An entire class of local kindergarten students staged a protest at their elementary school last week, refusing to reenter the classroom after recess. They scaled the play structures and would not come back down even after the school day ended. Parents were called to escort the students off campus.
This outburst was the culmination of several attempts by the students to avoid their classroom responsibilities. According to the school psychologist, this ongoing disinterest and lack of motivation may indicate early-onset senioritis.
This is an affliction commonly displayed by students during their senior year of high school. In recent years, cases have skyrocketed. Now with symptoms appearing in students as young as 5 years old, we may be on the verge of a full-blown epidemic. This recent event marks the most severe outbreak so far, but several local kindergarten teachers have reported similarly concerning trends in their classrooms.
“At the start of the year, they were counting, reading, and writing well above their grade level,” teacher Mary Peters said.
Recently, motivation has plummeted.
“Half of my students didn’t complete their coloring sheets yesterday,“ Peters said.
The assignment was meant to review the colors of the rainbow. It wasn’t a new concept but the students seemed to struggle.
“Most of them got to red, maybe orange, and gave up completely,” Peters said, “And those who did finish showed a disturbing disregard for the outlines on the page. Never in my life have I seen such incoherent scribbles!”
Teachers have noticed similar issues at other schools in the area and are expressing concerns about the future of these students. Countless drawings have gone uncolored, names have gone unwritten, and blocks have gone unstacked.
“This level of laziness and disrespect will not fly with the first-grade teachers,” Peters said. “At this point, we’re considering withholding diplomas.”
