Senior Project Petition

Dear Parents of Decatur High students,

The Senior Project is a topic that has accumulated a copious amount of strong feelings, some positive but mostly negative, throughout our school. In any argumentative piece, one must take into consideration all angles of the argument, including the counter claim. I will attempt to do this while stating my argument of the matter.

The school's main assertion is that the Senior Project is an enriching and productive experience, and was created to better prepare the senior class for college. This logic is only partly correct. It is very true that colleges expect students to be able to create an accurately cited research paper. However, there are many differences between this paper and the ones that students will have to write in college. First of all, the senior project paper requires a coach, requires deadlines for outlines, 1st and 2nd drafts, and meetings with coaches. That will not happen in college. Also, this paper is designed not to stand on its own, but rather to lead the student towards his or her project. That is also different from college. To try and compare this senior project research paper with the same papers that will be written in days rather than months, and will be submitted with no coaching, no outside help, for a grade in a class, is a stretch at best. This paper doesn't prepare us for those we will encounter in college. As to the school's assertion that it is enriching and productive, this does have the potential to be true, however the main problem with the school's deduction is that students have made getting into college a higher priority than honing their skills at writing a research paper, or taking the time to build up a portfolio, meet with coaches and mentors, and then finally create their project.

The main fallacy in the planning of the Senior Project is the fact that it is ill timed. According to the Senior Project handbook given to each senior, the first draft of the research paper was due on the 16th of October. Now to the problem. Early action deadlines range from October 15th to November 5th depending on the school. Assuming that one already knows how to cite sources in MLA format, and knows how to properly research a topic, (which is far from the truth) it is still absurd to demand that a rough draft of a paper to be due around the same time early action deadlines are expected. When weighing the significance of a Senior Project draft in comparison to a college application deadline, priority has been, and must be given to the college application process. The fact is, for most students, getting into the right college for them is simply much more important than the senior project, and it should be. It's not like the project will go into college applications. The deadlines were so ill-timed, that the results of the senior project, that accomplishment, that creation, will not be seen by the colleges students apply to. Because of this, applications must take priority over the research paper. The final deadline for the project and presentation is in late April, the time when students begin to study for finals, create final projects for their classes, try to maintain a good grade, and for some, also study for AP tests.

Another fallacy I found browsing through my Senior Project handbook was found on the inside of the front page (page 2). The first words of the handbook state that, "Decatur High School has implemented a Senior Project to help seniors recognize the importance of becoming self-motivated and independent individuals." Seven lines after this statement the handbook continues by stating: “By school board policy, the Senior Project is a culminating graduation requirement." After reading these sentences I was thrown aback by the comedic irony and blatant contradiction printed on the well laid-out page. If the school has in fact created the Senior Project to help seniors "recognize the importance of becoming self-motivated and independent individuals," then why has the school board made it a "culminating graduation requirement?" That defeats the whole purpose and objective of self-motivation. These two quotes are paradoxical. If one is true, the other one cannot be. If the main intention of the Senior Project is to self-motivate, then how could it also be a requirement? It's not logical, it's double think. Self motivation is an intrinsic drive, if the school board makes it a requirement, it is no longer self motivation, it is a mandate. The faculty have themselves been inconsistent on this issue. Students have been told explicitly by the leaders of the senior project committee that it is up to them. "We will not come after you, we will not track you down, it is up to you guys to get this done," said a teacher on the Senior Project Committee. Less than a week later, that same teacher was spotted on several occasions actually pulling students out of their classes to talk to them about their Senior Project progress. This is simply an example of the lack of consistency between the organizers and the students they are trying to organize.

A counter argument to the allegation that the Senior Project does not self-motivate, is one I have heard on many occasions when expressing my frustration towards this project to teachers. Teachers claim that it is still self motivation because you get an opportunity to research a topic of your choice. This is true, we, seniors, get a say in what we research. It is nice to be able to write a paper or create a project based on a topic of our own choosing. However, there is a fat problem. It is NOT simply an enjoyable project. It is much more extensive and time-consuming. The actual project, the part that is hypothetically enjoyable, is hidden, shoved into the back of the broom closet, by tedious work - writing a research paper, finding and working with a coach and mentor, documenting the interactions with your mentor, accumulating things for your portfolio, writing letters, and much more. The "project" in "Senior Project" is suffocated. It is lost. All four P's (paper, project, portfolio, and presentation) are to be completed in our senior year. The project portion of the Senior Project is the only part which truly has the potential to ignite internal motivation. When met with the paper, portfolio and, presentation, however, a fun and stimulating project is transformed into an overbearing workload. I will agree that the Senior Project can be educationally rich and may help a little in preparing us for our college lives, but why does it all have to be completed senior year? I learned MLA citation and parenthetical documentation last year in my AP language and composition class. Junior year seemed fitting to learn these useful skills, and moreover, a fitting time to write the entire paper. Not senior year, amid the stress and laboriousness of balancing college preparations, high school, work, and extracurricular obligations.

The best way to alter the Senior Project is not to abolish it, but to reform it. Equalize the workload among sophomore, junior, and senior years. If the paper was written, the mentor was contacted and established, and the portfolio was well underway by the start of senior year, it would make the process much better. Take time out of classes to teach youth in their sophomore and junior years how to write a research paper. Then finally let the seniors choose a project to complete in their senior year that is not only educationally fruitful, but interesting to them, that is the self-motivated learning part. It is not the Senior Project's responsibility to prepare students for college; it is a high school's responsibility. The goal of a high school is to prepare students for college, just like the goal for college is to prepare students for occupational life. Why is it then that we do the project on our own time? We need the school's time, the school's support, and most of all we need the school's help in rethinking the premise behind the Senior Project.

The bottom line is, as dedicated and hard-working as the teachers and school board can be, the success of the senior project depends almost solely on the effort and motivation of the student. I think that at this point in time, the attitude of the students will lead not only to an undesirable outcome this year, but will also taint the appeal of the senior project for the senior classes of the future. The Senior Project is a great idea on paper and is potentially beneficial, but a lot of aspects of it need to be reworked. This is not the time to require the Senior Project; it needs further thought and reform. If you agree with me that the project needs reform, then please sign your name on the following petition. If we get enough parental support (close to majority) we will send our signatures to the school board attempting to probe a change.

Sincerely,
Jacob Rogers-Martin

PS: If you have any questions or comments please email to: limeinthecoconut123@gmail.com










I believe that the Senior Project should be reformed and re-evaluated with the goal of making it work next year:


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