Almost There, Class of 2026: The Struggle of Senioritis

BY CAILIN FAILING 
The Tower 

Senioritis may not be a true medical diagnosis, but for seniors, It feels real.  

As graduation gets closer, students start to lose motivation and school feels less important. Assignments get pushed back, alarms get ignored and it becomes harder to care for grades the way they once did.  

The thought and excitement of finishing high school tends to mix with stress and exhaustion, making it difficult to stay focused in class. 

“I think once you get to that second term you start not wanting to do anything. You start getting tired, you start being like “oh well,” Jesus Gomez said. 

 Senioritis does not look the same for everyone.  

Some students will only experience things like zoning out during class or turning in assignments late. Others deal with senioritis on a much higher level where skipping class, missing deadlines, and not caring at all becomes common.  

“I can give you an example myself through my life. I’ve only really switched classes one time, and it was journalism. I know in that class people put in work. If your gonna be in that class, you gotta work. I wasn’t ready for that. I don’t want to fail a class and I’m scared of failing because I know I wont put in that work. I’d rather just switch classes into an easier one and have a fun senior year that I know I wont be stressing over. That’s why I think alot of people do it.” Said Gomez 

Gomez never switched a class all through high school because his main goal was to do well. That was until senior year he had decided to switch out of a class because he was afraid of the workload and it affecting his GPA. Switching to and easier class left him feeling less stressed and without a worry of failing. 

Many seniors spend their last year of high school stressing over classes and grades even though it should be a time to enjoy your last memories of high school and making the most of the time that is left. Instead of fully living in the moment, they often worry about college applications and their GPA.  

“A lot of people stress over their classes a lot. Like, ‘Oh I gotta do this.’ Right now, I have friends in APs their senior year and there just freaking out over the worst. They miss one day and they are already behind. It brings so much stress that you don’t need your senior year. This year should be a time about having fun, you worked hard all these years to enjoy it,” Gomez said 

Although senioritis is often joked about, it really is a mix of exhaustion and pressure that builds up after years of school. As seniors count down the days till they graduate senioritis becomes a bigger deal and shows how ready students are to move on. 

“Because your almost done. You’ve been in school 14 years now, you get a break. I mean I was ready, too,” English teacher Aaron Moren said. 

The Tower interviewed Manteca High English teacher Aaron Moren to talk about how senioritis shows up in his classroom and what he does to keep students engaged. 

The Tower: How do you see senioritis show up in your classroom? 

Aaron Moren: Senioritis in my classroom … things just start to stop. Kids just stop turning stuff in, and then suddenly three weeks later it’s like, “Hey, can I turn in some late stuff?” That’s usually how it happens and usually kids get back on track pretty quick. 

TT: What strategies do you use to keep seniors engaged? Any specific things you do? 

AM: I try to make it engaging. I try to include like videos and fun stuff that keeps you guys in it. Others teachers they don’t read 12 Angry Men and they don’t act that out like we do. They just read other articles and stuff, so I include things like that because it does fit the curriculum, but it is also fun and I think people remember that too. 

TT: What do you think makes seniors switch to easier and less demanding classes? 

AM: Because you guys are done. You’ve done all your hard stuff. It’s your last year. Why would you want to? A lot of kids too aren’t thinking like long college minded, so they know they don’t have to take all those hard classes. “I’m going to go to Delta. I’m going to go to UC,” or whatever, you know, where I’m going to take a gap year, so I don’t care. I think a lot of kids go that way. I probably would have knowing what I know now.