Juniors and seniors: there’s not really much that separates these two grades at this point in the year. To use an analogy, both grades are chicken. Let’s face it, the juniors look as old as us seniors, and know the ins and outs of Staples just as well as we do. There’s really little physical difference, we are all the same type of meat. However, there is one essential difference between these two grades: a difference in outlook on life and attitude. In the world of chicken, let’s just say one grade is honey-glazed chicken, while the other is spicy BBQ chicken.
Let me explain. Juniors are at the start of what will show itself to be the most intense year of high school. The combination of AP courses and standardized testing makes this year a killer. They are the BBQ chicken: full of emotions and explosive with energy.
The seniors on the other hand have just completed this challenging year. The end of the college process is in sight, and their attitude might be more, well, relaxed than juniors. They are the honey-glazed chicken: mellow and comforting.
When members of both grades are present in the same class, a relationship is formed that benefits both members. The juniors need something to keep them sane. They need to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Seeing the seniors in their relaxed state serves this purpose. It lets them know that after soldiering through this extreme year, senior year will be better.
Some might say that seniors’ more laidback manner is distracting to the juniors in this critical time. I disagree. As a junior, it was quite comforting to be able to see that the intensity of school would decrease next year.
Seniors also benefit from this relationship. They need something to keep them grounded and remind them that this year still counts, and the high school journey isn’t quite over yet. In a class of all seniors, there is often no one who is motivated, and even the most dedicated of students will struggle to perform to his or her full extent in such an environment. However, with the presence of juniors in a class this state of no motivation can be avoided. There are others who are still working hard.
To refer back to the extremely relevant chicken analogy once again, the best piece of poultry would be a mix of these two extremes; not so spicy that your mouth is on fire, not so sweet it’s sickening to eat.
Aside from the motivational aspect of having juniors and seniors in the same classes together, I find that such classes really widen one’s circle of friends. For the first two years of high school, you don’t really gain too many friends in different grades; this is largely because freshmen and sophomores are not interacting that much, as they rarely share classes. Having juniors and seniors in class together leads to meeting new people, which can never be bad (okay, the chicken analogy doesn’t really relate to this aspect of the relationship…).
So to seniors that bash the juniors they share classes with, I say give them a chance. We were juniors just a couple months ago. We’re all chicken.
