In many electives and specialized academic courses, seniors make up a significant portion of the class, leaving their junior and underclassmen peers with three weeks of reduced-capacity learning. As South’s business and finance instructor, Erin Moretz said she feels an expectation to continue her students’ education through the coming weeks.

“I definitely feel that pressure to continue (the students’) learning because after all, that’s what they’re here for,” Moretz said. “They’re not seniors yet, and the school year goes until June 17 for freshmen, sophomores and juniors.”

While additional content is beneficial to remaining students, Ally Strelke ’22 is concerned that it means her classes didn’t cover everything they should have.

“(The younger students) shouldn’t learn too much new content because then I’ll miss some of the content I should have been learning in those classes,” Strelke said. “My (microeconomics) class is the big one where I’m worried that I’m going to have fallen behind”

Zoe Acker ’23 agrees that she would prefer to solely review for her finals in the next few weeks, although she also believes there are measures that can make learning less daunting for students near summer.

“Now that it’s nice out, learning outside is beneficial and you’re not stuck in an extremely hot or cold room,” Acker said. “Nature can help you to focus on the things you need to get done for the hour.”

Regardless of whether it’s recognized, the impact of losing half of their class is felt by students across the building. In response, Moretz attempts to switch up her lesson styles for a more effective and enjoyable learning experience.

“A lot of times (students) tend to lose motivation,” Moretz said. “They feel like since the seniors are done, they should be done, which is why I think you have to shift gears and refresh whatever content it is you’re covering by putting a fun spin on it. I just try to lighten learning a bit and have fun with it.”