What in the world to do with Senioritis? This last month ( or better yet two months – – and progressively three months) of school are plagued by apathy and lack of focus. This is particularly true with seniors. The auditions for school productions are over. College letters of acceptance have either been sent out or they are not to be received. The next four years have been rather sketched out Grades are no longer a fear or issue – the good will remain good; the poor have long ago given up. All of the preaching about staying on task falls on deaf ears. The good students do not need nor have they ever needed this lecture – and the lecture has not worked nor will it ever work to the poor student. Pessimistic? Sure – but pessimism, thy name is May and April and often June.
How do you make sense of beautiful bright afternoons and dark dingy classrooms? I do the most I can to make the lessons relevant and challenging. I really do. I try to use the spirit of competition to move them forward. I really do
I was talking with a cohort today and she came up with the proposal, that I think she caught in the paper, that all testing beyond 8th grade or so be completely abandoned. The idea here is that there is not a single test given to teenagers outside of the ones needed in the classroom. Then, and this is the killer, in the last week before the end of the year you give THE test to seniors. If they pass this one and only test they graduate. If they fail, then thy do not graduate. NOW school continues to the very last day.. Senioritis is cured. The onus in on the student. They get it together or they don’t.