Science Olympiad Responsibility

For centuries, teenagers have fought with their parents over the amount of freedom they should have. Parents always fight to reel in their child’s freedom, while teens argue that they need more privileges. While parents certainly have an argument in protecting their kids from the big, scary world, ultimately teenagers need to be exposed to the dangers of everyday life in order to prepare them for entering it on their own. If they have no real-life experience, they cannot be expected to handle it well when they leave their parents’ houses. In order to teach kids responsibility and life skills, kids should be allowed freedom to work and be out on their own, but have certain restrictions on a case-to-case basis in terms of curfews and household obligations.

takes on this responsibility to educate the young ones has more then a lesson to teach, but

– Making a Positive Contribution so that they engage in decision-making, support their community and environment, engage in law-abiding and positive behaviour in and out of school, develop positive relationships, choose not to bully and discriminate, develop self-confidence, successfully deal with significant life changes and challenges and develop enterprising behaviour.

I learned about RSI through the Science Olympiad forums. I had just returned from a ten-day research trip in Costa Rica, and was looking for a longer summer research program. A Science Olympiad alumni and former Rickoid recommended RSI, describing it as the best six weeks of his life. What he described was exactly what I was looking for: an opportunity to experience the entire research process with others who loved science as much as I do.

Responsibility, that word conjures many emotions, in many different ways that we are responsible. Be it in the form of a parent, teacher, student, employee or perhaps all of the above. As for me, at the tender age of fourteen I was put in a position of responsibility when I started to volunteer. HorseSense, is a therapeutic riding program for disabled children. The program can help build your motor skills, self-esteem and confidence in yourself. The lesson is

Denise Grab was in middle school and had no interest in the environment. However, in her second year of Science Olympiad, the coach gave her the event of Water Quality. She and her teammates entered the tournament and got first place at regionals and second place at state. After she had won the tournament, she became more interested in environmental sciences. It made her want to learn more about the environment. When she had to pick a major in college, her experience in Environmental Science affected her choice. Ever since she joined Science Olympiad, she learned more about science which led her to her current career, environmental lawyer. Science Olympiad, an organization that teaches science from Kindergarten to 12th grade, inspired Denise Grab to become an environmental lawyer.

Growing up, I was very lucky to receive and pursue the opportunities given to me that I know are rare in poor communities that I came from. For example, I was fortunate to have met Steve McGuiness who encouraged me to join the Science Olympiad team that he was creating, and challenged me to go farther than my classes did. However, after a few years, Mr. McGuiness eventually retired from Science Olympiad due to the high stress and the lack of community support, and thus silenced the opportunity for future students. Therefore, in my last year of high school, I started up a Science Olympiad team in the MESA club to rekindle the opportunity. I was able to get the team to perform, but it fell apart after I left since it wasn’t built strongly. Although

Growing up, adults often spoke about being responsible. They use this word to describe the virtue of doing what you are told. It is your responsibility to clean your room. It is your response to do your homework. It is your responsibility to pass the test, measure up, and fit in with others around you. It is your responsibility to live with the fear of failure, never taking any risk. Be responsible. I use to always hate that word back then, not until when I started to fully understand what it meant.

Providing the teens with a place to go and be a part of something productive is crucial when it comes to keeping them out of trouble. Equally important, the teens are learning skills in their free time which they can use to provide for themselves in the future or just as a constructive hobby to do in their spare time. Some may not use the mechanical skills in the future, but they have learned to focus on a project and see it through to completion. In the long run, the teens have a positive environment to grow in, and have learned there are positive ways to spend their free time in

This past Saturday, The Lane Center partnered with Stratford Academy to expand STEM learning opportunities for Macon youth participating in the Lane Center's Aunt Maggie's Kitchen Table Program. Ms. Leskovic's fifth grade class facilitated the day where AMKT children enjoyed STEM exercises and experienced hands on learning exercises in the classroom's technology centers. Exercises included playing with 3D coloring and design applications, creating 3D key chains and figuring out how

Growing up, responsibility was something most young minds feared. The way parents spoke of responsibility, portraying so much struggle and frustration, it was evident most individuals dreaded growing up and acquiring more responsibility than simple chores around the house. That was then. When one experiences what comes with age, things become easier to accept. Through the years one can learn to distinguish the difference between selfishness and independence. The difference is personal responsibility. Differentiating between what is needed and what is preferred for the benefit of oneself is important for an individual’s well being. So, although

Carnegie Council Task Force on Education of Young Adolescents. (1989). Turning points: Preparing American youth for the 21st century. Washington, DC: Author.

This year, ICCP returned to compete in the annual World Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) competition. This program challenges students from various schools to compete with one another in various subject tests ranging from English to Physics, and even Engineering Graphics. This year, the Regional competition was held at Fenwick High School, our fourteen member team placed third in the 700 Division. Unfortunately, they were unable to qualify as a team for the Sectional competition in March as only the top two teams advance in each Division. However, some notable finishers at the Regional competition included Joshua De La Cruz who earned a 1st place in Biology, Demitra Del Fiacco who earned a 3rd place in Engineering Graphics, Alec Vasquez who earned a 3rd place in Biology, and

In order to have a safe, organized society, there is a demand for men and women who possess the dedication needed to create and protect it. A socially responsible member of American society must present themselves as a role-model to the youth and needs to be willing to do various forms of volunteer work where it is needed. Every person has a role to play that influences those around them. Exhibiting positive morals and logic behind one’s actions is what defines the social responsibility that needs to be manifested in all individuals.

One accomplishment that took an abounded amount of time and effort was placing second nationwide in Science Olympiad. Science Olympiad is a prime example of dedication. In this club students, including myself, practice every day after school from the time school ends to 5:30 sometimes to 6:30 where you work non-stop on your 'events' that pertain to various scientific topics, to become the best in the nations. So much determination is built up from the time that you put into your event that you are motivated to see the end result, and see what you have built or studied pay off by placing first in your event. Even when you thought that things go wrong or your build breaks you do not tend to give up, if anything it pushes you to fix it and prevent