Our senior year of high school is critical. Senior year is spent mentally preparing for college. Senior year means insuring our GPA is where it needs to be. Senior year means securing those college acceptances and scholarship opportunities. I’ll admit, I didn’t learn many “scholarly” things the second half of my senior year. But I sure did write a lot of college entrance essays, and spent a lot of time researching where I wanted to spend the next four (I’m currently attending USF-so FIVE) years.
So when Sen. Chris Buttars, of Utah, actually thinks that cutting senior year is a legitimate budget cut, I kinda wanna punch him in the face a little bit. Journalist Amy Stewart reports:
He made a dramatic pitch during Monday's Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee meeting, saying killing off 12th grade would save the state $102 million."You're spending a whole lot of money for a whole bunch of kids who aren't getting anything out of that grade," Buttars said. "It comes down to the best use of money."Also, I’d just like to point out that junior year will become the new senior year. Kids will just mentally check out earlier. I tutor some football players that signed with their college of choice two weeks ago. Yeah, getting them to do any work right now is pretty challenging because they know all they have to do is graduate. But as long as they are showing up, putting in just a little effort and playing the “school game” just enough to please me, then I’m happy. I don’t need A+’s right now, I just need them to participate. And, well, they busted their asses on the field and in the classroom to get where they are right now so I’ll let them take a little break before their freshman year of college where they will be crying to come back home. They deserve it. Students deserve a senior year. It’s a little R&R before a whole new place and a whole new game is the focus.
So, Sen. Buttars, shove it. Maybe you and your job should be on the budget cut list.
I agree with you about senior year. I spent all of my senior year dually enrolled at a local community college in my city. This extra step i took had me so prepared for college when I got to USF that I am floating along now while my friends are all studying many hours a day. Sen. Buttars doesn't know what he's talking about. You're right, having Junior year be Senior year will only cause kids to pay attention less then.
ReplyDeleteI think senior year has its positives and negatives. Like it was mentioned about a break from a 13 year sprint to the finish line, it is well deserved. I did not do anything my senior year, I had that football scholarship locked up so I could care less, so like you said I slacked hard. The only thing that prepared me for college in my senior year was english and improving my writing skills. But to cut the 12th grade would be idiotic and it would turn into the new senor year and then they'll just end up cutting that too.
ReplyDeleteSenior Year was so irrelevant! One worries about GPA, a date for homecoming, getting laid after prom, deciding to stay or leave their high school sweetheart, college (:-O). When I look back at high school I wish I took the opportunity to dual enroll into a community college my junior year; instead of wasting it on senior events and foolishness.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, checking out junior year would not be a waste of time. I dont know what HS you attended, in florida our exit examination- FCAT was a waste of time! Eventhough I took mostly Honors and AP classes, FCAT was what they drilled us until senior year.
ReplyDeleteIf you passed the FCAT your sophomore year like you should have, you wouldnt have had to think about it your senior year. You only take it again if you didn't get a passing score. I was done my sophomore year. And I enjoyed walking into my first year of college with 21 college credits that I had taken in the fall of my senior year.. Which reminds me, I also miss block scheduling.
ReplyDeleteTaking away 12th grade is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Of course students will transorm their junior year into a typical senior year, where they just slack even earlier within the term. I started taking dual enrollment classes in my sophmore year all the way to my senior year. I had more than half of my college credits for my AA so during my senior year, I just took mainly gym classes and art classes just to graduate with a high GPA. Senior year was my break from all the hard work I put in to get to that point. The education system should be the last department effected by budget cuts.
ReplyDeleteSenior year, in my opinion, is extremely important to a student's progress. It's definitely not a year used as a "breather" right before entering higher education. I'm not sure about other people, but I definitely busted my ass during my last year since I knew that my GPA was going to be included in my applications for college. I don't know how it is here in Tampa, because I went to high school in a different country, and still believe that it is very critical.
ReplyDeleteEven now as a college student, and even if I completed my senior year, it's as if there are some school requirements that I wasn't helped to be prepared for in high school. Everyone should definitely go through their senior year. Maybe it's just the curriculum that needs to be changed. I think they should focus more on preparing the students for the possible things that they could face once they step into college.
What's the difference between going to college a year early and taking college courses in high school? I think cutting the 12th grade is right on. Students that are college bound can...well, go to college. Students that are vocational can... well, go to work or tech school. My senior year I had one English Lit class and the rest was electives. Yes, this was a few years back before dual enrollment for college. But, c'mon! Our economy is struggling to make it and if you're going to go to college, then do it at the college. Why should tax payers pay for college at a free public high school? Student's that "slack" or take a "breather" are going to do it no matter what; we "tax payers" just don't need to pay for it.
ReplyDelete