As final report cards creep up, stress levels among are high schoolers. High school students scramble to bring their grades up the end of the year. But students aren’t the only ones feeling the wrath of the end of the school year. Photo by Tiernan O’Neill.
By GRACE POLANECZKY – Staff Writer
Cramming for tests and spamming teachers’ inboxes as the 2014-15 school year comes to a close.
You’re sitting in 4th period goofing off when it hits you: It’s May 11. School ends in ten days.
Suddenly you’re surrounded by study guides, final projects and exam books, report card in hand with all those B’s that should be A’s or C’s that should be B’s. Then, right before your eyes, it bursts into flames.
This kind of nightmare might sound familiar for many students, especially when sleep deprivation is almost as high as their stress levels. Final exams, EOCs and the dreaded B’s that should be A’s– the mad dash towards May only makes summer sound dreamier.
If the last weeks of school make you nervous, you are not alone. Many students face anxiety when it comes to wrapping up the school year and taking care of what’s been procrastinated.
The good news is it is possible for students to boost their grades by the end of the school year. The bad news is, well, everything else that last-minute work entails– including how it affects their teachers.
“Last minute requests from students are stressful,” social studies department teacher April Tedeschi said. “What I really like to see is them making an effort to come to me and be respectful of me.”
For teachers, honesty and respect is golden when it comes to communication and success.
“Go to your teachers and be straightforward with them and honest,” Tedeschi said. “That’s the way that teachers are going to respect you the most and actually help you improve your grade this late in the year.”
Support from teachers or counselors can make the weightiness of these last few weeks a little bit lighter, and that encouragement is often the push that it takes to get motivated.
“I’m a huge procrastinator,” junior Danielle Yahudah said. “It helps to get that extra push from a teacher.”
But the most important thing to remember when it all starts to feel hectic is the importance of maintaining balance, and figuring out what methods work best for each individual based on personal needs. Organization is key, but the sense of accountability that comes with routine is what ultimately determines what a student will get done.
“At this point (students’ grades) are not my responsibility anymore, it’s theirs,” Tedeschi said. “And there’s a chance that if you don’t do X amount of work, you can still fail this class.”
