During Lakeland High School’s second semester, the rest of the school year lies just around the corner. The constant schedule changes that throw students off course are contributing to the anxiety of the school year.
Many elective classes at the school consist of only one semester, which causes a need for a replacement in many students’ class lists. Some debate that schedule changes keep excitement alive in the system, while others say it causes unnecessary worry and stress.
Starting the school year with a new schedule evokes a lot of anxiety in a student. Feeling unprepared and uncertain of what to expect in the following month’s lessons causes something familiar to many students called situational anxiety.
Stress like this can cause physical symptoms as well, such as headaches, paranoia and stomachaches. Situational anxiety is the feeling someone gets right before an important speech or interview for a big job, according to VeryWell Mind.
“Fight-flight responses can inhibit executive function skills and, therefore, can impact the ability of a child or adult to learn and to retain information,” the Kennedy Krieger Institute said in one of their website entries.
Anxiety can go unnoticed in many students, considering the normalization levels of constant stress in a school setting.
“(The students) intensely afraid of being noticed and do their utmost to avoid undue attention,” said Hertz Furniture when touching on the importance of school’s reaction to anxiety disorders for students.
While it is common for the school to see these signs of anxiety during the first couple of weeks, these symptoms can relapse again when students are given the same situation of uncertain new schedules at about halfway through the year.
Many schools follow a semester school year schedule, which means every year is split into two parts. When the second semester rolls around each January, new conflicts arise between the student body and the new schedules given to them.
“New classes and new faces” were the best parts about new classes, said sophomore Lucas Vasquez.
Vasquez had two classes switched for the second semester of the school year. New schedules, routes to classes, times for classes and classmates can impose extreme stressors on the student. Difficulties arise for the students and the counseling staff during these transition periods.
Endless requests to switch out of classes go into the inboxes of the counselors. Alongside students requesting different classes, teachers and other arrangements in person, these questions and concerns regarding the schedules can sometimes be too much for the counseling center to handle. Some people believe getting rid of these unnecessary changes in the school routine would decrease the stress of counseling centers and stress upon students.
Factors of the student’s anxiety include the route to classes, classmates changed, teachers changed, new material and classroom expectations. An excellent lesson can be impactful because leaving it behind can be difficult. For the classes that last only half the year, adjusting to that class may have taken a while, and now that the student is finally warmed up, it is hard to leave it for a new style.
Similar to being a new student at a school, these new uncertainties can enforce a lot of worry upon the child due to their lack of knowledge of what will happen with the new classes. Lengthening specific courses to the entire year also allows the student to understand the topic being taught better. Allowing students to choose their paths, get comfortable in the class, and build a community with peers can make for a deeper understanding and love for the topics the students enjoy learning about.
Cramming too many subjects into one school year can force essential knowledge out of one’s mind to make room for the newer classes. Research from top universities says that cramming too much information can prevent the data from entirely making it into the student’s long-term memory. This makes it nearly impossible to remember the subjects for an extended period, and will only be on deck for the next two hours.
On the other hand, some people enjoy the change of scenery throughout the school year. This can be a preferable route due to its flexibility. Arguments can be made that changing the schedules can also deter students from getting schedule changes. Getting through the difficult or tedious courses may seem more straightforward by giving the student a closer deadline.
Therefore, the student will be able to have an end in sight and look forward to the automatic change of schedule. These schedule changes also allow for a more seamless transition into other classes that the student wants to take. It also eliminates wasted time by compressing more courses into the year.
At the same time, having the same schedule can become tedious and repetitive. The same classes the entire year can waste a lot of time when students could learn more topics and get more necessary credits to graduate. Some schools debate that half the year is needed for the class to get all the subjects thoroughly taught to the students.
Exploring options for the topic of schedule changes within the school year can lead to multiple conclusions. Each school has its own opinion on whether or not these changes should be implemented. Currently, the most extended length most schools go without schedule changes is for semesters.
