With the start of their last semester ever at Chamblee, many seniors are feeling the effects of senioritis. Marked by feelings of apathy, procrastination, and laziness, senioritis hits many students hard during the second semester.
“Senior year is supposed to be fun. Who wants to work?” said senior Leslie Myles as she worked on her homework due next period.
Other seniors also share this idea. Remarked senior Kenny Roache, “I got senioritis in the tenth grade. It is really strong this semester. I do not want to do any more work.”
“I am so lazy now because I do not care about anything except acceptance letters,“ said senior Denia Phillips about her senioritis.
With senior students slacking off in their work, teachers of seniors are not exempt from the effects of this plague. Said science teacher Pat Mote, “I have noticed that senioritis is bad for the first couple of days back during the second semester when students are not yet in the roll of work.”
AP Literature teacher Lynn Farmer has observed her students with senioritis since August, “I empathize with them, but that does not mean they will not fail the class,” she said.
Counselors, too, have noticed the effects of senioritis, “Seniors think that it is time to relax because many of them have already gotten accepted into the college of their choice, so they let their grades slip. However, they need to realize that colleges still look at final transcripts,” said Kathy Marnell about the lower grades she noticed as she mailed in seniors’ mid-year reports to colleges.
According to counselor Carla Minter, a severe slip in grades could affect course placement in college or cause some colleges to call students in to get tutoring. In rare cases, students could even get rejected.
Not all students feel the strong effects of senioritis. Remarked Minter, “Really motivated students get senioritis but they still get their job done.”
Senior Elizabeth Gomez is one of those students. “I do not have senioritis this semester so far. The winter break helped me to get back on track,” she said.
Seniors who are plagued with senioritis are counting down the days until their cure comes: graduation day (78 more days).
