Chaos in the counselor’s office

As the school year starts and classes commence students often find that the classes they signed up for aren’t what they thought they would be. Now, not only is their homework stressful, but changing classes are too.

Here at arrowhead high school, there is often an overflow of students looking to fix their schedules and change their classes. There can potentially be multiple complications to a student’s schedule. Each student is required 7-8 classes a semester but sometimes walk in with only 5 or 6 on their schedule.Or classes they requested aren’t on their schedule at all. With this, students are forced to come in to fix their schedules. There are also students that find they do not like the classes they signed up for and are desperate to change them. In addition there are students who have questions and additional complications that may not even have to do with their schedule.

Senior, Joey Maniaci, says “ Almost every year i’ve had to go in to switch some classes and every year there are so many students who are there for the same thing. It’s always chaos.”

Looking into the counselor’s office you can only see a sea of students pouring out of the door. With this long wait in process students tend to miss a class or their lunch periods. It can also get complicated because with so many students in line you may be waiting more than one class period. This can create complications for students are missing classes they do not wish to change and have to make up. But not only are students freaking out, so are our new counselors.

Stress the counselors hold is unimaginable as they are overwhelmed without hundreds of students a day. When asked about the whole processes of changing classes, senior keenan cuculi said, “Since it’s my counselors first year it’s like we’re learning exactly how to figure out my schedule together all  while he is still learning what the classes are.  I think he is a little overwhelmed because so many students are demanding so many different and unfamiliar (to the new counselor) requests. So i feel like that’s why it takes longer. Which is unfortunate because there are so many students looking to change their classes and we only have so much time in the beginning of the year to do so.”

But as the grueling first two weeks of school pass, we find that students seem to settle into their new classes quite easily. The process may be challenging and time consuming, but its next battle will not be until next semester. And hopefully by that time it is more efficient and the counselors have broken in their new position.