Filled with a disgruntled, lethargic attitude towards the start of second semester was a room — and hallway — brimming with changes. For some, the new year brought on new desires and goals, prompting them to join a line of students outside of the guidance office asking for a schedule change.
Even before class commenced Monday, Jan. 5, students filed up outside the guidance office, asking for a print-out of their schedule or requesting for a course change.
“At semester, there shouldn’t really be any [problems as the result of dropping],” chemistry teacher Gregory Kirchhofer said. “If we were doing ongoing group projects, it’s a little bit harder if you lose people from your group, but for the most part, dropping isn’t a big deal.”
In regards to his experience with the AP Chemistry course, Kirchhofer noted that many students ended up dropping his course to lighten their workload and focus their efforts on other activities.
“Usually, it’s they’ve signed up for too many classes to begin with and they got into the year and they’re like, ‘this is way more than I’m going to be able to do. I need to focus on something else,’” Kirchhofer said. “Occasionally, people just say that it’s just more work than they wanted to do.”
For other students, their current course was inhibiting the expression of their personal interests. Senior Olive Lopez walked into the guidance office on Tuesday morning hoping to switch out of Spanish 2 for a TA position with art teacher Chris Flinchpaugh. With the goal of maintaining the status of a full-time student, Lopez wanted to allot her efforts in a subject that would prove beneficial to her time.
“I wasn’t very interested in the class that I was in prior to, so I thought it would be a waste of time being in class,” Lopez said. “I wanted to spend my time doing something else.”
Junior Nathan Cheney also wanted to switch into a class that would cater to his needs and interests, providing a more desirable education. Swapping Intro to Architecture with Sports Medicine, Cheney said that based on his past experiences, schedule changes were hassle-free.
“I changed from honors to [Advanced Placement] for AP World last year,” Cheney said. “It was really fast when I did it.”
By Alice Yu
As the new year kicks off, students line up outside the guidance office hoping to obtain new schedules. The beginning of each semester marks one the busiest times for the guidance office in terms of student traffic. The last day to add a new course is Monday, Jan. 12 and the last day to drop a course, penalty-free, is Thursday, Feb. 12. Photo by Alice Yu