Photo by Sophia Shapiro

Juniors Nikki Sanayi (left) and Mckenna Kuppersmith walk to sixth period law, an elective class that they both take.

To graduate high school in Maryland, all students are required to take certain subjects for a specific number of semesters. In some cases, students may complete all of these requirements early on and then must take filler elective classes to complete their school day. Students may be unable to get an abbreviated schedule that would allow them to either come to school later or leave earlier due to the requirement to have seven classes. This policy should be amended to allow all students to have an abbreviated schedule.

Seniors are currently allowed to have abbreviated schedules for specific reasons. According to Principal Douglas Nelson, “Very specific to the student, there has to be a reason but that could be for a job, to take college classes, to be part of an internship and the list goes on. The request has to go through a counselor and receive administrative approval to even be in place.”

If students have a solid plan to complete their graduation requirement within four years, the question arises: Why shouldn’t they be allowed to have an abbreviated schedule instead of taking unneeded classes? These classes only add to students’ workload and remove their focus from important classes that are required for graduation.

An abbreviated schedule would benefit juniors and underclassmen by improving their mental health and other aspects of their lives. Junior Nikki Sanayi said, “I would have more time to relax and do my homework, so I would be less stressed overall. If I would like to I could also catch up on some sleep if I didn’t get enough the night before. So especially if I’m participating in a school sport I would be energized before practice.”

Students could get to school later and get more sleep in the mornings, or leave school earlier to go to extracurricular activities and sports with more energy and an improved mood. A constant struggle for students has always been waking up early and being awake enough to pay attention in classes and get their work done. The option to have an abbreviated schedule would allow students to get more sleep and perform better in their classes while also leaving them with time to do most of their work afterward.

Students may believe it’s a waste of time for them to be taking classes that don’t check off their graduation requirements. Sophomore Aadi Chaudhari said, “There’s no point in needing to do extra work if my graduation requirements that I plan on getting done that year are met.”

Though abbreviated schedules would benefit students, others enjoy extra classes. They allow students to explore their interests such as music, art, theater and finance. Having the option to have an abbreviated schedule doesn’t take away from the choice of still taking these classes.

Student’s overall focus on different areas of their life would improve if their schedules were more well-balanced and unneeded classes were taken out of their day.