‘“Senioritis” a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance.”
A deadly disease we’ve been warned about since middle school. Seen as an inevitable part of part of high school that will feel like hell, hurt our GPA, and waste months of our lives that could be be shaping our future. Students catch this preventable disease by the final year of high school. When educators reexamine to understand Senoritis isn’t a student-created disorder, but in fact a “structural disease” will we start to find a cure. My proposed treatment: drink lots of water, eat healthy, and restructure the entire senior year by cutting unnecessary electives and allowing students to graduate or leave school after the second trimester once they’ve met their requirements.
Common Symptoms
Clinical senioritis is commonly diagnosed for students with
- Loss of motivation
- Decreasing GPA
- Consistent workload of “fake classes” (electives)
- Lack of meaningful classroom engagement
Diagnosis
Most schools require between 18 and 24 credits to graduate, but students often gain 30 by the time they finish high school. Despite clear knowledge, students cannot graduate early because they must complete very specific credits each year: English, math, history, and science, along with art, physical education, and language requirements. Once those classes are satisfied, the seniors are left with nothing but filler classes, electives.
For your first two years of high school, electives are the filler classes given to students to feel excited about school. By junior and senior year though, the excitement from the filler classes wears off. Most students have already taken the courses that could interest them and what’s left are referred to as “fake classes”. They’re courses with little rigor, minimal effort required, and little to no connection to students’ future goals. They’e often taught by unmotivated teachers to equally unmotivated students, which induces an environment of simply passing time. By senior year, most students only need two required classes (English 12 and a senior math credit) but are forced to supliment the rest of their schedule with irrelevant electives. Senioritis comes when you’ve suplimented enough to build a tolerance and now you’re craving something more fulfilling.
Proposed Treatment
The primary treatment for senioritis should be a structural reform. Schools should administer a trimester system across all grade levels but require seniors to attend only two trimesters. By the end of the second trimester, the majority of seniors will have completed their core requirements (e.g., English 12, senior math). Only students who have not fulfilled graduation requirements should remain for the third trimester.
WARNING: Before prescribing students with the reform, students who take Advanced Placement (AP) courses should discuss with their doctor to consider the alternate treatment plan. Those taking AP courses are often stuck because the course runs all year, locking them into the school even when the AP exam is completed in early May. Offering AP students the treatment plan which allows them to complete their final trimester online would free them to use their time more productively like traveling, preparing for college, working, or simply enjoying their last months with friends. If students misuse their freedom and underperform on their AP exams, so be it. They are about to enter college, where independence and accountability is the only way to work.
Senioritis is not a lazy disorder but a systemic disease caused by academic structures and irrelevant classes. To provide the cure, schools must end the year for seniors after two trimesters, with the option of online learning for AP students. That is the only way to control our Senoritis epidemic. It’s time to stop accepting Senioritis and start battling it.
SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE:
- Greater motivation
- More time with friends
- Time to work
- Time to travel
Thoughts, Prayers, and Feelings 