By John Knudson ‘19
Our brains can only take so much of the pythagorean theorem and classical literature. Some students are even bold enough to complain that the skills they learn at school are not helpful to everyday life. A new event dubbed ‘seniors teaching seniors’ should satiate any desires to learn more practical skills. However, it is exclusively catered to seniors, by now grizzled from 4 years of routine classwork and selling scholarship drive tickets. So, underclassmen will have to wait their turn to receive this penultimate privilege of high school.
During this 45-minute long activity, a group of seniors will pass down their unique arsenal of skills to their classmates. Scheduled for a common period during April 3, it consists of 11 ‘classes’, each with their own unique appeal. The classes include Cooking, Advocacy, Car Maintenance, Plumbing, Financial Basics, Storytelling, Firewood, Archery, Boxing, Building Basics, and Jam Session. The classes, taught either by a senior or a faculty member, will provide a casual environment for seniors to learn the basics of everyday tasks or find a new hobby.
I spoke with student representative Charles Farrington ‘19 to get more details about the special day. At its core, Charles informed me, the event is meant to “break up the monotony of senior year.” The 2nd semester usually marks a time when seniors lack the motivation to finish the school year strong. This affliction is known to everyone as ‘senioritis,’ an aptly titled trope that Ignatius is trying to fix. Seniors teaching seniors day is the first step in creating more specialized activities to promote engagement for seniors. While there is an emphasis on participation, seniors are also given the option to use the common period as free time if they wish to do so.
As for the future of seniors teaching seniors, it is not certain whether it will continue as a reoccurring school tradition. I was told that the whole day is a ‘test run’ of sorts, meant to gauge how successful these types of events might be. Whatever the future may hold, seniors teaching seniors day is sure to bring something new to the table and inspire future seniors to be more involved in student life.
