The recent announcement regarding the switch from J-Term to May Term has come with both support and backlash. The Scholium staff has heard arguments from both sides and have come up with a propose solution. While we recognize that our proposal involves some logistical issues and many be hard to implement, we think it is nonetheless worthwhile to share.
The idea would be to alternate between J-Term and May Term, depending on the year. This could potentially pose problems, especially for AP courses, because of the overall inconsistency. However, alternating the two would also solve many of the differences between those who support J-Term and those who support May Term.
Mike Letts, Head of Upper School, said that moving the program to late May would “cause fewer conflicts for our student athletes.” However, many spring sports -most notably crew and lacrosse- still practice and compete during this time. All PAISAA games would be held through the weeks of May Term. Therefore, we don’t think that the move would truly solve any sports issues. If the school were to switch between January and May, student athletes of both seasons would have the opportunity to participate in the coveted travel trips at least once throughout high school.
Moreover, the elimination of senior projects due to May Term also angered students who viewed them as a highly anticipated and unique senior privilege. While Letts says that “it has been a weaker program in our curriculum for a while,” and that many projects are “subpar or just difficult,” some look forward to the opportunity and take it seriously. The years that offer J-Term would allow seniors to have the best of both worlds- both senior projects and more structured experiential learning courses. The years that offer May Term should definitely incorporate an option for senior projects, as mentioned in the Scholium news article on page one. This could be done in two ways: the program could offer a “Senior Project” May Term course in which students could enroll, or they could do senior projects outside of a May Term course altogether. Either way, alternating could be solve some disagreements regarding senior projects.
Arguably the biggest advantage to switching between J-Term and May Term would be the overall larger variety of potential courses. Some current J-term courses, especially travel trips like Montana, India and South Africa, would not be able to be offered in May due to weather concerns. However, May’s spring weather would provide opportunity for many new trips and courses. Course curriculums would be able to incorporate outdoor activities and lessons. Alternating would also guarantee that courses never feel too repetitive for students and teachers alike.
Again, our staff recognizes the logistical challenges in implementing a schedule that switches between J-Term and May Term. However, the idea does serve as a potential compromise, for both sides of the argument offer valid points in support of either J-Term and May Term.