Like most second-semester seniors, I’ve had a hard time finding reasons to go to class.
Even first semester, I had my fair share of absences. I’m shocked I haven’t received an attendance letter. I know I’m not the only senior in this situation.
Nearly every senior I know has experienced some form of senioritis this year. Whether it’s a lack of motivation to go to class or the feeling that high school is essentially over anyway, Grand Junction High School has been hit with a bad case of senioritis, and it’s spreading fast.
After college acceptances start pouring in, it’s hard to convince yourself to continue regularly attending. For athletes, sports won’t allow playtime for students who have absences on gameday. Their motivation for attending class comes from their drive to play their sport. For non-athletes, that motivation is harder to find.
Typically, senioritis leads to tanking grades. Naturally, if you don’t go to class, you won’t get very good grades. But that’s not entirely true.
The threat of failing a class holds less weight as well. As a junior, many of your classes are required to graduate or to earn elective credits.
But most seniors, like myself, have already acquired all of our credits and don’t technically need the majority of the classes we’re in. Not to mention that many of the classes that we do need, such as American Government or finance credits, are easy to pass even with constant skipping.
Not to mention, the majority of assignments are now online. It’s easy to skip class because you can do your work online. And thank goodness for that. Without Google Classroom, my GPA would be in the trenches.
Our curriculum has been manufactured for senioritis to thrive, however, this isn’t a bad thing.
Grand Junction High School’s graduation rate the past two years has been the highest in decades, and not because seniors are more motivated. Access to assignments online gives students the opportunity to complete work even when they’re not in the classroom. It allows them to pass classes that, without this access, they otherwise wouldn’t.
I’d even argue that senioritis as a whole isn’t a bad thing. The feeling of senioritis, of being done with high school as a whole, is important. It’s a feeling that confirms that you’re ready to move on.
It’s better to feel done with high school early than to want another year.
All this to say, senioritis might suck now. But it represents something better for your future. As long as you pass your remaining classes and make it to graduation, even though you may lack the motivation to do so, you’re in a good spot.
