The Student News Site of Neshaminy High School

The Playwickian

The Student News Site of Neshaminy High School

The Playwickian

The Student News Site of Neshaminy High School

The Playwickian

Senioritis: Springtime phenomenon consumes seniors

By Eishna Ranganathan
News Editor

Plaguing many soon-to-be-graduates around the nation, senioritis is a phenomenon that occurs starting around the springtime. Characterized by general laziness, eagerness to part ways with high school, and general decline in work ethic, it creates an academic dilemma for many 12th graders.

Many seniors at Neshaminy have similar attitudes: “Honestly there is little motivation to do anything; school gets boring after thirteen years since across grade levels we do the same repetitive thing; read, take notes, and take tests,” senior Amber DeBolt said.

Nationwide publications have consistently reported on the trend, featuring articles with tips on how to avoid it, insiders perspectives from teenagers, as well as links to humorous tweets for readers to view; College Board, a nationwide non-profit which creates standardized tests for high-schoolers, also specifically dedicates a page on their website with statistics and motivational tips for students to use as a guide throughout the duration of their senior year.

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The New York Times, which has consistently addressed senioritis via various annual articles, published a piece by Laura Pappano which stated, “Twenty-three would-be freshmen found themselves without a college when the University of Washington revoked their acceptances during the summer because of poor final grades.” She was in some form of communication with the college’s dean in order to obtain this information, as stated in “Slackers, Beware.”

“I think senioritis is something that naturally happens. You get burnt out with apps, and when you see your acceptance you know you are going to college somewhere and you want to coast through the year,” senior Jasper Nelson said.

When examining it from a psychological perspective, a senior at Connecticut College for her Honors Psychology paper conducted a study about it and found that a key factor for motivation is newness. It compared the “disease” to a group of students going to the museum: those who were visitors for the first time displayed greater enthusiasm toward learning what it has to offer.

It serves as a classic example of developmental and social psychology since the brain tends to subconsciously prioritize play over work. It wants to spend time celebrating with friends who the person may never cross paths with again. Essentially, the brain manufactures hormones to choose happiness over stress, something typically associated with the duration of high school, combined with the fact it wants to imitate the surrounding environment, which is exhibiting the same phenomenon.

Globally, seniorits seems to be a phenomenon limited to North America. Numerous studies conducted and cited among various organizations, such as the US News and World Report state that reliance “on computer-scored exams to provide readings on student achievement… is a gamble.” Standardized tests are often another source of stress for a typical high school student and lead to burnout, a central cause of senioritis.

“In general in America there is less of a drive. Most of the time when we see work we think ‘we don’t need this.’ Once you know you can give up you do: only being in the building is required. Europe has more of a push to pass classes until graduation – my mom’s side mostly lives there,” senior Terry Warner said.

TED, in Apr. 2014, released a report on what South Korea and Finland, two nations with the world’s best education system do in schools; their findings stated that the former model emphasizes “grit and hard, hard, hard work;” it’s the pathway to “climb[ing] the socioeconomic ladder” regardless of grade level.

The academic culture is extremely competitive and diligence-along with a “high performance attitude.”

The latter’s, Finland’s, central motto is “extracurricular choice, intrinsic motivation” and thus they allow students to have short school days, so each student can build personal interests afterwards: “Education is about creating identity.”

These types of setups leave little room for senioritis as core values are stated at the forefront and the foundation is built from there. Both nations have a commonality – “a deep respect for their teachers and academic accomplishments.”

“In Greece, [the education system] is incredibly different. In high school you prepare three years to take a major exam at the end of senior year. [Ironically], that time is when doing well academically counts the most. College is based on that one test and grades only, not all of these sports and extracurriculars and etc.,” Greek senior Elena Kalkan said.

Senioritis has been a part of American culture for decades and has impacted the education system, which from an international viewpoint centers on standardized testing as opposed to “dedication to learning and hard work” in other nations.

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Senioritis: Springtime phenomenon consumes seniors