Curing senioritis

Kantrowitz, B. & Wingert, P. (2000, December 11). Curing senioritis. Newsweek, pp. 60-62.

OVERVIEW

Many of the 3,049,000 members of the class of 2001 will catch a bug this January—senioritis. It is the condition whose symptoms are seen in the class-cuts, the vandalism, and the "dog ate my homework" excuses. With their fall semester’s grades in and their college acceptances granted, seniors aren’t expected to retain much information in the spring semester.

Since this article proposes fundamental educational reform, it might be helpful to consider how education changed in the twentieth century. At the beginning of this century, a smaller percentage of young people were going to high school than go to college today. By 1960, 45.1% of high school graduates were enrolling in college. That percentage jumped to 65.6% by 1998 (according to the American College Testing Program). The transition from elementary school to high school has moved from junior highs to middle schools. This article addresses the transition from high school to college or work.

The writers of "Senioritis" found people and organizations doing battle with this "disease." It cites various programs, ranging from extra college-like coursework to technical school programs to technology company-based sponsoring. These programs aim to connect the last year of high school and the first year of college or work.

At Texas Academy, seniors Vivek Shirat and Stephen Atkinson designed and built their own sport vehicle.

By the end of his senior year, James Dark (age 17) of Essex, MD will complete a project on digital music that includes:

• a CD of school band performances,
• a paper on the process he took to produce the CD,
• a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation so simplified that anyone who has ever touched a computer will be able to follow it.

Seventeen-year-old Samina Shaikh of Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora will take two extra classes beyond her five honors courses. Her courses include human anatomy and physiology, microbiology, and calculus-based physics. In addition, she is doing extracurricular research in a Chicago medical lab. Her understanding of senioritis: " ‘When you just go outside and have fun, after a while, it should get tiring.’ "

Veteran teacher, Nancy Faust Sizer, has written a book about high school’s senior year called Crossing the Stage (2001). In her opinion, " ‘We need to be treating high-school seniors like adults who are nearly ready to become competent and fulfilled workers at real—not teenage—jobs, rather than as children who are out at recess for a whole year.’ "

Leon Botstein (president of Bard College) is cited as one of the foremost critics of the present system. He believes that special programs are an inadequate solution—what is needed is a "complete overhaul" of the present high school system. Because today’s adolescents are more physically and academically mature than students were when high schools were first designed, he favors a new approach featuring three opportunities:

• community service projects,
• interaction with adult mentors,
• study with older students (for some studying in college programs).

If high school’s senior year does not "add value" to a students life (as Gene Bottoms, senior VP of the Southern Regional Education Board puts it), if January to June is really an unnecessary drag that leaves seniors bored, then it must be changed.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Do the opinions of some of the teenagers and experts in the article resonate with you?
2. As a student, do you feel like you have something to contribute to society? Do you feel like the school you’re in right now is preparing you for the "real world"?
3. As a student, what about the future offers hope and what brings fear to you? Have any adults had serious discussions with you about these things?
4. As a parent or educator, what do you want to do about under-challenged high school seniors?
5. As a youth leader, what implications does this article have for you?

IMPLICATIONS

• This article may reflect a shift in understanding—the need for a re-examination of the secondary school education in this country. It raises an important challenge.
• In the meantime, the programs cited here offer some hope for those who are bored, or who aren’t being challenged during their senior year of high school.

Alex Leighton and Dean Borgman cCYS

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