Knowing the stress students have on them when it comes to finals, holding finals back until January just overall seems unfair. I think it’s cool that we as students are getting the chance to have a break from school, but it seems more logical to give us finals than send us on break. It doesn’t seem logical though to send us on break, then test us over everything we have learned over the semester. Most kids use their break to relax, so giving them tests when they get back from break may cause them to lose some knowledge making it to where the student body is overall more stressed out and mental health gets worse because of all the stress. 

Waiting until January to take finals prolongs the semester’s stress that weighs on students. High school is meant to prepare students for the academic challenges they’ll face once they go on to college. For many teens, however, going the distance is a struggle. Students tend to get more stressed around finals because they have a mental barrier telling them they can’t do it. This commonly leads to them dropping out or letting their mental health get so bad and not reaching out for health and end up doing something like offing themselves which is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. The reasons that students end up dropping out vary–for some, it’s just a matter of poor attendance while others have to find work to support their family, it can also be common that stress is the reason why students end up dropping out. 

The end of the semester is always a relief for students, and holding finals back delays that relief that students usually enjoy before the holidays. That refreshing moment when you have all your schoolwork done and it seems like you’re off the hook and you don’t have anything to worry about and that you’re ahead is the best feeling in the world. With a blink of an eye that feeling can go away and that stress you had before immediately comes back.

Taking finals now, in December before the break would put a lot of stress on the students now, but giving finals after the break has the potential to send kids into overload. Some may feel unprepared because they’re been away from school for two weeks and information has been lost. Students may feel like there is nobody to reach out to because online schooling has left people feeling helpless for the main fact that we are all so distanced from each other.

The school system is pushing so much information into our brains and it can truly be overwhelming. Reaching out to teachers tends to be difficult nowadays because they are bombarded with emails from stressed-out, overworked teenagers who just trying to get some help. Since students get so much school work their social time gets cut out and they lose some parts of themselves, this could have a serious impact on the mental health of not only the students but the people around them too. Every student may be in a different situation, some may be dealing with mental health; on the other hand, some may be dealing with family issues. The school system has been known from personal experiences and just as a generalized statement to push work down students’ throats making it to where they tend to be so overwhelmed. 

 That saying, it’s unfair to students when they have to wait till January to take their finals because winter break is supposed to be there to relax but waiting to take finals may weigh on some leading them to not be able to relax. The school system is putting a lot of pressure on its students. It’s really unfair, young people shouldn’t have to be put through this much stress. I understand that it’s to “prepare us for adulthood” but a lot of stress is being placed on some that might not be ready for it.