How to Quickly Get Out of the School Parking Lot

It starts with bending the rules a little bit.

“You have to be aggressive and assertive,” says Ian Spry, 17, of Ames, Iowa, an Ames High School student who is renowned among the community as the master of getting out of the parking lot early. Spry has been practicing his technique ever since he started driving to school at the end of sophomore year, perfecting it and gaining a lot of valuable experience along the way. 

First, you must be aggressive. Sometimes, you even have to give up your friendly manner toward other people and even slightly bend the traffic laws. “People will wait in line, wait for the buses to pass, wait for pedestrians and other traffic for too long, and get stuck. You gotta take shortcuts and not let people in front of you,” Spry advises. Take charge of your situation, and make yourself the center of attention. Do not pay too much attention to others, as you try to get to yourself on time. A little assertion goes a long way in reaching your destination without wasting too much time. 

Spry’s quest to become more efficient at getting out of the parking lot after school stemmed from a day when he was late for a sports practice after school. He realized he could utilize his aggressive driving habits to benefit him from making it to a destination on time. “As I want to get to athletic practices quickly, sometimes I need to use my qualities of an aggressive driver to my advantage,” said Spry.

Getting out of the parking lot can be a valuable skill to have. Many students have after-school activities, such as sports practices or clubs that meet outside of school grounds right after school dismisses. Instead of wasting time by sitting in traffic in the parking lot and taking the risk of being late to practice, having the skill of tactical maneuvering out of the parking lot and getting to activities on time would be very useful. Having a little bit of extra time to do homework or relax would be better than sitting in a car as well. “When I started driving home from school, I’d get home around 30 minutes after school ended. Now, I get home 15 minutes from when school dismisses,” Spry says. 

Pokémon GO is a Positive Cultural Force

Pokémon GO is a positive cultural force that promotes increased physical activity and social interactions. Contrary to popular belief that games don’t benefit society and have negative side effects, Pokémon GO is a revolutionary game that has helped many people see the benefits of gaming. Many studies have shown that Pokémon GO players have reported themselves having increased social interactions, as well as physical activity. 

A literature review study by Nigel Cartlidge, a professor at Bonds University in Australia, combined 36 peer-reviewed articles with 120 web articles and found that 60% of the studies reviewed had participants showing an increase in daily steps after downloading the game. Another study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that players experience, on average, an increase of 50 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week and a 25% increase in physical activity level over 30 days. The majority of players showing an increase in physical activity shows that Pokémon GO’s benefits extend to many players, as the range of people surveyed consisted of varying demographics and previous physical activity levels. These positive effects of the game can be seen in most players, providing health benefits to millions of people. 

Pokémon GO’s impact extends to many different groups and demographics in the community, promoting interaction between these groups as it gives strangers something in common to bond over. A columnist for the New York Times praised the game, saying that they’d never spent so many days enjoying their city before playing Pokémon GO. The game allowed her to discover multiple new places in her community, like parks and museums. A study presented in the Journal of Clinical Medicine summarizes the findings of 36 studies relating to Pokémon GO, covering topics ranging from health effects to social and psychological effects. The overview found eleven studies concluding that the game improved the mood of most players, and two studies even found that Pokémon GO has a connection to psychological well-being, such as higher life satisfaction, happiness, and vitality. These positive outcomes of playing Pokémon GO show how revolutionary the game is- at the time of release, it was one-of-a-kind- the only video game to have positive mental and physical effects on most players.

Everyone should try Pokémon GO, even if it’s only for a few days. The evidence is present- if you download the game, you will most likely experience positive effects. You don’t need to know anything about Pokémon, since the game has a format that’s easy to follow and an onboarding process that introduces new players quickly and efficiently. There’s no reason not to try it out for yourself and see how it benefits you… Why not give it a GO? 

Works Cited

Cartlidge, Nigel. “Pokémon Go™, Increasing Social, Cultural and Physical Activity in Public Spaces: An Analysis of Cultural Change through Technological Innovation.” 2017 National Sustainability in Business Conference, Brisbane, Australia. 2017

Ewell, Patrick J., et al. “Catching More than Pocket Monsters: Pokémon Go’s Social and Psychological Effects on Players.” Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 160, no. 2, Mar. 2020, pp. 131–36. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2019.1629867..

Gonchar, Michael. “Is Pokémon Go a Positive Cultural Force? Or Is It Just Another Excuse for People to Stare at Their Phones?” The Learning Network, 13 Sept. 2016, archive.nytimes.com/learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/is-pokmon-go-a-positive-cultural-force-or-is-it-just-another-excuse-for-people-to-stare-at-their-phones/.

Lee, Jung Eun et al. “Effects of Pokémon GO on Physical Activity and Psychological and Social Outcomes: A Systematic Review.” Journal of clinical medicine vol. 10,9 1860. 25 Apr. 2021, doi:10.3390/jcm10091860

Pokemon Go: A Positive Cultural Force

Pokemon GO is a positive cultural force that promotes increased physical activity and social interactions. Contrary to popular belief that games don’t benefit society and have negative side effects, Pokemon GO is a revolutionary game that has helped many people see the benefits of gaming. Many studies have shown that Pokemon GO players have reported themselves having increased social interactions, as well as physical activity. 

A literature review study by Nigel Cartlidge, a professor at Bonds University in Australia, combined 36 peer-reviewed articles with 120 web articles and found that 60% of the studies reviewed had participants showing an increase in daily steps after downloading the game. Another study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that players experience, on average, an increase of 50 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week and a 25% increase in physical activity level over 30 days. The majority of players showing an increase in physical activity shows that Pokemon GO’s benefits extend to all sorts of players as well, as the range of people surveyed consisted of people of varying genders, weights, statuses, and previous physical activity levels. 

Pokemon GO’s impact extends to many different groups and demographics in the community, showing that it also promotes interaction between these groups as it gives strangers something in common to bond over.

What High School is Like in 2023

Student Engagement Fuels Opportunity

Citation: https://www.momswhothink.com/the-largest-schools-in-michigan-are-massive/

Schools are full of opportunities for student engagement. There’s something for everyone, from sports to clubs to instruments and performance arts. Students involved with clubs become more connected with the school and often find passion in their extracurricular activities, which leads to increased involvement and can spark interest in their path after high school. Student engagement is also shown by being emotionally, physically, and behaviorally engaged in school. 

Students can be behaviorally engaged by attending class and completing homework on time. Strong student-teacher relationships are part of emotional engagement in school, as teachers often care about students’ social-emotional needs and life outside of school, providing an environment that works best for that student to learn. Engagement isn’t limited to extracurricular involvement; it also includes everyday classroom behaviors- but those everyday behaviors are what school is all about. It’s a place where students can learn, grow, and be engaged in their environment.

The culture of being involved can be seen throughout school. At football games, students are involved by cheering on the football players, who are involved by playing for their school. Students choose which clubs they can join based on their interests, which contribute to their extension of knowledge in that subject- leading to further applications in learning. Students involved in school activities often can make new friends and connect with teachers and mentors for those activities. 

There are numerous benefits of being involved at school. Research shows that student involvement is a critical part of success in high school. Students who feel engaged in their learning are 2.5 times more likely to say they get good grades and do well in school, and they are 4.5 times more likely to be optimistic about the future than disengaged students. This discrepancy in student attitudes toward school shows how critical student engagement is to the overall school experience and outlook. Students who are engaged in activities are more likely to have plans for the future and perform better in school.

Engaged students see an opportunity to improve in the future and have an idea of their path after high school. Being involved in extracurriculars and attentive at school leads students to build strong foundational habits for the future. Involvement outside of the classroom leads to further learning in areas students might want to explore further, while involvement inside of the classroom promotes good qualities of a student as a learner, such as being on time, turning in assignments, and participating in discussions. Together, the many components of engagement come with benefits that will impact students for many years, showing that student engagement fuels opportunities and builds the foundations for someone to become a better student.