Column 78 for April 15, 2001

I’m all hyped up for several reasons. Spring Break (formerly Easter Holidays) is probably better for teachers than it is for the kids. It’s been a long time since the winter holidays. (Formerly Christmas Break) We all need it bad. Tomorrow, as I write this, I leave for Chicago, to visit my daughter and family, most notably my new grandson, who was born on February 21^st.

Another "hype", although not near as important as the rest, is that I bought a new printer for my computer. Geeze these things have progressed! Not too many years ago I bought an IBM Proprinter for about $500 that did dot-matrix printing that amazed me. Now, you can get a color printer that does photographs wonderfully for $100 to $150!

Next up, somehow, in spite of all the rumors about Julia Roberts and myself, I’d like to focus on a more local problem, that of "Senioritis."

Our high school seniors think they have a "unique" problem. But it happens every year. Somewhere, along about April, they get "short." The former GI’s reading this know what I mean when I say "short." ETS, we used to call it. Estimated Termination of Service. The only thing I can compare it to, for the rest of you, is a prisoner waiting for his day of release.

As a teacher, this "short time" remaining is a problem. We are expected to teach the normal academic subjects right until the end, but we have an audience that is totally distracted by Prom, Graduation, and the "Ever-after." After "Spring Break" we have just 29 days of school… Not only that, but most seniors get most of that last week off for graduation practice etc. A difficult situation, at best.

Andrew Mollison, with Cox news, recently reported, "High schools and parents let many seniors waste their last year of school, which helps explain why one-third to one-half aren’t adequately prepared for college or the workplace." His article, published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, went on to quote from a report to Education Secretary Richard Riley, "Many students reported ditching senior classes because the atmosphere encouraged them to consider the senior year a farewell tour of adolescence and school."

This situation really aggravates me. Not only am I, as a teacher, held to be teaching right until the end of the year, I personally expect to teach until graduation! It drives me nuts when seniors start beginning to think, "it’s all over" by the time Christmas rolls around. No way in my classes!

My students will have class, until the last class is over. Some may fail between now and then, and although I sympathize, and I wish they would study, I will cut them no slack.

Just as a reminder for you seniors, "It ain’t over until it’s over…" There will be no "gifts" from me… Only best wishes, as long as you’ve spent 12 years in school, not just 11 and a half…

Study hard, you seniors. You’re almost there. (But not quite…) Peace. tomiswho@mindspring.com