At the end of senior year, seniors have this feeling of senioritis, leading to many seniors skipping school, blowing off assignments and being physically and mentally checked out of school. This feeling of senioritis typically stems from being burned out of school after a long year of high school. This is very understandable and teachers expect it from seniors by the end of the year, but this feeling isn’t just restricted to seniors; juniors also have this same feeling.
It is not a secret that junior year is by far the hardest of the four years of high school. Like seniors, juniors get naturally burned out of school due to the advanced course load, Advanced Placement (AP) tests and American College Testing (ACT). By this point, school routines have become repetitive and exhausting, but graduation still feels so far away, with no clear goal that seems to be in reach, prompting students to relax. All of these things can produce extreme burnout for juniors, leading to the feeling of senioritis happening junior year. By the time May rolls around with the end of the school year in sight, the idea that “school’s almost out” leads to slacking off, whether the person realizes it or not. People use others to help justify their slacking off. When everyone around you is coasting, it is easy to adopt a poor attitude. Senioritis can spread socially among juniors with a group mindset.
Furthermore, junior year is normally your first time having classes with seniors, so having the connection can lead to the feeling spreading across grade lines. This can happen when a class has to slow down because of the absence of many seniors on any given day. Additionally, junior year is the first time you can have an open hour, so not needing to be at school for a part of the day pushes the students to become even more lazy. Juniors have the feeling they are stuck in the middle because they don’t get the attention that seniors get, nor the sympathy that is given to freshmen. Junior year is often when students begin to face more adult responsibilities at home or at a job, which can distract students from schoolwork. Students may feel like their classes start assigning them busy work to get to the end of the school year, leading them to not do it because they don’t feel like they need the information. A contributing factor is the proximity of summer and potential plans for the summer can distract students.
Senioritis is like a snowball rolling down a hill because once you start skipping classes and not turning in assignments, it is hard to stop. This is due to the fact that there isn’t any motivation to make yourself disciplined again with summer so close. Towards the end of the year, students notice that teachers will stop pushing them, assuming they will slack off anyway. This creates a loop of students being checked out while they feel like no one expects anything of them. Senioritis is very contagious and can even spread to teachers. Teachers, like students, can also get burned out. When both the student and the teachers are burned out, it leads to low productivity and a countdown until school gets out.
With all of this pressure, there are many things that you can do to help stop senioritis from taking you over. Setting short-term goals will help you stay on track, especially when college and graduation may feel like a long way away. If you are feeling senioritis, try to prioritize certain classes, like your core classes that are essential to your grade and that matter the most to you. Furthermore, getting an accountability partner who also wants to fight off senioritis could provide mutual motivation that could push you to keep going.
