Hays High School's Official Student Newspaper

The Guidon Online

Hays High School's Official Student Newspaper

The Guidon Online

Hays High School's Official Student Newspaper

The Guidon Online

Junior year ‘a challenge’ for students

Junior year a challenge for students

It’s the year that is heard about from the start of being a freshman. It’s the year that everyone dreads, the hardest year, the one that causes teenagers to give up their social lives. It’s junior year. For whatever reason, this year seems to be the hardest out of the high school years.
Some students would say that the hardest part of junior year is between sophomore and junior year when students have to transition into taking more required core classes. Instead of having just your basic math, English and science class, junior year adds on a required history class as well. With having four required classes junior year, that leaves only two classes open for electives.
“Junior year is hard because you don’t get as many electives,” junior Travis Wright said. “Also, the classes you didn’t take your freshman year, you have to get done.”
Another transition that is obvious between the sophomore and junior year is that by this point in your high school years, counselors and teachers are encouraging and pushing to help you figure out the career path you want to follow.
“I believe that junior year is so much harder because it is the first year in high school where the students are expected to carefully focus on their futures/careers and the courses that will be beneficial to their future plans,” teacher Ron Leikam said. “Many juniors are beginning to seriously plan for their post-high school futures.”
Other students would say that it is the hardest year for other reasons such as the amount of work that juniors receive to do at home outside of school and the extra activities that they engage themselves in.
“By the junior year, or during the junior year, students turn 16 and gain the independence to drive by themselves, and often times get a job,” math teacher Lisa Colwell said. “With responsibilities at home, church, and school work can cause students to become overwhelmed.
“I think some students also don’t manage their time while doing homework because they are too engaged in multi-tasking with Facebook and texting, etc. while trying to concentrate and do homework.”
Along with four required core classes comes hours of homework. However, students aren’t always excited to do homework after a long day of learning at school. It’s all about how you manage your time.
“The hardest part of junior year is time management,” junior Zach Kuntz said. “The classes themselves aren’t necessarily hard, the homework just takes time to do.”
Leikam also agrees that in the junior year, time management is necessary.
“Time management is a must for students taking several upper level courses,” Leikam said. “To be successful, students must budget their time wisely because often these students are not only in difficult courses, but also are involved in many different activities and have jobs.”
While most students do not enjoy this year and see a difference in the transition between sophomore year and junior year, there are some that don’t.
“They lied, it’s not the hardest year,” junior Brianna Pfannenstiel said. “I have the exact same amount of homework I did last year and I’m in all advanced classes.”
With all of the talk about how hard junior year is, sophomores tend to get discouraged about what they will have to face.
“Sophomore year is harder than I thought it would be, but I’ve heard junior year is even worse,” sophomore Spencer Greathouse said.
Like mentioned before, sophomores worry about the classes that are required as juniors.
“I’ve heard it’s really difficult because it’s when you have all of the main core classes,” sophomore Diane Lee said.
Although junior year is a tough one to get through, counselor Suellyn Stenger encourages students to challenge themselves each and every year of high school.
“Junior year is definitely a challenge for students as it’s the only year that has four required full year core courses: English, Math, American History and Chemistry,” Steger said. “While HHS’ Graduation Requirements only call for three years of Math and Science, I encourage every student to consider taking a fourth year of both, particularly if they are planning to continue their education after high school.”

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

The Guidon intends for this area to be used to foster healthy, thought-provoking discussion. Comments are expected to adhere to our standards and to be respectful and constructive. As such, we do not permit the use of profanity, foul language, personal attacks, or the use of language that might be interpreted as libelous. Comments are reviewed and must be approved by a moderator to ensure that they meet these standards. The Guidon does not allow anonymous comments, and The Guidon requires a valid email address. The email address will not be displayed but will be used to confirm your comments.
All The Guidon Online Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *