An Every-Year Epidemic

Senior year is the last year of high school, and seniors should learn to appreciate it before heading off to the reality of college, work, and adulthood. After high school is when regret may hit. Did you not ask someone to prom? Do you wish you did better in school? After high school, happiness may also occur when you realize that you are your own person and may do as you please. But what if seniority is going to our heads? Some seniors are disrespecting teachers, ditching school, and ignoring homework, and these are not good things for student grades. On the other hand, seniors can use seniority for a good cause, like collecting information from past years and providing it to lower classes, and helping them to do better in high school.

When a senior starts to realise that his or her high school life is ending, how do they feel? And what about their plans? Heraldo Hernandez, a senior at Sequoia High School, regrets cutting school because it caused his grades to drop. Hernandez explained the cause of his lower grades was senioritis. “Senioritis is when a senior knows where they’re going after High School and simply quit the rest of their remaining school year,” explained the senior. But besides regret, Hernandez also feels happy that he took advantage of electives and the help from teachers. He also felt happy with his Advanced Via Individual Determination (AVID) class which helped him to keep on track.

Besides the student thoughts and behaviors, there are other people who are affected, like teachers who may feel annoyance, and disrespect, coming from the seniors. Pilla Zargar, an English teacher, says that she has never been disrespected by a senior student. She says that if a student is given a consequence they will behave sooner or later. Zargar also says that she does not get annoyed by seniors being over-excited for their last year of school. She added that instead of being annoyed, she finds it “charming” the way the senior students behave.

On the other side, Dana Ayers, a social studies teacher, says that he does get annoyed but not in the terms that a student says “what am I going to do today to annoy Mr. Ayers?” but in the terms that by not doing anything, like work. Ayers further explained senioritis. A senior that has been accepted to college or university and decides to show no effort, and that they are done with school, “but what they don’t realize is that they’re not. They need to graduate in order to move on, and some don’t understand that” exclaimed Ayers.

By using seniority knowledge and experience, senior students can help the lower classmates to receive a better education than themselves, or help them avoid bad decisions.  Carina Perez, class of 2011, says that a key to success is organization. To be successful, one must learn to be well organized so they don’t lose their school materials. Hernandez says, “try to do all your homework. No one is perfect but try to do [all your assignments].” He says to take advantage of tutoring after school. Always talk to you counselor because they will lead you to your success. Hernandez also remembered his “number one thing:” do not procrastinate.