As USD 266 nears the end of the 2024-25 school year, some worry about the increased apathy that seems to consume students in large numbers. Second semester can be a rough time for many students. In the school halls, attendance and class participation decrease, important deadlines near, and illness runs rampant. This strange plague goes by many names, including the “Senior Slide,” “Sophomore Slump,” and, of course, “Senioritis.”
While the motivation decline affects all students across many grade levels, one particular group tends to suffer more than others. Michael Boykins, Maize South High School principal, has noticed it affects upperclassmen the most, especially seniors.
“There’s a couple reasons why,” Boykins said. “For one, because they’ve been doing ‘school’ for 13 years and they’re ready to be done. They also realize they’re at the cusp of this massive transition in their life. They’re still treated as students, […] but they themselves are adults, and we’re trying to get them ready to be full-blown adults on their own [after] high school. They’re in this limbo stage, it’s like, ‘just let me do what I want to do, let me just move on and progress.’”
While seniors may suffer most from the apathy outbreak, underclassmen are not completely immune. Many underclassmen suffer from similar symptoms, but may contract the condition from different circumstances. Boykins explains how underclassmen may suffer from the slide because of opposite reasons than upperclassmen.
“I think for our freshmen, by now they’re pretty much acclimated to high school,” Boykins said. “The apathy comes in under the lens of ‘I have four more years of this, I have to do this, I do this again and again and again and again. I just want to be done.’”
There are many reasons as to why this phenomenon hits harder in the spring semester. This includes the impending doom of ACT and SAT exams, AP exams, midterms, finals, college and scholarship applications, and the nearing competitive season for winter and spring sports and extracurricular activities. The stress of several academic commitments causes many students to fall behind, and many give up on school entirely. Maize High School counselor Anne Debes acknowledges this time of year is stressful for everyone and offers positive habits as a suggestion for struggling students.
“This time of year there’s a lot of illness, of course, [and] so many people have had the flu or colds. They don’t feel good,” Debes said. “Sometimes people get behind in classes, and they feel like giving up because they feel like ‘how am I ever going to catch up?’”
“They start to worry and get a lot of anxiety, so sometimes kids will want to avoid school,” Debes said. “It’s kind of a natural human tendency when things get hard, sometimes we want to avoid them. Sometimes they just have a lot of personal things that they’re dealing with, or maybe conflicts with other students, or even teachers they don’t get along with that make them less likely to want to come to school.”
Winter in particular is often associated with loneliness and a lack of motivation. This is a common occurrence that can lead to depression and anxiety if left unchecked. Debes works with students daily to prevent such occurrences and helps students who are struggling to find a solution that works for them.
“Sometimes we just have old-fashioned talks: one on one with students, or talk to them and their parents,” Debes said. “Sometimes we try to find some rewards and incentives to keep them going if they’re struggling… a lot of times it’s just more reaching out and trying to be consistent, and letting them know that we truly, truly are happy for every single day they can make themselves come here.”
Most staff members are in agreement that teachers and administrators do everything they can to encourage students to keep coming to school, but the students disagree. Kids like Ethan Reyes, Maize South senior, feel that some staff members can cause an attendance slide.
“It depends on the teacher,” Reyes said. “If they’re a harsh grader, or they give a lot of homework especially.”
The good news is this phenomenon is both curable and preventable, and survivors learn time management and study habits that benefit them throughout college, trade school and the workforce. Learning these habits early aids those who are college-bound, and prevents future issues with employers and colleagues. Maize South High School counselor Brooke Sorenson experienced senioritis during her final semester of high school, and explains how her choices in high school affected her later in life.
“I had a rough start to college because I kind of took the easy route senior year, and I skipped some classes,” Sorenson said. “When I started in college, my grades weren’t bad, but they definitely weren’t as good as they could have been, so, I think through that, I just learned that education really is important to me, and I need to do the best that I can do.”
Counselors like Sorenson assist students with college and career planning on a regular basis, and they are more than prepared to help anyone who struggles with a lack of motivation. Accomplishing goals looks different for everyone, and many students wonder what their particular solution requires of them, and what is needed to accomplish that goal.
“For some people’s intrinsic motivation, they want to do well, they want those grades,” Sorenson said.“For some people, it’s extrinsic motivation, like ‘my parents are on me about my grades,’ or ‘I have to have this GPA to get into college.’”
When dealing with senioritis or a second semester slump, Sorenson suggests keeping one’s overall goals in mind.
“I think the question that you have to ask yourself is less about your grades and more about ‘what type of work ethic am I creating that’s going to benefit me in the long run?’” Sorenson said. “It really does require some kind of self-reflection on ‘what is important to me and what do I have to do to get there?’”
Story and design by Julianne Tanksley
