After the tardy bell rings, Jane mosies in and sinks into her seat. She despairingly looks at the reading assignment and worksheet written on the board. As she begins reading, her body starts to feel the effects of staying up all night watching Real World. Her eyes get heavy and she drifts of to sleep, neglecting her assignment. The bell awakes her, and she sees a progress report sitting on her desk. ” Four missing assignments? That can’t be right.” She says to herself. “I’ll get the work later. I don’t feel like it right now.” She yawns and walks out the door, wondering if her next teacher will let her sleep in class.
This is a classic example of senioritis, an epidemic that hits the senior class every year. Side effects include laziness, lack of motivation, sleeping in class, failure to do homework, and fatigue. Usually occurring in May, the “itis” struck early this year, starting mid-March and continuing through April. Some say say they don’t have enough time to focus on school and are too busy working or doing other things that don’t pertain to academics. Others say they’ve already been accepted to their colleges and don’t feel the need to continue on second semester. What ever the reason, the struggle is real, and students fail to realize that giving up has detrimental effects. Here are some tips to overcome senioritis.
1. Set new goals.
If you’ve already been accepted to your dream college or know what you want to do after high school, set a new academic goal. Maybe you want to get a higher grade in calculus, or develop better study habits for college.
2. Create incentives.
Find out what rewards would most motivate you to succeed. Reward yourself every time you meet a new goal.
3. Get a support system.
Start a study group of peer that care about your success. Provide encouragement to each other and help when needed. Accountability helps motivate you to get the work done.
4. Make it fun.
Make sure you give yourself enough leeway to keep your senior year fun. Allow yourself plenty of time to relax and hang out with friends. This alleviates stress and prevents you from feeling overwhelmed.
Though it’s harder to stay engaged at the end of senior year, no one has to stay a victim of senioritis. Motivate yourself with knowing that it will soon be over and finish your fourth year right.
