The beginning of the new school year is always very hectic for students and staff. One reason why? Students who drop classes. There are many reasons why students drop classes. Seniors who have enough credits to graduate sometimes drop a class or two just so they can leave early and some varsity athletes drop P.E. classes with a wavier and are put in study halls. The main reason why most students drop a class though is because of the difficulty of the class.
The classes that are usually dropped are electives. Many seniors drop elective classes because they don’t need them to graduate and this gives them the chance to leave school earlier than everyone else. Third and fourth year foreign language classes can prove difficult for some students, so those classes are also sometimes dropped. “It disappoints me that so many students drop electives without giving the class a fair chance because even as an adult, I want to be a well-rounded person. I would love to take a foods class and learn different styles of cooking and baking. Taking a foreign language can help us appreciate the different cultures in our world and influence us to travel the world. I would love to take an auto class to know the basics about cars and repair, and the list goes on with our offerings and how they can be helpful,” said counselor, Ms. Palmer, about students dropping electives.
Students dropping classes becomes a problem each year for the counselors. When school has already started and students need their schedules changed then the counselors must change their schedules quickly. When a student drops an honors or A.P. class the counselor must find a regular class to put them in which is difficult since school has already started and this year most classes are full. This could also mean that the counselors may have to rearrange a student’s schedule to accommodate a new class. “When a student requests to drop a class, they often want to add a course in its place which is difficult because our classes are so full and the schedule is limited,” said counselor Ms. Conn. On some occasions when students want to drop a class in order to take another the counselors can’t work it out and the student ends up either dropping the class all together or end up having to remain in the class.
Dropping classes is just another normal thing to occur at this time of the school. The counselors are used to this. The counselors prefer that students give the class they want to drop a chance. This saves time and stress for the counselors and it makes it easier for the student to not have to worry about a changing schedule.