Every year, the senior class catches a case of it. Usually seniors wait until they are committed to a college to start slacking off, but this year there is no waiting.
Senioritis, the notorious condition marked by academic laziness, has a tendency to afflict 12th graders in the final months of the school year. But senior Josh Boyer is experiencing early symptoms.
“I only come into school two to three days a week,” Boyer said.
Waking up early, driving to school, and sitting in class is apparently not one of Boyer’s passions this year. Instead, he likes to “chill at his crib” with the company of his dogs.
Although Boyer stays home many days, his parents aren’t fond of his habits.
“My mom gets mad in the morning when I don’t go in, but [she] doesn’t try to change my mind,” he added.
Boyer’s reasoning for his number of absences is his lack of interest in school.
“I’d rather be fishing or hunting,” he said.
Some might assume that missing so much school would affect his grades, but Boyer does not allow senioritis to affect his academic standing.
“I’m a good student when I come in and have good grades,” said Boyer.
The onset of senioritis has not gone unnoticed by NASH teachers.
“I don’t know if all the kids have already applied to colleges early action, and that’s why they are slacking, or if they really just don’t care,” Senora Cerqua, a NASH Spanish teacher, said.
NASH business teacher Mr. Langue believes that senioritis is a choice that students make.
“There is always a group of students who use it as an excuse for being lazy, and while I agree that once you get into college your mind starts thinking about the next step, you need to still finish your current commitments,” Langue said.
Langue reflected on his own senior year and how he overcame senioritis.
“Once I was accepted into college, the stress of grades wasn’t there, so I just focused on the actual learning factor of school and I honestly learned a lot in those months,” he said.
Langue also explained how he has two different types of students in his classes.
“There are some students this year who are really bad with showing up, but then there are other kids who haven’t given in to senioritis at all,” he said.
Angela Huang falls into the category of seniors who prioritize their academics.
“I still try in school because I have to keep a certain GPA to go to Yale for tennis,” she said.
Over her high school career, Huang has taken many challenging classes, including AP English Language and Composition and AP Biology. Although most students choose to take easier classes their senior year, Huang continues to challenge herself. She is currently taking AP Government, AP Economics, and AP Calculus AB.
“I chose to take these classes because, although they are rigorous courses, I find the topics they cover to be interesting,” she said.
Huang’s approach may appear difficult during the final year of high school, but with over six months still to go, it’s surely an attitude that will keep her teachers smiling.
