By: Andie Scott [Staff Writer] @KewtheRavager
An old saying goes, “You got to go through hell before you get to heaven,” and there’s no better place to use that phrase than right now. Students wade through the final worksheets and hours of studying (or procrastinating) entailed in the horrors of finals week, all in the hopes of surviving and making it to the holy grail – winter break.
It’s no secret that finals have a bad reputation around students, and few people know about that reputation better than Ariel Carter, junior. “I have finals in all four of my classes. One over break, one on the weekend, and two on Friday.” She explains. “I’m pretty stressed out about it.”
Carter has good reason to be stressed out as well. “I was sick all last week, so I’m trying to catch up because I’m way behind.” Students that miss days before the final have it worst of all, not only struggling to learn the rest of the material, but also the material they missed.
With all this pressure associated with finals week, it must be wondered what teachers think of the whole thing. Worrying for their students? Quietly cackling to themselves when no one’s looking? Kristin Duning, science teacher, has the answers. “I’ve been a student, so I know what it’s like,” She says, “but I also feel like if you’ve prepared for the whole term, it’s a way of showing what you’ve learned.”
Even if it stresses students out, Duning still feels that finals are important, and that not giving them would be doing students of disservice. “They’re important for a few reasons. We don’t do all this material in class and then not do anything with it. You have to really learn it.” She also believes it’s important for after high school as well. “You have finals in college. We’re trying to prepare students for after high school.”
Duning and Carter both would do finals differently if it were up to them. “I would make it over a couple of days, not just one.” Carter explains.
“I like how Cedar Rapids does a finals schedule.” Duning suggests. “So, on any one day, you’d only have to worry about maybe two finals.”
Views on finals seem to vary far and wide, from horrible monstrosities to important learning activities, but regardless of opinions or the validity of them, one fact still remains – they aren’t going to go away. It’s just that time to buckle down, claw some eyes out over a textbook, and give nothing less than 100%. It’s time to seize the holy grail of all holy grails: going into winter break with a smile, clear conscience, and an A+.
