Midterms cancelled? Sounds like Christmas came early.
After trudging through four feet of water and evacuating my own home in a kayak, I realized Harvey was not going away anytime soon.
I knew the devastations following the initial outbreak of the record-breaking rainfall would be unfathomable. Even people who were not directly affected by Harvey were still worried about their friends and family and took to the streets to help others. Those affected, like myself, wanted their daily routines back to normal ASAP. So when Mr. Behr’s weekly bulletin entered my inbox, I immediately opened it in hopes of finding a silver lining. Sure enough, in little black bold letters at the end of the email I read, “End of semester exams have been cancelled this December.”
A heavy load had been lifted off of my shoulders.
Within a couple of minutes of Mr. Behr’s news release, I received several messages from friends sharing their excitement about having exams cancelled. After coming back to school, we once again heard Mr. Behr state the cancellation of semester exams during morning assembly. Walking through the hallways, I could tell there was a general sentiment and one specific feeling: relief.
While many students wondered if the workload would increase right away or towards the end of the semester, the administration responded with a caring approach and teachers tried to ease our way back into school without worrying about class assignments or homework.
It’s always frustrating to work hard throughout the semester and not do well: to have one single exam at the end bring down a grade you worked hard for and raise your stress levels even higher for next semester. The last thing I want to think about is coming back to a stressful senior year when it should be an exciting one.
Furthermore, Mr. Behr addressed some of the possible concerns that could arise. For example, even though there are regular classes in place of exams, there will still be regulations to follow in order to avoid rigorous workload. So students, do not fret.
As for work piling up towards the end of the semester, the assessment policy will still be enforced, which means no more than two major assignments or tests due on the same day. Only departments assigned to a particular day can give a concluding assessment on a particular “Assessment Day” starting Tuesday, Dec. 12 to Thursday, Dec. 14.
In conclusion, teachers, especially those who teach AP classes: consider this as an opportunity to further expand your teaching creativity.
Freshmen: Let this be a smooth transition into high school. You have tons to look forward to; this is one of many.
Sophomores: Whether this affects you that much, who knows? But generally speaking, this is the year before you start to get serious about college stuff. Make sure you’re not substituting the stress of exams with something else, this is supposed to ease stress, not increase it.
Juniors: If only I could express the great amount of envy that I have of you all not taking midterms during debatably the hardest semester of your high school career. One less thing to juggle while taking your ACTs.
Seniors: Consider this another perk to your final year. Of course, keep on pushing ‘till the finish line, but don’t forget to have some fun along the way. We’re almost there!
