The final fews weeks of the school year are always tough on both students and teachers. With exam week looming over students’ heads and teachers attempting to pack any learning material they can into these last few days, it can feel incredibly overwhelming for students just trying to finish the year alive. While many are hectically preparing themselves for the final days, others are expressing a nonchalant attitude towards the enormous amount of schoolwork piling up in their Google Classroom.

EOC, AP, and IB exams are exhausting for most, if not all, students. Many of the tests take three or more hours to complete, with some spanning over multiple days. Naturally, many students do not feel motivated to complete assignments after those tortuous hours of exams. “It’s kind of annoying that we still have so much work to do even after exams,” said junior Kayla Beasley. “I feel like I’ve already completed everything for the year, so why do we need to keep doing more?”

Some students feel like the last few weeks of school are meaningless. A lot of classes have completed their units and are simply just filling time until the last day of school. Doing minimal work at school all day can feel very demotivating. Some students feel as if they could be spending their time in ways that would be more worthwhile, such as working or touring colleges. Many do not see the point in having classes when they are not learning much. “Now that this year’s curriculum has been fulfilled, we do not do much in class anymore,” said junior Ana Mijares. “It is kind of frustrating as there doesn’t seem to be a point in attending classes.”

Teachers are feeling the weight of lacking student motivation, too. Not only do teachers have to deal with their own responsibilities, such as grading final exams, papers, and projects, they also have to work to keep students engaged in class during these final weeks. 

Summer is just around the corner and many students already have one foot out the door. However, student motivation is of the utmost importance, especially now. With exam season in full swing, students should ensure that they are working just as hard right now as they were at the beginning of the semester. Hang in there Dubs, you are in the home stretch!