DeLaney Fisher @DeLaney_Fisher [Co Executive Newspaper Editor]
Today is October 13th, and all through the halls blood pressure is rising. As if school, sports, homework, and other various activities weren’t enough, now students have the added stress of finals.
For some classes, it’s final projects that are due or final papers, and for others it is a cummulative test over everything covered throughout the quarter. Whichever way it is approached, it involves hours of studying and work. On top of it being finals week, many sports teams and clubs have games and/or competitions this week, which means less time to study. As an athlete and a student, it can be very hard to balance all of these things. Students can choose between sports, friends, and good grades, but can only maintain two successfully.
Teachers are usually pretty good about scheduling finals on an appropriate day for where their classes are at with the curriculum. When picking a day for finals teachers should try to keep a few things in mind.
1) It is hard to take a huge test worth a large portion of the overall grade in a class without doing quite a bit of studying first. Studying outside of class is a key piece in doing well on any test or quiz, but students also need some in class time where the teacher is available to them for questions. Yes, they can come in before or after school to get that extra help and ask questions, but it is nearly impossible to get help in every class before the dreaded final.
2) Try to avoid finals on Mondays at all costs. Coming off of a busy weekend and trying to remember everything studied each night is hard. If the final is going to be on a Monday, there should be a few minutes at the beginning of class for questions and a few problems to be worked out either as a class or individually as practice.
3) Give practice problems and access to their solutions. Students should be able to study on their own a bit, but there is only some much a person can get from looking over old worksheets. This applies to some classes more than others, but it is still necessary for a well rounded study sesh.
Finals are a very stressful time, but students should keep their cool and remember to study a little bit every night. That way it won’t feel like so much cramming the night before. Also, information sticks with the learner better if it is studied gradually rather than trying to remember everything off of one night of studying.
