The middle of February is an interesting time for Wilsonville High School students. The underclassmen have two weeks to pick their classes for the next year, which isn’t exactly an involved progress for such a big commitment. Students are given forms to fill out with lists of available classes, and there isn’t much detail other than the name of the class.
Frequently, students end up in classes they don’t like, despite picking them. They have only two weeks to drop in the first semester and one in the second, at which time many classes haven’t even begun their curriculums. Even if a student drops a class within the time, it is hard for them to find another one, as they quickly have to be moved to an empty slot, which may not be possible and could lead to a failing grade.
Often, students don’t get into an elective they want, and thus are asked to fill in alternates, which could lead to spending a year putting effort into a class they are not passionate about or do not like.
I myself filled in Mrs. Huggins’s Yearbook class last year, and only found out I would be taking it a couple weeks before the year began. Although I like the class, I soon realized that it would be a lot of work, with a large amount of out-of-school commitments, not realizing what I would actually be doing. Several students in the same situation dropped out, even more for the second semester.
To avoid this, students have counselors available to see about this issue, although it may be hard to get an appointment, both students and counselors find the service valuable.
Our four counselors see about 30 to 50 students per day during course selection time. Christine Moon, counselor for students with the last names Re to Z, about 25% of the school, feels students are confident in picking their classes, “providing information to the whole student body,” with the assembly done recently, as well as in evening meetings with parents, so they can make “informed decisions.”
Moon often suggests changes, wanting to avoid students having too many AP classes for instance, guiding eager students to find which ones they want to take in the coming year, and which to save for the future. Another common piece of advice is not to pause their progress, for example, if a sophomore has taken Spanish 2 and wants to take Spanish 3, Moon thinks they should do it as a junior instead of a senior.
However, Moon is “not usually” making decisions for students, emphasizing that it’s a “group decision.” Ultimately, the student is the one in control of their future. An exception to this would be if a student wants a class they haven’t qualified for; however, they are usually well-informed when it comes time to make the choice.
Moon’s ultimate goal in giving students advice on classes is to make them stress-free, and she mostly succeeds, offering “as much or as little support as each student needs,” and frequently meeting students who have made quick decisions as well as those who need a lot of support.
Hopefully, for students feeling overwhelmed and anxious about next year, a counselor visit should make things easier, and by the end, there will be a good plan set in stone.