To those underclassmen that are far from contemplating their final year of high school or potential colleges, senioritis may be an unfamiliar term. I took the liberty of going on Urban Dictionary and providing the exact definition: “Senioritis. Noun. A crippling disease that strikes high school seniors. Symptoms include laziness, an over-excessive wearing of track pants, old athletic shirts, sweatpants, athletic shorts and sweatshirts. Also features a lack of studying, repeated absences and a generally dismissive attitude. The only known cure is a phenomenon known as graduation.” It usually hits seniors second semester after that last grueling application has been sent in along with the midyear report. Although my personal case of senioritis hasn’t been lethal (my grades are alright but aren’t the best partially because I spent time keeping up with the Kardashians as well as watching Glee and all four seasons of Gossip Girl in less than a month), many of my peers have been severely unmotivated and idle already and second semester hasn’t even started yet. However, I think I may have found the cure to this fatal disease that would not only encourage second semester seniors to stay tuned in, but would also solve the low attendance trend that has plagued the school recently.
Turn to page 26 of your student handbook and please read the current policy on second semester senior final exams. Policy states that “second semester senior final exams may be waived for senior in P.E., Driver Education, Health, Foreign Language, Special Education and Math” if students meet certain criteria including a “cumulative grade of ‘A’ in the course,” “no unexcused absences in the course” and “no academic dishonesty referrals.” What if a similar policy was extended to all courses in a senior’s schedule?
Area schools have adopted a “Second Semester Senior Final Exam Policy.” At Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South, the curriculum guide states that “A senior student with an 80% average and five or fewer absences (school sponsored field trips, participation in Advanced Placement examinations and other school-sponsored activities will not count against the five excused absences) and with no unexcused absences or out-of-school suspensions may have the option of waiving the final” or “A senior student with a 90% average in the class may also have the option of waiving the final. The only attendance requirement is no unexcused absences.” Libertyville, Loyola Academy and Maine West have also accepted similar terms in their regulations as a “senior privilege.”
If Niles North were to implement a similar policy for all senior courses, I believe that I, along with the majority of my peers, would try harder to maintain higher grades second semester of senior year so we would be exempted from the unfortunate final exam days. Smart seniors would be able to recognize that by simply averaging an A or a B for the entire semester, you would not have to deal with cramming for exams and can instead relax and rejoice for the last time with your fellow classmates during that time. There are numerous seniors that only attend school four out of the five days a week; limiting the number of permitted absences in order to waive senior finals would stimulate students to come to school everyday. Yes, administrators, seniors dread finals week. A policy like Glenbrook’s or Libertyville’s would give senioritis-infected students an incentive for doing well and coming to school. Face it, by senior year everybody needs a better incentive for waking up at 6 a.m. and getting hand cramps from in-class essays. Not to mention it would also reflect immensely on our school to colleges and national rankings if all our seniors had As or Bs in their classes instead of the senioritis dominating Cs or Ds.
If the school district truly wants to manage the seniors during their last semester of high school and possibly fix the low-attendance trends, adopting this policy may solve both of these problems.
