Students facing senioritis lose motivation

As the 9 a.m. bell that once brought in the majority of class rings, AP Literature & Composition and Humanities teacher Mimi Park sighs as she marks yet another student absent. Her classroom is a ghost town as many of her seniors have succumbed to senioritis –– the decline in motivation as students near the end of high school.

But as the number of absent students in her class increases, Park is not alone in being forced to confront the reality of this all-toofamiliar phenomenon.

Park said overcoming senioritis is a giveand-take situation for both the teacher and student.

“It’s frustrating when I have students who are falling behind because, as a teacher, I can help them make it across 95% of the way, but I still need that 5% from them,” Park said. “We want to make sure that they’re going o to college or other post-secondary plans and don’t want them to have to do summer school to graduate.”

Park also said the school can play a part in deterring senioritis by making consequences more strict. “ ere’s a huge correlation between an excessive number of absences and tardies and work completion,” Park said. “If we kept track of (attendance) a bit better, maybe it would encourage students to try to make it to class more frequently. It gives me, as a teacher, a chance to talk to them in person and help them make a plan.”

Although Park’s AP Literature & Composition is an elective English class, Living Skills is a graduation requirement students often take their senior year. Living Skills teacher Alyssa Bond said the need to pass the class in order to graduate lessens the e ect of senioritis in that class.

“I don’t have to do a lot to remind students to get their stu done so they can pass the class and graduate,” Bond said. “ ey have to take the class, but they also have to pass it so there is still that motivating factor to at least do well.”

However, Bond said she still notices senioritis in her students and changed her curriculum as a result.

“We have sex education and drug and alcohol curricula typically towards the end of the semester when we’ve built really good relationships with our classes,” Bond said. “But because of senioritis and fatigue for all grades in the class, we moved it up so there’s more engagement.”

Although Park said senioritis is more prominent in her second semester classes, she doesn’t change her lesson plans to accommodate a ected students and instead gives repeated reminders to stay on top of their work.

“When we get to the beginning of second semester, I do more frequent check-ins, especially if I feel like a student is starting to fall behind because I know it becomes really hard to make all of that up later,” Park said.

English and Humanities teacher Lizzie DeKraai also said she doesn’t change her Humanities curriculum for seniors but does provide resources for students to catch up on missed material.

“I refuse to change my lesson plans because students are not showing up because it is not fair to the students that are there to do nothing for the rst 20-30 minutes of class,” DeKraai said. “However, all of the lectures are recorded. ere’s resources online so kids who choose to not come to class can get caught up.”

But even with her extra e ort to accommodate Humanities students missing class, DeKraai said the lack of attendance impacts other students.

“ ere was one day that I had 12 out of 32 present at the bell,” DeKraai said. “For work from its stereotypical perfect weather, and Californians like Eng are caught in the middle of a lifestyle change. periods, it was frustrating because you’re losing opportunities to get help from me and from your classmates, and that’s protected time that I’m sacri cing by not teaching something to you to help you with your work.”

Park said the di erence in workload between her AP Literature and Humanities class may lead to di erent motivating factors that a ect the magnitude of senioritis.

“Senioritis didn’t hit very hard for my seniors in AP Lit because they knew the AP exam was approaching,” Park said. “However, in Humanities, it’s more di cult because there isn’t a major AP exam at the end of it that’s looming over students. It becomes much easier to push aside the work when there’s tests (in other classes) to prepare for.”

No matter the class, Park said students should gure out a method that allows them to nish their work.

“What works is di erent for everyone, but communication is the biggest thing,” Park said. “If (you’re) falling behind or feeling reluctant to go to class, talk to somebody who can help, like a TA, teacher or counselor. But don’t try to do it alone.”

Along with nding ways to deal with fatigue, DeKraai said high school is a time to build good habits for the future.

“You will never regret going to class,” DeKraai said. “Learn, talk to your friends and get some work done. is is just life; you have to show up and do the things that you don’t want to do in service of higher desires or goals.”

Park said she hopes seniors won’t let senioritis undermine the hard work they’ve accomplished throughout their four years.

“It’s like someone who just ran a marathon and is 100 yards from the nish line deciding they’re going to stop,” Park said. “You’ve come so far, so don’t let that e ort be wasted.”

Ti any He News/Opinion Editor

When junior Austin Eng looked out his window one morning this January, what he saw was not just some typical California rain. e storm beat harshly against his roof and the water level crept up the sides of his house, threatening to damage it.

He knew that his all-purpose jacket, the one that couldn’t withstand more than a drizzle without looking like it had gone through the washing machine, was not enough; he needed to innovate.

One quick search later, he emerged from his dad’s closet with a rain jacket from the ‘70s to borrow for the week.

“During rainy mornings, I always make sure to check the weather before anything so I can plan my day around breaks in the rain and how to dress accordingly,” Eng said.

As climate change alters global weather patterns, California has begun to shift away

Senior Jade Minsko , co-president and founder of the Project Eco club, said California’s weather has become more extreme in the previous few years. e 10 warmest years on record in California occurred between 2012-2022,” Minsko said. “ is example of extreme weather means that heat waves will continue further.”

Beyond heat waves, AP Environmental Science teacher Nicole Loomis said climate change a ects precipitation patterns on the West Coast.

“Climate change will a ect not necessarily the amount of precipitation but the number of precipitation events and how much rain will be dumped in each event,” Loomis said.

Loomis also said the amount of precipitation that occurs each time it rains will likely increase, leading to potential ooding as the city saw in early January.

“( e increase in rainfall) could lead to increased levels of ooding, especially in low line areas which we do have some of in Palo Alto,” Loomis said.

Loomis said extreme weather conditions could be worsened by an increase in El Niño years, which increase precipitation and ooding, or La Niña years, which cause dry weather and drought.

Such extreme weather led students like Eng to take extra precautions, especially after school.

Eng said he tries to plan his after-school time e ectively when it’s raining so he can stay as dry as possible.

“Whether it be doing work in the library or grabbing a hot drink at Town and Country, I try to use the serenity of rainy weather to try and get some school nished somewhere inside,” Eng said. “I usually try to see if I can cover an extra shift at work just to be inside somewhere where I can be productive instead of running the risk of procrastinating at home.” e Bay Area relies on this snowpack for its water supply, meaning a decrease in the snowpack could lead to lifestyle changes related to water shortages. ere’s a lot of things people can do to collect their own water for their own supply,” Loomis said. “ ey can collect rain barrels or create water cisterns to get the extra water that ends up in the ocean.”

Despite the large amounts of precipitation this winter, Loomis said the overall snowpack in the mountains is projected to decrease.

Because of the changes in weather patterns, Loomis said that people’s traditions are beginning to shift too.

“For example, the ability to ski and snowboard will become more variable,” Loomis said. “ e ability to swim at the coast may also become more variable whether the water is too cold or the surf is too rough.”

Minsko also said climate change can cause rising desert temperatures.

“People who live in or visit deserts will eventually have to avoid them as the temperature is beginning to rise to numbers that break records,” Minsko said. “Of course, most deserts in California that reach these temperatures are not inhabited, but populated deserts may put some people at risk.” And while Minsko said she has yet to experience much personal change related to climate change, she knows many people have lost a lot as a result.

“I have just noticed the more extreme heat over the summers,” Minsko said. “Due to the rain that we received this year, I did notice I went outside a lot less than normal, although this is nothing in comparison to individuals who have had much more extreme lifestyle changes due to extreme weather.”

For residents in the Bay Area, Loomis said that those who are living in low-lying areas or on the coast have experienced some detrimental e ects to their lifestyle.

“Certainly, there are landslides, things are damaged on Route 1, and there’s a lot of lowlying areas along the Caltrain in Belmont and San Carlos that got ooded,” Loomis said. “Some people lost their homes just from these oods in January.”

Loomis said in the end people should be cautious and forward-thinking about how climate change will a ect them.

Loomis said, “One way to adapt is to really think about where you want to live and make sure that you are a good distance above sea level.”