Op-Ed | "Senior Privilege"

Some high schools offer their seniors the option of leaving for lunch, or leaving school early altogether. This is often referred to as a "Senior Privilege." Students who are classified as seniors can leave during their lunch period or study hall to eat off campus. Seniors might choose to go home to rest or study in between classes. Some members of the school community are opposed to a "Senior Privilege" policy for a variety of reasons.

Here are two points of view:
Pro
In high school, many privileges are at your fingertips, especially as one becomes an upperclassman. For example, there are many extra-curricular activities that students are encouraged to become involved with: sports, the musical, and other clubs. Although these examples provide great opportunities for students, one of the leading controversies students deal with is the battle for the advantage to leave school property early, also known as early release, when they become seniors. In order to be granted this privilege, students must have completed their mandatory classes. However, once this requirement is fulfilled, there should be nothing to stand in the way of what these students have earned from their four years at Nottingham. 

Senior year is the last thing standing between high school and the “real” world. In this world, people must hold steady jobs to work and support themselves. As high school is meant to prepare students for this life, it’s important that senior students who have spent their high school career in good standing should be allowed a head start on this. 

Students are often criticized for their time management skills regarding part-time jobs, school, and homework. By having an early release, seniors with  reduced schedules have the ability to work more hours, thereby increasing their salary. An additional benefit is that hese students would still be learning, but the lessons wouldn’t be taught in a classroom -- they would learn life lessons.

Another positive aspect of an early release is the opportunity to take certain college courses. This allows more freedom of choice for classes in their freshman year of college, because they took mandatory classes their senior year of high school. Several community colleges, including Brookdale Community College and Mercer County Community College, allow Career Prep courses  for qualified seniors that have a few periods off. Early release encourages a head start in the student's academic future.

Ultimately, if students qualify for early release, that indicates they have received all their credits needed to graduate, fulfilled the attendence requirement, and have avoided trouble and controversial actions. Therefore, students should not have to give up their spare time, only to have their hard work become folded up and tucked away for two more periods. Early release is a privilege that seniors should be able to receive if they have reached the requirements their school sets.

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Con
While on the surface, an early dismissal for Nottingham seniors seems like a well-deserved reward, the reality of the situation does not allow for this privilege to be enacted. First and foremost, there would undoubtedly be a very lax system for supervising those leaving school early.

There is virtually no way to oversee and verify the age of all students departing early. Skipping classes would become easier for non-senior students if they are mistaken for seniors and simply dismissed under the assumption they have this “senior privilege.” In addition, while many seniors will have earned this privilege, the juniors, sophomores, and freshmen in Nottingham will undoubtedly feel entitled to take advantage of it as well. Skip rates for all other students would spike. For example, students who previously would not skip may become encouraged to skip with friends or siblings who are seniors. This effect of an early senior dismissal therefore threatens Nottingham’s student body education by encouraging detrimental actions.

There are actually many benefits to staying in school for a full-length day. Seniors can take additional classes and continue to broaden their education before they step into the world as an adult. 

"Time to rest" is also a reason that is given by proponents of an early dismissal time for seniors. How much rest can one really get from being dismissed simply a few hours early from school? The vast majority of seniors are involved in at least one extracurricular activity, be it a sport or a club. Therefore, many seniors will be forced to return to school after a short amount of time at home for certain meetings and practices, rendering the shortened day pointless.

​Overall, while a shortened day may seem fine and dandy on paper, it is not a realistic system because of the adverse effects it could potentially have on other students’ education.