As the academic year is coming to an end, I would like to go over something interesting about high school. In about a month, it will mark my 15th anniversary of my high school graduation. I don’t know how much schools have changed since my time in school, but when I was in school, I remember that the upper classes had more perks than the lower classes.
For a reminder, the freshmen are the 9th graders, the sophomores are the 10th graders, the juniors are the 11th graders, and the seniors are the 12th graders. For a recall, once the year is over, the seniors get to graduate, as the juniors finally become seniors. The sophomores will get to move to the upper class, and the freshmen will no longer be the bottom class. Part of the reason why advancement is good is not just because they are closer to finishing high school, but also because they get more perks. This includes a wider variety of classes open up, more perks in school events, and more perks as students in general. Even the sophomores have more perks than the freshmen.
For example, at one of the high schools I went to (I went through two schools during my high school years), there was this Project Graduation at the end, which is a party held at the Rec Center at a college that I graduated from. The seniors, now that they’re done with school, get to attend Project Graduation. Not only are they allowed to attend, but they also get privileges to invite others. The juniors are allowed to attend Project Graduation, but they cannot invite someone older or someone from a lower grade. The sophomores cannot attend Project Graduation unless if they have been invited by one of the seniors. And the freshmen cannot attend Project Graduation at all.
Without going over too many examples, I’m going to cover an allegory to what it’s like to have more perks. And this one is on prizes.
Prizes and Perks:
Here’s a hypothetical situation. On the weekend after the first school week, there is a back-to-school party where attendants can participate. There’s pizza, drinks, candy, and games. But there’s also a raffle where the raffle winners will win random prizes as the school year is about to begin. The prizes are put into four different classes: Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class D. The prizes are like what you can get in a ticket arcade.
To enter a raffle, you need to buy a raffle ticket. There are different raffle tickets to different classes of prizes. The freshmen can only enter the Class D raffles. The sophomores can enter the Class C and Class D raffles, but cannot enter the Class A or Class B raffles. The juniors are not allowed to enter the Class A raffles, but they can enter the other three raffles. And the seniors can enter any of the raffles. Whether the prizes are more exciting or more disappointing, each class has at least one grand prize.
Since time is moving fast, any mentions of contemporary prizes may become outdated in later years, so I’m going to speak from the perspective of 2007-2009 on the topic of prizes. The prizes of each class are:
Class A:
- Rock Guitar
- Digital Camera
- Desk Chair
- Portable DVD Player
- Fan
- Grand Prize – PlayStation 3
Class B:
- Disco Ball
- Plasma Ball
- Jumbo Turtle Plush
- CD Player
- Monopoly Board Game
- Grand Prize – Laptop
Class C:
- Light-up Cup
- Light-up Fan
- Artisan Lock Box
- Mini-Board Game
- Restaurant Gift Card
- Grand Prize – Bike
Class D:
- Candy Bar Box
- Deck of Cards
- Journal
- Rubik’s Cube
- Fast Food Gift Card
- Grand Prize – Shop Gift Card
There’s only one grand prize per raffle, and five of each of the other prizes.
Each class has other smaller prizes that you do not have to enter a raffle to get. Common Class A prizes include puzzle books and wooden puzzles, common Class B prizes include inflatables and plushies, common Class C prizes include bouncy balls and slinkies, and common Class D prizes include bracelets and fun-sized candies.
To a freshman, the prize pool is not every promising. They can only get Class D prizes, and the prizes in that pool are like the lower end of the prizes that you would get at a ticket-redemption arcade like Dave & Busters. You can’t even get the bouncy balls or slinkies. Not only that, but anyone can enter the Class D raffles, meaning that chances of winning one of the lower-tier prizes, given that there are five of each of all of them (save for the shop gift card) are much lower.
To a sophomore, they have a wider selection of prizes than a freshman would, but the more exciting prizes are locked out. They can get the Class D prizes since anyone can get them, as anyone except the freshmen can get the Class C prizes. The odds of winning a Class C prize are higher, but it’s still not as good since the juniors and seniors can also enter the Class C raffles.
To a junior, they would get more fun since they have a large selection or prizes. With the exception of Class A prizes, any prize is fair game. They can enter the raffles to get the medium-sized prizes (or a laptop if they’re super lucky), and just in case they don’t win, they can still finish the party with a plush or an inflatable. The prizes are more worth it.
To a senior, the prize pool is everything. They can enter any raffle, and since only seniors can enter the Class A raffles, the odds of winning a Class A raffle are higher. The Class A prizes are the most exciting prizes offered by the school, too.
What the Prizes Allegory Means:
Like I say, the higher classes having a better selection of prizes (including more exciting prizes) are a reflection of the perks that students in high school have. For instance, the larger prize pools reflect the selections of classes to enroll for. When I was going to school, Interior Design (the first class having no prerequisites) was restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors only. Freshmen cannot sign up for it. Radio & TV, one of the classes at one of the schools I went to, was restricted to juniors and seniors only. And there are several classes that only seniors can take. Of course, there are also some classes that are restricted to one class only. For example, when I was a freshmen, World Geography was only for the freshmen.
The access to better prizes also reflects the other perks. Like when I mentioned Project Graduation earlier. Freshmen being left with the least exciting prizes reflects how they don’t get any perks for the school events, like they can’t even attend certain school events. Sophomores having some slightly exciting prizes reflects how they have little perks, like they can’t attend events without invitation. Juniors having moderately exciting prizes reflects how they have more perks, but not the best ones. And seniors having access to the most exciting prizes reflects all of the perks they get.
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