Ethan Zhou ‘27
Contributor
Are the Freshman and Sophomore Seminars worth it?
We all know of the famous – or infamous – underclassmen seminars. These courses are designed to benefit and guide students in the future by teaching them critical skills in fostering a community. Some students believe it can be repetitive, but the lessons taught by seminar are valuable and necessary for maturing as a high schooler.
Seminars are courses dedicated to improving students and society, as Ms. Corman, a seminar teacher, explains. “We have [a] road map of the ninth and tenth-grade years, and we have three umbrella categories, the first being diversity, equity, and inclusion, the second being health and wellness, and we also have some leadership development.”
The meticulously planned content is intended to feed students optimal knowledge and self-awareness. The sheer importance of what is being taught in seminar is inarguable. However, despite careful planning, there are still some flaws within the system that are extremely difficult to get past, with Ms. Corman stating, “Although the half course [structure] works, I have to say that it’s more difficult to get to know my students the way that I know [my students] from Spanish classes because I see [them] every other day, while its difficult to get to know my sophomore seminar students as I see them every seven days.”
Generally, student opinions of seminar are positive. Oscar Kong ’25 stated, “They can be repetitive, but they were valuable in helping me navigate life in Loomis.” Similarly, Tom Nguyen ’25 shared, “I think [seminar] is very helpful but repetitive.” A common theme amongst students was that repetition in seminars can be frustrating; however, as Tom pointed out, “repetition is to ingrain the lessons into your mind and teach you how important some things are.”
From this, the value of seminar is clear, with every interviewee mentioning that despite having a suboptimal schedule, seminar has benefited their life in one way or another. While initially, seminar taking up an entire free block may feel like a loss of valuable time, these classes act as a guide and a resource, providing basic knowledge of living life to the fullest with responsibility and virtue.
While other classes might be considered academic courses, seminar is a course beneficial towards the personal fulfillment of life. One cannot face the world of independence with an accumulated 4.0 GPA; instead, you must be fostered with a mindset of growth and determination to successfully build one’s career and life after your time on the Island. The answer is clear: as much as a free block gives you time to do the homework you procrastinated during study hall, it pales in value to the lessons told through Seminar.
