Senioritis is something that affects many seniors at Grandville High School. Senioritis is a condition most students claim to have around their last year of high school. This condition known as Senioritis is characterized by senior students having lack of motivation or a decline in school performance. Some common signs of Senioritis are lower grades, not completing homework, cutting class and not studying for tests. There becomes a point for most students where grades don’t count for anything anymore, grades don’t count for your GPA and most seniors have been accepted to college so their grades don’t matter.

Rebecca Larsen is a senior at Grandville High school and she told me that the only reason she gets herself to go to school is so she doesn’t have to take exams. She admits to having Senioritis and having it since “the end of junior year.” Rebecca has lost her motivation for studying for tests she “never studied for APES, so if I get it I’m good, but if I don’t I’m screwed.” She is just trying to get through her final year of high school so she can move on to bigger and better things in the future.

Another student that has a bad case of Senioritis is Trinity Wezeman. She felt that she had “50,000 hours of homework and [she] just didn’t do any of it.” It was at that point where Trinity felt her Senioritis really kicked in. She finds that with Senioritis it has affected her motivation and she said that, “it’s hard to get through the day because I want to go home and sleep. I don’t pay attention in class so my grades are dropping.” When students don’t pay attention, school is boring and slow and when they look at the homework it is hard to complete so this is where students start to slack and not be as motivated. Senioritis is a spiral effect and it’s hard to not let it spiral out of control.

While many senior students have Senioritis it is possible to push through it and look at the positive side to stay motivated throughout the school year. Ashley Jaglowski is a perfect example of someone who is staying positive through her senior year. She says that, “these are the last moments she has with her friends and she wants to savor every moment.” She is in no rush for high school to be over, so by staying positive she keeps herself motivated at school.

Mrs. Robrahn, one of the teachers here at GHS believes that “100 percent of students are affected by senioritis.” As the weather begins to get warmer that is really when she believes there is the biggest decline in motivation. Even though Senioritis is affecting many students here at GHS, Robrahn says “It doesn’t affect my teaching much. If anything, my students seem to appreciate sticking to some of our daily routines.” So even when Senioritis may cause some chaos in the classroom, a daily routine can help prevent students from falling too far behind.

Senioritis does affect many students here and teachers can even see the lack of motivation in students. But a little positivity and routine can go a long way when trying to get rid of or prevent Senioritis.

 

QUESTIONS:

Students

1. Do you feel that you have senioritis?
2. How is senioritis effecting you?
3. If you don’t think you classify yourself as having senioritis, what keeps you motivated?
4. How long do you think you’ve had senioritis?
5. Could you tell me about a specific time where senioritis has impacted a test, exam, or project grade?
6. Was there a turning point where you realized you had senioritis? If so what?

 

Becca:

• Having blended first hour her junior year made her realize she was starting to get senioritis because it was hard for her to stay motivated to do class work on her own time.
• “It hit me hard at the beginning of junior year and smacked me and knocked me down at the end of junior year.”
• This year she just stopped studying for tests.
  • “If i get it i’m good, but if I don’t I’m screwed.”
  • “The only reason I go to school is so I don’t have to take exams.”
• Advice
  • “Try not to get it and stay positive and simply show up to school.”

 

Trinity:

• Has senioritis
• “It’s hard to get through the day because I want to go home and sleep. I don’t pay attention in class so my grades are going down the toilet.”
• “No desire and my chromebook is always dead.”
• “It felt like I had 50,000 hours of homework and I just didn’t do any of it.”

 

Ashley

• “These are the last moments she has with her friends and she wants to savor every moment.”
• She is in no rush to be done with high school

 

Teachers

1. How many of your students do you think are affected by senioritis? Majority? Minority? If they are affected in what ways? How so?
2. Is it affecting the classroom at all (if so, in what ways)? The way you teach (how strict or laid back you are)?

 

I think 100% of students are affected by “senioritis,” even students that are not seniors! Beginning in the spring, when the weather starts to break, I notice that all students, and staff, too, become affected with spring fever! We all start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, we all get antsy!

Because we all experience it, I would say that it doesn’t affect my teaching much. If anything, my students seem to appreciate sticking to some of our daily routines while also accommodating for times of year that are unusually busy (like spring break/testing week, prom, graduation, etc.)

 

Senior year, being the last year of high school, most students have already been accepted to their college of choice and their grades don’t matter as much. They are so close to graduating and finishing school that seniors begin to realize that they don’t need to work as hard anymore in order to graduate. All of which are causes of senioritis.