4/23/10 Local Teen News

 Comedian says school ‘waste of time’ – Aries Spears began performing stand-up at age 14 and dropped-out in 10th grade to study comedy on television and in the clubs.  “School is highly overrated,” he says. “Once you learn how to add, subtract, read and write, it’s a waste of time unless you go on ‘Jeopardy.’” (N&O)

 Profile on NC Youth Tap Ensemble - One of the world’s most premiere tap groups relies on collaboration where older dancers teach routines to the younger dancers.  Michelle Dorrance, daughter of UNC women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance, will perform with the ensemble this weekend at the Carolina Theater in Durham.  An NCYTE alumna, Michelle Dorrance is now considered one of the premier tap dancers in the world, highly sought after and currently performing in the Off-Broadway production of STOMP.  (Daily Tar Heel)

 Profile of Durham 4-H Meat Goat Club – Led by Joel Dahms of Durham Academy and Alex Flores-Burgess, the team last year won the state championship in a competition called the 4-H Jr. Livestock Skill-a-Thon, and they competed hard at the 65th Annual Central Piedmont Junior Livestock Show & Sale Wednesday and Thursday at the Central Carolina Holstein Association Barn in Orange County. (Herald-Sun)

 Student profile of Olivia Bass - Garner High School senior will attend UNC to double major in Biology and Spanish, with hopes of attending medical school.  “Olivia is a great person; but more significantly she is a kind-hearted, positive, spirited, young lady,” Golden said. “Never have I seen her without a smile on her face. Her smile is contagious to both faculty and students alike. And whether in the classroom, at sporting events or merely in the hall between classes, her personality draws people to her. She is an asset to Garner Magnet High School and the Garner community in general.” (Garner Citizen)

2/03/10 Teen news

Study: Abstinence-only education delays sex – Only 1/3 of middle-school students who attended an abstinence-only education class had sex within 24 months versus half of students assigned to a general health class that taught safer sex. “This new study is game-changing,” said Sarah Brown of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, in a statement. “For the first time, there is strong evidence that an abstinence-only intervention can help very young teens delay sex and reduce their recent sexual activity as well. Importantly, the study also shows that this particular abstinence-only program did not reduce condom use among the young teens who did have sex.” (NYT)

The appeal of MTV’s ‘Teen Mom’ – MTV’s popular show replaces Hills at the top of the line-up. “This show really hits people hard. In ‘Juno’ or ‘The Secret Life of An American Teenager,’ things are kind of glossed over and they don’t really show the hardships,” said Bookout, who recently split up with Edwards. “On ‘Teen Mom,’ there are girls from different parts of the country with different backgrounds. On every other MTV show, like ‘The Hills’ and ‘The City’ and ‘The Real World,’ it’s just for entertainment. Our show is really educational and good for audiences who want to get a different mindset on teen pregnancy.” (LA Times)

Hip-Hop’s obsession with “Clockwork Orange” – From Three6Mafia to Eminem, Stanley Kubrick’s 1972 masterpiece looms large. Before Em was a household name, he was beefing with fellow talented honkey Cage. In an effort to embarrass the NY rapper, Shady posed on the cover of Stress magazine dressed as the lead character Alex from Clockwork, Cage’s alias at the time. He also opened his verse on D12’sDevils Night with this line, “Lock your doors, drop to the floors, get your shotguns drawn—here comes another Clockwork Orange.”(XXL)

“If These Halls Could Talk” - An editorial by Garner High School student Sarah Gibson on the stresses of high school. The second stress during this time of year is exams. Teenagers all over the county are dreading them as much as I am. No one, not even the teachers, likes these exams. Even for classes like dance, the final exams are difficult and challenging. (Garner Citizen)

Survey: Wake parents like school calendar – Only 28% of parents responded, 81% said they were satisfied with their children’s school calendar.  100 school district employees to be laid off. (N&O)

H.S. football: W.F.-Rolesville v. Garner (photos)

(click images for info – photos by wjzo for highschoolot.com)

H.S. football: Wakefield High vs. Garner High (photos)

(click images for info – photos by wjzo for highschoolot.com)

H.S. football: Garner H.S. v. S.E. Raleigh H.S. (photos)

(photos by wjzo for highschoolot.com)