Throughout high school, as students mature, they are granted more responsibility for balancing education, extra-curricular activities, and social life. Upperclassmen handle the responsibility well and act as good role-models for younger students to look up to. As a reward for this, they receive privileges to help ease them out of high school. Senior privileges allow students more responsibility and freedom as they reach their final year in high school, and while they do provide a little-needed motivation, some of the different privileges should be extended to the lower grades while others should be reserved for seniors. 

In the spring, seniors gain the ability to go outside to designated grassy areas if the weather permits it. This pushes seniors outside which can improve mental health and gives them much-needed vitamin D to help re-energize them for the rest of the day. This privilege is something many people appreciate even though it is pretty limited by weather. While this prerogative is great for seniors, it separates other students and it should be addressed that the younger grades should also be able to appreciate the nice weather. Juniors should be given the same responsibility because of the many difficulties juniors experience; the extra sunlight could boost morals and vitality. The two younger grades: sophomores and freshmen, don’t deserve this because they are often more immature and, as a whole, couldn’t be trusted to be respectful. Teachers should be encouraged to take their classes outside if the class is a study period or something laid-back. Some might argue wellness provides students fresh air, but it often falls flat with tiring games or uninterested students. 

Another privilege for second-semester seniors is their ability to use their ID’s as hall-passes. While this is in an effort to show that seniors are now more mature than their freshmen counterparts, they are in many cases more likely to be disruptive because of their lack of interest as the school year comes to an end. The purpose of the ID’s being hall-passes is unclear but seniors mostly enjoy them just because they can use them, and no one else can. It shows their superiority and is a good reward for the seniors by giving them more responsibility.

The most useful privilege allows students a reward for their hard work at BSM; seniors are given the ability to ‘skip a final.’ Skip a final gives the seniors something to look forward to in the second semester and gives them the incentive to keep decent grades and attendance record. Having a C in a class to be able to participate in this privilege is enough of criteria for students, and it gives them motivation as the seniors look toward the summer. This privilege should be kept for only seniors because of their hard work throughout high school and the fact that they already have been accepted into college or have a plan for after graduation. Juniors shouldn’t be allowed to participate in this because part of the reason it is for seniors related to their early graduation. 

In the end, senior privileges provide good rewards for future graduates. They occasionally fall short but do encourage leadership and responsibility which is incredibly important for BSM as a college preparatory school.