Hobbies and passions are methods of relaxation that put the mind in a happy place. Yet stepping into Jefferson on the first day of school, students discover the impending senior labs, the prerequisites vying for their schedule and the consensus that summers aren’t for everyone. When just days ago they were relaxing at home, students now must set a blueprint for the next three years of their lives, and decide whether or not they’ll have time for passions anymore.
As a freshman, I was appalled to hear from friends that they couldn’t choose a fun elective because they were taking Foundations of Computer Science instead—a Jefferson graduation requirement. One of my friends, who has played the violin since six-years-old, had to drop out of orchestra because they needed to have their summer free. How can a school that boasts an amazing curriculum be complacent with having their students choose between their summer and their passion?
As a STEM magnet school, the county sets Jefferson’s graduation requirements. Students could, theoretically, graduate without taking a summer course if they have no interest in optional electives. However, ensuring every graduation requirement is fulfilled is much harder for students wishing to pursue a passion, especially those who took no language in middle school.
Students that didn’t take a language in middle school must reserve an open slot in their schedule for at least three years of a language in addition to the year of foundations of computer science, their fourth history credit, and economics and personal finance. In addition, courses like AP Biology and AP Chemistry take up precious elective spaces. Graduation requirements make it difficult for students to pursue both their specific academic interests and those that are non-academic.
The pressure from graduation requirements also shuts glowing doors of opportunity. If Jefferson didn’t have any funding for electives or a diverse selection of them, maybe this article wouldn’t exist. But Jefferson has one of the widest arrays of arts, trades and languages I’ve ever heard of. With such a trove of options for students, it feels almost hypocritical for Jefferson’s requirements to clog a student’s schedule instead of encouraging students to test their interests and get to know themselves better.
Loosening graduation requirements would help students pursue what they want to be good at and what they enjoy; sometimes those aren’t the same thing. I support requiring students to take classes that every American high schooler takes because holding a high school diploma is no small feat, but requirements like Research Statistics and Foundations of Computer Science make Jefferson’s high school experience feel predetermined. Students, no matter the courses they took in middle school, should be free to learn from Jefferson’s amazing STEM curriculum, but also explore their passions and enjoy their summers in the short four years of high school.
From the October 2024 Issue of tjTODAY