C: And here we go—the beginning of the end. Our journey as high school students is down to our final semester, so we have to make these last months the best yet! I know how I am gonna do it: taking everything I do seriously and really making it count. But Leah, what about you? What are your plans for your final semester as a high schooler?
L: I can’t believe it! These last few months, I’m going to try to relax a little bit (something I haven’t done much of since I first started high school), try new things and spend a lot of time with friends. But come on Cecilia, you and I both know you’ve never taken anything seriously. Like…ever. Let’s see if this new semester is any different. I have to say though, something that has always bothered me is the switch-up that happens for the second semester. Instead of switching up our schedules and teachers, why can’t our classes stay the same?
C: I can see why you think that—change can be hard for bad students like you! But implementing new schedules at the beginning of each semester ensures that every student has a fair chance at success. While no teacher is necessarily better at teaching a subject than others, some students learn better from a certain teaching style. Allowing students to have a completely fresh schedule, with many different teachers, gives everyone the chance to excel in a subject. If a student struggled with a subject in the first semester, a new teacher might introduce to them new strategies they might not have tried before. Especially in AP courses, with the time leading up to the exam, it is important that you have gotten exposure to multiple different teaching approaches to maximize retention and understanding.
L: But Cecilia, that can also be a downside of switching up teachers in the middle of the semester! After an entire semester with one teacher, adjusting to what is sometimes an entirely new teaching style in the middle of an intensive curriculum disrupts learning. Each teacher has their own way of teaching, grading and preparing students for tests so forcing students into a different class while they are getting to what is often the hardest parts of the curriculum can be a real struggle. Routines are completely shaken up and students are forced to quickly adjust while studying for tests, working on big projects and beginning to think about AP exams.
C: While I understand that adjusting to a new schedule can be challenging for many students, it really mirrors the reality of college and beyond. Many college courses last for just one semester meaning that students regularly switch their professors and classes. WCHS is preparing students with this transition of classes, as it not only simulates the academic structure of college, but also gives students a good baseline for what life will look like after college. In most workplaces, employees don’t work with the same team forever and it is changed all the time. By encouraging students to be able to adjust to new teachers and environments, it allows students to build flexibility and easily adapt in any situation.
L: Oy, Cecilia. As always, you’re confusing entirely different things. Most high school classes last an entire year whereas college classes last only one semester. Switching teachers and classes mid-year disrupts the social circles that we build in our classes and destroys the routines we so meticulously made. I had all my passing period paths down to a dime last semester and now I have to start all over again. Furthermore, teacher-student bonds are broken with the change of teachers which can be especially detrimental to juniors who need to ask for college teacher recommendation letters. Let’s be honest, the semester schedule change only contributes to the overwhelming anxiety that many students are already experiencing moving into quarter three of the school year.
C: Well Leah, honestly this doesn’t matter to us anymore. In just 5 months time we’ll be laying on the beach, relaxing as we look back on our high school experience and look forward to the future. And you know what I’ll be saying as I unroll my towel and prepare to get a tan? That I won this argument! And there’s nothing you can say about it because it’s my turn to end the PFT 😉. But for everyone else, I hope you enjoy the February issue!
