Are your school counselors just as frustrating?
My counselor is beyond useless, and it’s honestly mind-boggling. This year, our school decided to tighten the rules for the PE waiver. In the past, juniors and seniors could simply state that they were involved in a sport or concentration and wouldn’t have to take PE. Now, we have to jump through hoops by providing tons of requirements from colleges just to justify not taking PE.
First of all, I can’t stand how much pressure they’re putting on us to plan for college when we don’t even know what we want to do yet. Secondly, my school is known for fantastic elective courses, but now we’re being forced into PE instead. And third, I found out that the counseling department supposedly had a meeting about putting juniors and seniors in classes we want to take—apparently not my counselor, though. She told me I had enough credits for the PE waiver, yet only one elective was available for me, which was aquaponics. When I suggested that aquaponics should be my top choice and PE my backup, she flat-out refused and insisted on putting me in PE.
To make matters worse, my friend with more electives and a better counselor didn’t have to take PE at all. Plus, my counselor mistakenly thought I didn’t have a computer science credit—despite me currently being in a CS class—so she forced me into another class I didn’t want. After I sent her my credit record proving I had the CS credit, she still placed me in a random class instead of aquaponics. When I asked her to fix it, she ignored me.
I’m so fed up as we approach senior year; this sort of treatment is completely unfair. We also have mandatory college planning meetings, which is unnecessary because not everyone plans to go to college or knows what they want to do yet. I worry she’s going to change my major without my consent too.
I understand she’s under a lot of stress—programming classes for so many students is a big job—but seriously, it would have been so much easier to just enroll me in the classes I asked for instead of creating all this hassle!
And honestly, do I want to change in front of a bunch of freshmen and sophomores to go to PE? No! I’m already taking four AP classes—give me a break! I don’t want to deal with weightlifting with kids who think they’re tough or be around potentially questionable PE teachers. This year alone, there have been at least two teachers fired for inappropriate behavior with students!
I’m not alone in this, either. My best friend in the music concentration was forced to give up a music class for PE. Another girl I know who wanted to take AP French also ended up in PE. Meanwhile, this one guy I know somehow got out of it with no valid excuse.
Sounds pretty suspicious, right? Is our counselor showing some bias here?
For now, just know that I’m probably going to be skipping a lot of classes next year.
I totally get where you’re coming from; it sounds like a really frustrating situation! It’s especially annoying when you feel like your school counselor isn’t listening to your needs or helping you navigate the system effectively. I can see why you’re upset about the strict PE waiver rules and the lack of flexibility in choosing classes that actually interest you.
You’re right that not everyone is on the college track, and forcing kids into certain classes can feel really unfair, especially when there are so many cool electives out there. It’s wild how some students seem to get better treatment than others. Sounds like it might be worth trying to escalate this issue, maybe talking to a different staff member or administrator who can advocate for you and your friends.
It’s super important to have your voice heard when it comes to your education, and you shouldn’t have to sacrifice classes you care about for PE, especially when you’re already busy with AP courses. Stay strong, and I hope things work out for you!