Senioritis, a condition defined by Maayan L. ‘23 as “the lack of motivation at the end of senior year,” afflicts the majority of high school seniors when the school year draws to a close. As I write this article, the countdown posted in the halls states that there are only 7 days left until the end of classes for seniors.

   Nora L. ‘23 remarked that she used to allot a large amount of time and effort at home to complete her homework; however, now she “just does homework in school and [doesn’t] care.” Clarifying that she still does well in school, Nora keeps up her good grades but puts less effort into her work. Yet, the workload she receives does not mirror her waning motivation because of all the pressure with large assignments such as the senior thesis.

   Additionally, Yoni K. ‘23 feels that since college applications have been sent in, homework seems redundant. While his motivation significantly declined, “it appears as though we’ve received more work than we’ve received” in past months. Though his grades and class participation stayed the same, his “overall excitement for learning new things” no longer remains.

   Lindsay B. ‘23 describes the seniors as “so obsessed with school be[ing] over that [they]’re completely done with schoolwork.” In some classes, she finds herself trying less, as well as doing her homework during lunch or in the class before it is due. Lindsay believes that teachers should make classes “more engaging” because seniors find it difficult to just sit in class and listen to a lecture. 

   Once seniors have “already applied to colleges and got[ten] in,” Brynne D. ‘23 feels that it makes it difficult to keep caring about school. Maayan L. ‘23 no longer feels so anxious about her grades. Yet, her anxiety shifted from schoolwork to worrying about whether she will get into her top colleges. On the other hand, Brynne “is forcing [herself] to keep working because [she] know[s] colleges will want to see [her] end grades.” Maayan and Brynne believe teachers should accept that students no longer care as much about school and that teachers should assign less difficult and time-consuming work.

   Struggling with my own case of Senioritis, even writing this article took longer than anticipated. Since many students, including myself, have not only been accepted but already committed to college, keeping up the motivation to complete high school work feels harder every day. While teachers must acknowledge this and endeavor to keep the seniors interested in their classes, it is also important for students to enjoy their last month of high school and end the year strong.