It should hardly come as a surprise to many younger students attending SPA that, at the moment, the well-known “senior slump” is in full effect. While some teachers, students, or administrators will likely claim that people largely exaggerate the slump, with my own experiences as a senior surrounded by other seniors, I can affirm the only slightly exaggerated existence.

Trust me, it’s real.

To a certain extent, the existence of the slump makes a large degree of sense. As most seniors will no doubt confer to anybody asking, “What does it matter; we’re already into college, aren’t we?” And yes, most seniors might already know where they’re going, think they know where they’re going, or — at the very least —  have sent most of the information to colleges that they’ll need to send, including grades.

So yeah, for colleges it admittedly doesn’t really matter, but if you take that to the logical conclusion, it makes little sense. If the senior slump is justified because it won’t affect your admittance to a college, doesn’t that naturally mean that kids only go to SPA for college? That’s what the logic naturally leads to, but if you actually ask a senior what they went to SPA for, one of the least common answers would be, to get into a college.

Instead, most kids would respond that they attended for the rigorous academic environment or close connections with teachers.

Which begs the question, why slump like they do, if they supposedly care most about education? The answer lies at the root division between grades and education. A divide that some seniors right now don’t seem to understand. As most of you already know, grades are a reflection of what you’ve learned in school, or what you broadcast or display. Education is what you actually know. Seniors are correct that grades don’t largely matter anymore to them, making sure that you don’t absolutely plummet, but they’re incorrect if they believe that education doesn’t matter now. Some seniors understand this and some don’t. All students, including seniors, that attend SPA, should take every advantage the school provides them, education being foremost and any senior that skips classes or zone out in every class, doesn’t do this. However, if seniors truly want to slump, it’s sort of fine. Let their grades drop if they really want to, but don’t sacrifice your education.After all, it’s probably what you came to SPA for. So, as new students head into their senior year, the best way to ensure you get the most out of SPA is to take all the educational opportunities you receive. Don’t slump on your education.

With that, I’ve officially written my last column for The Rubicon this year. It’s been a delight and I appreciate anybody who has checked in. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading what I’ve written and wish you all a wonderful remainder of school.