The new semester is already here, and there are a lot of mixed emotions and opinions. Some students are happy about the second semester because that means summer is only a semester away. Others might be upset because we still have a semester until we get out of school for summer break. Some people are just now getting used to the new school schedule, so waking up is hard because they went from sleeping in and making their own schedules to having to wake up in the morning and get ready for school.
One freshman, Giovana Lia, said, “ I feel like teachers have less leniency and expect more of us.” Lia also said, “I’m excited for it to be closer to summer since it’s the second semester.” Students might have a bunch of different emotions about their new classes, if they even changed? When talking to Giovana, she said, “None of my classes changed, but at least I get to stay with my friends.” Friends are also an important part of the new semester. For example, some students might have made new friends and have classes with their friends like Giovana.
What will or what can students improve on in the second semester? Lia said, “I want to start remembering to stop procrastinating and not doing work the day before.” This is very important for the new semester because lots of students might have had a bad grade last semester because of rushing and doing tasks the day before, or turning assignments in late. Kirra Good, a sophomore, said “ I’m excited it’s already the second semester because it’s almost summer, but I really didn’t like last semester so I don’t really want to go through another one but it gets better throughout the year.” Another student who is a freshman, Marysol Desimone, said, “High school is definitely a big change from middle school and the first semester was really hard but I’m planning on doing better this semester and start balancing sports with school.”
The second semester often feels more demanding than the first semester because teachers expect more of you. Also, teachers move faster in class, sometimes a little too fast because they expect students to be able to keep up with their teaching style and their expectations to be reached by this point in the year. Junior Gracie Goddard said “The second semester is probably the best semester because the school year is almost half way through and as a freshman it was the worst semester of the year because you are still new and the teachers expect way more of you by this time in the year.” Goddard also said, “That’s mainly for freshmen though, because as you get older you get used to [it] and you already know everyone’s expectations and their teaching style.”It seems there are a lot of mixed opinions on this part of the school year. Some are excited about the second semester because of their classes changing, new teachers, or new friends. Also, summer is one semester closer, but some people don’t like the second semester because of having to stay in the same classes and teachers’ expectations are higher, as well as more difficult assignments.
