As we said goodbye to summer and started the new school year, a lot of us looked forward to new classes, new teachers, and essentially, a new atmosphere in our learning environment. Now that we’ve all had a taste of what most of our classes will be like for the next couple of months, there has been a lot of talk about students enjoying their classes or debating whether or not to change them. As the counselors’ office fills up with students wanting to make alterations to their schedules, it seems that many of us are being turned down the opportunity to switch or drop a class that we may not like.

Last year, when we all had our meetings to discuss schedule options for this year, we were told that after we formed our final schedules, it wouldn’t be possible to change any classes.  Reasons like wanting to change teachers, not needing a class for college credit, or simply just changing our minds about a class would no longer be acceptable here at West. Students had until Wednesday, August 29 to make any changes they wished before their counselors denied any and all requests, and even then there was no guarantee of a successful change.

Everyone  has had a teacher or class that they disliked and went to their counselor to drop the class/change the teacher. If counselors keep allowing students to change their schedules freely, we’ll all end up getting the impression that everything we ask will be handed to us in the real world. After high school, it is unlikely that your employer will accept every single request that you have. High school is a time in our lives where we have to grow up, sometimes too quickly, and be aware that life has its hardships. Schedules are just one of the many concerns we high school students have to deal with. After we graduate and move on with our lives, we’re not going to have hard-working counselors who do everything they possibly can to make sure we’re taking the classes we need in order to meet the credit standards.

Joyce Van Alstin, one of the counselors we have here at Niles West, wishes she could do more about the schedule situation. She’s used to approving mostly anything her students request of her.” The schedule situation creates a better understanding for a future game plan. Even though this process has changed, it isn’t impossible to change a class you really dislike. Scheduling is tight and it’s important to have accountability,” she said.

Students are still able to change their schedules, it’s just becoming a longer process. Seniors this year adjust to this change, considering in the past four years it was no problem to fix altercations in their schedules.

Senior Nasha Dovlatyan tried to drop a class that she didn’t particularly enjoy or need for college credit. “I was able to drop it, but I had to fill out a form which needed a signature from basically everyone involved in the situation,” she said. Signatures are necessary from parents, a counselor and the director of whichever subject you are trying to drop. This is a bit more work then we are used to, but it’s still possible to get what we want.

With some hard work and patience, I think it’s possible for students to still get their way. This is an experience that we can all learn from and grow as almost college students.