In high schools today, most seniors are piled down with work and fatigued from after school activities and jobs. On average, most students spend 7-8 hours in school and most have after school jobs which they work for at least 6 hours. Most teachers and parents would say it’s because they’re in preparation for college and adult life. High school seniors are tensed and stressed because they are trying their best to succeed and make something out of themselves. But how can they do that if they have such busy schedule?
I am in favor of high school seniors requesting an early dismissal from school if they have their appropriate amount of credits. The time from their early dismissal will allow them to get a lot of work done. They will have more time to focus on after school activities, after school jobs, and getting more rest. A shorter school day for high school seniors can bring physical, social, and emotional benefits to students and the school. After school, many of these seniors participate in extra-curricular activities, such as sports, clubs, or volunteering.
Although academic work is vital, these extra-curricular activities are also significant for students because they teach responsibility and teamwork. In fact, most colleges require a wide variety of activities for incoming freshman students. But these important activities are often squeezed out by time in school and homework. The educational system should focus on forming well-founded persons, but seniors are instead focusing primarily on intellectual pursuits. Less time in school could allow seniors the freedom to discover other interests that are fulfilling and stimulating.
Also, many seniors work and early dismissal would allow them to get there earlier and leave earlier. It also makes seniors available to take afternoon courses to earn some college credits. With seniors having after school jobs, they still are considered being in a learning environment. They obtain valuable work experiences, which are excellent for a resume and employment gives teens less time to engage in risky behaviors. They learn how to effectively manage finances and provide constructive use of free time. The seniors learn time management skills and form good work habits.
Having a job can instill new confidence and a sense of responsibility and independence in the seniors. A shorter school day would give them more time to rest. According to WebMD, children between the ages of 12 to 18 need at least eight hours of sleep each night, sometimes even nine. In addition, many schools begin very early in the day, as early as 7:30 a. m. To get the recommended amount of sleep, students may have to go to bed around 9 or 10 p. m. In reality, between time in school and doing homework, students don’t have the time to spend on other activities, let alone get the sleep they desperately need.
Not only will seniors benefit from this, but the school will too. Hallways will become less congested with a percentage of seniors gone for the day. It also may help drive younger students to do well in their studies so they may be able to leave early as seniors. I think it is a great motivator for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to perform well academically and to demonstrate responsibility at school so they too will be able to do the same as the seniors. It would make for yet another reason to look forward to being a senior.
Do you think the teachers will benefit? Teachers are often under-appreciated, under-paid and over-extended. Even though they get the summers off, they often have to go above and beyond the call of duty during the school year, with grading, programs, and out-of-class tutoring. If they had fewer classes with seniors, they could better focus on their other students and their education and the work they do from home, such as grading and lesson planning. The hope is that as teachers become less stressed and are able to put more time into each lesson.
Allowing seniors to leave early would allow them to prepare themselves for life after high school because it’s an additional hour and a half where they could use that time to work or to prepare themselves to work after high school. Some seniors have work to assist in the support of their family or to earn money for college. Early dismissal for seniors will encourage them to stay in school and not dropout. Some students become so stressed out that they begin to think they should just dropout and forget about school. Why do the teachers give so much work?
They say it’s to prepare us for college but in reality most college professors don’t give as much work as high school teachers. With having a job and after school activities, most students have to stay up late hours into the night trying to finish assignments but if they are dismissed early they could finish assignments and take naps before they have to be at work. Seniors are loaded with work and have to turn them in before a certain deadline which is understandable if it has a reasonable date with the amount of work.
By reducing the presence of seniors on school campus, the school will find that student behavioral problems will decrease. Since there are fewer free moments during the day in which a student can cause trouble, teachers have to contend with fewer problems. Some students stay in trouble because they think they can impress the seniors but are only keeping themselves behind in their own work. Schools think seniors are the main cause of conflict on campus so having the absence of them will benefit the school.
Seniors realize that their senior year is their last year in high school, their last time begin able to hang with their friends and their last time to do whatever they want before heading off to college. With the seniors leaving school early, that gives them time to have fun with their friends and do silly things together for old time sake. They realize that they all want go to the same college or have the same careers so they just want to hang out and do things that they can’t do during school hours. Basically all seniors want to do is make the most out of high school.
They don’t want to stress too much. After their senior year is over, that whole part of your life is over, and they won’t get it back. High school is awesome because of the balance between responsibilities and freedoms. They are giving more privileges than you’ve had before (driving, etc. ), but you still don’t (always) have as many responsibilities like work and bills. With the seniors getting out of school early they can have time to plan a class dance to bring the senior class together. For one evening, everyone in he senior class can feel like a famous star and enjoy their last few days in high school. They can plan a powder puff football game for seniors, where the girls are the players and the boys are the cheerleaders. Before graduation, seniors can have a karaoke night with a DJ. Everyone will have a good time, even if they don’t participate in the karaoke. They can have more time to plan an awesome senior trip that accommodates every ones needs and wants. While they’re at home from school early they have time to think about their career plans and let them think about their appropriate classes.
If they chose to take up interesting and challenging classes that would make them put in those extra efforts and the challenges they go through will bring the best out of them and that can be very useful in their future. Colleges as well as employers give a lot of consideration to these things as well. It is more important for them to know that they have the ability to manage things and also armed with good academic qualifications. The seniors need to time to relax and enjoy their last year in high school.
While out of school early, they might spend time with their family because they know when they go off to college they want see them as much. They might plan a road trip with their friends to get as much friend-time as possible before they go off the college. They might try to plan something special for the teachers that helped them get to where they are now. They might to take some of their required college courses before they actually get into their college because they probably don’t want to be in school too long. They’ll have time to plan out the future or even make changes to their life plans.
The seniors will have time to get some work experiences if they find a volunteer job that fits their career choice. They’ll have time to meet new people that will help them through their life goals. In conclusion, there are a number of reasons that benefit the choice to allow the high school seniors an early dismissal from school. So if you want the school to succeed academically, allow this new policy to pass because it couldn’t hurt to make a new change. For all we know, it may make the school better for academic and athletic growth.
