"Senioritis" = Evidence That High School Sucks and Our School Systems Are Flawed

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>I think the term "senioritis" is extremely corny. I really think "senioritis" is more like something people who took AP classes, volunteered for 10,000 hours, joined ten clubs, participated in five internships, held three different student government positions in the same year for all four school years, and played five varsity sports would have to deal with.</p>

<p>As for me, I'm anticipating a great summer vacation and classes at a community college in the fall. I've known since sophomore year that my chances at attending my dream school were slashed, so you can say "senioritis" started for me way back then. I lost motivation as soon as it hit me that it takes much more than good grades in a few regular classes to get accepted into these schools. I've never taken any AP classes. I took two honors math classes, but I failed to perform well in either.</p>

<p>Let's be honest. People nowadays don't value school. High school isn't about education anymore. It's about kissing up to colleges. That's the only incentive. Once that incentive is lost, "senioritis" occurs. "Senioritis" is the perfect evidence that school systems are messed up and that students don't even learn for the right reasons.</p>

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<p>i agree, we should have no HW or school during second semester…wait wut</p>

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<p>Most high school students end up at non-selective schools and don’t really care all that much about impressing colleges the way people on this website do, but senioritis is still pretty universal. </p>

<p>“and that students don’t even learn for the right reasons.”</p>

<p>Which are…? Why are there “wrong reasons” for wanting to learn now?
When did anyone ever want to go to high school solely for learning anyway? There’s always been the ulterior motive of moving up in the world - which used to mean getting a job out of high school, but now it means getting into a four-year college.</p>

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<p>Harvey, did you even read what I said?</p>

<p>halcyonheather, we should learn because we value and embrace knowledge, not to impress colleges. We should learn what we truly want to know. We should have the ultimate desire to learn even if it means we wouldn’t be able to impress anyone.</p>

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<p>I didn’t realize one had to join an elite “club” to gain the right to slack off and have fun. </p>

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<p>You just disobeyed your own admonition. By your previously stated idea, you have no right to have senioritis. </p>

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<p>Why were your chances slashed in sophomore year? Maybe you believing they were “slashed” caused them actually to be destroyed, instead of you persevering.</p>

<p>Also, losing motivation is your own problem, not the school system’s. This just sounds more like blame apportioning than anything else. Take some responsibility for your mistakes instead of blaming it on the “establishment.” I don’t see how your failure indicates a essential flaw in the system. </p>

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<p>This returns to an idea of pretense, which is essential in modern society. Yes, you can be as idealistic as you’d like, but the only way to rise in society is through a well constructed image, which begins in high school and continues throughout life. I agree with you, that we should learn for its own sake, but that is implausible because it provides no incentive for study. But as they say, an honest person in the midst of liars isn’t virtuous; he is a fool. </p>

<p>And intentions don’t dilute learning. Either way, a person still gains an understanding of a subject. </p>

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<p>I still don’t see how this is. Senioritis is just a made-up excuse for seniors to relax a little more than usual. It doesn’t prove anything about the “flaws” of our schooling system.</p>

<p>Our system has many flaws, but senioritis isn’t evidence for them.</p>

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<p>I’m sorry, but if you’re going to make a histrionic title like this one, you have to at least try and offer a coherent argument. This fell far short.</p>

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<p>This is joke right…I feel like this is a bad joke…</p>

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<p>Uhm…pretty sure everyone gets senioritis, not just those who try and “kiss up to colleges” as you say. After 4 years of high school (13 years, including kindergarten, rest of elementary school, and middle school) the vast majority of seniors start to slack a little by the end of the year. There’s really no reason not to, because unless they get a really horrible grade, they won’t get rescinded. </p>

<p>I think you’ve just had a “bad experience” or whatever you want to call it and are looking to blame it on other things. You decided to give up, and then want to criticize others or something of the sort. For one, it’s the kids that put so much pressure on themselves to do, as you put it, everything that’s offered at school, not the schools themselves. Secondly, it is about education…even if it’s about “kissing up to colleges”, you still have to learn and get educated in the process, otherwise how else would kids get good SAT/ACT scores and great AP scores? </p>

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<p>Okay, I will be. Since when have kids ever gone to school to learn? Last time I checked, pretty much no one truly likes school, because lots of times it’s boring, they give us homework, and we have to get up early. The whole point of elementary/middle/high school is to prepare kids for college/work…what’s your definition of school, then?</p>

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<p>Trust me, I can tell you LOTS of kids who don’t do stuff to impress colleges, in fact, they don’t do anything at all and don’t plan on college, or even a job, and even they get senioritis (though to a lesser degree, probably). There are plenty of people who simply aren’t interested in learning. Sure there are people who try to impress others, but not everyone. I like SOME learning, in things I’m interested. But you can’t say we should have a desire to learn, when in reality, there are many kids who just aren’t the “bookish” type like those on CC. </p>

<p>Geez.</p>

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<p>“Evidence that high school sucks?” What about just evidence that slogging through school for twelve years is really freaking hard - especially high school - and most kids want a little break before the next four? </p>

<p>I love school, love my friends, love learning, love doing well in difficult classes. But I’m not a robot, and I know that I’ll remember a hooky day spent at the beach far more vividly than I’ll remember the plebeian realities of seven periods a day. </p>

<p>I agree with you that most people these days don’t value school, but I’d say that the majority of those people aren’t the ones kissing up to top colleges - they’re the ones who drop out of or never even make it to college.</p>

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<p>People don’t value school? I love school and I have senioritis. I enjoy all the classes that I’m taking this year and the reason that I have senioritis is because we are done learning new things and are reviewing for APs and I dont care what i get on the APs because I’m taking those classes again in college. I have worked hard throughout high school, been a class officer for all four years, done a ton of community service, am on a year round swim team, all because I enjoy going it. And yes because of it I got into the school of my dreams…a not very selective state school</p>

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<p>Hardly. Senioritis is just a form of burn out; it happens to pretty much everyone regardless of what classes they’re taking and what type of student they are. Don’t try to use senioritis as a cover for you feeling bad about not getting into colleges.</p>

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<p>The argument that high school is used to please colleges isn’t just for HS. You go to elementary school to impress a G&T middle school which impresses a HS which impresses a college which impresses an employer, etc. That’s like the point.</p>

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<p>Not everyone is like that. What percent of high school students in the U.S. are like what you described as “senioritis?” I would say that percentage is not even at half. So more than half of the high school students in the U.S. don’t really have “senioritis,” but they are more of average students that aren’t the “perfect” student that does beyond their best to impress.</p>

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<p>Question: why doesn’t senioritis come earlier than it does, if it just happens because people have been in school for a long time and have gotten restless?
I mean, in 11th grade you’ve been in school for 12 years (inclusive) and if you’re planning for college then you’ll have at least 5 more to go. Why doesn’t the lack of motivation start then?
I agree that it’s kind of about the fact that the college applications are done and you don’t have to worry about them anymore, but I don’t think that means that someone’s only motive for going to school was getting into college.</p>

<p>“And intentions don’t dilute learning. Either way, a person still gains an understanding of a subject.”</p>

<p>To some extent they do. I’ve always learned more in subjects I gave a damn about outside of school, but whether or not I like a particular subject or learning in general is not my choice. I like what I like.
Most people don’t value learning for its own sake, and I don’t really see the point of being all elitist about people’s intentions. People generally can’t choose what motivates them, and you have to keep people in high school somehow. A lot of people are more easily motivated by the idea of college than they are by the more abstract idea that learning is inherently good.</p>

<p>“You go to elementary school to impress a G&T middle school”</p>

<p>Lol, not most people.</p>

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<p>It can and does…I’ve got sophomoritis.</p>

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<p>Well, once you’re so close to being done, the home stretch can feel endless and pointless. Hence senioritis.</p>

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<p>I totally had junioritis. Plus, everyone gets APitis after the tests in May…</p>

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<p>The point’s that kissing up to colleges is the primary incentive for students to learn.</p>

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<p>Even if that were true (and it’s not, because the vast majority of people don’t care about sucking up to colleges)…why is that bad exactly? A lot of times in the real world you have to choose between people doing things for the “wrong” reasons and people not doing them at all, and most high school students (and people in general) aren’t all that intellectually-minded. If education had no clear practical benefit most people wouldn’t bother with it.</p>

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actually it’s pretty American…</p>

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<p>^
ZOMG, 'Murica’s not the universe?</p>