By Staff Editorial
By Staff Editorial
It happens every year, and chances are it’s happened to you. Students are dropping like flies, and it has something to do with the season.
It’s spring. The clouds have cleared up, the rain has died down and the only winds blowing are the warm Santa Anas.
On days like these, nobody wants to be in class-especially after they’ve had that taste of freedom spring break provides.
And, while many students tough it out and go to class, many others turn in their drop cards and lighten their class loads.
We’ve seen it happen time and time again. In fact, it’s not uncommon for some of us to drop some of our more dreaded classes.
Students have endless excuses for dropping classes, but the truth is it really only comes down to two.
The first valid reason for withdrawing from a class is that you simply hate it. You don’t want to worry about the final, and besides, you don’t really need it for transfer credit. Even if you do, you can always take it again, and maybe next time you’ll get an instructor you can actually stand.
You’re not going to miss it once it’s gone. On the contrary, you’ve been missing those hours of sleep you waste in that class.
The second valid reason, which can actually be tied to the first in most cases, is that you know you’re not going to pass.
It would be a futile exercise to drag yourself to class every day, study and take that final when you know, in the end, you’re not going to get that coveted “C.”
If you have that need to persist, you might stick around and get your “F” or “D,” but most of us would opt to use that energy for more productive things like sleeping or going to the beach.
Chances are, if you need to withdraw from a class, you’ve done it already. We have.
Even though it may seem like we’re the last people that should be giving advice, there are actually a couple things students can do to avoid this situation in future semesters.
For one, know yourself. Know how many hours you work in a week. If you are a morning person or a night person, make a note of it. Don’t kid yourself about hating math.
Plan your next semester around these guidelines and you might just see your classes through to the end.
If you aren’t a morning person and you absolutely hate science, don’t register for the 7 a.m. physics class. It’s not going to do you any good if you’re going to sleep through the class or simply not go.
If you can take the class at a later time that wouldn’t interfere with your work schedule, chances are you’ll actually attend class more often. And, if you go to class more often, there is a much smaller chance that you’ll withdraw from it later.
First off, you will actually pick up on more of the material by actually going to class and paying attention.
Secondly, the more time you’ve invested in attending class, the more motivation you’ll have to stay with it for the last couple of weeks.
Homework and projects are another big issue.
Nothing’s worse than missing a big project-nothing except knowing you might have passed without it if you had done your homework.
We know what it is to procrastinate, and we know how easy it is to get lazy and fed up with homework. If homework and projects don’t get done though, they will catch up with you in the end.
Last, but not least, ask for help.
If you go to class, you try the homework, but you still just don’t get it, ask for help.
Riverside City College provides free tutors. Even if you don’t go that route, there is bound to be someone in your class who gets it and who is willing to help you understand.
In the end, if you want to withdraw from a class we can’t stop you. It’s not like we haven’t been there before.
Still, if you take advantage of these quick tips and RCC’s student resources, you might be able to save yourself from wasting some time, some frustration and even some money next semester.
