Finals: The Bittersweet End
By Jon Choate
At my school the last day of school is a Monday, May 21st to be exact. This day is met with a mixture of exhilaration and, of course, bitter despair. You see, school isn’t really over on that Monday, we have finals Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and those three days cause more confusion and pain than three weeks of school. The pattern is the same at every school and every year we do it again, the entire time keeping the image of summer, of freedom in our minds.
Is there a point to finals? Is it simply one final blow for the teachers before we are allowed our freedom? That’s what I’ve been thinking about. Teachers tell us that the Finals are to make sure that we retain information rather than just learning it for a few days and then forgetting it. All that a final makes sure of is that we remember it for a little bit longer but are then gladder when it’s gone.
There has to be a better way, something that really tests our knowledge rather than just another test. That’s why I’m writing this, for your ideas for a solution. Yes, no finals at all would be great, but impractical. A compromise that makes sense is ideal. Whether we like it or not, there is a need to judge our total knowledge from the year, but another test that we can study for is not the answer. People talk about getting rid of the SATs, personally, these are worse.
The SATs are at least recognized for what they are, just another test for us to study for. I would say that your score does still depend on some natural ability, but studying still takes the cake for importance. Finals are not like this. Teachers do not seem to recognize the fact that they do not test what we’ve learned this year, just what we can cram in before we take the test. People are searching for solutions to the SAT problem, I want to search for one for the Finals problem. I’m going to start a discussion about this article and I’d like anyone who reads this to contribute their thoughts, opinions and ideas.
About the Author:
What to say? I'm a sophomore in high-school who loves to write fiction, non-fiction, drama, and especially poetry. I'm a captain of my school's JV basketball team, (although snails with crippling birth-defects could outjump me.) I'm an actor, actively involved in the theatre at my school. I play violin in the Youth Symphony on Honolulu. I party on the weekends. I am your stereotypical, shooting for success, overworked, stressed, exhausted teen, and I'm loving every minute of it.
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