By the time you reach your senior year, you want nothing more than to be done with school. The mental fortitude it takes to get out of bed at six in the morning is a Herculean task on its own.
I have almost all of the credits I need to graduate, except for a few senior core classes. Then to fill the empty gaps in my schedule, I have been put into classes that are not necessary to graduate and that I have no interest in. It’s really no wonder seniors are known for skipping classes so often. Why should I be forced to get up early and attend a class that has no worth to me? If I could, I wouldn’t do any of the class work, but that would lower my GPA and possibly cause issues for my college plans.
Right now, my first hour is Music Today, and, as it stands, it’s not a class that is benefiting me academically. Now, I have nothing against the class nor the teacher, but when my goal is to major in forensic biochemistry, I don’t want to spend my time in a class that isn’t driving me forward towards that goal. Rather than getting up for a class that isn’t helping me graduate or something relating to my future, I should be able to leave my schedule blank. I have also been scheduled to take aquatics fifth hour, both second and third trimester. As a swimmer of 11 years, the most I’m getting out of aquatics is a deeper understanding of water safety, which isn’t something I need to go over twice. Wouldn’t it make sense for me to be able to take first and fifth hour off?
I’m pretty sure that this is the way that any senior with easy classes feels, but after I talked to Sheryl Scott, one of the guidance counselors here at Loy Norrix, I started to see the other side of the argument. “By allowing the requirements to be reduced or allowing free time, really it does an injustice to the students at the end of the day,” said Scott.
People need something to keep them busy, otherwise they fall into a lack of productivity. What Scott is trying to say is that the more we allow ourselves to kick back and relax, it’s just making it harder to get back into the swing of things. But is it any better for me to pay minimal attention in a class than for me to not attend?
In my case, I had no option but to fall into easy classes. For senior year, both a senior English and senior math credit is required. To fill those spaces, I am taking AP calculus for math and Advanced Journalism for English. I had also hoped to have a chance to take AP Chemistry and/or AP Statistics but, as it turns out, all four of these classes fall in the 3rd and 4th hours, so I could only take two of them. How am I supposed to challenge myself further when the harder classes aren’t available?
I’m stuck in easy classes and there’s nothing I can do about it. I continue to attend classes where I don’t have the drive to give anything other than minimal effort. The students could try to appeal to the school board, but would they change anything? Even so, we all are required to have a certain number of hours in order to graduate, so there may be nothing the board can do.
For now, I suggest that you try to challenge yourself, if you can. For those who can fit it into their schedule, there are options like dual enrollment or Education For Employment/Arts (EFE/EFA). Taking classes that don’t fall into you area of interest is a good way of preparing for the next step in your lives. In college you will still be required to enroll in classes  that aren’t of interest to you, but in order to get a degree, you will have to get this credit.
If you don’t like your classes in high school or college, you can switch them out for other classes. The real world isn’t so forgiving. You may end up in a job you hate, but in order to live, you’ve gotta bear through it.
The world isn’t full of rainbows and unicorns, where everybody can do what they want when they want. As people, we need to go out into the world, and do our best at everything we can, in order to make life the most enjoyable we can. Life is what you make it, so make it good.