Early spring issue_Early Spring 4/23/2017 10:45 PM Page 7

What Makes a Good Teacher?

by Paloma Mendez
Staff Writer
School! It’s the place where
teens spend most of their day, but let’s be
honest, school is way too early and too
stressful and worst of all we have to deal
with stressed out teachers--some with
rude attitudes that make our day even
worse!  So why are teachers important in
a child’s life?  The answer is simple:
Teachers can inspire students and impact
their lives. They may have the next
Olympic gold winner, the next doctor,
scientist, or astronaut or even the next
President of the US in their classrooms.
Teachers have one of the most important
jobs in the world, but what exactly makes
a good teacher?
ELA and Fine Arts Assistant Principal Ms. Alicanogl, helped define what
qualities good teachers should possess.
“I look for teachers who constantly are
looking for new strategies to improve
instruction and use data to assess and
help their students,” she said. According
to Alicanoglu, teachers must “encourage
the students to have one on one converby Jennifer Castillo
Staff Writer
We’ve all had them:  Tough
teachers and easy teachers,
but which do you prefer?
Ka-Shya
Hardy
Freshman

“I would prefer a tough teacher.  The

reason for this is because I want
teachers to be able to control the class
and teach topics that would be interesting and difficult at the same time.”

“I would rather have

Julie Tang
Junior

a tough teacher
because I want to
improve. Also, it can
help me prepare for
my future.” 

stations if they are struggling with a subject.”  Another way teachers can help
their students is to “know their students
academically and personally, so they can
make learning relevant and meaningful,”
because teachers are there to help students “learn, prosper and master the
given subject,”Alicanoglu said.
Who are better judges of teachers than students themselves? They are
the ones who see them every day.
Senior Jennifer Garcia said, “Bad teachers are careless, hate their jobs and
make you lose motivation making us not
care about learning. Some students
don’t care about learning but just passing.” According to Garcia, “With some
Seniors we see that they don’t care about
a subject, but just a good old 65. They
need that extra push from their teachers
as a reminder of what’s to come in
college.” 
Junior Johanny Parra said, “I like
teachers who don’t let you slide because
it helps you not slack and makes you
work hard for a good grade. One teacher
I had that stood out to me was Ms. Frank.

I had her Freshman year, and she
created such an impact on me.”  
According to Sophomore [name
redacted], “School is stressful enough.
Good teachers help you struggle less and
help you get motivated, but to be honest,
Flushing High School lacks in those kinds
of teachers. Out of my 8 classes, only 3 of
my teachers really care.”
Teachers have one of the most
important jobs in the world, and although
we understand they are tired, and that
they have to deal with hormonal, mood
changing teens and an inordinate amount
of grading, lesson planning and paper
work, they should always think about how
each student has a future and can
achieve their dreams. Students just need
motivation and that extra push to reach
their potential. It’s clear that good teachers don’t let their students get away with
being lazy and care about each student’s
well-being. Although we may complain
about the workload, a teacher with high
standards is the most revered by
students.

Jamming With Jennifer
“I would rather have a tough

Jay Restrepo
Junior

teacher because [he/she]
would put more discipline on
you making you a better and
more successful student.”

“I prefer an easy

teacher.  The
answer is obvious
enough.”

Derlin Colon
Sophomore

“I would prefer a
tough teacher
because I will be
able to know that he
or she will make me
work hard to do
Cameron Bruce something
Freshman amazing.”

Carlos Nava
Senior

“I think that a tough
teacher in important
subject classes is necessary in order to pass, but
also an easy teacher
makes school less stressful and more fun.”

“Teachers should be easy on students,
however hard on learning to achieve the
greatest position in terms of education.
Easy is best to involve a strong
chemistry bond between the teacher and
student and tough is best when it comes
to learning as it does prepare you at an
Saha Shuvhashish exponential level.”

Freshman

“I would prefer an

Navraj
Deep
Senior

easy teacher
because I can have
one less class to
worry about
“I would rather have a tough
passing.”
teacher.  I always remember to
Monica
complete a strict teacher’s
Rodriguez-Verbe
assignments/homework and to
Sophomore
always be on top of my game.
It presents a challenge that
motivates me to stay focused.”

7

 Early spring issue_Early Spring 4/23/2017 10:45 PM Page 5

The Benefits of Advanced Placement

by Sharon Cheung
Staff Writer
Advanced Placement classes
have been around since the 1950s. They
were created when policymakers feared
that high school classes were not preparing students for college. There are
currently 38 AP courses that are
available. Flushing offers 15 of them.
The Assistant Principal of Pupil
Personnel Service Ms. Cuti encourages
every student to strive to take advanced
courses. “When colleges are in the
process of making admission decisions,
they take into consideration how many
advanced classes the student took out of
the number their school offers,” Cuti said.
They look to see if the applicant has challenged him or herself. Colleges prefer to
see a lower grade in an AP course as
opposed to a higher grade in a general
education course,” Cuti said.
According to Cuti, one benefit of
taking an AP class is that while a general
education class is weighted at 1.00, an
AP class is weighted at 1.10. It helps add
a few points to the student’s average
while challenging the student with more
advanced work. It not only helps boost a
student’s GPA, but also saves them
money in college. If students score 3 or
higher out of 5 on the AP exam, many
CUNY, SUNY, and private universities will
grant the students college credit and
allow them to skip introductory courses
which can save them a few hundred or
thousands of dollars by not having to pay
for the class, books, and supplies.
Ms. Cuti said she took AP
courses in high school such as AP US
History and AP English which helped her
with writing research papers in college.
The skills she learned were invaluable to
her future.
More students are taking
advanced classes now than in the past.
Monday May 1st
8:00 a.m.
Chemistry
Environmental Science
Monday May 8
8:00 a.m.
Biology
12 noon
Physics C: Mechanics

Today, it is not difficult to be placed in an
advanced class. Years ago, only the top
students were granted seats in AP
classes. Today all students need is a
strong desire to learn and work hard.
Junior Raqib Ahmed took his first
AP course sophomore year. He has
taken two AP classes so far which were
“challenging and time consuming.”
Ahmed said his most difficult class is AP
Language and Composition. He said the
classes are oftentimes difficult and the
workload is too heavy. “The best part of
taking these classes is being able to get
college credit and having inflated grades,”
he said. “It is rewarding in the end,” he
added.
Junior Leonardo Navarette, said
he has taken three AP classes so far. He
said that AP classes require him to do
more work at home than in the actual
classes. The class he believes is most
difficult is AP Chemistry. He said he
enjoys taking AP courses because they
allow him to have the college experience
in a high school classroom. “If you want
to challenge yourself, AP classes are the
way to go,” Navarette said.
Junior Annalisa Gobind said that
AP European History was her most difficult course. She said the most strenuous
part of taking AP is the large amount of
homework and studying for difficult
exams. One benefit is being able to
obtain college credit. “You shouldn’t be
scared to take these challenging classes
because they provide a foundation of
what college will be like,” Gobind added.
Senior Alicia Soares has taken
six AP course throughout her four years
at Flushing. “Some [classes] are confusing and aren’t very well oriented. However, they challenge you and place higher
expectations on you.”  She believes that
some classes are harder than others
such as AP Macroeconomics.  “In some

AP Exam Schedule

Tuesday May 2
8:00 a.m
Computer Science A
Spanish Language & Culture
12 noon
Physics 1: Algebra Based

Tuesday: May 9
8:00 a.m.
Calculus AB / Calculus BC
12 noon
Spanish Literature & Composition

Wednesday May 3
8:00 a.m.
English Literature & Composition
12 noon
Physics 2: Algebra Based

Wednesday May 10
8:00 a.m.
English Language & Composition
12 noon
Macroeconomics

classes, I scored low on the AP exams,
but the actual class has helped me score
higher on the Regents. Don’t let the
amount of work discourage you from taking AP classes,” she said.
Senior Mwamba Mpundu, has
taken seven AP classes. She said AP
classes at Flushing High School are
“somewhat challenging.”  She said that
classes help prepare for college but are
not taught at a true college level. Having
taken AP exams, she believes the exams
are “unnecessarily long and stressful.”
Mpundu said, “The AP exams were hard
but the classwork and homework I received in the classes weren’t as challenging. However, I encourage students to
take AP classes.”
Senior, Nicole Mateo described
her classes to be “overwhelming.”  She
said that the AP classes at Flushing are
getting close to college level but do no
place as much pressure on students as
they should. Mateo, a member of the
softball team, added, “The classes are
time-consuming, and I don’t get to put
more attention to certain things because
of the amount of work I have to do in
these classes.” She said the classes get
harder when it comes closer to the AP
exams since teachers are reviewing and
preparing students. “I took the AP
Spanish exam and it was difficult but
managed to score a 4 on it.”  Her advice
to her underclassmen is to “get the hard
things out of the way first and life will be
easier in the future.”
If you are interested in taking an
Advanced Placement course next year,
talk to your subject teacher or inquire with
your guidance counselor or the department Assistant Principal. Be sure though,
you have a strong desire to learn and
work hard.
Myles Allsop-Andrews contributed to
this story.
Thursday May 4
8:00 a.m.
US Government
& Politics
12 noon
Chinese Language
& Composition
Thursday May 11
8:00 a.m.
World History
12 noon
Statistics

Friday May 5
8:00 a.m.
US History

12 noon
Computer Science
Principles
Friday May 12
8:00 a.m.
Microeconomics
12 noon
European History

5

 Early spring issue_Early Spring 4/23/2017 10:45 PM Page 3

Robots Open Doors for our Future

by Ainara Hidalgo
Staff Writer
In the movie I Robot starring Will
Smith, robots are a contributing part of
society. They work for the government
doing menial jobs in sanitation and
postal work gaining no profit. In the
movie, robots are our friends and help
make society great. Even though
I Robot is a science fiction movie, technological advancements with robots are
happening right before our eyes.
If you look around, you might notice
eveyone is holding a programmed robot
in his or her hands like phones, tablets,
and I watches. The thing that people
don’t realize is that these advancements
would never have happened without
people in the engineering and robotics
field and with classes like Dr. Chester’s
Robotics class.
According to Chester, Robotics class
“gives you a firsthand experience in
learning how robots work and teaches
you how to build and program robots.”
These skills help students gain an

advantage because they develop
needed skills for the twenty first century.
It also helps them get out of their comfort
zones and gives them more
opportunities to find something that suits
their interests. According to Chester,
taking the Robotics class “hopefully will
create a desire to pursue careers in
relevance to robots.”  Such fields
relevant to robotics include industrial,
medical, military, and technology. Robotics can even help students with their
classes. According to Chester, robotics
involves a variety of skills like “engineering, problem-solving, and mathematical
skills.”
Robotics is also beneficial to the
kinesthetic learner:  a person who learns
through hands on activities. The visual
learner benefits in that the student sees
what everyone is creating and social
learners benefit from the time spent in
small group conversations.
Senior Farid Babu said, “I enjoy
robotics since it’s interesting to work
hands on with an NXT Mind Storm

by Julie Chavez
Staff Writer
9.1 percent of people in the world
live with a form of diabetes. Chances are
you know someone with diabetes. Some
of these people you can find at Flushing
High School. Diabetes is a disease in
which the body’s ability to produce or
respond to hormonal insulin is impaired
resulting in abnormal metabolism of
carbohydrates and elevated levels of
glucose in the blood and urine.
There are two types:  Type 1 and
Type 2 and there is also pre-diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile
diabetes and the more serious of the two,
is a chronic condition in which the
pancreas fails to produce insulin. Type 2,
also know as adult type, affects the way
the body processes blood sugar. Type 2
diabetes typically runs in families as well.
Pre-diabetes occurs when blood sugar
runs high but not enough to be a type 2
diabetic.
ELA Teacher Mr. Marzian is a
type 1 diabetic. He was diagnosed with
diabetes when he was 16 years old and a
junior in high school. Ever since then his
life changed. He had to take insulin daily
and check his blood sugar three times a
day. Diabetes is also a progressive
illness meaning it gets worse with age.

Now Mr. Marzian is on an insulin pump
which delivers insulin automatically into
his blood stream and which also monitors
his blood sugar, so he can see if his blood
sugar is rising or falling. Marzian said he
has to exercise regularly and maintain a
healthy weight, which can be difficult because insulin can cause extreme hunger.

robot.” 
Senior Rashid Tiadmin said, “Handson work is enjoyable because we are interacting with robots which motivates me
to work.”
Junior Bryana Rose said, “I think
hands on work is effective for students
because instead of taking notes and
losing interest in school, you get to
experience a variety of things you’ve
never experienced.”
Robotics also presents some
challenges. “Some challenges my group
faces is learning how to do some
programs because when plugging in
more blocks and distance, you have to
be very accurate and specific, so the
robot can do a specific task,” Rose said.
Even though Robotics can present
challenges, students learn to work as a
team to solve tasks and build strong
minds. If you are interested in taking
Robotics next year, inquire with your
guidance counselor or with Dr. Chester.

Be Aware of Diabetes

-

Mr.Marzian checks his blood sugar
on his insulin pump

Diabetes can also cause complications. Some complications include
retinopathy, which can lead to blindness if
not treated. Mr. Marzian has a mild form
of this. Kidney failure, amputations, nerve
damage, heart problems, stroke, and
more.
School Aide Ms. Chavez is another person living with diabetes. Chavez
is a type 2 diabetic and suffers from
retinopathy as well. According to Chavez,

“It isn’t something easy. You must eat
regularly and healthy in order to maintain
your blood sugar level. It is a reminder
you won’t forget to eat like she did a couple of times because you soon start to
feel faint, feeble and dizzy.” Marzian and
Chavez share a common fear of going
into diabetic shock from extreme low
blood sugar, in which you can become extremely disoriented.
One of our Seniors, Jonathan
Bravo, was diagnosed as pre-diabetic the
summer after his freshman year. As for
finding out he was pre-diabetic, Bravo
said, “I wasn’t really surprised because of
all the cheap junk food I consumed.” 
Eating junk food and being overweight
are common causes of type 2 diabetes.
According to Bravo, some symptoms to
be aware of include high cholesterol and
bad headaches. He had to change his
lifestyle and his diet. His doctor told him
to avoid bread, starches, and greasy
foods. Thanks to his mother he joined a
gym and lost weight.
Don’t be fooled because diabetes
is a disease anyone can get, young or
old, thin or overweight. Occasional junk
food is a all right once in a while for a
treat, but everyone should be more active
and eat healthier because who doesn’t
want to be healthy?
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