Just Drop It

The Davis High counseling office has been swarming with students all week. The reason? Today, Sept. 12, is the last day to add or drop a course.

According to head counselor Courtenay Tessler the schedule changes were much less hectic this year because there were more restrictions on the process.

“That helped a lot to keep students from doing all these crazy changes,” Tessler said.

Students could only drop a class if they were transferring into a lower level class. A course could only be added if it was needed to meet a graduation or a UC a through g requirement, or if it was a class the student had previously failed.

According to Tessler the most commonly dropped courses are the higher level mathematics, advanced placement and honors classes.

English teacher Sarah O’Keefe worries that “students will take too many honors or advanced placement courses and become overloaded.” Because of this, she reminds her students about the deadline to add or drop a class.

“I believe I’m helping them to consider— to ask themselves the question ‘Have I taken on too much?’” O’Keefe said.  While O’Keefe believes that her students are young adults who can make smart decisions, she thinks that “they just need adults to give them reminders every once in awhile.”

Junior Caitlin Harjes just dropped AP U.S. History because she felt it was too stressful. According to her, students were assigned approximately an hour of homework per night, so she transferred into U.S. History/Social Justice. “It was like a load off my back,” Harjes said.

Similarly, junior Alex Sprague switched from AP Chemistry into college prep chemistry. According to Sprague this change made her schedule much more manageable.

“I just wasn’t going to be able to keep up with the work load that AP Chem required,” Sprague said.

As a former DHS student, O’Keefe fully understands the work load DHS demands. “I know the challenges. Davis High School is not an easy school,” O’Keefe said.