Senioritis Tempts Utah

A plan to make senior year of high school optional, has upset many educators and has excited some students in Utah. The plan comes from Utah Republican State Senator Chris Buttars who  originally proposed that the State of Utah eliminate senior year of high school but later changed that to an optional senior year for students who had already finished all their credits. He says this plan could save the state 60 million dollars a year.

The argument for an optional senior year is that many students slack off because they’ve already been accepted to college and as long as they receive passing grades, they can pretty much do what they like. The argument against elimination is that many students still need the time to learn and mature before heading off to college, the workforce, the military or wherever.

Before we get all Judgy McGavel, we should take a few things into consideration. First, it should be noted that Utah has done some intelligent budget trimming lately. They have given state employees Fridays off in order to save electricity. This experiment has saved 13% on the state’s energy bills and they have a happier, more productive workforce who takes fewer days off and volunteers more.

However, it should also be noted that Utah comes in at number 33 in the U.S. in terms of education, as it is. Not that great, but hey it could be worse. You can see how that list is compiled here. Maybe their students could use the extra year after all.

I think it should be decided case by case. Although I have a graduate degree, I only completed 2 ½ years of high school. Whereas I was bored in high school, I excelled in college. Okay, my first semester in college I did take basket weaving (for real) but I soon worked my way up to more challenging material. By contrast, my first roommate was 17 when she started college and she accidentally joined a cult her first semester away from home. My point is, some people are done with high school after three years, some need or maybe even want, four.

Do you think senior year of high school is valuable enough for cash strapped states to pay for it? Or a total waste of time?

Sources:

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/15/nation/la-na-utah-school15-2010feb15?pg=2

http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/19zhZo/www.good.is/post/the-2009-well-being-index//r:f