Ah, the end of the school year. A time where students can look forward to the summer they have ahead of them. Maybe they’re going on a tropical vacation, getting a job for the summer, doing an educational program, or simply looking forward to not having to go to school for seven hours of the day, then coming home to do work. However, at Staples, that blissful feeling feels more like a distant fantasy.

As a sophomore, along with other Staples students, midterms was my first time taking a heavily weighted assessment. My teachers had done a great job preparing me for midterms by providing me with all the material I needed to know. And with finals approaching, teachers are trying to do the same, but they’re ultimately running out of time. As a result of this, they’re having to cram the amount of work in a shorter period of time because finals are less than a month away.

This has made students feel stressed and anxious. I knew that there was a problem when I would do an hour’s worth of homework during my free period, and I would come home having barely made a dent in my course load. This didn’t make me feel accomplished or proud of my school work; I just felt overwhelmed. 

While students balance school work, jobs and other extracurricular activities, the course load becomes more daunting. Speaking for myself, I have to read a book for English and take notes on it, read a book for history and take notes on it, study for a language test, and do math homework.It’s not like I’m going to drop these classes now, it just feels as if these assignments are in a big rush to get done.

Teachers know that at this point in the year, students’ drive is dwindling. According to an article by Responsive Classroom, “students are motivated by seeing their progress,” but during this last month of school at Staples, it can feel as though a student isn’t progressing at all because the workload seems never ending.  

Had teachers stayed on track for the curriculum, then the amount of work students have towards the end of the year wouldn’t be so high. They recognize that this is a busy time for students, yet they continue cramming in more work so that way we can be prepared for our final exams just a few weeks away.