 school year, the number of teachers without full credentials at Lincoln had doubled with 106 teachers having full credentials and 11 teachers teaching without them. Throughout the whole school district, 3,165 teachers taught with full credentials and 310 teachers taught without.

Some teachers are misassigned, meaning, while they have a full credential, it is not in the subject they are assigned to teach. In 2016-17 six teachers were misassigned. In 2017-18 the number of teachers misassigned decreased to four, which stayed true in 2018-19.

With approximately 30 students per class and each teacher having four to six classes, 120-180 students have teachers that are not technically qualified to teach the subject which can lead to lower test scores and students not learning to their fullest potential.

In 2016-17, the average scores for the 11th grade English section of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) were 74%. The next year it lowered to an average score of 65%. The math portion in 2016-17 had an average score of 58% and dropped slightly to 55% in the next school year.

The requirements in California for becoming a teacher are a bachelor's degree and a teaching certificate.

Even fully credentialed new teachers may struggle with a class full of 30 students each period.

A Lincoln senior who asked to remain anonymous says, “I wouldn't expect much from a new teacher because they are inexperienced. They may not know how to control a class if it gets out of hand.”

Another anonymous senior stated, “New teachers are easier to learn from. Their attitude may change over the years.”

Abraham Lincoln High School Senior, Urban Tedeski, says, “New teachers are always a good thing. I understand that teachers may be in short demand, but we still need to make sure they are qualified. Part of the problem stems from how we treat and pay teachers. There is not a lot of incentive to teach.”

While new teachers bring energy and a new perspective to their schools, studies show that teachers simply are not as effective in their first few years in the classroom as they are with more experience. “As a brand new teacher, I had the passion and the heart, but I definitely had a lot to learn,” says veteran English teacher Sara Falls. “Teaching is a really hard job, and there’s a steep learning curve. Every veteran teacher started as a new teacher, so we need new teachers, but schools should have a balance of new and veteran teachers to ensure academic excellence and continued growth.” Some reasons for not having experienced teachers inside the classroom may include expensive housing in San Francisco causing experienced teachers to move out of the city.  Further, traditionally struggling schools may have a harder time attracting experienced teachers.