Does this make sense? (School related, please see details)

Why don’t you call her or email her and ask her “It’s not clear to me why I need an appointment in order to change my schedule. Can you please clarify?”

I suspect that every school is different in terms of course change policy. Some make it easy. Some make it hard. Can your parent(s) help? Sometimes parents can make things happen faster.

What summer work are you talking about? Are you doing something that affects the classes you are taking in the Fall?

And what are you concerned about as long as you have an appointment to change the class before the school year starts?

Your counselor probably wants to talk to you to review why you are dropping an honors class, and to discuss what is best as a replacement.

@zenvelo The summer work for both the class I’m signed up for now, and for the class I want to take is A LOT of work. Stuff that is going to take me two weeks to do.
I’m concerned because August 21st is just days away from school

And I’m absolutely positive that is not why my counselor wants an appointment.

@NostalgicChills: That’s why I think you should call to clarify the purpose of the appt.

I think I’ll do just that.
Thanks everyone.

My mom is a teacher, and every August she has to “fix” her students’ schedules. My understanding is that the schedules aren’t made/released until August (guidance counselors need vacation too!). At my school, at least, we got our schedules in August (but, like you, registered the year before so we knew what classes we had) and students with special cases (such as my Mom’s ELL students) had their schedules rearranged first. That was why we couldn’t make such requests until the end of August. However, if you’d be doing summer work for the Honors class that you’re not planning to take, it’s ridiculous to not know until August. Emphasize that fact in your next email (or your parents’ email); maybe the counselor missed it. Every school is different though, good luck!

@NostalgicChills: Please post an update, if you’d like, explaining this weird but necessary appointment.

Thanks.

JCA
The Update Lady

@NostalgicChills You may have to re-do the whole schedule, the switch could impact all the classes you have SO…. You will need to sit down with counselor to change all the other classes.
The timing is as @sliceswiththings said. The final schedule for all the school and all the other students is completed in August.

It’s ridiculous to have to wait until August. Does the counselor have the summer off like teachers? If she is holding office hours before August I think she should get you in before August since the classes require summer work. I think I am against this summer work idea. There is a chance your entire schedule might need to change with that one class change, are you able to see if the class you want is available during the same period? Would you actually start the summer work before August?

School employees are under contract to work a certain number of days. It appears the person you need to talk to doesn’t’ start back until August. Yes, @JLeslie, under most teacher union contracts, they only work 180 days. Anything after that is more money.

I know little of the professional side to high schools, but when it comes to a university setting, I work in one. Wish I could say it will get easier for you after high school, but there’s even more “red tape” required.

To answer your question: You need an appt for a simple schedule change because the institution needs to cover their butt. If they don’t take the time to sit down with each student and make sure that what they need is truly is a simple schedule change, then the institution is likely to be blamed later, when a student ends up short on credits in the final semester and all hell breaks loose.

It’s all about covering their bases, and keeping their funding. While also being crippling to the students with common sense who already know what they need.

It’s late June, sounds like you have four weeks to do the summer work for both classes. Your decision to change your mind after school is out is not an emergency for the counseling staff. You have an appointment, do the work and be prepared to not be able to get in the class you want. You are going to be a senior in high school, time to start making adult decisions about school.

@bkcunningham The counselor is replying to emails, so that is a little confusing to me. I thought maybe counselors work all year? I would have thought teachers actually work more days under contract since the school year is 180 days for students. Whenever I go on my tangent about teachers onky work 9 months, some teacher usually strikes back with 10 months. I give them 9.5 as a compromise. They do starta few days ahead of the students and have some work days when kids aren’t in session during the year.

School is just now out in most places, @JLeslie. I’m sure the counselor is just finishing up. Most school districts around the country contract for 180 work days, 181 for department heads and counselors.

@bkcunningham So, when they come in a few days early to set up their classroom are they not being paid in a way?

Im somewhat confused. Do you know what the summer work is for the class you want to take or did they only give it to students who were registered at the end of school? Will you not have that information until Aug 21 if you wait for the appointment? Or is the concern that you don’t know for sure if you will be able to change classes and don’t want to have to do summer work for both just in case?

@JLeslie, they get paid a salary. Teachers have contracts with a calendar that has built-in start-up classroom days, work session, in-service, instruction, holidays and such.

@bkcunningham That’s what I thought. I looked up Palm Beach County schools, because I had just been on the site two days ago, and the teachers come in 4 days ahead of school start, and then they work a day or two here and there during the year when children are not attending, so I assume the teachers actually work about 185–190 days?

You are assuming that the teacher never takes a personal day, a sick day or leaves early.

@Supacase
I do know what the summer work is. However, I am NOT doing summer work for a class I might not even get. I’m just not going to do both, it’s ridiculous.

@NostalgicChills So don’t do it. But remember, you are the one asking for a change after the deadline. Drop the English 4 honors, and in August see what might be available. Maybe a shop class? AV support? Home Ec?

And you’ve never mentioned what your parents think about this.

@zenvelo I agree he is asking for the change, but shop class, really? Why the sarcasm? English is usually a required class every term, you can’t substitute an elective for it.

@bkcunningham I wouldn’t think to include a sick day, because I usually don’t think of sick days as a given, it is an exception when someone is sick. I do know people who always try to take their allowed sick days because they feel entitled to take the day off, but 90% of the population doesn’t do it, and employers don’t like when employees do do it. Unless the unionized school employees, principals, superintendents, think very differently than every other industry, which is possible. I realize sometimes vacation, personal, and sick are giving as one number now, but I doubt school unions do it that way, I assume they separate out each category, so I am going with that assumption for now.

Personal and vacation days I would include as a floating permissible day off. But, honestly, they get vacation days? Getting a week at Easter, two weeks at Christmas, federal holidays, and the whole summer off isn’t enough? I realize the summer is in a different category since it is not during the school year. A couple days personal or vacation, whichever they call it is fine with me and understandable, but more than two? I think it is ridiculous.

@zenvelo
The deadline is actually at the end of August.
And I have to take English all four years, it’s required.

What my parents think about this? As you mentioned in an earlier post, I need to start making adult decisions about school. So that is what I am doing. Besides, my parents know what I’m doing, and they trust that I am making the right decision.

@zenvelo: To @NostalgicChills’ credit, he’s asking for the change months before the start of school. It’s not like he’s asking for the change the day before school starts. I don’t understand your snarkiness.

@jca
I’m a she, but thank you.

My point is that we have given @NostalgicChills various opinions but she is adamant that she must get her way, not work within what the school has laid out.
1. The counselor is gone until August, the counselor has set an appointment,
2. The school gave a deadline for classes.
3. She chose an honors course, which is probably not easy for others to get into.
4. The schedules are mostly set for the Fall.
5. She will not do summer prep work unless she is assured beforehand that it will be of use in the class she takes.

So perhaps the question for @NostalgicChills should be: what if you can’t get into the class you want? That’s why I pointed out the ridiculous alternatives. What happens if you get the class but haven’t done the summer work?

@zenvelo I don’t see it like that.

1. We don’t know if the counselor is gone until August, do we? We just know when she wants to make the appointments. Unless I misunderstood. The counselor could be a total idiot, I run into idiots all the time, and the OP trying to figure out if there is any way to see her sooner seems perfectly reasonable; I think she should ask and try. The counselor may not realize the total impact of not changing classes sooner, i.e. the summer work.

2. The school gave a deadline, but the deadline is August. And, it seems it ia per issible to change, the OP was not told she cannot change the class.

3. She chose an honors course and probably it isn’t very hard to get in it, most likely not many can qualify to take it.

4. About the schedules being set for Fall, again the OP said the deadline is August. Plus, there are students who are moving in and out of the school distric during the summer they get accomodated, it’s possible. The OP doesn’t sound like a flighty girl, she is in advanced honors classes and is trying correct a “mistake” she feels she has made. She is learning and trying ti work within the system it seems to me. Systems can many times be illogical and unreasonable, and some times if we go above a person on the front line, we get someone more knowledgable about all the ramifications to help us. I would never just take the counselors answer without an additional call to some else if it might help me. First I would further explain to the counselor why it is important to change sooner than August, because maybe when she has all the info she will be empathetic, and if she still is stubborn or unable to help, I would make at least one more call to someone else. This is a lesson for the future in weeding through burearcracy.

5. You would do work for a class you most likely won’t be taking? I think it absurd to criticize the OP for not wanting to do double work. Honors. Good God, I doubt she is lazy about school work in general.

I still don’t understand why ridiculous alternatives make sense in your response. It isn’t funny and competely unrealistic, and unhelpful.

@JLeslie You said it all.

@zenvelo
“My point is that we have given NostalgicChills various opinions but she is adamant that she must get her way, not work within what the school has laid out.”

First of all, I don’t appreciate the fact that you’re making me seem like a petty brat. I’m anything but a brat. Secondly, there is absolutely no indication that I did not take any action or the advice that was given to me. I took action, and I will solve this situation. And you said the school gave a deadline for classes—the deadline is August, like @JLeslie said.