by Anika Mittu ’19

With the start of second semester, the counseling department witnesses a spike in students who seek schedule changes due to errors, such as missing a class period. While scheduling concerns based on error remain valid, some individuals seek to simply change teachers for their own benefit.

By asking counselors for a schedule change due to disliking a new teacher, students selfishly fail to recognize that the entire student body has faced a teacher who they have not completely admired. When these unnecessary schedule changes occur, it presents frustration for the majority of students who do not have ideal teachers, yet realize that their concerns are largely irrelevant. Students that seek a schedule change for trivial reasons also create less time for counselors to meet with individuals who truly need to adjust their schedule, due to a missing class period. This creates more students who miss instruction in one of their courses. Instead of immediately rushing to the counseling office when they first glance at a teacher’s name on their schedule, students should realize that their frustrations are felt by countless other individuals and that actual scheduling errors require the attention of counselors.