As soon as gradebooks closed for first semester, the RHS counseling center was packed with students. But the students weren’t there to talk about college.
Students were there to see if their counselors could transfer them out of particular classes.
This class switching occurs because some students earned an unwanted grade in a class or disliked the work that had been assigned.
Some call this cowardly, while others call it astute: a way to maintain good grades.
Switching social studies teachers seems most prevalent in the 11th grade. One student transferred out of her first semester social studies class into another, saying “it was a lot of pressure on this card marking.”
The teacher she transferred out of, Mr. Johnson, said about class switching: “Work ethic and understanding is key. Most Renaissance students just want an A or B and not actually to know the stuff.” He thinks that’s unacceptable.
“Switching out is not the silver bullet solution,” he added.
“There will be college classes with only one professor, and you won’t be able to transfer. What will you do then?”
One RHS counselor said the staff tries to discourage switching classes, because classes are designed for students to be in them all year long. It puts the student at a disadvantage when switching out.
Although students will individually decide, the two options seem simpler than which class to take: either challenge yourself or stagnate.
