A good friend and fellow teacher had one of the best explanations for this time of year. She said, "This is the time of year when I hate my students and they hate me." Now, of course, she did not mean it literally. I can't say that I ever hate my students but I can say that they drive me absolutely crazy - and this is the time of year when the crazy factor gets turned up a notch.
There are many reasons why the months of March-April are tough. At the beginning of March FCAT's consume a great deal of time. Either students are stressed out from taking the FCAT or they delve into the deepest depths of laziness because they no longer have to take it. Also, this is the time of year when many Juniors begin taking their SAT/ACT. With the SAT/ACT comes the impending college application process which then requires students to - gulp - make a decision, an important decision, a decision that will have a huge impact on their futures. This can be a huge weight on anyone's shoulders, especially young people. Finally, the number one reason why this time of year is tough is because, well, we are almost at the end. Students can see their summer break just beyond the horizon and they want it bad.
All of these factors, plus many more, play in to the atmosphere at school during this time of year. So, to help the school environment improve, I have taken it upon myself to put together a little checklist of things to do make your school life easier:
1. Listen during class. There is nothing a teacher enjoys less than having to repeat his/herself over and over again. Also, by the 9th week of the quarter, students should have the class process down pat.
2. Attend class. By not coming to school you are only causing more problems for yourself. Plus, would you continuously be absent from your job? School is your job right now.
3. Stop procrastinating. It is easy to put everything off until the last minute, but this quickly becomes a terrible habit.
4. Refrain from whining. Many students put more effort into whining about what they have to do rather than just doing it.
5. Get the most out of your education. Remember that only you choose what to get out of your education. If you look at everything you do in class as being pointless, it will be pointless. On the other hand, if you believe that you can learn from all experiences and activities, you will learn from all experiences and activities.
This seems like a pretty decent beginning for making our school lives a little more enjoyable. Before I end for today, I would also like to share that I understand that you all are carrying a large amount of pressure right now. You must learn how to balance everything in your life to be successful. If any of you need help with planning your time or advice on college "stuff" please come by and chat with me - I am always around to help!
22 comments:
All students would have to agree with the statement that we have a lot of pressure on our shoulders. Between acts/sats, school work, and upcoming ap tests its crunch time. Summer break is sooner that everyone one expects which just means that we should be paying more attention and doing even more work. By being lay and not coming to school just gives us more work. Personally, when being absent I get more stress because I get loaded with even more tests and I have to then make up test, quizzes , etc.
Summer is right around the corner so if we can just hang in there and do our work and be productive the rest of the year will go by a lot quicker.
This is the time of year when I get so tired. Like I normally don't have trouble waking up in the morning but lately, when 6 rolls around, I'm always like, "seriously." It gets harder and harder every day. Yes, I am very stressed about Acts and Sats. I really want to get into a good school and I don't want these tests stopping me.
I've always been looked at as the 'goody-two shoes' type of student in the eye's of my fellow classmates. Bust as I've grown up and entered the many stages of life, I've realized that I am completely okay with that. I mean, I take a look around my classes, each and every day and I am utterly disabled to display my sense of disgust from the beahvior of some of the kids around me.
And one could not even begin to excuse their childish behaviors as those of an 'oh they're just having fun'.
I just think that even in high school, a lot of US still have much growing up to do. It's just sad to see the difference among those who actually appreciate their education and the chances and opportunities they have and the ones who are merely there for social hour.
i wont lie but i am counting down the minutes until spring break. Along with all the stress that normal highschool students have, I have a lot more on my plate. I do have practice twice sometimes three times a week. The hours are crazy long, five till nine. Then you get home and everything is a blur. I do agree with you though. Students are a pain in the butt. I get annoyed sometimes because some students are just unbareable! All they do is whine and bug the teacher to try and change what they have assigned. I could never be a teache, I would just snap and end up in jail. Thats not so cool. Im sorry if i ever have ..or will be a pain in the butt student! ill try not to! =)
We don’t really hate teachers but we don’t really like it when they yell at us for doing something that isn’t that bad or when we think they are being unfair, but luckily you're a pretty cool teacher.
But we do have a ton of work and pressure right now, and the stress can get to us easily. I personally don’t procrastinate but I always end up with having something to do. A lot of teachers also don’t realize that they aren’t are only class and they assign a lot of work for us to do which just aggravates us more and makes us want summer really bad. But it is hard to buckle down and do work, especially right now because it’s getting close to the end of the quarter so teachers are assigning a lot of work and we just get tired of it after a while. I have always done what you have mentioned on your checklist but managing time is not easy and even though I do follow the checklist everything I have to do is still hard to accomplish.
But it is getting to the end of the year and student do need to try more and give it 100% because the end is not here yet, but as long as I keep up my grades I think that I can keep doing things the way I do. I will shortly be coming to you for help with college once I get my SAT scores back. =]
The check list is going to be useful for me in the next couple of days, to help me focus on my midd terms. Also the check list will help me in preparation for collage.
I am one that will most definately agree to that you have many pressures on our shoulders right now. The past week I have felt so stressed out with school combined with being sick and having family that came to visit from New Jersey. It takes a toll on you when you are using more and more of your 'sleep time' for homework to catch up on.
Even though every week gets closer and closer to the end of the year, it is not a time to give up, sit back and whine. There are still ten weeks left people.
I must agree with your views that students do get lazy towards the end, this for some reason seem to be our damnation till we muster up ourselves and change our attitude to become "big boys/girls" meaning that we learn how to cope with stressful situations but at the same time handling our everyday life including social and work life in this case meaning school.
This year has been an absolute mess and diseaster. Just knowing that I only have one more year of high school has become extremely stressful to the maximum. With sat/act, fcat, classwork/homework, and the most traumatizing task of all; applying for colleges. Juniors already have planned their spring/summer breaks and have caught senioritis from the beginning of the year. Hoping this the following checklist that has been listed above can improve our actions.
I've noticed that teachers around this time have a little less patience than usual. But we have a little less attention span I think. We are all thinking how close spring break is and then summer and how there is only ONE more quarter to go. But all the teachers are thinking yeah, ONLY one more quarter to go. CRUNCH TIME. It is the last thing we want to do, but we have to.
I agree by this time of the year students tend to get lazy in work and other surroundings. It is the last few months left of school, and we're dying down with so much knowledge to capture. During the beginning of the year students are all hyped to learn and do well, but that enthusiasm dies toward the second semester. We do indeed have numerous amounts of pressure on our shoulder our junior year. On top of all the quizzes, tests and homework we have in school, we also get a load of SAT, ACT and college work to do outside of school. Junior year is by far one of the hardest years you'll get in school. There are so many aspects of this year that have to be covered, and only a limited amount of time to do it in.
This year is actually the first year that I haven't felt that feeling of I have to get out of school. Ironically it has by far been my hardest year and I am in no way denying that I am burnt out it's just I am so in the zone that none of it is affecting me. I am so determined this year to do my best so that I can get into University of Florida that its like the time doesn't matter to me. Summer will come when it comes, but until then my head is completely focused on the task at hand.
I HAVE TO SAY I AM BECOMING ONE OF THE STUDENTS THAT WAIT FOR THE LAST SECOND TO DO THINGS. FOR EXAMPLE, I WAS TALKING MY SAT THIS WEEKEND AND I THOUGHT I KNEW WHERE MY CALCULATOR WAS BUT WHEN IT CAME DOWN TO IT ON SATURDAY, IT WAS NOT THERE. I WAS DRIVING ALL AROUND MIRAMAR TRYING TO FIND SOMEWHERE THAT HAS CALCULATORS. IT TOOK ME ABOUT 30 MIN TO FIND ONE. I BARELY MADE IT TO THE TESTING CENTER.
Well to start off, yes I think this year has been very stressful for me or for everyone...but realize one thing if you get your job done faster, I guarantee time will also go quicker, and besides I think I'm a great student I just tend to talk a lot.(:
When I miss school I feel more stressed because when I return to school there is material learned in class that I need to learn and practice as well as homework that goes along with this. I feel like missing three days because I was sick this week has really put me to a disadvantage.
To improve attendance, a teacher of mine would boost our grades. For example, if a student had an 87, he would make it a 90 because this student only missed one or two days in the semester. This was an amazing incentive.
We do have alot of pressure during the FCAT/SAT/ACT month, but we need to learn how to manage our time. This is nothing compared to College. If your not organized for college and don't have a little list so that you can stay on task your gonna fail and fail hard.
Yea this time of the year can get rough. For me, I'm fine. I love all my classes for the most part. I do have a lot on my mind, and it does make it harder. I don't think this should stop students from trying hard and working hard. This is just a stepping stone, we need to keep working hard :D!
It is amusing to see the pathetic ways that some students try to get over on the poor teachers of Broward County. There is no excuse for laziness at this point in the year and I wish that it was less common. I find that it is less and less acceptable for students to slack off in class. Not only does it hurt the feelings of the teachers but it also detracts from the wonderful service that they provide to us all.
I am an EXCellent ass kisser.
That checklist is really good. The one I have to worry is probably procrastinating. Which I like to do a lot but their are times where I will finish up early. Then most of the time I end up doing something the night before and put a lot of stress on myself by staying up late and thinking about wow I have a lot to work. And also thinking to myself that i should of started this earlier to not be in this situation.
By the end of the year we all just want to chill, but it never works out that way. Especially being in 11th grade this is a very important year.
I agree with everything you said. There is to many things going on like finals and all those other tests. Plus summer is so close that it is hard to concentrate in school.
Yea, that is ture. Usually at the beginging of the year/semester I'm excited becuase I'm finally out of my old classes and going to new ones. The begining is always excitting but this time of the year is the worst. You know that you are almost done with the year but not yet, and ofcourse everyone is tired of working and students stop paying as much attentiona dn doing work. When studets don't do work the teachers ge pissed of and no one is happy.
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