"Chapter 1: Why Is Early Childhood Important To Substance Abuse Prevention?." Drugabuse.gov. N. p., 2019. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-substance-abuse-prevention-early-childhood/chapter-1-why-early-childhood-important-to-substance-abuse-prevention

A substance abuse guide that was made by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that talks about how early childhood can affect a person’s likelihood to become addicted in the future. It also talks about how exposure to different things can affect addiction issues in the future. This is important because a lot of children who grow up with people who are close to them addicted or abusing substances it becomes something that is “normal” to them and makes them more likely to have their own substance abuse and addiction problems as they get older.

Coyer, Sharon. 2001. "Mothers Recovering From Cocaine Addiction: Factors Affecting Parenting Skills". Journal Of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing.

https://www.jognn.org/article/S0884-2175(15)33868-5/pdf

This clinical study done by Sharon Coyer in JOGNN, the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing, studies mothers who are recovering from cocaine addiction. It talks about how addiction affects how mothers parent through the way that they interact with their children. This shows how parents themselves feel that their addiction affects their families, a side that isn't normally shown when researching how addiction affects families.

"Harvard Study Pegs How Parental Substance Abuse Impacts Kids." Psychology Today. N. p., 2019. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201607/harvard-study-pegs-how-parental-substance-abuse-impacts-kids

An article written by Psychology Today that analyzes a multiple studies on how children who grow up in households with parents or caregivers who have substance issues are more likely to suffer from behavioral and emotional problems. This is important because it explains, through statistics, that increased rates of behavioral problems as well as emotional problems are not just things that the people that I will be and have interviewed for my project suffer from, but are a widespread issue.

How Family Member's Addictions Affect You. 2019 Anonymous Interview by Julia Hood. In person. Science Leadership Academy.

This interview that I conducted with an anonymous person talks about how their parent’s addictions affected them growing up and now that they’re older how they deal with it. It addresses how they view addiction as a whole as well as how it’s affected their relationship with their parents. It shows how people in situations where a family member is addicted view things as well as how they cope with things, this interview shows specifically that the coping mechanisms that are recommended are not always carried out when not promoted at home.

"How Addiction Affects Children - Life With An Addict Through A Child's Eye." The Arbor Behavioral Healthcare. N. p., 2018. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://thearbor.com/how-addiction-affects-children

This article written by a behavioral healthcare center in Texas talks about the different ways that addiction affects children. It also talks about some of the different ways that children can cope with their parents being addicted. This is important for my project because it talks about how addiction can emotionally affect how children act as well and develop regarding relationships as well as “basic” tasks.

"How Your Substance Abuse May Have Affected Your Child | Phoenix House." Phoenixhouse.org. N. p., 2019. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://www.phoenixhouse.org/family/how-your-substance-abuse-may-have-affected-your-child/

An article published by Phoenix House that talks about how substance abuse has affected children whose parents suffered from addiction. It talks about how even though a parent may have been present physically the whole addiction it still can still emotionally affect the child, it also talks about how neglect or abuse can affect children. It also talks about the different ways it has psychologically affected children as well as how it may have affected their learning of basic tasks such as personal hygiene practices and can affect their intimate relationships in the future.

Publishing, Harvard. "How Addiction Hijacks The Brain - Harvard Health." Harvard Health. N. p., 2019. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/how-addiction-hijacks-the-brain

This article by Harvard Health Department talks about the science behind addiction as well as what addiction does to the brain. It talks about how addictions are formed as well as how tolerances are formed and why they’re formed. This is important because to understand how addiction affects families it must first be understood what addiction is and why it is a thing. It is also important to understand why people become addicted to things and how the brain functions while addicted.

"Relationships And Addiction | Dual Diagnosis." Dual Diagnosis. N. p., 2019. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://www.dualdiagnosis.org/drug-addiction/relationships-and-addiction/

This article done by the Foundations Recovery Network talks about how addictions affect people’s relationships, it has many different subsections that discuss the different ways that addiction can affect people’s relationships such as gender dynamics, economic issues, and how developing healthy relationships can help with addiction.

"The Importance Of Family When Recovering From Addiction » Alo House Malibu." Alo House Malibu. N. p., 2017. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://alorecovery.com/importance-family-recovering-addiction/

An article published by Alo House Recovery Centers that talks about the importance of family members while someone is recovering from addiction. This shows the different ways that different family dynamics can enable recovering addicts as well as different ways that family members can help their family members recover. This is important because even though many people are currently in a situation where a family member is addicted, there are also many people whose family members are recovering and it is necessary to understand what to do while recovering.

"What Are The Dangers Of A Codependent Drug Abusing Relationship?." American Addiction Centers. N. p., 2019. Web. 25 Jan. 2019.

https://americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/codependent-relationship

An article written by American Addiction Centers that talks about how even though positive relationships can help addicts, certain relationships, codependent relationships in particular, can cause many negative effects on recovering addicts. It also explains what codependent relationships are and how it affects both people in the relationship. This article shines a light on addiction and how it affects family members in a light that isn’t just that it affects the family, but that depending on the person they could actually be harming the recovering or current addict.  

Cold hospital air hit my nose as I sniffled, I stared at the hospital bed in front of me, holding my dad’s hand. I thought back to all of the time I had spent with him, sitting with my mom in the small apartment we lived in, awaiting my father’s arrival home from work. My mom walked around, humming to herself and cleaning spots off of the countertops. That’s when a key hit the lock, turned, and the door opened. “Daddy!” I yelled, hopping off of the couch to run into my uniformed father’s outstretched arms. He picked me up and squeezed me tight, that’s when I assume that my mom walked over and kissed him on the cheek, asking him how his day was. That’s what she normally did at least, but it slips my mind if she did it that day.

He then put me down, walking over to the cd player that sat in the corner of the living room. Ring of Fire, by Johnny Cash started playing, followed shortly by my father’s raspy voice singing along. He then picked me up and held me in his arms. We danced around the living room of the small apartment we lived in, while my mom sat and watched, smiling from ear to ear.

I can’t remember how long we danced for, if it was just that song or more to come. I can remember though, how the smell of cigarettes radiated off of his clothing when you got close enough. That’s when the beeping of the hospital monitor and my dad’s deep coughing pulled me out of my daydream. He half smiled, the most he was able to do. I held tears back as I smiled back, squeezing his hand.

Movies, books, TV shows, social media, and even walking down the street. These are all places where romantic relationships can be witnessed. Many people engage in relationships during their teenage years. Many teenagers complain about being single and wanting a significant other. Teenagers feel pressure to engage in romantic relationships due to media.

In a survey that I did amongst a group of Juniors at SLA, over half of them agreed that they have felt societal pressure to engage in a romantic relationship. Students in an environment where education should be a main priority express a feeling of pressure from their peers, social media, family, etc to have a romantic partner. Teenagers in this day and age have easy access to the internet, where romantic relationships are especially prominent due to social media pages that post pictures of ‘couple goals’ and other similar ideas of romantic relationships. Through social media it is easy to see who’s dating who, who likes who, who’s talking to who, ways to see relationships. Due to this teenagers feel pressure to fit in and engage in their own romantic relationships.

In an article written by TeenZeen.org the author writes that, “Sometimes, you may not be ready to start dating, but you feel that you have to because everyone else around you is.” A very common way that people, especially teenagers, express themselves is on social media sites such as Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Teenagers tend to show off the people that they’re talking to, they like to post about their emotions and how they feel about certain things. This can be a very powerful thing that can influence others feelings on certain topics. Many teenagers follow people that they idolize on social media, many of these social media famous people are teenagers themselves. When teenagers see people their age who are succeeding they feel pressure to mimic their actions to achieve their own success. One way that they might try and do that is through entering romantic relationships, especially if the person / people that they idol are in their own romantic relationships.

Kara Nesvig wrote an article for Teen Vogue about the “21 best TV show couples.” The article lists a few of the many romantic relationships that are shown on TV. She writes that, “These 20 iconic couples make us believe that love is real, even if it’s just on TV.” Almost every single teenager watches some type of TV. This shows how prominent couples are in TV shows and how it makes teenagers have a certain perception of what ‘love’ should look like. Almost every TV show or movie about highschool students has some type of love plot to it. This causes pressure on teenagers to enter their own romantic relationships because, “it’s what everyone else is doing.” By nature, humans want to fit into their environment and with their peers and if that means entering a romantic relationship, even if they aren’t ready, then that’s what they will do.

Relationships are seen everywhere nowadays, even though many teens say that they are content in not being involved in a romantic relationship they feel pressured to be in a relationship. This is due to how often teenagers are reminded of others, especially their peer’s, relationship statuses, and more oftenly the ones who are engaged in romantic relationships.

https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/best-tv-couples

https://www.teenzeen.org/teens-and-dating.html

Survey done by me

Many students get home and the first thing they do is homework. They’re pressured by their parents to do their homework while simultaneously being encouraged to spend time with family, eat, spend time with friends, go outside, participate in sports or other extracurricular activities, and sleep for 7+ hours. Rather than motivating students to master material and learn efficiently, homework negatively impacts students by taking away from personal time that is necessary for them to lead balanced lives.

In an article published by The Washington Post by Gerald K LeTendre, a professor of education in education policy studies at Penn State, states that, “Worldwide, homework is not associated with high national levels of academic achievement.” This means that there is no direct correlation between homework and test grades, and very few studies have been able to prove this, and the ones that have were more of a reach. At Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia,  16 out of 19 of the students in Fire Stream agreed that homework adds extra stress onto them or takes time away from other things that they’re encouraged to do, such as sports, extra classes, extracurricular activities, family time, etc. This means that just over 84% of students in Fire Stream have agreed that homework is added stress and takes time away from things that they’re encouraged to do outside of school. Many students participate in these activities because they’re passionate about them and it makes them happy. Sports and exercise is proven to relieve stress, homework adds stress and if time for this stress reliever is taken away that just means more stress, this can cause more problems in many aspects of their lives.

In an article written by CNN about how homework has been banned in some cities and not others, “What is clear is that parents and kids don't live in the world of academic research; they live in the real world where there are piles of homework on the kitchen table.” Meaning that students don’t have the luxury of just easily saying that homework helps their academic performance or not, and they don’t have the luxury of just not doing homework. That is especially true to highschool students who have to regularly chose between sleep and doing work, especially when they get homework from every class every night and homework can be up to 30% of their grade. Students in every grade get piles of homework and a lot of the time they don’t have resources on hand to see if they’re right or to get help, meaning they might do it wrong and not learn anything at all.  Even if students do try and do their homework it might take a while, according to Nationwide Children’s Hospital adolescents should be getting 9 to 9 ½ hours of sleep per night. Due to homework and trying to fit other after school activities in many adolescents don’t get the necessary amount of sleep. Sleep deprivation in teens has many negative effects such as mood changes, being more inclined to engage in risky behavior such as driving fast, drinking, etc, doing worse in school, and declined cognitive abilities.

In an article published by the New York Times, a mother explained how… , “The stress homework places on families starts early.” The article also talks about how homework takes away from family time and family activities. The author also says that her kids “are fighting not just over the homework, but also over their share of my coveted attention and my unique ability to download and print images.” This shows how homework adds extra pressure and can cause tension in families. It takes away from family time and causes more stress on students and parents. It’s almost as if once children start school and the homework starts that it never stops, and that more family time is taken away while more stress is added.

In a study concluded in 2003 by Dr. Harris Cooper he tries to argue that homework has a positive effect on students, but his studies also found no direct correlation between increased homework for students and improved test scores. Cooper himself said that “The analysis also showed that too much homework can be counter-productive for students at all levels.” Meaning that excessive amounts of homework can cause negative effects on students, but who is judging what excessive amounts of homework means? He talks about the “10 minute rule” meaning that every grade that a student increases they should get 10 more minutes of homework, meaning that a second grader should get 20 minutes, and a twelfth grader should get around 2 hours of homework. That would seem ideal, but in most high school settings teachers don’t interact with each other to see how much homework each of them give to equal it out to around 2 hours. This means that one class’s homework could take a student 2 hours alone and that would be what the ideal amount of homework is, so if it takes 2 hours for one class’s homework then how are students supposed to have positive benefits from doing all of their homework? Cooper’s research was also limited because very little research was done to see if student’s race, socioeconomic status, or even their ability levels has an affect on how much homework is “good” for said age range. This means that other aspects than just that they’re students in a certain grade weren’t taken into consideration. These things could cause major changes to the data that was collected.

Rather than encouraging students to master material and learn efficiently, homework negatively impacts students and families by causing more stress and taking away from family time. This is a problem not just for the overworked students, but also for students who have more complex personal lives. Many students work or have family obligations that they have to deal with, but don’t necessarily feel comfortable talking to a teacher about them. Although teachers might not think that the amount of homework that they give matters much,its influence goes beyond giving students work to do at home to how they interact in other important personal aspects of their life.

Works Cited:

LeTendre, Gerald K. “Homework Could Have an Effect on Kids’ Health. Should Schools Ban It?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 2 Sept. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/09/02/homework-could-have-an-effect-on-kids-health-should-schools-ban-it/?utm_term=.3ed6d0fa2c72.

Kralovec, Etta. “Should Schools Ban Homework?” CNN, Cable News Network, 5 Sept. 2014, www.cnn.com/2014/09/05/opinion/kralovec-ban-homework/index.html.

Dell'Antonia, Kj. “Homework's Emotional Toll on Students and Families.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Mar. 2014, parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/homeworks-emotional-toll-on-students-and-families/.

“Duke Study: Homework Helps Students Succeed in School, As Long as There Isn't Too Much.” Duke Today, Duke Today, 7 Mar. 2006, today.duke.edu/2006/03/homework.html.

“Sleep in Adolescents (13-18 Years).” Sleep in Adolescents :: Nationwide Children's Hospital, www.nationwidechildrens.org/sleep-in-adolescents

Soy Julia,

Hija de padres Irlandeses.

Mi mamá es Irlandesa y mi papà es también.

Yo tengo una familia grande de tiàs, tiòs, y primos.

Bailo con los duendes,

Escucho las cornamusas,

Necesito las montañas de Irlanda,

Comer las papas con mi familia.

Somos productos de Europa, no sólo de Irlanda,

Somos alemánes, irlandeses, escoceses, y más.

Tocamos la guitarra,

El instrumento de flores y lucha.      

No somos falsos.

No somos mentirosos.

Somos todos.

Soy completa.

Song credits go to Carlos Santana, Black Magic Woman. Cover by Julia Hood.