Senior Brooke MacDevitt defines the term “senioritis” as “ just becoming really lazy about homework and studying and not wanting to do anything…it’s basically not caring about anything.” The above symptoms are embodied by the class of 2012, and “senioritis” has become somewhat of a phenomenon among second semester seniors across the country. With the promise of graduation, and, for many, a college education, Aragon seniors have, as senior Kayla Baker observes, begun to “ditch class” and become “unproductive.” Justine Kubo says, “Everyone’s the same. They’re all just over it already.”
“The overall attitude of seniors is just more laid back now,” says Kubo about her experience so far as a second semester senior. “I’d say I’ve definitely seen a lot more Temple Run being played in class.” “You don’t want to try hard in school because all you really have to do is graduate,” says senior Quaid Tatlow. “I don’t want to do my homework and…in school, sometimes I fall asleep with my eyes open.” However, Tatlow believes his case of senioritis to be “manageable.” “I definitely [work less hard] on projects, but my friend’s case is less manageable. He’s had it since junior year, it could’ve been early onset senioritis. He never shows up to class.” Senior Summer Kang says, “I sleep until 9:40. I come home and do nothing. You’re like ‘OK, I’ll get a B this semester,’ and you end up getting a C… [on the other hand], you gain a lot of knowledge after your four years at Aragon. Senior year you just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”
However, not all students would describe senior year as completely stress free. “Last semester, you have to pass everything,” says Macdevitt. “Everyone says, ‘Senior year—it’s so easy,’ but I already had a project due on the first week of school. It’s hard.” For senior Alex Marcenaro, senior year is no different from any previous years. “I think [senioritis] is dumb,” he says. “[Other students] are slacking off to get out of here as soon as possible…I think they’re idiots…You should work hard every year.”
Although many seniors admit to having, so far, done significantly less work in their second semester of senior year, it does not necessarily mean that they are being assigned any less work than usual. Kang says, “I’m taking a lot of AP classes, so [teachers] know they have to get stuff done.” However, Tatlow thinks that some teachers are simply unsympathetic to the condition. “I don’t think teachers care,” says Tatlow. “I think they think ‘That’s too bad that [students] have senioritis,’ but they’re not going to do anything about it. “I think [teachers] assign more work just so you try and get it done.” According to Marcenaro, teachers expect to see symptoms of senioritis in their students. “If I skip class or am late to class, they accuse me of senioritis. They say ‘Senioritis or what?’”
However, Kubo has seen a different attitude towards senioritis in her teachers. “I can say, I haven’t had any homework these past two weeks,” she says. “I’m sure [teachers] have expectations of [senioritis] because they’ve had seniors before, so they’re not too worried. They’re probably going to be a little bit more lenient, but I’m sure they’ll still be [hard] on us.”
Some students have used senior year to their benefit. “I try harder as a senior,” says Marcenaro. “Knowing that you’re actually going to leave high school and see the real world wakes you up.” Kang says she hopes to take advantage some of the down time during her senior year. “I want to play guitar and sing all day.”
Although senioritis varies from mild to severe in students, most show some symptoms, whether it be procrastination, laziness or just not giving a care about school. And, most seniors are more than happy about it. “If this is second semester, then I’m going to love second semester,” says Kubo.
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